With Christ Jesus All Things Are Possible

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

Your praise is always on my lips
Your word is living in my heart
And I will praise You with a new song
My soul will bless You Lord
You fill my life with greater joy
Yes I delight myself in You
And I will praise you with a new song
My soul will bless You Lord

When I am weak You make me strong
When I’m poor, I know I’m rich
For in the power of Your name
All things are possible
All things are possible.
All things are possible.
All things are possible.

Faith, all things are possible

2 Look! A leper is approaching. He kneels before him, worshiping. "Sir," the leper pleads, "if you want to, you can heal me."

3 Jesus touches the man. "I want to," he says. "Be healed." And instantly the leprosy disappears.

Matt 8:2-3 (Living)

5,6 When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, a Roman army captain came and pled with him to come to his home and heal his servant boy who was in bed paralyzed and racked with pain.

7 "Yes," Jesus said, "I will come and heal him."

8,9 Then the officer said, "Sir, I am not worthy to have you in my home; and it isn't necessary for you to come. If you will only stand here and say, 'Be healed,' my servant will get well! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers, and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave boy, 'Do this or that,' and he does it. And I know you have authority to tell his sickness to go--and it will go!"

10 Jesus stood there amazed! Turning to the crowd he said, "I haven't seen faith like this in all the land of Israel!

11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles like this Roman officer, shall come from all over the world and sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

12 And many an Israelite--those for whom the Kingdom was prepared--shall be cast into outer darkness, into the place of weeping and torment."

13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, "Go on home. What you have believed has happened!" And the boy was healed that same hour!

Matt 8:5-13 (Living)

14 When Jesus arrived at Peter's house, Peter's mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever.

15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her; and she got up and prepared a meal for them!

Matt 8:14-15 (Living)

16 That evening several demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus; and when he spoke a single word, all the demons fled; and all the sick were healed.

17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, "He took our sicknesses and bore our diseases."

Matt 8:16-17 (Living)

23 Then he got into a boat and started across the lake with his disciples.

24 Suddenly a terrible storm came up, with waves higher than the boat. But Jesus was asleep.

25 The disciples went to him and wakened him, shouting, "Lord, save us! We're sinking!"

26 But Jesus answered, "O you men of little faith! Why are you so frightened?" Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and the storm subsided and all was calm.

27 The disciples just sat there, awed! "Who is this," they asked themselves, "that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

Matt 8:23-27 (Living)

28 When they arrived on the other side of the lake, in the country of the Gadarenes, two men with demons in them met him. They lived in a cemetery and were so dangerous that no one could go through that area.

29 They began screaming at him, "What do you want with us, O Son of God? You have no right to torment us yet."

30 A herd of pigs was feeding in the distance,

31 so the demons begged, "If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs."

32 "All right," Jesus told them. "Begone." And they came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd rushed over a cliff and drowned in the water below.

33 The herdsmen fled to the nearest city with the story of what had happened,

34 and the entire population came rushing out to see Jesus and begged him to go away and leave them alone.

Matt 8:28-34 (Living)

1 So Jesus climbed into a boat and went across the lake to Capernaum, his hometown.

2 Soon some men brought him a paralyzed man on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick man, "Cheer up, son! For I have forgiven your sins!"

3 "Blasphemy! This man is saying he is God!" exclaimed some of the religious leaders to themselves.

4 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked them, "Why are you thinking such evil thoughts?

5,6 I, the Messiah, have the authority on earth to forgive sins. But talk is cheap--anybody could say that. So I'll prove it to you by healing this man." Then, turning to the paralyzed man, he commanded, "Pick up your stretcher and go on home, for you are healed."

7 And the man jumped up and left!

8 A chill of fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen right before their eyes. How they praised God for giving such authority to a man!

Matt 9:1-8 (Living)

18 As he was saying this, the rabbi of the local synagogue came and worshiped him. "My little daughter has just died," he said, "but you can bring her back to life again if you will only come and touch her."

19 As Jesus and the disciples were going to the rabbi's home,

20 a woman who had been sick for twelve years with internal bleeding came up behind him and touched a tassel of his robe,

21 for she thought, "If I only touch him, I will be healed."

