Today’s passage: John 13:21-30

Helpful thoughts:

• As Jesus reveals his betrayer, knowing what is to come, he continues to be troubled.
• The Apostle John is speaking of himself in verse 23.
• Jesus commanded Judas to go do what he intended to do.  His betrayal was no accident.  It was not unforeseen.  It was part of God’s plan for our redemption.
  • Judas was possessed by the devil at this point.  But God was still in control.

Questions to consider:

1. What did the other disciples think Judas was going out to do?  What did they think Jesus had asked him?  What does this indicate about their opinion of Judas still to this point?
2. Why might Satan have entered into Judas at this very moment?  What did Judas try to do after his betrayal was completed (Matthew 27:3-4)?  To whom may Jesus have been talking in verse 27?
3. How is Christ’s love for His own and submission to the Father evidenced in this passage?  Why was He troubled?  What did He do in the face of this distress?

Today’s passage: John 13:1-20

Helpful thoughts:

• Washing feet was one of the lowest and dirtiest of tasks.  No one of any importance would be expected to do such a thing.  God the Son did it.  He did it willingly to teach His disciples (And us) an important lesson.
  • Washing the feet of His disciples was not the lowest of tasks Jesus was going to take on.  Jesus used the washing of their feet to picture what He was about to do.
• To Peter, Jesus’ humble service became a stumbling block.  To many others, it would have looked like foolishness.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:23 – “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.”
• If a person is unwilling to admit they need cleansed, and/or if they are unwilling to receive cleansing based on the work of someone else (Especially in the form of a man dying on a cross), that person will not be saved.
  • We have all sinned.  We cannot cleanse ourselves.  We cannot decide how we ought to be cleansed.  We must repent and believe. (John 14:6)

Questions to consider:

1. How is the heart of Christ for his people evidenced in verse 1?  As big and amazing as God is, what comfort and encouragement can we receive knowing that God cares for us (1 Peter 5:7)?
2. Since washing the disciples’ feet wasn’t the lowest task Jesus took on, what was?  What was the greatest humiliation and suffering that Jesus experienced, which was also His glorification?  What did Jesus do for you?
3. If Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and if He died on the cross for you and me, what are we to learn about service?

Today’s passage: John 12:44-50

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus did not come to judge in his first advent, He came to save.  But, judgment will be given to Him (John 5:22).
• To obey God’s commandment to believe in Jesus Christ is eternal life for the believer.
  • To reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is to disobey God’s command and to remain in darkness (Which is where we all naturally begin, in sin).
• To believe in Jesus Christ is to believe in God the Father.
  • To reject Jesus Christ is to reject God altogether.

Questions to consider:

1. Who appears to exercise ultimate authority within the Godhead?  Is the Son inferior to the Father (The answer is no…)?  How does submission within the Godhead help us to better understand the definition of submission as it relates to human relationships?  Why isn’t submission or authority an identifier of greater or lesser worth?
2. What did God do for you when you believed in Jesus?  By God’s grace, what happened to you?  What is the eternal consequence of your salvation?
3. What does it mean now to walk in the light (1 John 1:5-10)?  What was the immediate significance of your conversion?  How does life begin to change?

Today’s passage: John 12:36-43

Helpful thoughts:

• The people saw everything we read in the Gospel of John, and they did not believe.
  • They could not believe (Verse 39).
  • And, they did not want to believe.
• This passage quotes from Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10.
  • In these verses we see God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.  Both are true.
    • God hardens hearts (Romans 9:14-24).  And people willingly reject Him.
    • God also opens blind eyes and brings spiritually dead people to life (Ephesians 2:1-10).
    • See Isaiah 55:8-9
  • These things can be hard to think through (2 Peter 3:15-16), but it is not our responsibility to hold God accountable to our standards.  We answer to Him.
• Many who heard Jesus had a hard time understanding and believing the things He said.  Because of spiritual blindness/deafness, and (Or also) sometimes because they feared man more than Almighty God (Verses 42-43).

Questions to consider:

1. Why is this passage hard to wrap our minds around?  How does the sovereignty of God work with the responsibility of man?  Is anyone going to go to hell who didn’t want to reject God (Romans 1:18-20)?  Is anyone going to go to heaven who wanted to love God all on their own (Romans 3:10-12)?
2. From an eternal, spiritual perspective, what must happen in order for a person to hear about Jesus Christ, hear the gospel message, and believe? (John 3:7-8, Ephesians 1:3-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17)
3. From what might be considered “our” perspective, what must happen in order for a person to hear about Jesus Christ, hear the gospel message, and believe?  What has God instructed us to do?  What is our responsibility? (Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 10:14-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Today’s passage: John 12:27-36

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus knew he was about to pay the penalty for our sin.  The weight of what was coming troubled him, but he wanted God’s glory more than to avoid the suffering.
• When Jesus was crucified (Lifted up) Satan was defeated and the salvation of God’s people from every tribe, tongue and nation (All people) was guaranteed.
  • Hebrews 2:14-15
  • John 6:44
• Every person has two choices with their own outcomes.
  • Reject Christ – Walk in darkness – Be overtaken by the darkness (Verse 35)
  • Believe in Christ – Walk in the light – Become children of the light, of God (Verse 36)

Questions to consider:

1. When those near Jesus heard the voice of God, what did they think it was?  What do the lost do with the truth of God’s Word?  How does this help us understand better the phrase, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear?”
2. How is the ability to hear (Spiritually) connected to the ability to see (Spiritually) in this passage?  What does it mean to believe in the light?  How did Jesus come to give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf (Luke 4:16-21)?
3. What is the answer to the question from the people in verse 34? (Acts 2:22-36 – Notice the Old Testament quotes!)

