Today’s passage: John 4:46-54

Helpful thoughts:

• In John 3 and 4, we see Jesus proclaiming the Gospel and ministering to a Jewish leader, a Samaritan woman with her town, and then a Roman official.  The indication is that they all believed.  The Apostle John is making a point.  Jesus is the Savior of the world.
• The “you” near the end of verse 48 is plural (“You all”).  Jesus was giving a warning.  Some people want the signs more than the sign giver.  This desire is not a fruit of belief.
• That is not to say these signs are bad, or that it is wrong to value them.  John tells us about this amazing miracle to highlight Jesus’ miracle-working power!
  • He healed a child without being present with him (A day’s journey away), and without being told where the child was.

Questions to consider:

1. What attributes of God were on display in Jesus’ miracle?  Why was this official right (And logical) to believe in Him?
2. If Jesus is only as good as His last miracle to me, what have I made Him to be for me?  Is Jesus “nice” and “useful” for the quality of my life, or is He Lord?  How might my true view of Jesus be evidenced over time in my life?
3. Who else believed in Jesus after this miracle occurred and was communicated to others (Verse 53)?  What have we seen happening in this passage and in the account of the Samaritan woman after the first person hears and is saved?  Who are some people around you who heard of Christ through your conversion and throughout the years?  What ways has God used you in the past for which you can be thankful?

Today’s passage: John 4:27-45

Helpful thoughts:

• When the Samaritan woman found Jesus, she told everyone in town.
  • She wasn’t too ashamed to remind everyone of her sin.  She had found forgiveness from it.  She was eager to share it with others.
• There are a couple of times in this passage where things that were of less importance “almost” overtook that which was of greatest importance (Including what the disciples didn’t say in verse 27).
• The Samaritans heard Jesus for themselves and believed.  There was a great harvest.  They knew He was the Savior not just of the Jews, but of the world.

Questions to consider:

1. What were the different issues that almost took precedence over the harvest?  What kinds of potential problems were they related to?  What issues or concerns can be the most distracting or discouraging to us today?
2. Why did Jesus and the disciples journey to Galilee?  Why didn’t they settle in Nazareth? (Matthew 13:53-58, Luke 4:16-30)
3. The disciples may have been nervous seeing so many Samaritans coming their way.  Jesus saw a harvest.  What do we see when people of different ethnicities, nationalities, economic backgrounds, political persuasions, etc. come before us?  How can we be laboring in the fields and praying for times of harvest?

Today’s passage: John 4:1-26

Helpful thoughts:

• The Samaritans were descendants of the northern tribes of Israel who had intermarried with the Assyrians after the fall of the northern kingdom.  The Jews often traveled around the region of Samaria because they felt like traveling through Samaria defiled them.
• Gathering water from the well was a social activity.  The fact that this woman came alone shows that she was an outcast even among her own people.
  • Jesus ministered to an outcast among the outcasts (From the eyes of the Jews).
• The Samaritan woman tried to get Jesus on a tangent twice but she failed.  He spoke the truth to her.  As a sinner, she needed saving.  He was the Messiah.  She was welcomed into the family of God.

Questions to consider:

1. When the woman tried to derail the conversation, how did Jesus get them back on track?  Was He flustered?  Was he fearful of her responses or clam up when He thought she wasn’t interested?  Did he falsely affirm her views to keep her interest? How did Jesus truly love this woman by speaking the truth to her?
2. Would the Jesus’ Jewish disciples have been prone to reach out to the Samaritans to believe and join them?  What can we learn from the racial and cultural issues presented in this passage today?
3. What is the right way to view other people?  With our earthly view, we can have a tendency to be a little more excited about some people than others who believe and join the church. But, what does God see?  What is His perspective?  Who has he called the church to reach (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8, James 2:1-7)?

Today’s passage: John 3:22-36

Helpful thoughts:

• As Jesus started “trending,” John the Baptist’s “numbers” were declining.
  • This is exactly what was supposed to happen.  John the Baptist had fulfilled his calling.
• If John the Baptist’s view of success had been garnering and maintaining the attention of masses of people, he would have considered himself a failure.  Because his view of success was being obedient to God by pointing people to Jesus, he could look at people going to Jesus with great joy and satisfaction.
• The disciples of John the Baptist were thinking in an earthly way (As we all have), but Jesus is above all.  His perspective is heavenly (It’s not limited as ours are).  Everything belongs to Him.  Everything He teaches is true.  Through faith in Him alone we are given eternal life.
  • Therefore, every Christian teacher on this earth should agree with John the Baptist, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Questions to consider:

1. Why was John the Baptist right to be excited to see people leaving him to follow Jesus?  Why was this a “win” for him?
2. In what ways could this passage be helpful in thinking about numbers in our churches today?  What is the measure of our success in following Jesus and pointing others to Him?
3. How does the characterization of “earthly” and “heavenly” set Christ apart from His creation?  How should these descriptions result in right humility for us and worship of Jesus?

