Today’s passage: John 11:1-16

Helpful thoughts:

• Lazarus got sick and died physically, for a short while, “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
  • Mary and Martha and other loved ones went through the experience of seeing Lazarus grow sick and die in order to experience the power of God over death, to see it on display.
  • All of this occurred so that “you may believe.” (Verse 15)
• In application, what Jesus was saying to the disciples in verses 9-10 was this; God is in your presence.  Just listen, do what I say, and it will go much better for you.
• Thomas assumed returning to Judea would result in their death.  But he went anyway.  He may have misunderstood and doubted Jesus at times.  But, by God’s grace, he followed Jesus.
  • This trip to Judea was the beginning of events which led up to Jesus crucifixion.  The end result of this trip wouldn’t be Thomas’ death, but the purchase of his eternal life.

Questions to consider:

1. Why were the disciples confused about what was happening with Lazarus?  Why do you think there were times when Jesus spoke plainly to His disciples and other times when He didn’t?  Was Jesus confusing His disciples for fun or was there a greater purpose?  How did Christ’s words (Which seemed confusing in the moment) end up making things clearer in the end?
2. What can we learn from the simple exhortation from Christ in verses 9-10?  How does acknowledging Christ for who He is simplify all other matters in life, keeping us from stumbling?
3. Whether he knew it or not, Lazarus was dying, rising from the dead, and eventually would die again to the glory of God.  How can this purpose for our existence (Romans 11:36) and hope in the promises of God help us to endure through difficulties in this life?

Today’s passage: John 10:31-42

Helpful thoughts:

• In verse 24, the Jews asked Jesus to tell them plainly if He was the Christ.  In verse 30, Jesus plainly told the Jews that He was one with the Father (Claiming deity).  In verse 31, the Jews picked up stones to execute Jesus.
  • The “crime” Jesus would have committed, in their minds, was blasphemy.  Making Himself equal with God.
  • Of course, Jesus committed no crime.  He is God the Son.
• Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6.  In Psalm 82, rulers who were supposed to lead and govern justly (In a god-like representative manner) failed to do so and therefore awaited their own judgment.  Gentile rulers wanted to be seen as gods yet governed in ungodly ways.
  • Jesus had no injustice in Him or in His actions.  He did everything correctly.  He is the true “Son of the Most High” and a perfect representation of the Father.
• Once Jesus returned to the region where John the Baptist had ministered most, the people who had sat under John’s teaching could see everything that had been promised.
  • Take note:  John the Baptist did no signs, no miracles.  He simply pointed people to the Messiah.  Jesus said no prophet who had come before him was greater (Matthew 11:11).
    • With the completion of the Word of God, you have more information than John the Baptist did about who the Messiah is and what He accomplished (“The one who is least in the kingdom is greater than he.”).  Your testimony and clear explanation of Jesus and the Gospel is far more significant than any sign and wonder.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the irony of the crime Jesus was accused of committing?  What did the Jews think Jesus did wrong?  Who then was actually doing wrong?  How is this still true today?  What must people believe about Jesus?
2. How did Jesus’ words and actions support His claim to deity?  What things can you think of which Jesus did that were completely congruent to the attributes of God?
3. Why did these followers of John the Baptist believe in Jesus?  Was it because the signs were great (Flashy presentation) or because the words were true?  How can this encourage you to share with others today?

Today’s passage: John 10:22-30

Helpful thoughts:

• The Feast of Dedication took place in December.  The “Dedication” commemorated was the rededication of the Temple in 164 A.D. after it had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes.
• The Jews wanted Jesus to declare Himself as the Christ/Messiah because they wanted Him punished!  They got what they wanted in the end (See verse 31).
• The sheep hear the shepherd’s voice and believe…and follow their Shepherd!
  • Both of these statements are true:
    • Once a Christian is saved, he/she cannot lose their salvation (“No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”)
    • Once a Christian is saved, they must follow Jesus (“They hear my voice…and they follow me.”)
      • James 2:14-26
      • The Bible does not teach a person to pray a prayer for salvation and then live a sinful life and expect eternal life (“Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!”)
      • The Bible does teach that lost sinners are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  And then those saved sinners become new creations who will be progressively transformed into Christ-likeness (Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Philippians 1:6)

