Today’s passage: John 16:16-24

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus was about to be crucified.  Then after His resurrection, the disciples would see Him again.
• The disciples have asked many questions up to this point, but when the Spirit comes they will understand (Because the Spirit will guide them in the truth).  Their questions will stop.  Instead of fear and confusion, they will have joy that no one can take away.
• As the disciples moved forward in their apostolic ministry, they would instead ask of the Father in Jesus’ name (Meaning, for the cause of Christ).  As God answered their prayers for the cause of Christ, their joy would continue to grow.

Questions to consider:

1. What does praying “in Jesus’ name” mean?  Is it just a polite prayer closing?  What does it look like for us to pray toward the cause of Christ’s kingdom today?
2. How would this idea of asking of the Father for the cause of Christ help us to evaluate the content of our prayers?  What is the end goal of most of my prayers?
3. Where does joy come from in our prayers?  How might continually praying for things that bring comfort and ease (Or that eliminate potential stress from my life) actually be a cause of more stress and anxiety?  How could praying about the cause of Christ and then seeing God answer those prayers produce a joy that cuts through other difficulties?

Today’s passage: John 16:4-15

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus points out the disciples were more interested in how things were going to be for them than they were concerned for Jesus.  But then tells them this was all to their advantage.
• Jesus promised to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.  There will be people from the world (As we were) who come to a knowledge of these things, repent, and believe.
  • The primary sin we need to be convicted of is unbelief.
  • Jesus had been the perfect representation of righteousness to the world, now that He was going, the Spirit would pick up that role.
  • The Spirit would also move in people’s understanding that the resurrection of Jesus proved the defeat of Satan.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way was it to the disciples advantage (And ours) to have the Holy Spirit actively ministering as He does now in the New Covenant?  With whom does the Spirit minister today?  Where does the Spirit minister today?  What is the limit of His reach?
2. Who does the work of convicting a sinner and bringing them to repentance?  How can this encourage us to continue to preach, teach and share the truth of Christ and His gospel?  With whom are we partnering in the work every time we share Christ with the lost?
3. How does the promise of verse 13, given directly to the apostles, give us confidence in the accuracy, truthfulness and authority of the New Testament writings? (2 Peter 1:21)

Today’s passage: John 15:18-16:4

Helpful thoughts:

• Christians should not expect to be loved or revered by the world.
  • That does not give us a reason to act rudely (1 Peter 3:15).
  • The world should not hate us because we are mean.  But they may hate us because we follow Jesus.
• We often fear rejection, but when those in the world reject our proclamation of the gospel, they are rejecting Christ.  Our identity is rooted in Him.
• God is glorified in our evangelism whether those who hear repent or reject.  Our role is simply to proclaim.

Questions to consider:

1. Why did Jesus tell this difficult news to the disciples?  How could knowing that many will reject Christ encourage us to keep sharing and not give up?
2. What must we be certain of in order to persevere in the face of those who call their evil actions, “good?”  What role does our faith and trust in the Word of God have in our faithfulness to obey?
3. What affections and reverence is needed to drive out our fear of man?  (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 1 John 4:18)

Today’s passage: John 15:12-17

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus calls on His followers to love as He has loved.  He loved by laying down His life for our salvation!
• The identity of a disciple:
  • Chosen by God
  • Appointed by God to bear fruit
  • One who has access to God (Prayer, Asking the Father)
  • Friend of God
  • Loved by God
  • Obedient to God
    • Expected obedience to God does not detract from these other characteristics, it is produced by them and from them.  They go hand in hand.

Questions to consider:

1. If our model is Jesus, what kind of love are we to have for one another?  How does this command change the way we see others?  How can you love others sacrificially today?
2. How does your identity in Christ give you confidence?  Purpose?  Community?  Rest?
3. How does your identity in Christ and the purpose it gives your life shape your prayer?

Today’s passage: John 15:1-11

Helpful thoughts:

• Israel was compared to a vine in the Old Testament (Isaiah 5:1-7).  Christ is the true vine that will not fail to bear fruit.
• To abide in Christ is to continue in relationship with Him.  This would include prayer, meditating on the Scriptures, and fellowship with God’s people and it produces obedience and joy.
• When Adam and Eve sinned, they saw that they were naked and they hid.  When God’s children obey, they have joy and walk in the light (1 John 1:7)

Questions to consider:

1. Compare John 14:15 with 15:2.  What is true of those who say they love Jesus but do not obey (Bear fruit)?  What is true of those who show they love Jesus by bearing fruit?
2. While pruning does not necessarily sound like an enjoyable experience, what emotion will it eventually produce (Verse 11)?
3. If we are abiding in Christ and His words are abiding in us, what kinds of things are we going to wish to ask for?  How does verse 8 help us to answer that question?