Today’s passage: John 3:16-21

Helpful thoughts:

• The eternal, self-existent, almighty, omniscient, holy, creator God sent Jesus to save us from our sins because He loves us!
• We are born in our sin.  Our natural condition is in condemnation.  People are not inherently good (Romans 3:10-12).  But we can be rescued and no longer condemned (Romans 8:1).
• Everyone who rejects what can be known about God does so because that’s what they want to do (Romans 1:19-21).  The sinner who repents comes to the light, confesses their sin before the Lord, and is saved from it.  This results in a miraculous change (Ephesians 2:8-10, 1 John 1:5-10).

Questions to consider:

1. What motivated God to send Jesus into the world?  What do we learn about the heart of God in today’s passage?
2. Is a person right to be comfortable with their life outside of Christianity?  Are people who practice other religions in just as good of a place as Christians are?  Without faith in Jesus, where does a person stand?
3. Is the gospel supposed to be a “nice” idea that makes us feel good or is it supposed to radically change our lives? If a person says they believe but live no differently than the rest of the world, what is wrong?  Why is it so hard to talk to people openly about this?  How can God’s love for us give us courage to speak the truth in love to others?

Today’s passage: John 3:1-15

Helpful thoughts:

• Nicodemus the Pharisee affirmed Jesus’ teaching and that God was with Jesus.  After this affirmation, Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter.
• There is only one way to see the kingdom of God, to be born again.
  • The only way to become a child of God is to be born of God.
  • I believe being born “of water” represents physical birth and being born “of the Spirit” is the spiritual birth, being born again (or “from above”).  This makes sense in the context of verse 6.  It is always best to interpret Scripture with Scripture.
• At the beginning of the conversation, Nicodemus was ready to affirm/believe that Jesus had been sent by God.  Not long after, Jesus challenges him to believe more, that He is the Son of Man (A name for the Messiah.) and that believing on Him was the way to eternal life.

Questions to consider:

1. Do we choose God or does God choose us (Or…yes!)?  How does verse 8 and Jesus’ overall call to Nicodemus to be born again show that both are necessary (Regardless of the order of events)?
2. When the wind blows, we don’t see the wind but we do see the effects of the wind.  What are the effects of the moving of the Spirit of God in our lives?  (You could check out Galatians 5:16-26 for an example)  What happens when a sinner is saved?  How do they begin to change?
3. What is the picture Jesus is using in verse 14 (Numbers 21:4-9)?  In what way do believers “look and live?”  What is the disease we are rescued from when we “look” to Jesus?  What does it mean then for us to “look” to Jesus?

Today’s passage: John 2:13-25

Helpful thoughts:

• God the Son had a zeal for the temple (Psalm 69:9).  The Jewish religious leaders had allowed the worship of God to become a business operation.  It was to be a place of worship, not selfish gain.
• The leaders questioned Jesus’ authority over them in the temple and demanded a sign.  The only sign he promised was his own resurrection.
  • Even Christ’s resurrection wouldn’t have been enough of a sign (Luke 16:31).
• The words “believed” and “entrust” are from the same Greek word (Verses 23-24).  Jesus (Omnipotently) knew exactly what it was the people were believing in (And what for…).  He knew not to have faith in their fickle and materialistic faith.

Questions to consider:

1. Why wasn’t it wrong for Jesus to cleanse the temple?  Why wasn’t it a sin?  Who is He?
2. Why wasn’t the resurrection, or Jesus’ teaching or other miracles, enough to convince the majority of the Jewish leaders that He was their Lord and Messiah?  Were these leaders truly worshiping the Lord before Jesus came?  What had God “become” for them?
3. Who is God “to you?”  Who does the Bible say He is?  Why is it so important that our thinking and practices align with the truth of God’s Word?

Today’s passage: John 2:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus had not performed other miracles like this (Verse 11 – “This, the first of his signs”). But, Jesus’ mother (Mary) knew what he was able to do.
• Jesus knew it wasn’t time to reveal what He could do.  He would do this miracle for his mother, but privately.
  • It was not his hour.  Jesus’ “hour” was the time of his crucifixion.  He knew that if word started to spread widely about his supernatural abilities, things would go “off schedule.”
• John tells the reader that the disciples believed in Him after seeing this miracle because the reader is supposed to do the same!

Questions to consider:

1. In what way was Mary’s faith displayed in today’s passage?  If this was the first of Jesus’ signs, what did she have to know and believe about Him?
2. What did Jesus know about Himself?  Does it look like He was discovering who He was or was He well aware of His purpose and the timing?  How does this also show us that He is the Son of God (Besides the miracle)?  What attribute of God does this display?
3. How can this display of Christ’s knowledge and miraculous power bolster our faith?  This miracle might seem like a small thing compared to what we know Jesus is about to do as we continue to read.  But, imagine reading this for the first time, knowing nothing of what’s to come.  What might you be thinking?