Questions to consider:

1. What did these people want to do (Of their own will) to the Son of God?  Why didn’t they believe?  What is the answer Jesus gives in this text?
2. Why isn’t anyone able to snatch you out of Christ’s (And the Father’s!) hands?  Who decided you would be in God’s hands?  Who “gave” you to Christ?  Who gave you eternal life?  Where does all the credit go?  Why do we have every reason to rest at ease knowing our eternity is secure?
3. When would any professing Christ NOT have reason to rest at ease concerning their eternity?  If a professing Christian is struggling with assurance of their salvation, how could you use this passage to give them good counsel? (Answer this last question BOTH for the person who is living in sin and for the person who is following Jesus.)

Today’s passage: John 10:7-21

Helpful thoughts:

• Because His hearers struggled to understand what was said in verses 1-6, Jesus elaborated in verses 7-21.
• There are two “I am” statements in this passage:
  • I am the door
    • Jesus is the only way into the “sheepfold.”
      • And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:12
  • I am the good shepherd
    • Christ’s people “hear the voice” of their shepherd and they follow Him.
    • A hired hand would never die for someone else’s sheep.  Christ died for His own people.
• Christ makes two further promises in these verses:
  • After He willingly laid down His life, He would rise from the dead!
  • There would be “sheep” who follow Him who were not of that fold.
    • This is referring to the inclusion of the Gentile people into the church.

Questions to consider:

1. Is there more than one way to be saved?  Are there other doors that lead to the kingdom of God?  Is following Jesus optional?
2. What was the result of Jesus’ teaching in this passage?  How do verses 19-21 illustrate what Jesus just taught?  Who heard the voice of their Shepherd?
3. What awaits those who remain in the possession of the “thief” or under the watch-care of a hired hand (Verses 10 & 12)?  What awaits those who enter the sheepfold by the Door (Verses 9-10)?  What reason do we have to give the Lord thanks, praise and worship?

Today’s passage: John 10:1-6

Helpful thoughts:

• A robber of sheep has to use cunning and force because the shepherd’s sheep only know and follow their shepherd’s voice.
• The shepherd knows his sheep and calls them by name.  They hear his voice and they follow him.  They run away from anyone else.
• Stay tuned for Christ’s explanation in tomorrow’s passage!

Questions to consider:

1. Given what we read in chapter 9, who might be the thieves and robbers to whom Jesus was immediately referring?  What kind of cunning and force were the Jewish religious leaders employing to get people to submit to their leadership?
2. Does the shepherd drive the sheep from behind like cattle or lead out front with his voice?  How might this illustration apply to pastoral ministry?  Are pastors cowboys or shepherds?
3. How many sheep does the shepherd bring out and lead (Verse 4)?

Today’s passage: John 9:18-41

Helpful thoughts:

• Today, we will complete the narrative of the healing of the man born blind.
  • Because he was healed on the Sabbath, the spiritually blind religious leaders refused to believe Jesus was of/from God.
  • In chapter 8, Jesus claimed to BE God (8:48).
• The fear of man is a powerful thing. These parents should have been rejoicing and praising God.  Instead, they were devising ways to get around the angry questioning of their religious leaders.
• The Pharisees believed they already “saw” and were therefore unwilling to see the Light.  They did not WANT to believe in Jesus.  Therefore, they:
  • Forbade their people from believing in Jesus
  • Threatened expulsion from the synagogues
  • Interrogated with intimidation and mockery
  • Publicly humiliated people who challenged them
    • All in the name of following Moses.

