“”I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know Me, just as My Father knows Me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
The father loves Me because I sacrifice My life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I won’t to and also to take it up again. For this is what My Father has commanded.”” (John 10: vv. 14-18, NLT)
“When the crowds heard Him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But He can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” So the crowd was divided about Him. Some even wanted Him arrested, but no one laid a hand on Him.
When the Temple guards returned without having arresting Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?”
“Have you been led astray too?” the Pharisee’s mocked. “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in Him? This foolish crowd follows Him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them.!”
Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.
“They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself- no prophet ever comes from Galilee!”
Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.” (John 7: vv. 40-53, NLT)
“”On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds,” Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart.’ “(When He said “living water”, He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into His glory.)”” (John 7: vv. 37-39, NLT)
“”After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon, it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, and Jesus’ brothers said to him, ” Leave here and go to Judea, where Your followers can see Your miracles! You can’t become famous it You hide like this! If You can do such wonderful things, show Yourself to the world!” For even His brothers didn’t believe Him.
Jesus replied, ” Now is not the right time for Me to go, but you can go anytime. The world can’t hate you, but does hate Me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because My time has not yet come.” After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee. (John 7, vv. 1-9, NLT)
“”Many of His disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
Jesus was aware that His disciples were complaining, so He said to them, “Does this offend you? They what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe Me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and He knew who would betray Him.) Then He said, “That is why I said that people cannot come to Me unless the Father gives them to Me.”
At this point many of His disciples turned away and deserted Him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go.” You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
Then Jesus did, “I chose the twelve of you, but one of you is the devil. He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.”” (John 6: vv. 60-70, NLT)
“”I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
Then the people began arguing with each other about what He meant. “How can this man give us His flesh to eat? ” they asked.
So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person in the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Anyone who drinks My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on Me will live because of Me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as you ancestors did (even though they ate the manna), but will live forever.”
He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.””
“‘Sir,” they said, ‘give us that bread every day.’
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in Me even though you have seen Me. However, those the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent Me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is why Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can He say, I came down from heaven?”
“But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws them to Me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father: Only I , who was sent from God, have seen Him).”” (John 6: vv 34-46, NLT)
“”So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernam to look for Him. They found Him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with Me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of His approval.”
They replied, ” We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
Jesus tool them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the One He has sent.”
They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if You want us to believe in You. What can you do? After all our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness: The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave then bread from heaven to eat.’
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven. My Father did. And now He offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the One who came down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6: vv. 25-33, NLT)
“”That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for Him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. They rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but He called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived as their destination!”” (John 6:vv. 16-21, NLT)
“”So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I. So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For He not only broke the Sabbath, he called God His Father, thereby making himself equal with God.”
So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing. In fact, the Father will show Him how to do even greater works that healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. For just as the Father gives life to those He raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone He wants.”
“In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, He has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent Him.”
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
“And, I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear My voice – the voice of the Son of God. An those who listen will live. The Father has life in Himself, and He has granted the same life-giving power to hHis Son. And He has given Him authority to judge everyone because He is the Son or Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. I can do nothing on My own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent Me, not My own will.”” (John 5:VV, 16-30, NLT)
