1: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2: It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3: So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4: But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
For His Work
5: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6: So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7: Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8: The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9: Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10: But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
For Our Faith
11: After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12: The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13: Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14: Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15: and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16: So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
5: In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6: And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
7: But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8: Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
9: according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10: And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11: And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12: And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13: But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14: And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15: for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16: And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
17: and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18: And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
19: And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20: And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
21: And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.
22: And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.
23: And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24: After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,
25: “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
7: So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8: All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9: I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The Sacrifice of the Shepherd
11: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12: He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13: He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14: I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15: just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Nature of His Authority
16: And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17: For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18: No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Reason and Conclusion
19: There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
20: Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
21: Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”
10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
The Pharisees: Accusation
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
The Parents: Fear
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight
19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”
22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Freedom and the Son
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Bondage and the slave
37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”