John 6:60-71
Many Disciples Leave Jesus
Jesus’ disciples heard this. Many of them said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about his teaching. So he said to them, “Does this upset you? Then what if you see the Son of Man go up to where he was before? The Holy Spirit gives life. The body means nothing at all. The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit. They give life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe. And he had known who was going to hand him over to his enemies. So he continued speaking. He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father helps them.”
From this time on, many of his disciples turned back. They no longer followed him.
“You don’t want to leave also, do you?” Jesus asked the 12 disciples.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, who can we go to? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Then Jesus replied, “Didn’t I choose you, the 12 disciples? But one of you is a devil!” He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 disciples. But later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.
John 7:1-13
Jesus Goes to the Feast of Booths
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He didn’t want to travel around in Judea. That was because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. The Jewish Feast of Booths was near. Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea. Then your disciples there will see the works that you do. No one who wants to be well known does things in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” Even Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him.
So Jesus told them, “The time for me to show who I really am is not here yet. For you, any time would be the right time. The people of the world can’t hate you. But they hate me. This is because I am a witness that their works are evil. You go to the feast. I am not going up to this feast. This is because my time has not yet fully come.” After he said this, he stayed in Galilee.
But when his brothers had left for the feast, he went also. But he went secretly, not openly. At the feast the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus. They were asking, “Where is he?”
Many people in the crowd were whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No. He fools the people.” But no one would say anything about him openly. They were afraid of the leaders.