Today’s passage: John 14:15-31

Helpful thoughts:

• Christ ascended to the Father, and the Spirit came.  The disciples were “losing” Jesus and gaining the ministry and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  And we have Him today!
• Those who love God, have God, and follow/obey God.
  • For example, a husband who says he loves his wife while he is unfaithful to her is not speaking the truth.  That is not love.
  • If you love Christ you are following Him (Not, you will follow someday, but you are following).
• Before Jesus was arrested, He made sure to let the disciples know the Jews were only able to take Him because it was God’s plan.  God was always in control.

Questions to consider:

1. Why would the disciples have rejoiced in Jesus’ departure if they were loving Him rightly?  What was the purpose of His going away?  How could the disciples have been exited for Jesus?
2. How does a right understanding of what love is help us understand what conversion should like like and result in?
3. In what way did Jesus leave “peace” with His disciples (And with us)?  The Holy Spirit was not an empty parting gift!  How did His promises ensure our victory and our ability to persevere while we await His return?

Today’s passage: John 14:8-14

Helpful thoughts:

• As Moses had asked to see God’s glory (Exodus 33:18), Philip asks Jesus to bring the glory of the Father to them.  Perhaps Philip thought, If Jesus can bring God’s glory before us, then we can be confident in who He is and what He is saying.
• What Philip and the disciples had seen and heard in Jesus, was the glory of God before them (John 1:14).
• The “works” of the disciples (The Apostles) consisted not just of miracles (e.g. healing) but also teaching and seeing lost sinners come to faith in Christ!
  • Greater works (In these areas…especially the conversion of the lost!) would come after Jesus went to the Father, when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 2).

Questions to consider:

1. In what ways had the disciples been experiencing the glory of the Father over those last three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry?  To what events and teaching was Jesus pointing them for comfort?
2. What do we learn about the relationship between the Son and the Father in these verses?  How are they the same?  How do they relate to each other?
3. How would Jesus’ promise of what was to come have comforted the disciples on that day?  In what way might it not have worked so well on that night, but then have provided more encouragement in the months and years ahead?  How can His words encourage you to pursue the conversion of the lost still today?

Today’s passage: John 14:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

• In the moment, the disciples were troubled because their Lord was about to leave them and they did not understand why.  From our perspective, this passage becomes one of great comfort.
• Jesus is in Heaven, preparing a place for us.  A place where we can be with Him.  And He is coming again to take us there.
• This hope and comfort can only be claimed by those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  He is the only way to eternal life.  He is the only way to the only one true God.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the greatest part of being in Heaven (End of verse 3)?  What are some things you look forward to in Heaven?  Why will being with Jesus be better than anything else we imagine?
2. How do the words, “way,” “truth,” and “life” convey the exclusivity of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Is there a different way to go that will result in eternal life with God?  Is there a different, alternate truth that is as valid and accurate as the truth?  Is there another life than can be lived outside of the life that God grants to His people?
3. What must people in this world know and believe to have eternal life?  What will any other belief system result in? (John 3:18, Revelation 20:11-15)  Let’s tell them!

Today’s passage: John 13:31-38

Helpful thoughts:

• With Judas on his way to betray Jesus, the last chain of events leading to Christ’s crucifixion was in motion.  His glorification (His death for our sin) was beginning.
  • This task was His alone to complete.
• The crucifixion of Jesus is the grounds on which our sin is forgiven.  God’s justice has been executed for our sin through His sacrifice.  The crucifixion is also the highest form of love displayed for God’s people to emulate.
  • Christ gave of himself proactively and sacrificially for our benefit.  There is no greater love.
• Peter’s pride demanded he would be able to lay down his life for Christ.  God’s decree demanded Christ lay His life down for Peter.
  • The same self-centered thinking that motivated Peter to protest Christ’s words (In the appearance of risking his life for the cause) would bring him to deny Christ hours later.

Questions to consider:

1. Christ again refers to the time of His crucifixion as His glorification?  Why is that so?  Why is the most humiliating and terrible death man could devise Christ’s glory?
2. What are some examples of how we could love others in proactive, sacrificial ways?
3. How could pride be behind both Peter’s apparent willingness to die for the cause and his willingness to deny Jesus within a number of hours?  What happens to our “moral compass” when WE (Ourselves) become the magnetic pole?  How is our thinking given clarity when God is our “true north?”