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Category Archives: John

John 3:22-36

10 Jan

Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people.

At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.) A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

John 1:22-36

Dear God, why were people finding John to be baptized? What were they looking for? What was the itch they were scratching? Was it just conviction and repentance? I mean, if I’m sitting in my town and I start to hear word about a prophet-like guy in the wilderness baptizing people in the river, why would I be compelled to go? Maybe I saw a change in my friend. A rededication to you that I want for myself. It makes be think of when revival goes viral. The revival at Asbury College almost three years ago. The Jesus movement back in the seventies. In Israel at the time, the people had John the Baptist and Jesus in their midst. I suppose there couldn’t help but be some amount of revival.

The other part of this story is the rivalry that some wanted to create between John and Jesus. Even John’s disciples brought it up to John. And had it been going the other way, I’m sure Jesus’s disciples would have been upset too. Why are we such insecure children, falling into sibling rivalry? I’m at a men’s retreat right now, and I confess that there’s a part of me that measures my “spiritual maturity” against the other men here. It’s a competition, and I want to be your favorite.

Father, thank you that you see through my pettiness and love me anyway. Thank you that, at least at some level, you give me eyes to see just how insecure and petty I can be. And regarding my request to teach me to pray this weekend, you are showing me all kinds of things just in my family that need more prayer. I need to be better at intercessory prayer. Show me how to do this effectively so that your kingdom will come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. If my prayers can be part of that, teach me to pray.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 10, 2026 in John

 

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John 1:29-34

03 Jan

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

John 1:29-34

Dear God, Jesus and John had an interesting relationship. I wish I knew more about how they knew each other over the previous 30 years. We never see them together before this, but I’m sure this isn’t the first time they met. After all, their mothers were cousins and they certainly would have sought each other out over the years. So I wonder what kinds of conversations John and Jesus had as they grew up. The way John describes it here, John knew Jesus but it hadn’t been revealed to him who Jesus was until he had the prophecy fulfilled that you had given to him. It took the Jesus he knew and made him Jesus the Messiah. It all changed.

I’m also impressed that his leadoff description of Jesus is that he said Jesus was about taking away the sins of the world. He didn’t say, “Here comes our conquering Messiah!” He called him the “Lamb of God,” your lamb. He might not have completely understood how this would all play out because later, when John is in prison, he will question if Jesus is the Messiah or if there is someone else coming (Luke 7:20). But he also seemed to know that there was more to this Messiah thing than making Israel great again. He knew you were trying to rewrite the covenant between you and your creation. He just didn’t have the picture of what that would look like.

So I don’t know what you’re doing either. I mean, I think I know what you were doing through Jesus, but even that gets convoluted in our modern Christianity. Some would say that Jesus came to save us from hell and eternal torment and damnation. To save us from suffering by forgiving us of our sins. But that seems ridiculous to me now, even though that’s what I was sold as a child. Not that there won’t be a sorting one day. Jesus was clear there would be. But if you wanted to save us from eternal damnation you’d have just let our souls die when we die and be done with us. No, you wanted relationship with us. I don’t understand why, but you want to love us and you want us to love you. You want relationship with us. You took away my sin not so that I would get a great perk after my death, but so that I could learn to walk through the narrow gate.

Father, I give you this day. I’m about to spend a few hours with a friend. Sharpen him through me and me through him. My wife and I will spend time together this afternoon. Sharpen us through each other. We will spend some times with friends over dinner. Sharpen us through each other. We are about to start working with a couple who is contemplating marriage. Make our relationship with them part of all of our journeys. Teach me to walk this narrow path through this narrow gate. Oh, and I just learned yesterday that a friend lost her brother to death. I’m so sorry for her. Please comfort her and her family through this tragedy. Show me how to be her friend through this. Raise up people around her who will love her with your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2026 in John

 

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John 1:19-28

02 Jan

19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” he replied.

“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”

“No.”

22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
    ‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”

24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

26 John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

John 1:19-28

Dear God, the thing that struck me this morning as I read this passage is that John denies being Elijah when Jesus says John is Elijah (Matthew 11:14). Is this false modesty? Is this him not being willing to claim something for himself and feeling like someone else (namely Jesus) needs to be the one to bestow that label on him? Is he still trying to figure out exactly who he is in your plan? He knows he’s the voice crying in the wilderness. He knows Jesus is the Messiah. But how much more does he know.