22 Jesus turned around and spoke to her. "Daughter," he said, "all is well! Your faith has healed you." And the woman was well from that moment.

23 When Jesus arrived at the rabbi's home and saw the noisy crowds and heard the funeral music,

24 he said, "Get them out, for the little girl isn't dead; she is only sleeping!" Then how they all scoffed and sneered at him!

25 When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in where the little girl was lying and took her by the hand, and she jumped up and was all right again!

26 The report of this wonderful miracle swept the entire countryside.

Matt 9:18-26 (Living)

27 As Jesus was leaving her home, two blind men followed along behind, shouting, "O Son of King David, have mercy on us."

28 They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can make you see?" "Yes, Lord," they told him, "we do."

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "Because of your faith it will happen."

30 And suddenly they could see! Jesus sternly warned them not to tell anyone about it,

31 but instead they spread his fame all over the town.

Matt 9:27-31 (Living)

32 Leaving that place, Jesus met a man who couldn't speak because a demon was inside him.

33 So Jesus cast out the demon, and instantly the man could talk. How the crowds marveled! "Never in all our lives have we seen anything like this," they exclaimed.

Matt 9:32-33 (Living)

9 Then he went over to the synagogue

10 and noticed there a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Is it legal to work by healing on the Sabbath day?" (They were, of course, hoping he would say yes, so they could arrest him!)

11 This was his answer: "If you had just one sheep, and it fell into a well on the Sabbath, would you work to rescue it that day? Of course you would.

12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, it is right to do good on the Sabbath."

13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your arm." And as he did, his hand became normal, just like the other one!

14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot Jesus' arrest and death.

Matt 12:9-14 (Living)

22 Then a demon-possessed man--he was both blind and unable to talk--was brought to Jesus, and Jesus healed him so that he could both speak and see.

Matt 12:22 (Living)

13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he went off by himself in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds saw where he was headed and followed by land from many villages.

14 So when Jesus came out of the wilderness, a vast crowd was waiting for him, and he pitied them and healed their sick.

15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, "It is already past time for supper, and there is nothing to eat here in the desert; send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy some food."

16 But Jesus replied, "That isn't necessary--you feed them!"

17 "What!" they exclaimed. "We have exactly five small loaves of bread and two fish!"

18 "Bring them here," he said.

19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up into the sky, and asked God's blessing on the meal, then broke the loaves apart and gave them to the disciples to place before the people.

20 And everyone ate until full! And when the scraps were picked up afterwards, there were twelve basketfuls left over!

21 (About five thousand men were in the crowd that day, besides all the women and children.)

Matt 14:13-21 (Living)

22 Immediately after this, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he stayed to get the people started home.

23,24 Then afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. Night fell, and out on the lake the disciples were in trouble. For the wind had risen and they were fighting heavy seas.

25 About four o'clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water!

26 They screamed in terror, for they thought he was a ghost.

27 But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. "Don't be afraid!" he said.

Matt 14:22-27 (Living)

28 Then Peter called to him: "Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water."

29 "All right," the Lord said, "come along!" So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted.

31 Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. "O man of little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?"

32 And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

33 The others sat there, awestruck. "You really are the Son of God!" they exclaimed.

Matt 14:28-33 (Living)

21 Jesus then left that part of the country and walked the fifty miles to Tyre and Sidon.

22 A woman from Canaan who was living there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, King David's Son! For my daughter has a demon within her, and it torments her constantly."

23 But Jesus gave her no reply--not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to get going," they said, "for she is bothering us with all her begging."

24 Then he said to the woman, "I was sent to help the Jews--the lost sheep of Israel--not the Gentiles."

25 But she came and worshiped him and pled again, "Sir, help me!"

26 "It doesn't seem right to take bread from the children and throw it to the dogs," he said.

27 "Yes, it is!" she replied, "for even the puppies beneath the table are permitted to eat the crumbs that fall."

28 "Woman," Jesus told her, "your faith is large, and your request is granted." And her daughter was healed right then.

Matt 15:21-28 (Living)

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I pity these people--they've been here with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat; I don't want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road."

