Then Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed Him because they were sick or had seen the miracles He had performed. Jesus then went up the mountain and sat down with His disciples.  The Passover feast was near so Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Jesus had already decided what He was going to do but asked Philip to test him. Philip replied “We do not have enough money to feed all of those people.” Another disciple, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother said “There is a boy here who has five loaves of bread and two fish, but that will not feed all the people.” Jesus said “Have the people sit down.” The five thousand people present then sat down. Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and distributed it to the people.  He then did the same thing with the fish, giving people as much as they wanted. When everyone was full He said to His disciples “Gather up the remaining food so that nothing is wasted.“  With the remaining food the disciples were able to fill twelve baskets.  Because of this miracle the people said “This is truly the Prophet who is come into the world.”

Jesus, knowing they would try to make Him king, went to the top of the mountain by Himself.

At night, His disciples went to the sea, got in a boat, and started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It was dark and Jesus had not come with them. Then the wind started blowing hard and the seas became rough. After rowing for three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water towards them; and they were afraid. Jesus said to them “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they let Jesus into the boat and they immediately came to the shore.

The next day the crowd noticed Jesus and His disciples were not there and went in boats to the other side of the sea seeking Jesus. When they found Him they asked “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Jesus answered them and said “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves of bread. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures towards everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” They replied “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered them and said “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” So they said to Him “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work will you perform? Our fathers are the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’” Jesus then said to them “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Jesus said to them “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Because of these words the people were grumbling about Him.  They said “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say ‘I have come out of heaven.‘?” Jesus answered them and said “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I give to the world is My flesh.”

Then the people began to argue with themselves, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, those who eat Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as the fathers ate and died, he who eats this bread will live forever.”

These things Jesus taught in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

There many of His disciples said “This is a difficult teaching; who can listen to it?” Jesus, knowing they were having trouble with this teaching, said “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man going back up to where He was before? It is the Spirit which gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have told you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning those who did not believe and those who would betray Him. And He said “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

As a result of this teaching, many of His disciples left Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and come to know that You are the Hold One of God.” Jesus answered them “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” No He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Jesus.

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After these things there was a feast, and Jesus went to Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem by the sheep gate there was a pool with five walkways, which was called Bethesda in Hebrew.  There were many sick people there, including a man who had been sick for 38 years.

When Jesus saw him lying there He said, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him “Sir, I have no one to take me down to the pool.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your bed.” Immediately the man became well, and picked up his bed and began to walk.

Since it was the Sabbath so certain people there asked the man why he was carrying his bed since no work was to be done.  The man answered them “He who healed me told me to carry the bed.”  They asked him again but the man could not answer since Jesus had slipped away.

Later Jesus found the man and said “You have been healed, do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” The man went away and told the crowd is was Jesus who had healed him.  The crowd then started to persecute Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

For this reason a number of people tried to kill Jesus, because He was not only breaking the Sabbath, but also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to those He chooses. Not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father.  Truly, truly, I say to you, ho who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, the Son has also been given life in Himself; and the Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not wonder at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who did the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

I can do nothing on My own. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. But there is Someone else who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony that He gives about My is true.

You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in John’s light.

But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish – the very works that I do – testify about Me, the the Father has sent Me.

And the Father who sent Me, He has testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him who He sent.

You search the Scriptures because you think in them you have eternal life;  it is those Scriptures that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men;  but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father, the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?“

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Lord, my enemies have increased! Many are rising against me.

Many are saying of my soul, “The Lord will not deliver me.”

But You, Lord, are a shield around me; You are my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

I was crying to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy mountain.

I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousand people who have set themselves against me.

Lord; save me, my God.

For You have struck my enemies on the cheek; You have broke the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be upon Your people.

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Then Adam and Eve conceived a child.  Eve gave birth, named the child Cain because “I have born a male child with the help of the Lord.” Then they conceived another child and named him Abel.

Abel was a keeper of the flocks and Cain was a tiller of the ground. Cain brought forth an offering of the fruit of the ground while Abel brought forth an offering of the fruits of the flock.  The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but not for Cain and his offering.  Cain became angry because of this. The Lord said to Cain “Why are you angry? Why has the expression on your face fallen? If you do well, your the expression on your face will be lifted up.  But if you do poorly, sin will be waiting for you.  You must master it or it will overcome you.”

Then while the brothers were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain “Where is your brother?” Cain replied “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” God said “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed, when you go to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its strength to you. You must now wander the earth as a vagrant.”

