John
Chapters 16-18
1“I have told you this, so that you will not give up your faith.
2You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when those who kill you will think that by doing this they are serving God.
3People will do these things to you because they have not known either the Father or me.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
4But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for them to do these things, you will remember what I told you. “I did not tell you these things at the beginning, for I was with you.
5But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me where I am going.
6And now that I have told you, your hearts are full of sadness.
7But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you.
8And when he comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God's judgment.
9They are wrong about sin, because they do not believe in me;
10they are wrong about what is right, because I am going to the Father and you will not see me any more;
11and they are wrong about judgment, because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
12“I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear.
13When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come.
14He will give me glory, because he will take what I say and tell it to you.
15All that my Father has is mine; that is why I said that the Spirit will take what I give him and tell it to you.
Sadness and Gladness
16“In a little while you will not see me any more, and then a little while later you will see me.”
17Some of his disciples asked among themselves, “What does this mean? He tells us that in a little while we will not see him, and then a little while later we will see him; and he also says, ‘It is because I am going to the Father.’
18What does this ‘a little while’ mean? We don't know what he is talking about!”
19Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said to them, “I said, ‘In a little while you will not see me, and then a little while later you will see me.’ Is this what you are asking about among yourselves?
20I am telling you the truth: you will cry and weep, but the world will be glad; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into gladness.
21When a woman is about to give birth, she is sad because her hour of suffering has come; but when the baby is born, she forgets her suffering, because she is happy that a baby has been born into the world.
22That is how it is with you: now you are sad, but I will see you again, and your hearts will be filled with gladness, the kind of gladness that no one can take away from you.
23“When that day comes, you will not ask me for anything. I am telling you the truth: the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.
24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.
Victory over the World
25“I have used figures of speech to tell you these things. But the time will come when I will not use figures of speech, but will speak to you plainly about the Father.
26When that day comes, you will ask him in my name; and I do not say that I will ask him on your behalf,
27for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God.
28I did come from the Father, and I came into the world; and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29Then his disciples said to him, “Now you are speaking plainly, without using figures of speech.
30We know now that you know everything; you do not need to have someone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?
32The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me.
33I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”
John Chapter 17
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
1After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you.
2For you gave him authority over all people, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him.
3And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
4I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do.
5Father! Give me glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made.
6“I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word,
7and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you.
8I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me.
9“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you.
10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them.
11And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one.
12While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost—so that the scripture might come true.
13And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness.
14I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
15I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One.
16Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world.
17Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth.
18I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world.
19And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you.
20“I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message.
21I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.
22I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one:
23I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.
24“Father! You have given them to me, and I want them to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, the glory you gave me; for you loved me before the world was made.
25Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you sent me.
26I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them.”
John Chapter 18
The Arrest of Jesus
1After Jesus had said this prayer, he left with his disciples and went across Kidron Brook. There was a garden in that place, and Jesus and his disciples went in.
2Judas, the traitor, knew where it was, because many times Jesus had met there with his disciples.
3So Judas went to the garden, taking with him a group of Roman soldiers, and some Temple guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees; they were armed and carried lanterns and torches.
4Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward and asked them, “Who is it you are looking for?”
5“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “I am he,” he said. Judas, the traitor, was standing there with them.
6When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they moved back and fell to the ground.
7Again Jesus asked them, “Who is it you are looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
8“I have already told you that I am he,” Jesus said. “If, then, you are looking for me, let these others go.”
9(He said this so that what he had said might come true: “Father, I have not lost even one of those you gave me.”)
10Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. The name of the slave was Malchus.
11Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back in its place! Do you think that I will not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?”
Jesus before Annas
12Then the Roman soldiers with their commanding officer and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus, tied him up,
13and took him first to Annas. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year.
14It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish authorities that it was better that one man should die for all the people.
Peter Denies Jesus
15Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was well known to the High Priest, so he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest's house,
16while Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other disciple went back out, spoke to the girl at the gate, and brought Peter inside.
17The girl at the gate said to Peter, “Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?” “No, I am not,” answered Peter.
18It was cold, so the servants and guards had built a charcoal fire and were standing around it, warming themselves. So Peter went over and stood with them, warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
19The High Priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.
20Jesus answered, “I have always spoken publicly to everyone; all my teaching was done in the synagogues and in the Temple, where all the people come together. I have never said anything in secret.
21Why, then, do you question me? Question the people who heard me. Ask them what I told them—they know what I said.”
22When Jesus said this, one of the guards there slapped him and said, “How dare you talk like that to the High Priest!”
23Jesus answered him, “If I have said anything wrong, tell everyone here what it was. But if I am right in what I have said, why do you hit me?”
24Then Annas sent him, still tied up, to Caiaphas the High Priest.
Peter Denies Jesus Again
25Peter was still standing there keeping himself warm. So the others said to him, “Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?” But Peter denied it. “No, I am not,” he said.
26One of the High Priest's slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, spoke up. “Didn't I see you with him in the garden?” he asked.
27Again Peter said “No”—and at once a rooster crowed.
Jesus before Pilate
28Early in the morning Jesus was taken from Caiaphas' house to the governor's palace. The Jewish authorities did not go inside the palace, for they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean, in order to be able to eat the Passover meal.
29So Pilate went outside to them and asked, “What do you accuse this man of?”
30Their answer was, “We would not have brought him to you if he had not committed a crime.”
31Pilate said to them, “Then you yourselves take him and try him according to your own law.” They replied, “We are not allowed to put anyone to death.”
32(This happened in order to make come true what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he would die.)
33Pilate went back into the palace and called Jesus. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34Jesus answered, “Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?”
35Pilate replied, “Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!”
37So Pilate asked him, “Are you a king, then?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me.”
Jesus Is Sentenced to Death
38“And what is truth?” Pilate asked. Then Pilate went back outside to the people and said to them, “I cannot find any reason to condemn him.
39But according to the custom you have, I always set free a prisoner for you during the Passover. Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?”
40They answered him with a shout, “No, not him! We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a bandit.)
Proverbs
Chapter 6
Warning against Adultery
20Son, do what your father tells you and never forget what your mother taught you.
21Keep their words with you always, locked in your heart.
22Their teaching will lead you when you travel, protect you at night, and advise you during the day.
23Their instructions are a shining light; their correction can teach you how to live.
24It can keep you away from bad women, from the seductive words of other men's wives.