33 The disciples replied, "And where would we get enough here in the desert for all this mob to eat?"

34 Jesus asked them, "How much food do you have?" And they replied, "Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish!"

35 Then Jesus told all of the people to sit down on the ground,

36 and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks to God for them, and divided them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples who presented them to the crowd.

37,38 And everyone ate until full--four thousand men besides the women and children! And afterwards, when the scraps were picked up, there were seven basketfuls left over!

39 Then Jesus sent the people home and got into the boat and crossed to Magadan.

Matt 15:32-39 (Living)

14 When they arrived at the bottom of the hill, a huge crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,

15 "Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is mentally deranged and in great trouble, for he often falls into the fire or into the water;

16 so I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn't cure him."

17 Jesus replied, "Oh, you stubborn, faithless people! How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me."

18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy and it left him, and from that moment the boy was well.

Matt 17:14-18 (Living)

24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, "Doesn't your master pay taxes?"

25 "Of course he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house to talk to Jesus about it, but before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Peter? Do kings levy assessments against their own people or against conquered foreigners?"

26,27 "Against the foreigners," Peter replied. "Well, then," Jesus said, "the citizens are free! However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the shore and throw in a line, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin to cover the taxes for both of us; take it and pay them."

Matt 17:24-26 (Living)

29 As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a vast crowd surged along behind.

30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, "Sir, King David's Son, have mercy on us!"

31 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only yelled the louder.

32,33 When Jesus came to the place where they were, he stopped in the road and called, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Sir," they said, "we want to see!"

34 Jesus was moved with pity for them and touched their eyes. And instantly they could see, and followed him.

Matt 20:29-34 (Living)

18 In the morning, as he was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry

19 and noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, "Never bear fruit again!" And soon the fig tree withered up.

20 The disciples were utterly amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?"

21 Then Jesus told them, "Truly, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this Mount of Olives, 'Move over into the ocean,' and it will.

Matt 21:18-21 (Living)

1 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to the tomb.

2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it.

3 His face shone like lightning and his clothing was a brilliant white.

4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and fell into a dead faint.

5 Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be frightened!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified,

6 but he isn't here! For he has come back to life again, just as he said he would. Come in and see where his body was lying. . . .

7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and that he is going to Galilee to meet them there. That is my message to them."

8 The women ran from the tomb, badly frightened, but also filled with joy, and rushed to find the disciples to give them the angel's message.

9 And as they were running, suddenly Jesus was there in front of them! "Good morning"! he said. And they fell to the ground before him, holding his feet and worshiping him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be frightened! Go tell my brothers to leave at once for Galilee, to meet me there."

Matt 28:1-10 (Living)

23 A man possessed by a demon was present and began shouting,

24 "Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth--have you come to destroy us demons? I know who you are--the holy Son of God!"

25 Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man.

26 At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him.

27 Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened. "What sort of new religion is this?" they asked excitedly. "Why, even evil spirits obey his orders!"

28 The news of what he had done spread quickly through that entire area of Galilee.

Mark 1:23-28 (Living)

31 From Tyre he went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee by way of the Ten Towns.

32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and everyone begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man and heal him.

33 Jesus led him away from the crowd and put his fingers into the man's ears, then spat and touched the man's tongue with the spittle.

34 Then, looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Open!"

35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!

36 Jesus told the crowd not to spread the news, but the more he forbade them, the more they made it known,

37 for they were overcome with utter amazement. Again and again they said, "Everything he does is wonderful; he even corrects deafness and stammering!"

Mark 7:31-37 (Living)

46 And so they reached Jericho. Later, as they left town, a great crowd was following. Now it happened that a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by.

47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was near, he began to shout out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

48 "Shut up!" some of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted the louder, again and again, "O Son of David, have mercy on me!"

49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped there in the road and said, "Tell him to come here." So they called the blind man. "You lucky fellow", they said, "come on, he's calling you!"

50 Bartimaeus yanked off his old coat and flung it aside, jumped up and came to Jesus.

51 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked. "O Teacher," the blind man said, "I want to see!"

52 And Jesus said to him, "All right, it's done. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see and followed Jesus down the road!

Mark 10:46-52 (Living)

28 These remarks stung them to fury;

29 and jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built, to push him over the cliff.

