¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ^(A)“I am the light of the world. He who ^(B)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus Defends His Self-Witness

¹³ The Pharisees therefore said to Him, ^(C)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not ^[a]true.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but ^(D)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. ^15 (E)You judge according to the flesh; ^(F)I judge no one. ¹⁶ And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for ^(G)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. ^17 (H)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸ I am One who bears witness of Myself, and ^(I)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

¹⁹ Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”

Jesus answered, ^(J)“You know neither Me nor My Father. ^(K)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

²⁰ These words Jesus spoke in ^(L)the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and ^(M)no one laid hands on Him, for ^(N)His hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and ^(O)you will seek Me, and ^(P)will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”

²² So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”

²³ And He said to them, ^(Q)“You are from beneath; I am from above. ^(R)You are of this world; I am not of this world. ^24 (S)Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; ^(T)for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵ Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”

And Jesus said to them, “Just what I ^(U)have been saying to you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but ^(V)He who sent Me is true; and ^(W)I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”

²⁷ They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

²⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “When you ^(X)lift^[b] up the Son of Man, ^(Y)then you will know that I am He, and ^(Z)that I do nothing of Myself; but ^(AA)as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. ²⁹ And ^(AB)He who sent Me is with Me. ^(AC)The Father has not left Me alone, ^(AD)for I always do those things that please Him.” ³⁰ As He spoke these words, ^(AE)many believed in Him.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you ^(AF)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the ^(AG)truth, and ^(AH)the truth shall make you free.”

³³ They answered Him, ^(AI)“We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AJ)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And ^(AK)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ^36 (AL)Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

³⁷ “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but ^(AM)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ^38 (AN)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have ^[c]seen with your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, ^(AO)“Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, ^(AP)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ^40 (AQ)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth ^(AR)which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; ^(AS)we have one Father—God.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(AT)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for ^(AU)I proceeded forth and came from God; ^(AV)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ^43 (AW)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. ^44 (AX)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(AY)desires of your father you want to ^(AZ)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(BA)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? ^47 (BB)He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I AM

⁴⁸ Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and ^(BC)have a demon?”

⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and ^(BD)you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ And ^(BE)I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. ⁵¹ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(BF)if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

⁵² Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You ^(BG)have a demon! ^(BH)Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. ^(BI)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(BJ)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. ^(BK)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is ^[d]your God. ⁵⁵ Yet ^(BL)you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and ^(BM)keep His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham ^(BN)rejoiced to see My day, ^(BO)and he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(BP)before Abraham was, ^(BQ)I AM.”

⁵⁹ Then ^(BR)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, ^(BS)going^[e] through the midst of them, and so passed by.