Cain said to the Lord “My punishment is too great to bear! Look, You have driven me from the face of the ground, from Your face will I be hidden and whoever finds me will kill me.”

So the Lord said to Cain “Then whoever kills you will have vengeance against him seven times over.” The Lord placed a sign upon Cain so that no one that found him would kill him.

Then Cain left the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Cain built a city and named it Enoch after his son.

Enoch then fathered Irad and Irad fathered Mehujael and Mehujael fathered Methushael and Methushael fathered Lamech.

Lamech took two wives, one named Adad and the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal, he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. Jabal’s brother was Jubal, who was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of bronze and iron, the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Lamech said to his wives “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice, you wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech. For I have killed a man for wounding me, and a boy for striking me. If Cain is avenged seven times over, then Lamech is avenged seventy-seven times over.”

Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son. Eve named him Seth, for, she said “God was appointed me another child in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Seth fathered a son named Enosh.

Then men started to call upon the name of the Lord.

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Now the snake was more devious than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. The snake said to the woman “God has said ‘Do not eat of any tree in the garden.’?” The woman replied “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but not of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or we will die.”

The snake said to the woman “You will not die, as God knows that if you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The woman ate of the tree, as its fruit was tasty and it made her wise.  She also gave some to her husband and he ate it.

Then both of their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked.  The sewed fig leaves together and made themselves clothing.

They then heard God walking through the garden and hid themselves.  God called out to the man “Where are you?” The man replied “I heard you walking and we hid ourselves since we were naked.” God said “How do you know you are naked, did you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?”  The man replied “The woman You gave to me got me fruit from that tree, and I ate it.”  The Lord God said to the woman “What have you done?” The woman said “The snake deceived me, and I ate.”

Then God said to the snake “Because you have done this, you are more cursed than any of the beasts of the field; you will go on your stomach and eat dust all your days. The man and you will be enemies,  his seed and your seed, he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Then God said to the woman “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, you will bring forth children in pain.  Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.”

Then God said to Adam “Because you have listened to your wife and have disobeyed me I will curse the ground you walk on, you will toil on it all of your life. But thorns and thistles will grow instead and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the ground. For you are dust and to the dust you will return.”

Then the man called his wife because she was the mother of all living. Then the Lord made garments of skin for Adam and Eve.  Then God said “Because you have become like Us, knowing good and evil, and how you might now eat of the tree of life and become immortal, you must go.” And God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden and stationed an angel with a flaming sword at the gate so they could never return.

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Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples coming up with a conceited thing?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers plot together against the Lord and against His annointed, saying “Let us tear their shackles apart and cast away their cords from us!”

He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord mocks them.  Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them with His fury, saying “But as for Me, I have installed My King on Zion, My holy mountain.”

I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord, He said to me:

“You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware.”

Now therefore kings, show embarrassment. Judges of the earth, take warning.  Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.

Do homeage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are those who take refuge in Him.

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There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and Mary the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.

When the wine ran out, Mary said to Jesus “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her “What does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” Mary said to nearby servants “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Now there was six water pots for the purification custom, which could hold about seventy five to one hundred litres of water each. Jesus said to them “Fill the water pots with water.” The water pots were then filled.

Jesus then said “Take some water and give it to the head waiter.” The head waiter tasted the water, which had become wine. The waiter went to the groom and said “Every man serves his best wine first, and when the guests are drunk serves lesser wine, but you have kept the best wine until last.”

This was the beginning of His signs, where Jesus manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

After the wedding Jesus went down to Capernaum, staying there with His Mother, brothers and disciples.

Since the time of the Passover was near, Jesus then traveled to Jerusalem.  There He found in the temple those selling oxen and sheep and doves as well as money changers.  Jesus made a scourge of cords and drove them from the temple. He said “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.“  His disciples remembered that it was written in the Old Testament “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

Then people asked Him “On whose authority do you do these things?” Jesus answered them “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Jesus was speaking of His body, not the physical temple, which confused those there.

During the Passover feast, many observed what Jesus was doing and believed in Him.  But Jesus kept Himself away from many, knowing how fallen human nature was.

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Jesus, the Word of God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing can exist.

In Him was life and that life was the Light of mankind. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot understand the Light.

There came a man sent from God, the prophet John the Baptist. He came as a witness to tell about the Light, so that all might believe.  John was not the Light, but he testified about the Light.