One thing that also stands out to me this morning is that he had a great responsibility to speak your words to the crowds. He had an important message for the people. For all of the people, including the Pharisees. My wife and I are going to be starting some premarital…I don’t want to call it counseling because we aren’t counselors. Let’s call it curriculum. We are going to be taking an engaged couple through a pre-marital curriculum that will give them a lot of things to think about, talk about, and work through as they prepare to get married. It intimidates me to have such an important responsibility, and I don’t think I’ve spent enough time in prayer, preparing my heart for our time with them or even praying for them and their hearts. I’ve prayed a little, but not enough.

Father, I’m no Elijah. I’m not a voice crying in the wilderness. But you have put people in my path, and you have messages for them through me as well as having messages for me through them. Give me ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart to discern, and wise words to share. And prepare my wife’s heart in the same way. Help her to have an insightful heart as we go through this process. And help them couple to come in with hearts that are open to hearing from you. Let your Holy Spirit be in the room with us today. Guide the four of us through this process. Give us all breakthroughs in our lives and use this process to draw each of us closer to yourself as individuals as well as closer to you as couples.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2026 in John

 

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John 20:1-10

27 Dec

20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

John 20:1-10

Dear God, when I first read this passage this morning, I just wanted to spend some time in John’s head. I find the details he shares interesting.

  1. He ran ahead of Peter. Normally, you would think they would have kind of run together, but John was younger, probably more fit, and capable of getting there faster. He didn’t care about waiting for the older Peter at that point. He just wanted to get there as fast as he could. No hinderances. No pacing himself. Just raw speed. He went from being terrified and hiding to full out running for the tomb. I want to spend some time with that in a minute.
  2. When he got there he was still cautious. He just looked around before going in. I think this was a pattern for John: impulsive but cautious. He was the one who wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans. He was the one who as at the foot of the cross. So he was passionate. He wanted to be there to show Jesus love even though he had initially run away in the garden.
  3. Peter rushes in. To me, this explains why Peter was the leader of the group. No, he wasn’t physically as fast as John, but when he got there he took charge. He went in. Then John followed Peter.
  4. He doesn’t indicate what Peter was thinking in the tomb, but he reveals his own thoughts. He believed. He looked at the evidence. Linens that covered Jesus lying on the ground. The head coverings folded. If someone had taken the body they probably wouldn’t have wanted to take off the linens and reveal his body. And they wouldn’t have folded the head coverings.
  5. The walk home. Did they even talk on the way back? What did they talk about? Were they trying to make sense of it all?

Now, where I want to spend my time is with John and his thoughts while he ran to the tomb. The information he gives us leading up to there is that Mary Magdalene came to him and Peter and said Jesus’s body had been taken. “They” took him. Who is “they?” The Romans, I presume. So that’s when they take out running.

Here are my thoughts on what might have been ignoring Peter’s slower pace and running to the tomb. First, I assume the previous 36 hours he’d been thinking about everything Jesus said, and was trying to find nuggets that would make sense of what he had experienced. Maybe some of Jesus’s mentions of suffering and dying and rising again were finally starting to gel and make sense. Could it be this was really happening. Could Jesus rise again? He’d seen him raise Jairus’s daughter, Lazarus, and the boy from the funeral procession. Could he raise himself? Or was it all over and he was disillusioned, having to come to grips with the humiliation of what Jesus’s death meant to the last three years of his life and his hopes of power and glory for the future. I think that any little piece he could think of while they were hiding during the Passover was running through his mind while his legs were running to the tomb.

Then he gets there and he’s ready to believe. He looked for evidence that would tell him Jesus was either taken or walked out on his own. The evidence he describes tells him Jesus walked out on his own. This isn’t over yet. Jesus is alive! What’s next?

