Category Archives: John

8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, ² but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. ³ As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

⁶ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. ⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” ⁸ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

⁹ When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. ¹⁰ Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

¹¹ “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

¹² Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

¹³ The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. ¹⁵ You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. ¹⁶ And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷ Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. ¹⁸ I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

¹⁹ “Where is your father?” they asked.

Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” ²⁰ Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.

John 8:1-20

Dear God, I’m trying to do my best lately to take stories and put them in their context. For example, today’s verse of the day from Bible Gateway was John 8:12:  Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” What we miss is what has the Pharisees to whom he is speaking at the moment upset is that he just made them look like fools over the woman caught in adultery. His last words to the woman are what he said right before he said this. Jesus was bringing light. He wasn’t excusing sin, but he was forgiving it. He wasn’t condoning it, but he was having mercy on it. And then he turns and reminds everyone that they are walking in darkness, but if they follow him they can walk in the light. It’s all part of the same story.

Again, I’ll admit that if I had been there I don’t think I would have even come close to believing that Jesus is the Messiah. And even though I know errant teaching has crept into what I think I know about scripture, I am grateful to at least have this foundation, flawed as it might be, to lean on and build on. Jesus goes on to claim things about himself that I wouldn’t have believed in the moment. It was too fantastic. But now it all makes sense.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, as I get ready to head into this day, I am going to have a lot of opportunities to love people and have mercy. I am also going to have opportunities to encourage them to you and to a higher standard. To go and sin no more. But first, let that start with me. I am sorry for my sin. I am sorry for the multiple areas I fail you. I am sorry for my thoughts and my words. For what I have done and what I have failed to do. Help me to carry the humility of that repentance into my day as I then encourage others to let go of their sin, turn from their ways, and embrace your mercy and a relationship with you.

I pray all of this under your authority,

Amen

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^[f] 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.’^[g]”

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^[h] 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.^[j]”

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, I was sitting in church this morning and the pastor was talking about how weird the Christmas story is. All of your decisions were peculiar. After he would tell us a different part of the story he would make us repeat, “Wow, that is so weird!” What I was sitting there thinking was, “Wow, if I had been there I’d never have believed any of this.”

So as I read this passage this evening (which John 6:35 was the verse of the day for Bible Gateway), can’t help but think that I would be one of the bad examples in this story. I’d have wanted a sign. I’d have been weirded out about eating the flesh. I’d have walked away, IF I had been attracted in the first place. Frankly, I’m the kind who probably wouldn’t have sought out Jesus in the first place if I had been there 2,000 years ago.

Honestly, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. For the small fraction of people who were there when you were on earth it would have been a bad thing, but for the rest of us I think it’s a good thing. I’m not looking for more than you. I’m not looking for someone who will claim to add something to my relationship with you that I don’t already have. I consider myself fortunate to have been introduced to you as an eight-year-old child and raised from there in a church. I’m grateful for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes conferences I’ve been to. I’m grateful for the people you put in my life like Henry Parish (the tennis coach who got me involved in FCA). I’m grateful for the youth minister who came to my church my senior year–right when I had a significant shift in my relationship with you. I’m grateful for the woman you introduced me to when I was 19 who would later become my wife and stretch me intellectually and theologically. I am grateful for the opportunity to work at a Christian music and book publisher which gave me access to all kinds of Christian music and reading/study materials. I am grateful for Laity Lodge, the adult retreat center where I got inspired over 23 years ago to start doing these prayer journals. I am grateful for Gary Thomas and the Sacred Marriage book that he wrote which gave me a new paradigm for loving my wife and accepting your formation of my life through her. I am grateful for the children you gave me, who have stretched me, formed me, and taught me to be more sacrificial. I am also grateful for how you have revealed at least a little of your perfect love for me through my imperfect love for them (So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. – Matthew 7:11). I am grateful for you giving me work to do in nonprofits so that I have learned more about people who are marginalized and live on the edges of our society. I am grateful that you have taught me to be aware that there is so much I don’t know and to accept that instead of being defensive and fighting against it. I am grateful for the friends you have given to me. I am grateful for what you have taught me through my parents–both the good examples they gave me and the bad. I am grateful you taught my wife and me how to give when we had very little and that you made that an important part of our lives. You know, I could go on and on. As I sit here, I am grateful for so much. I haven’t even mentioned how grateful I am for my job, the home I have, the middle-class American lifestyle my wife and I have, our health, or any of that.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I would have ignored you if I had been there 2,000 years ago, but I embrace you now. I am grateful. I am so grateful.