The true Light came into the world, enlightening mankind. Jesus was in the world, and the world was made through Him, but the world did not know Him. Jesus came to get His own, but those who were not His own did not receive Him. But to those that received Him, He gave to them the right to become children of God, those who believe in His name, they were born not of the blood or of the will of the flesh, but of God.

And so the Word of God became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John the Baptist testified about Him, saying “This is He of whom I have said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

For of His fullness we have received grace upon grace. The Law was given though Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. Nobody has seen God at any time; Jesus the only begotten God who is with God , He has explained God.

This is the testimony John the Baptist gave to Jews when priests and Levites from Jerusalem asked him, “Who are you?” And John the Baptist confessed and said “I am not the Christ.” They then asked him “Are you the prophet Elijah?” And John said “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet (Moses)?” And John the Baptist replied “No.”  Finally they asked “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” John said “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,” as Isaiah the prophet said.

The ones sent by the Pharisees then said “Why are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, not Elijah and not the Prophet?” John replied “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.  It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not fit to untie.

The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One whom on whose behalf I said ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than me, for He existed before me.’  I came baptizing in water.”

John then said “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and now testify that Jesus is the Son of God.”

The next day John was standing with two of his followers and looked at Jesus and said “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two followers heard and followed Jesus. Jesus saw them and asked “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Teacher where are You staying?” Jesus said “Come, and you will see.” So they followed Jesus and stayed with Him.  One of those was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew found Simon Peter and said “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. Jesus said to Peter “You are Simon, the son of John; you shall by called Peter.”

The next day Jesus went into Galilee and found Phillip. Jesus said to him “Follow Me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, the same city as Andrew and Peter. There Philip found Nathaniel and said “We have found Him of whom the Law and prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”  Nathaniel replied “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathaniel coming towards Him and said “Behold, an Iseaelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” Nathaniel said “How do You know me?” and Jesus replied “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathaniel said “Teacher, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.“

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The Creation of Mankind

Thus the creation of the heavens and earth were finished.

By the seventh day God had created all that He had done and He rested.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.

At the moment no field plants were planted or sprouting for there had not yet been any rain.

God made the rain, but there was no one to cultivate the lands. So God created mankind and put the breath of life into them.

God then planted a garden in Eden and there He put mankind.  God also caused the trees to grow, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Eden was divided by a river that become four rivers: Phison where there is gold, Gihon around the land of Egypt, Tigris flowing out of Syria and the Euphrates.

Then God made mankind cultivate Eden and keep it.  God gave only one commandment to mankind “You can eat from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

God then said “It is not right for man to be alone, I will make him a helper.”  Of all the animals that existed there was not a suitable helper for man.

So God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and then took one of the mans ribs to fashion a woman.

Then man said “This person is from my own flesh, and she shall be called a woman, because she was created from a man.”

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; they will then become one flesh.

Now the man and woman were both naked and were not ashamed of it since they had not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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The Creation Story

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was formless and dark.

Then God said “Let there be light”; and there was light.

God saw that the light was good, and separated it from the darkness.  The light was called day and the dark was called night.

There was evening and then morning.  This was the first day.

Then God said “Let there be a wide open space in the middle of the waters, and let it separate the waters from themselves.”  God made the wide open space and called it heaven.

There was evening and then morning.  This was the second day.

Then God said “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let dry land appear”; and it was so.

God called the dry land earth, and the waters He called the seas.  God saw that this was good.

Then God said “Let the earth bring forth plants which produce seeds, and fruit trees that bear fruit.” God saw that this was good.

There was evening and then morning.  This was the third day.

Then God said “Let there be lights in the heavens to separate the day from the night, to help show different seasons and bring light to the earth”; and it was so.

God created the sun and the moon, one to give light during the day and the other to give light during the night.  God also made all the other stars.

There was evening and then morning.  This was the fourth day.

Then God said “Let the waters and seas bring forth animals, and birds fly in the sky.”  God created the sea creatures and the birds. God saw that this was good.

God then blessed them and said to them “Be fruitful and multiply.”

There was evening and then morning.  This was the fifth day.

Then God said “Let the earth bring forth land animals, cattle and beasts of the earth.” God created the land animals and saw that this was good.

Then God said “Let Us make man in Our image, to be like Us, and let them rule over the sea, the air and the earth.”

God created mankind in His image, male and female.

God blessed them and said to them “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and rule over it. Look I have given you plants to eat with seeds and trees that bear fruit, and they will be good for you”; and it was so.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.

There was evening and then morning.  This was the sixth day.

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