30 But he walked away through the crowd and left them.

Luke 4:28-30 (Living)

1 One day as he was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the Word of God.

2 He noticed two empty boats standing at the water's edge while the fishermen washed their nets.

3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push out a little into the water, so that he could sit in the boat and speak to the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!"

5 "Sir," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, we'll try again."

6 And this time their nets were so full that they began to tear!

7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, sir, please leave us--I'm too much of a sinner for you to have around."

9 For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him,

10 and his partners too--James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus replied, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for the souls of men!"

11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and went with him.

Luke 5:1-11 (Living)

11 Not long afterwards Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, with the usual great crowd at his heels.

12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The boy who had died was the only son of his widowed mother, and many mourners from the village were with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with sympathy. "Don't cry!" he said.

14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. "Laddie," he said, "come back to life again."

15 Then the boy sat up and began to talk to those around him! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 A great fear swept the crowd, and they exclaimed with praises to God, "A mighty prophet has risen among us," and, "We have seen the hand of God at work today."

17 The report of what he did that day raced from end to end of Judea and even out across the borders.

Luke 7:11-17 (Living)

11 he saw a seriously handicapped woman who had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to straighten herself.

12 Calling her over to him Jesus said, "Woman, you are healed of your sickness!"

13 He touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised and thanked God!

Luke 13:11-13 (Living)

1,2 One Sabbath as he was in the home of a member of the Jewish Council, the Pharisees were watching him like hawks to see if he would heal a man who was present who was suffering from dropsy.

3 Jesus said to the Pharisees and legal experts standing around, "Well, is it within the Law to heal a man on the Sabbath day, or not?"

4 And when they refused to answer, Jesus took the sick man by the hand and healed him and sent him away.

Luke 14:1-4 (Living)

11 As they continued onward toward Jerusalem, they reached the border between Galilee and Samaria,

12 and as they entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,

13 crying out, "Jesus, sir, have mercy on us!"

14 He looked at them and said, "Go to the Jewish priest and show him that you are healed!" And as they were going, their leprosy disappeared.

15 One of them came back to Jesus, shouting, "Glory to God, I'm healed!"

16 He fell flat on the ground in front of Jesus, face downward in the dust, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a despised Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the nine?

18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"

19 And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."

Luke 17:11-19 (Living)

47 But even as he said this, a mob approached, led by Judas, one of his twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus and kissed him on the cheek in friendly greeting.

48 But Jesus said, "Judas, how can you do this--betray the Messiah with a kiss?"

49 When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, "Master, shall we fight? We brought along the swords!"

50 And one of them slashed at the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear.

51 But Jesus said, "Don't resist anymore." And he touched the place where the man's ear had been and restored it.

Luke 22:47-51 (Living)

1 Two days later Jesus' mother was a guest at a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee,

2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited too.

3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, and Jesus' mother came to him with the problem.

4 "I can't help you now," he said. "It isn't yet my time for miracles."

5 But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you to."

6 Six stone waterpots were standing there; they were used for Jewish ceremonial purposes and held perhaps twenty to thirty gallons each.

7,8 Then Jesus told the servants to fill them to the brim with water. When this was done he said, "Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies."

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants did), he called the bridegroom over.

10 "This is wonderful stuff !" he said. "You're different from most. Usually a host uses the best wine first, and afterwards, when everyone is full and doesn't care, then he brings out the less expensive brands. But you have kept the best for the last!"

11 This miracle at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first public demonstration of his heaven-sent power. And his disciples believed that he really was the Messiah.

John 2:1-11 (Living)

46,47 In the course of his journey through Galilee he arrived at the town of Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. While he was there, a man in the city of Capernaum, a government official, whose son was very sick, heard that Jesus had come from Judea and was traveling in Galilee. This man went over to Cana, found Jesus, and begged him to come to Capernaum with him and heal his son, who was now at death's door.

48 Jesus asked, "Won't any of you believe in me unless I do more and more miracles?"

49 The official pled, "Sir, please come now before my child dies."

50 Then Jesus told him, "Go back home. Your son is healed!" And the man believed Jesus and started home.

51 While he was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that all was well--his son had recovered.

52 He asked them when the lad had begun to feel better, and they replied, "Yesterday afternoon at about one o'clock his fever suddenly disappeared!"