Father, there are some things in my life that I’m tired of praying for. I’m a bit disillusioned on them. But if I got a sign of hope, I’d tear out of this house running as fast as I could. I’d break traffic laws. I’d do whatever I could for hope that is fatiguing and fading. But you call me to faith. You call me to hope. You call me to love. So I will have faith that you are moving, even when I cannot see it. Even when it’s Friday night. I will have hope because I believe Sunday is on the way. And I will continue to love because that is the greatest of these. Faith and hope are internal. Love is external. Love includes action. Help me to continue to take the love you give to me and turn it outward to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 27, 2025 in John

 

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John 1:1-18

25 Dec

In the beginning the Word already existed.The Word was with God,and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him,and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness,and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

John 1:1-18

Dead God, it’s interesting that John’s gospel doesn’t address the incarnation at all and yet it’s the beginning of John that gets read at Christmas services. I hadn’t thought about that much until this year. But I guess it makes sense since Jesus was around way before his birth of Mary. He was in the beginning. The very beginning.

Father, as I close this Christmas 2025, I worship you. I thank you. I offer myself to you. I ask your forgiveness. I receive your forgiveness. And I offer forgiveness to others. I have no rights. Help me to use this life you’ve given me for your purposes and glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 25, 2025 in John

 

John 7:1-5 (And James’s Epistle)

16 Nov

7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

John 7:1-5

Dear God, what would it have been like to be Jesus’s little brother? Let’s say Jesus was perfect (which he was). On paper, one would think that Jesus would have been a great big brother. Always kind. Always helpful. Not teasing them or being mean. But I think anyone who things about it and has experience as a sibling knows that it would be annoying to have such a great brother that is above reproach in every way. It can be hard to come face to face with our own sin when we are in such proximity to perfection.

Then there is James after the resurrection. He came around. Was he the only one? Was this a relief to Mary. But I can’t help but notice that James is the only one who seemingly digs in on “works” when it comes to his message. In fact, I want to look at an outline of James’s letter and consider it while informed by the idea of James’s journey from Jesus tormenter to Jesus worshipper.

  • Trials & Temptations (Testing of Faith and Source of Temptation):
    • Consider it joy to be persecuted for Jesus. He was seeing a lot of persecution. And this was certainly Paul’s message as well. It was towards the beginning of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
    • Regarding temptation, don’t think it’s you who is tempting me. Did James blame Jesus when he was younger and couldn’t live up to the example Jesus set?
  • Listening & Doing:
    • Quick to listen and slow to speak and be angry. Were these things James struggled with before the crucifixion and resurrection? Did he wish he had listened to Jesus more. Did he regret his anger and judgment of Jesus?
    • And be real. Do. Do what you tell us to do. What Jesus explicitly said to do. How much anger and rebellion did James carry around in his heart before the resurrection? I’ll bet he had a lot of self-righteous attitude as a result of being Jesus’s little brother.
  • No Favoritism:
    • Did his parents show favoritism? More likely, this is probably something he saw in Jesus. Jesus broke all the molds of traditional favoritism. Whether he liked it or not, he absorbed those lessons from Jesus even though he probably rebelled against them and resented them before the resurrection.
  • Faith & Works:
    • I wonder if he was thinking of himself pre-resurrection. Did he claim faith in you and then realize later that his faith was empty because he was also consumed with contempt for Jesus? Did he realize that the works are part of developing us. Before this section, in 2:8, he says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” It’s possible he grew up trying to justify himself through his own practice of worship and theology and rejected the idea of serving because he saw Jesus serving. But then he realized that it’s the serving that gets us out of ourselves and brings us into a more complete version of you who designed us to be. My works aren’t for others to experience or see. They are for me.
  • Taming the Tongue:
    • How much had he struggled to tame his own tongue in the early years of his life? Even in this story from John 7 above, was is James who was goading Jesus? And how much did James ridicule Jesus to his parents, siblings, and others? Yeah, I’ll bet this admonition from James came from his own battle in this area.
  • Two Kinds of Wisdom:
    • I get the feeling James was talking about his younger self when he said, “But if you harbor envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heave but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and ever evil practice.” Yeah, I think James is going through some self-reflection and speaking from a position of experience and overcoming here.
  • Submit Yourselves to God:
    • More self-reflection from James: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” How many quarrels did James try to start with Jesus? How much of his own selfishness did he have to come to terms with and repent of? How convicted was he of his wrong motives.
  • Warning to Rich Oppressors and Patience in Suffering:
    • This is probably some stuff he learned from Jesus that stuck. And while I’m on suffering, this reminds me of something I heard a couple of years ago that I thought of again just yesterday. Jesus gave used for himself and gave us four tools, and four tools only, to impact the world around us: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. I think this idea is consistent with the contents of what James is teaching here.
  • Prayer of Faith:
    • James saw Jesus’s power, and he came to believe that it was available to us to through repentance, prayer, and service.