Questions to consider:

1. What would the Pharisees and other religious leaders have had to admit if they were going to believe in Jesus?  What was so precious to them that they would have “lost” in order to gain Christ?  What similar thing is true of all sinners in need of repentance?  Why is it so hard to truly believe in the simple gospel message and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
2. What is the sad irony of the Pharisees’ claim to be followers of Moses?  Were they following Moses?  If they were, what would they have done with Jesus? (John 5:46, Luke 16:31)
3. What did the formerly blind man do once Jesus told him He was the Christ (Verse 38)?  Of what response and of what kind of life is Jesus worthy?

Today’s passage: John 9:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• After Jesus clearly declared His Divine identity and was rejected by man, God had a divinely arranged appointment ready for Him to give further evidence and to communicate an important truth.
• Again, it was not against the Law to make a little mud or to heal a man on the Sabbath.  It was against the additional rules the religious leaders had devised.
• In this passage, there is one man who was born blind but now could see and there are several men who continued in their blindness (Spiritual blindness).
  • The light of the world was right in front of them!  They were in the daylight, yet they continued to walk in darkness.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was this man born blind?  What purpose did it serve?  How can this help us to view the suffering of others differently?  How could this help us to view our own suffering differently?  We certainly can suffer because of our own sinful choices (Not all suffering is innocent), but what will our perspective be in eternity, looking back at any suffering we endured for the glory of God?
2. What did the man born physically blind need to gain his sight?  What does a sinner born spiritually blind need to gain his/her sight?  (Colossians 1:13, Acts 26:16-18)
3. What did the blindness of the Jewish religious leaders cause them to say concerning Jesus?  How did it cause them to tamper with and elevate in importance their additions to the Law of God?  How might spiritual blindness cause people in a pluralistic naturalistic age (Our own) to respond to the message of the gospel?  Why doesn’t this change our message?

Today’s passage: John 8:48-59

Helpful thoughts:

• Please read verse 47 for context.  What the Jews said to Jesus was in response to what He had said of them.
  • Jesus’ version = “You are not of God.”
  • Jews’ response = “You are a Samaritan and have a demon.”
• What the Jews said to Jesus was incredibly offensive (That’s an understatement).  He did not respond in kind (1 Peter 2:23).
• In saying, “Before Abraham was, I am” Jesus was making a clear declaration of His deity.  He was claiming to be God.
  • The Jews absolutely understood this.  There was a clear reason why they picked up stones to execute Him.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was the response of the Jews in verse 48 so egregious?  What might have been the equivalent hateful statement in our culture today?  How did the response of the Jews reveal the nature of their hearts and the lack of actual content for their argument?
2. How was Jesus’ response and the conversation that followed so instructive?  What did He respond with?  Did He act in kind (Was He nasty back to them)?  Did He stop speaking the truth? (1 Peter 3:15)
3. Who is Jesus (Exodus 3:14)?  What then is the only right response in light of this truth (John 3:18)?

Today’s passage: John 8:39-47

Helpful thoughts:

• At the end of verse 38, Jesus referred to the people’s “father.”  The people were being like their “father” in their sinful disobedience (Like father, like son).  This, as we would expect, sparked controversy.
• No one will ever be right with God because of their physical heritage.  Even if the very blood of Abraham is in you (Or seven generations of Christians) you are born in sin and must be born again “from above” to be a child of God (John 3:3).
• We hear and respond to what our nature demands.  Our character and conduct are inherited and also willfully chosen.  But, when we become “of God” we can hear and respond according to our new nature (Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Questions to consider:

1. What did the people say to counter Jesus when He acknowledged their sinful behavior?  Did they debate the accuracy of His observation or did they seek to demean and humiliate Him?  Why did they believe He didn’t have any room to talk?
2. Why does Satan lie (Verse 44)?  Where does that come from?  Why do we sin?  How does humbly acknowledging our condition lead to freedom and victory (1 John 1:8-9)?
3. How can this passage help us to understand the bigger picture of what happens when a person is saved?  What will happen in the life of a Christian after their conversion?  Will they stay the same?  How have you changed and how are you continuing to grow?