Today’s passage: John 12:20-26

Helpful thoughts:

• “Greeks” simply refers to Gentiles.  These men could have been from anywhere outside of Israel.
  • The point is that salvation is coming to the world.  To the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).
  • What Christ says in the following verses can be cherished by Jews, and anyone else in the world, who places their faith in Christ!
• Christ was about to die to bear much fruit.
• To love or hate “this life” refers to the temporal pleasures of this earth.
  • Loving Christ and eternal life results in self-sacrificial living in this world.  This is following Jesus.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the fruit which has been and continues to be born from the death of Jesus Christ?
2. When do temporal pleasure in this physical earthly life become sinful?  What are some examples of times we proactively disobey God in order to pursue earthly pleasures?  What are some examples of times we omit obedience to God because we fear missing out on or losing our earthly pleasures?  Why is knowing and enjoying Jesus better than any pleasure this world could offer?
3. Why did Jesus say it was time for Him to be glorified?  Why is the crucifixion of Jesus the glorification of Jesus?

Today’s passage: John 12:9-19

Helpful thoughts:

• When given the opportunity to believe based on objective, undeniable proof or to get rid of the evidence (Lazarus), the Jewish leaders chose to get rid of the evidence.  They made plans to put him to death as well.
  • “This is not rational behavior, but sin produces irrational action.” (ESV Study Bible)
  • Not all shared the same goals.  Many believed!
• There are key Old Testament passages referenced or quoted in the Triumphal Entry:
  • Psalm 118:19-26
  • Zechariah 9:9
• The people who hailed their King’s entrance into the city had the right person, but they did not yet understand the purpose of His arrival.  He had not come to defeat Rome, but to defeat sin.

Questions to consider:

1. How did this event cement in the minds of the Jewish leaders what they thought they had to do?  How did their response give evidence to their resolve to put Jesus to death?
2. There could have been three categories of people at this event:  1) Those who did not believe Jesus was the promised Messiah.  2) People who believed Jesus was the Messiah but were only interested in their political advantage and personal interests.  3) People who believed and were ready to bow the knee to their Lord and Savior.  What is the difference between categories 2 and 3?  How could these categories be visible still today?
3. Even though Jesus would be crucified before the end of the week, why was this entry still “triumphal?”  What victory was won through this final journey of His into Jerusalem?

Today’s passage: John 12:1-8

Helpful thoughts:

• Lazarus was still alive and well.
• Judas spoke out with a “holier-than-thou” attitude.  His outward religiosity was a cover for his inward rebellion and greed.
  • The perfume was worth almost a year’s salary.  He couldn’t resist opening his mouth.
• Because the motive behind Judas’ rebuke was not known by the rest, Jesus responded in a way that could have been a blessing for all around to hear.
  • He told Judas to leave Mary alone.
  • He encouraged Mary in what she had done.
  • He announced the immanence of His death.

Questions to consider:

1. Why would Lazarus’ presence (Being alive in front of everyone) have been a problem for the unbelieving Pharisees?  To what truths was his presence continually testifying?
2. Was Jesus discouraging ministry to the poor in verse 8?  When would concern for the poor have been more appropriate in that short span of time?  After what events?
3. What contrast was evident in the “fragrances” being emitted from the hearts of Mary and Judas (Philippians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17)?  Why do we do what we do?

Today’s passage: John 11:45-57

Helpful thoughts:

• After seeing Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, some people believed and others went to report it to the Pharisees.
  • They didn’t just not believe.  They opposed Jesus. (Matthew 12:30)
• The Pharisees feared that news of this miracle and others like it in the future would only increase the popularity of Jesus.  If the people tried to make Him king, the Romans would see it as rebellion and remove what was left of their freedoms.
  • Caiaphas believed Jesus had to die for the freedom of the people of God.  That’s exactly what He had come to do.  Just not the way Caiaphas had thought.
• The Passover was at hand, and a Passover Lamb was to be sacrificed (Exodus 12:13).

Questions to consider:

1. Because there were multiple witnesses to the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead (Including Pharisees who were present), what must these religious leaders have thought they were dealing with?  They couldn’t deny what happened, what did they have to believe about Jesus (Matthew 12:24)?
2. In what way was Caiaphas’ prophecy correct?  How did Jesus die for His people?
3. What people did Caiaphas have in mind when he gave this prophecy?  In what way are you a part of what it says in verses 51-52?