Bible In Poetry: Gospel Of St. John (Chapter 8) Poem by Dr John Celes

To Mount of Olives, Jesus went;
He came to Temple in the morn;
The people flocked to Him at once;
He sat and taught them many things.

The scribes then brought a woman caught
In adultery, and made her stand;
They said to Jesus, ‘O teacher,
This woman is an adulteress,
And got caught in the very act.
As Moses commands us to stone
Such women, so, what do you say? ’

They wanted to test Jesus thus;
So they could charge him in some way;
But Jesus wrote something on ground.
They persisted in asking Him,
So, Jesus said, ‘let one of you
Without a sin, then throw first stone.’

Again, He bent and wrote on ground;
Each one of them then left in turns;
The woman stood near Him alone;
Then Jesus asked her, ‘Where are they?
Has no one condemned you as yet? ’

The woman replied, ‘No one, sir! ’
Then Jesus said, ‘Neither do I;
So, go; from now on, do not sin.’

Then Jesus spoke to them again,
‘I am the one light of the world!
Who follows me won’t have darkness;
But will walk in the light of life.’

The Pharisees then said to him,
‘You testify on your behalf;
Your words remain unverified.’

Then Jesus answered and told them,
‘What I speak can be verified,
Because I know from where I come;
I also know to where I go;
But, you know nothing about both!
You judge by looks but I don’t judge!
But if I should, it is valid,
Because I am not all alone;
My Father is with me, who sent; .
But even in your law ’tis writ,
‘Two men’s words can be verified;
I testify on my own stead;
So, does my father who sent me.’

They asked Him, ‘Where is your Father? ’

Then Jesus replied as follows:
‘You neither know me, nor father;
If you knew me, you’ll know Him too.’

He spoke these words in temple ground;
Yet, none did arrest him thus far!
Then He said, ‘I’m going away,
And you will try to look for me;
But you will die in your own sin.
To where I go, you cannot come.’

The Jews asked one another then,
‘Is He going to kill himself?
What did He mean by saying thus:
‘You cannot come to where I go! ’

Then Jesus continued to speak,
‘You belong to what is below;
I belong to what is above;
You belong to this very world;
I don’t belong to mother earth.
If you don’t believe that I AM,
You will then die in your own sins! ’

They asked Him, ‘So, Then, who are you? ’

Then Jesus said, ‘What did I say
From the very beginning then?
I condemn you for things you say,
Because the one who sent is true,
I tell the world what He told me.

They did not know of who He spoke;
He spoke to them of His Father.

‘The one who sent me is with me;
He has not left me all alone;
I always do what pleases Him.’

Many came to believe Jesus.
Jesus said to Jews, who believed,
‘If you remain in words of mine,
You truly will be disciples.
And you will know the truth also;
The truth will set you surely free!

They told him, ‘We’re from Abraham; .
We weren’t enslaved to anyone; .
Why should we then be set afree?

Then Jesus answered all of them,
‘Amen, amen, I say to you.
All sinners are enslaved by sin.
A slave remains not forever;
A son remains in house always!
If son frees you, you’ll truly be! ’

‘I know you come from Abraham
And yet, you try to kill me soon;
My words find no place within you;
I tell you what I’ve heard and seen
My father do in heaven then,
So you may do a similar thing.’

They said, ‘Our father’s Abraham!
Then Jesus told, ‘If Abraham,
His children ought to do his works.
But now, you try to murder me,
A man who heard the truth from God?
Then do you do your father’s works? ’

They said, ‘We aren’t illegitimate!
We have one father, who is God!
Jesus said, ‘If God’s your father,
You would then love me and not kill,
For, I’ve been sent by God to you!
Why don’t you understand my words?
Is it you cannot bear to hear? ’

‘Your father is the devil then;
You carry out his desires;
He was a killer from the start
And loves to hide the truth by lies;
He has no truth in him at all.’

‘He is the father of all lies;
He is a liar by nature;
I speak the truth, you don’t believe;
Can anyone charge me with sin?
So, believe me, I speak but truth;
Whoev’r belongs to God, hears Him.’

The Jews answered and said to him,
‘Are we not right in saying that
You’re a possessed Samaritan?

Then Jesus said, ‘I’m not possessed;
I honor my loving Father;
I do not seek my own glory;
Amen, amen, I say to you:
Who keeps my words, will not meet death’

The Jews said, ‘you’re surely possessed;
Abraham died like all prophets;
Yet, you say we will not taste death?
Are you greater than Abraham?
Are you greater than all prophets?
Who do you think, you want to be? ’

Then Jesus told, ‘My glory’s worth
Nothing if I self-glorify;
But glorifies me, my Father,
Of whom you say, ‘He is our God! ’
You do not know Him; I know Him;
If I say otherwise, ’tis lies.
I know Him well and keep His word;
Abraham rejoiced to see me;
He saw my day and was so glad.’

The Jews then said, ‘You aren’t fifty
And you have seen old Abraham?

Then Jesus said to them, “Amen,
Amen, I say to you; before
Abraham came to be, I AM! ”
They picked up stones to throw at Him;
But Jesus out of temple slid.

Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-23-2007