Father, I’ve come to appreciate James in a whole new way today. I’ve thought about the author who wrote these things and put them in the context of his life experience. How have I never done that before. I wonder if I should do that with some of the other epistles from the New Testament. Peter. John. Paul. Jude. How did their live experiences, both good and bad, affect their ministry? I think I might have found my next series. Be with me and teach me through all of this.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2025 in James, John

 

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John 1:43-51

29 Sep

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

John 1:43-51

Dear God, okay, the first time I read this I thought, “Oh, how I would love to get that compliment from Jesus: A man of complete integrity.” I read one translation that said, “There is n duplicity in him.” I love that. I would love for you to be able to say there is no duplicity in me. But then I reread the story and I noticed that Nathanael is certainly flawed. Just his supremacist attitude towards Nazareth. That shows he has a bit of an attitude born out of insecurity.

I just looked it up and found that John is the only one who tells us about Nathanael. He doesn’t eventually become one of the 12. Unless Nathanael went by a different name. This story and the one in John 21 where Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection are the only references to him in the entire Bible. So I guess we have John to thank for helping us know both Nicodemus and Nathanael. It would be interesting to see which biblical characters John tells us about that the others omit.

But going back to my initial thing about integrity and duplicity, this is a reminder that those aren’t enough. I can have these things and still have a hard, unloving heart. In fact, they can work against me if I rely too much on them and not on you. They need to be an integral part of my life. They are an important part of my life. But I can’t build my whole life on it because, well, if I have not love then I am nothing.

Father, I’m grateful for who I am, but I can also definitely see where those shortcomings are. Well, at least some of them. I know I have some shortcomings to which I am blind. Forgive me. Love others through me. Be glorified through me. Forgive me for my superior attitude sometimes. I worship and praise you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 29, 2025 in John

 

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John 3:13-17

14 Sep

13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:13-17

Dear God, I have a couple of people in my life right now who are in a lot of pain. Help me to both look to Jesus, who has been lifted up for me, and then point each of these people to you. Help me to know how to do this. Give me words. Give me vision for them. Give me comfort for them. Give me encouragement for them. But the first thing they need, to the extent they are able to grasp the depths of it, is faith in you and following you. Help me to offer them to you today.

I remember preaching on this passage several years ago as a guest pastor at a church. It stuck with me so much that every time I see a cross in a church I think about it. When they are processing with a cross on a staff, or when there is a big one at the front of the church, I almost always think about it. I try to remember that I am as a person struck by the snakes of my own sin and I need your redemption. I am a slave to death. I need your redemption out of that slavery.

Father, I’ve talked about one of these visits that I’m having with these people to a couple of friends, and I’ve gotten some good advice. But what I need is for the Holy Spirit to speak through me, guide me, and give me ears to hear and eyes to see. I need you to help me be discerning and loving. I need to be exactly what you need these people to have. Help me to be that for them. For your glory, Father. For your glory and not mine.

I pray this In Jesus and through your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 14, 2025 in John

 

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John 6:22-71

28 Aug

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

41 Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures,[i] ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.

John 6:22-71

Dear God, this is a long passage, but it’s too easy to take one or two verses out of context so I didn’t want to not look at all of it together. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway was just verse 29, but since this all seems to be part of one scene on one day I wanted to link it all together.