I offer you my worship in Jesus’s name,

Amen

²³ Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. ²⁴ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. ²⁵ Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. ²⁶ Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

John 12:23-26

Dear God, I have a few things on my mind this morning. First, I think I have slipped into an arrogance problem again. I think I’m taking credit for things that are not of me. I’m taking credit, even in my own mind and to myself, for good things I know are from you. I felt like your Holy Spirit nudged me and convicted me of this yesterday. I am truly sorry. And I thank you for the good things in my life. Thank you.

Second, I woke up this morning after a pretty unsettled night’s sleep. The dreams weren’t bad nightmares, but just full of angst and problems. Problems I was supposed to be solving but struggling to. I’ve experienced some of that this week. In fact, as I sit here now, I have thought hard about some problems, but I don’t think I ever once stopped and asked your guidance in finding the solutions you might have for us. I’m very sorry for that too.

Finally, when it comes to this verse, I am, well, I am so grateful that you did what you did, Jesus. I am so glad you gave it all for me. You gave it all so I can be here. You gave it all so I can also be a seed that metaphorically dies so that others might live. If I sacrifice my will then you can use me for them. I read an article this morning about how hot peppers are self-pollinating and bees help them cross pollinate so they can create more creative varieties. Whether I am the seed that needs to die or I am pollen that needs to be spread–whatever it is–Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, use me today.

I pray all of this in the name of the one true Triune God,

Amen

“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or me. Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.”
John 15:26-16:4

Dear God, here is the phrase of this that caught my attention this morning when I read it: “…and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.” We are such fools. I would love to say that this doesn’t still happen, but of course it does. And it’s often those who are most convinced they are doing it in your name who can be the most dogmatic and problematic. The most dangerous.

But instead of sitting here and pointing fingers at others right now, maybe I should examine my heart and figure out how I might be one who thinks I am doing a holy service for you when, in actuality, I am advancing my own agenda out of what I think is my own “wisdom.” I’ll tell you where I tend to judge people is when I think they aren’t doing enough. When I think they are too selfish and not sacrificial enough. As if I know enough about them to make that evaluation or judgment.

Father, make me a refuge for the unjustly persecuted, a resource for those who unjustly persecute others so that they might know you, and, most importantly, a follower of you who is more interested in loving others than finding fault in them. Sweet, Jesus. I need you. I need your forgiveness for my sin. I need your patience for my foolishness. I need your teaching for my ignorance. I need your love for my insecurity. I need your perspective for my self-pity. I need your correction for my mistakes. I need your comfort for my pain. Thank you for offering me all of this through your Holy Spirit.

I pray all of this in the name of the one, only Triune God,

Amen

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
John 13:33-38

Dear God, I obviously don’t know how verbatim this quote of Jesus by John is, but assuming John wrote this intentionally, I noticed something new this morning. Peter was so distracted by the idea of Jesus going somewhere he couldn’t go that the words Jesus spoke about the disciples loving one another got lost: “By this they will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So what does loving one another look like? There is a patient at our clinic who we have been trying to figure out how to love, but she has boxed herself into a corner through a myriad of life decisions that has left us with very few options. We don’t know how to help her. Is it possible for us to show her live without being able to help?

Of course, the bigger implication here is how we treat each other as Christians. Jesus knew it was rare for people to really love each other because he knew that the disciples loving each other would stand out to the world. At the same time, I’m sure he was looking around the table at this group of people and wondering how they would ever get along without him. They would argue about who would be greatest. How would they do after he was gone?

I think one thing that helped galvanize them together was the crucifixion, the time Jesus was dead, and then the resurrection and subsequent time until Jesus ascended. At the last supper with Jesus, they were on the precipice of the greatest refining fire of their lives up to that point. Of course, for each of them, martyrdom (except Judas Iscariot and John) would come later. This was only the beginning.

Father, help me to be prepared for the refining you have in store for me. Help me to not waste a thing. And most of all, help me to always automatically lean into you in every moment.

I pray all of this under your authority,

Amen