53 Then the father realized it was the same moment that Jesus had told him, "Your son is healed." And the officer and his entire household believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

54 This was Jesus' second miracle in Galilee after coming from Judea.

John 4:46-54 (Living)

1 Afterwards Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish religious holidays.

2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was Bethesda Pool, with five covered platforms or porches surrounding it.

3 Crowds of sick folks--lame, blind, or with paralyzed limbs--lay on the platforms (waiting for a certain movement of the water,

4 for an angel of the Lord came from time to time and disturbed the water, and the first person to step down into it afterwards was healed.)

5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?"

7 "I can't," the sick man said, "for I have no one to help me into the pool at the movement of the water. While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me."

8 Jesus told him, "Stand up, roll up your sleeping mat and go on home!"

9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking! But it was on the Sabbath when this miracle was done.

10 So the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, "You can't work on the Sabbath! It's illegal to carry that sleeping mat!"

11 "The man who healed me told me to," was his reply.

12 "Who said such a thing as that?" they demanded.

13 The man didn't know, and Jesus had disappeared into the crowd.

14 But afterwards Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, "Now you are well; don't sin as you did before, or something even worse may happen to you."

15 Then the man went to find the Jewish leaders and told them it was Jesus who had healed him.

John 5:1-15 (Living)

1 As he was walking along, he saw a man blind from birth.

2 "Master," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?"

3 "Neither," Jesus answered. "But to demonstrate the power of God.

4 All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.

5 But while I am still here in the world, I give it my light."

6 Then he spat on the ground and made mud from the spittle and smoothed the mud over the blind man's eyes,

7 and told him, "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam" (the word Siloam means "Sent"). So the man went where he was sent and washed and came back seeing!

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Is this the same fellow--that beggar?"

9 Some said yes, and some said no. "It can't be the same man," they thought, "but he surely looks like him!" And the beggar said, "I am the same man!"

10 Then they asked him how in the world he could see. What had happened?

11 And he told them, "A man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash off the mud. I did, and I can see!"

12 "Where is he now?" they asked. "I don't know," he replied.

13 Then they took the man to the Pharisees.

14 Now as it happened, this all occurred on a Sabbath.

15 Then the Pharisees asked him all about it. So he told them how Jesus had smoothed the mud over his eyes, and when it was washed away, he could see!

16 Some of them said, "Then this fellow Jesus is not from God because he is working on the Sabbath." Others said, "But how could an ordinary sinner do such miracles?" So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

17 Then the Pharisees turned on the man who had been blind and demanded, "This man who opened your eyes--who do you say he is?" "I think he must be a prophet sent from God," the man replied.

18 The Jewish leaders wouldn't believe he had been blind, until they called in his parents

19 and asked them, "Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?"

20 His parents replied, "We know this is our son and that he was born blind,

21 but we don't know what happened to make him see, or who did it. He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him."

22,23 They said this in fear of the Jewish leaders who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be excommunicated.

24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, "Give the glory to God, not to Jesus, for we know Jesus is an evil person."

25 "I don't know whether he is good or bad," the man replied, "but I know this: I was blind, and now I see!"

26 "But what did he do?" they asked. "How did he heal you?"

27 "Look!" the man exclaimed. "I told you once; didn't you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?"

28 Then they cursed him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

29 We know God has spoken to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't know anything about him."

30 "Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He can heal blind men, and yet you don't know anything about him!

31 Well, God doesn't listen to evil men, but he has open ears to those who worship him and do his will.

32 Since the world began there has never been anyone who could open the eyes of someone born blind.

33 If this man were not from God, he couldn't do it."

34 "You illegitimate bastard, you!" they shouted. "Are you trying to teach us?" And they threw him out.

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and said, "Do you believe in the Messiah?"

36 The man answered, "Who is he, sir, for I want to."

37 "You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!"

38 "Yes, Lord," the man said, "I believe!" And he worshiped Jesus.

39 Then Jesus told him, "I have come into the world to give sight to those who are spiritually blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind."