I almost feel like I need to outline this to really see what John’s trying to communicate to us through his telling of this story:

  • It’s the day after walking on water the night before.
  • The crowd is surprised to see Jesus gone and they go looking for him. I wonder how big that crowd was.
  • They found him and John tells us they explicitly asked him to solve the mystery of how he ended up there without a boat.
  • Jesus doesn’t answer. He changes the subject and starts to challenge them. Was he frustrated with them? I think so. What frustrated him? Was it that they were still only wanting to use him for themselves. He tells them they are just wanting a sign and fun miracles. Jesus claims to have your seal of approval, and says they need to seek the eternal life that he can give.
  • They change it back to works and miracles. I think they are saying they would love to be able to do some miracles. That would be cool and fun.
  • Here is the verse of the day (verse 29). Jesus tells them to let go of the flash and glory of being able to do cool things and simply believe in him.
  • They hold onto the miracles and the show. They want to see a sign so they can believe in him. I have to admit, I would not have believed in Jesus if I had been there. Not just because he told me to.
  • They want him to be like Moses. At that level. That’s the kind of liberator they are looking for. Maybe he can do what Moses did and bring on some food.
  • Jesus deflects the glory from Moses and even himself to you, Father.
  • They still want bread.
  • Jesus challenges them a little more by claiming to have come to them directly from you.
  • They aren’t buying it.
  • Here’s a fun one that causes controversy even to this day. From Jesus: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” (NASB1995) Predestination? I’m not going there today. Your ways are too complicated for me to fully understand.
  • And now the divisive issue that permeates the church even to this day. The idea of us eating Jesus’s flesh. The living bread. Again, I have my thoughts on this, and people I love and respect have other thoughts. I’m going to trust you with our disagreements and simply move on and love you.
  • Most of the crowd leaves. He finally culled the herd a little. It’s interesting that you don’t seem to want to have every last one of us in the fold. I think you want each of us as individuals. You love us all. But it’s almost like hiring someone to work for me. I love each person, but I can’t have them all work for me. There are some that I know would be a bad fit for our team and our work. Is it the same for you? You can’t have just anyone in the fold? You need each one to be bought in and working together?
  • Jesus looks at who’s left (the twelve) and asks if they are in.
  • Peter looks beyond the tricks and miracles and simply says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (NASB1995)
  • Jesus affirms his selection of them including Judas, indicating he knew all along what Judas would do.

Father, I am grateful for the successes you give me in life, but I know they are for your glory and not mine. If you are blessing me with good things it is so I can give them away and do good for others. I don’t think your desire for me to be your ambassador and hands and feet in the world takes a break. You just want me to love and worship you. To love and share you with others. Help me to be your love to others today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2025 in John

 

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John 15:1-2

14 Jul

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 

John 15:1-2

Dear God, tonight I am teaching on the Parable of the Sower out of Matthew 13, but it’s really something how many agricultural comparisons you made to our relationship with you through your presence in the world as Jesus. In this example, Jesus is our source of your presence in us. He is you and he is our connection to you. And honestly, it doesn’t make sense that you wouldn’t prune off the bad branches. If the new earth was full of people who had no regard for you or goodness in general, how would it be any different than this world?

And what of the pruning? I have a redbud tree in my backyard that we planted from a six-inch sapling. now, it is the tallest redbud tree I’ve every seen. In eight years, my wife has specifically watered it just about every day, and I have pruned it to give it a canopy tall enough for me to walk under. That seems to have pushed it taller and taller. I would guess it is about 20 feet tall now. I don’t know what it would look like if I’d just let it grow with no pruning, but it looks terrific now.

What would I look like if you didn’t prune me. If I just went off in every direction trying to represent you, worship you, and love you, but also having all of this dead stuff hanging onto me. All of this stuff that wasn’t a productive use of my time and energy. Also, the stuff that got knocked off because it was part of the sin I was holding onto and you knew I needed to be humbled and lean into you more.

Father, this is a great analogy. And I am grateful for how you are forming me. I am not there yet. I am not the man I want to be. I am not the man you know I can be. And I still have pain. Please help to make this pain in my life count for my formation and your glory in this world. I have two friends who have lost fathers this week. Please be with each of these women. Love them. Comfort them. Comfort them through their husbands, families, and friends. But comfort them through your Holy Spirit too. I know both of them are earnest worshippers of you. Help them through this pain. And I want to specifically lift up to you a couple that is precious to me that is going through a difficult time with a child. Oh, Father, be merciful. Help them to navigate this difficult path. Show them your love for them. Give them your peace. Give their child your peace. Use this pain to prune and not cast out. Make it count. Be powerful. Be healing. And use it to bring others into your presence as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 14, 2025 in John

 

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