40 The Pharisees who were standing there asked, "Are you saying we are blind?"

41 "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But your guilt remains because you claim to know what you are doing.

1,2 Do you remember Mary, who poured the costly perfume on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair? Well, her brother Lazarus, who lived in Bethany with Mary and her sister Martha, was sick.

3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Sir, your good friend is very, very sick."

4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, "The purpose of his illness is not death, but for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this situation."

5 Although Jesus was very fond of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,

6 he stayed where he was for the next two days and made no move to go to them.

7 Finally, after the two days, he said to his disciples, "Let's go to Judea."

8 But his disciples objected. "Master," they said, "only a few days ago the Jewish leaders in Judea were trying to kill you. Are you going there again?"

9 Jesus replied, "There are twelve hours of daylight every day, and during every hour of it a man can walk safely and not stumble.

10 Only at night is there danger of a wrong step, because of the dark."

11 Then he said, "Our friend Lazarus has gone to sleep, but now I will go and waken him!"

12,13 The disciples, thinking Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good night's rest, said, "That means he is getting better!" But Jesus meant Lazarus had died.

14 Then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.

15 And for your sake, I am glad I wasn't there, for this will give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let's go to him."

16 Thomas, nicknamed "The Twin," said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go too--and die with him."

17 When they arrived at Bethany, they were told that Lazarus had already been in his tomb for four days.

18 Bethany was only a couple of miles down the road from Jerusalem,

19 and many of the Jewish leaders had come to pay their respects and to console Martha and Mary on their loss.

20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home.

21 Martha said to Jesus, "Sir, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.

22 And even now it's not too late, for I know that God will bring my brother back to life again, if you will only ask him to."

23 Jesus told her, "Your brother will come back to life again."

24 "Yes," Martha said, "when everyone else does, on Resurrection Day."

25 Jesus told her, "I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again.

26 He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?"

27 "Yes, Master," she told him. "I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one we have so long awaited."

28 Then she left him and returned to Mary and, calling her aside from the mourners, told her, "He is here and wants to see you."

29 So Mary went to him at once.

30 Now Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him.

31 When the Jewish leaders who were at the house trying to console Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus' tomb to weep; so they followed her.

32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was, she fell down at his feet, saying, "Sir, if you had been here, my brother would still be alive."

33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jewish leaders wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and deeply troubled.

34 "Where is he buried?" he asked them. They told him, "Come and see."

35 Tears came to Jesus' eyes.

36 "They were close friends," the Jewish leaders said. "See how much he loved him."

37,38 But some said, "This fellow healed a blind man--why couldn't he keep Lazarus from dying?" And again Jesus was moved with deep anger. Then they came to the tomb. It was a cave with a heavy stone rolled across its door.

39 "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, said, "By now the smell will be terrible, for he has been dead four days."

40 "But didn't I tell you that you will see a wonderful miracle from God if you believe?" Jesus asked her.

41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me.

42 (You always hear me, of course, but I said it because of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.)"

43 Then he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!"

44 And Lazarus came--bound up in the gravecloth, his face muffled in a head swath. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!"

John 11:1-44 (Living)

1 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Lake of Galilee. This is how it happened:

2 A group of us were there--Simon Peter, Thomas, "The Twin," Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, my brother James and I and two other disciples.

3 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come too," we all said. We did, but caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn we saw a man standing on the beach but couldn't see who he was.

5 He called, "Any fish, boys?" "No," we replied.

6 Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of them!" So we did, and couldn't draw in the net because of the weight of the fish, there were so many!

7 Then I said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" At that, Simon Peter put on his tunic (for he was stripped to the waist) and jumped into the water and swam ashore.

8 The rest of us stayed in the boat and pulled the loaded net to the beach, about 300 feet away.

9 When we got there, we saw that a fire was kindled and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.

10 "Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said.

11 So Simon Peter went out and dragged the net ashore. By his count there were 153 large fish; and yet the net hadn't torn.

12 "Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said; and none of us dared ask him if he really was the Lord, for we were quite sure of it.

13 Then Jesus went around serving us the bread and fish.

14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to us since his return from the dead.

John 21:1-14 (Living)       Prayers for us