Month: July 2020

Reading 1, John 10:1-30

John 10  

Jesus the True Shepherd

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ²But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 

1. Question: Who are the shepherd and sheep?  What do you think it means the sheep know and listen to his voice?  What might be the benefits or consequences of listening vs. not listening to the shepherd’s voice? (See also, John 12:46, Matthew 11:28-29, Romans 12:2) 

Jesus the Good Shepherd

⁷Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸All who ever came ^[ce]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

2. Question: What do you think Jesus means by saying, “if anyone enters by Me, will be saved?”  What’s our part in receiving and living in either what the “thief” comes to do or what Jesus comes to give? In the context of this parable, how do the sheep/us position ourselves to experience more abundant life Jesus comes to give vs. what the thief/devil comes to offer? 

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹²But a ^[cf]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ¹⁵As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 

¹⁷“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” 

3. Question: What did Jesus mean by saying, “I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” (See also Matthew 26:53 and Matthew 27:45-51) 

¹⁹Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. ²⁰And many of them said, “He has a demon and is ^[cg]mad. Why do you listen to Him?” 

²¹Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

²²Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in ^[ch]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 

²⁵Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. ²⁶But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, ^[ci]as I said to you. ²⁷My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰I and My Father are one.” 

4. Question: What do Jesus’ sheep do? If a person claims to believe and know Jesus, but does not follow Him, what does that say?  

Reading 2, John 10:31-11:16

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ³²Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” 

³³The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” 

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’?³⁵If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ³⁶do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ³⁷If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and ^[cj]believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” ³⁹Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. 

The Believers Beyond Jordan

⁴⁰And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. ⁴¹Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” ⁴²And many believed in Him there. 

John 11  

The Death of Lazarus

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. ²It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 

⁴When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 

⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 

⁸The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” 

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” 

¹²Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” ¹³However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 

¹⁴Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” 

¹⁶Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” 

5. Question: Why did Jesus wait to go to Lazarus?  

Reading 3, John 11:17-44

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^[a]two miles away. ¹⁹And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 

²⁰Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 

²⁴Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 

²⁷She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

²⁸And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but ^[b]was in the place where Martha met Him. ³¹Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, ^[c]saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” 

³²Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 

³³Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴And He said, “Where have you laid him?” 

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 

³⁵Jesus wept. ³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” 

³⁷And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” 

³⁸Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” 

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹Then they took away the stone ^[d]from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴²And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” ⁴³Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” ⁴⁴And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” 

6. Question: Why do you think Jesus, the resurrection and the life, who was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, wept in this situation (consider the spiritual situation rather than the natural)?  

Reading 4, John 11:45-12:19

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. ⁴⁶But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. ⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. ⁴⁸If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” 

⁴⁹And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰nor do you consider that it is expedient for ^[e]us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵²and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 

⁵³Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. ⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. 

⁵⁵And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. ⁵⁶Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” ⁵⁷Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him. 

7. Question: Why did the religious leaders plot to have Jesus put to death? 

John 12  

The Anointing at Bethany

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was ^[f]who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. ²There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 

⁴But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ⁵“Why was this fragrant oil not sold for ^[g]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 

⁷But Jesus said, “Let her alone; ^[h]she has kept this for the day of My burial. ⁸For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.” 

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, ¹¹because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 

“Hosanna! 
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ 
The King of Israel!” 

¹⁴Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 

¹⁵“Fear not, daughter of Zion; 
Behold, your King is coming, 
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 

¹⁶His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. 

¹⁷Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. ¹⁸For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. ¹⁹The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” 

Reading 5, John 12:20-50

The Fruitful Grain of Wheat

²⁰Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. ²¹Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 

²²Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 

²³But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much ^[i]grain.²⁵He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 

8. Question: From what you have learned so far, what do you think Jesus meant when He talked about serving and following Him?  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you become a better follower of Jesus and serve Him better.  What comes to mind for you that you need to begin practicing or turn away from to follow Him better? 

Jesus Foretells His Death on the Cross

²⁷“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify Your name.” 

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 

²⁹Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” 

³⁰Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³²And I, if I am ^[j]lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”³³This He said, signifying by what death He would die. 

³⁴The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 

³⁵Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. 

Who Has Believed Our Report?

³⁷But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, ³⁸that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: 

“Lord, who has believed our report? 
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 

³⁹Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 

⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, 
Lest they should see with their eyes, 
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, 
So that I should heal them.” 

⁴¹These things Isaiah said ^[k]when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 

Walk in the Light

⁴²Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 

⁴⁴Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ⁴⁶I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. ⁴⁷And if anyone hears My words and does not ^[l]believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” 

9. Question: Why did Jesus come as a light into the world (verse 46)?  What do you think Jesus means by saying that whoever believes in Him should not abide in darkness? (see also 1 John :5-7) 

Reading 1, John 7:1-31

John 7  

Jesus’ Brothers Disbelieve

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the ^[au]Jews sought to kill Him. ²Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. ³His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. ⁴For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵For even His brothers did not believe in Him. 

⁶Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. ⁸You go up to this feast. I am not ^[av]yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” ⁹When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. 

1. Question: Why do you think Jesus said, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready… I am not ^[av]yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” 

Why does the world hate Jesus?  Who do you think the people in your world hate more, Jesus or Christians, and why? 

Jesus’ Teaching is From the Father

¹⁰But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. ¹¹Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” ¹²And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” ¹³However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

¹⁴Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. ¹⁵And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know such writings, having never studied?” 

^16 [aw]Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. ¹⁸He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. ¹⁹Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” 

²⁰The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” 

²¹Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. ²²Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the Father), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” 

Could This Be the Christ?

²⁵Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? ²⁶But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is ^[ax]truly the Christ? ²⁷However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” 

²⁸Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ^29 [ay]But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.” 

³⁰Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. ³¹And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?” 

Reading 2, John 7:32-8:12

Jesus and the Religious Leaders

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. ³³Then Jesus said ^[az]to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.³⁴You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.” 

³⁵Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?” 

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

³⁷On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those ^[ba]believing in Him would receive; for the ^[bb]Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

• Question: What do you think Jesus is saying in verse 38, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” ? 

Who Is He?

⁴⁰Therefore ^[bc]many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” ⁴¹Others said, “This is the Christ.” 

But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? ⁴²Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” ⁴³So there was a division among the people because of Him. ⁴⁴Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. 

Rejected by the Authorities

⁴⁵Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” 

⁴⁶The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” 

⁴⁷Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? ⁴⁸Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? ⁴⁹But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 

⁵⁰Nicodemus (he who came to ^[bd]Jesus ^[be]by night, being one of them) said to them, ⁵¹“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” 

⁵²They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet ^[bf]has arisen out of Galilee.” 

^53 [bg]And everyone went to his own house. 

John 8  

The Adulteress, Her Accusers, and Jesus 

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 

²Now ^[bh]early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. ³Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴they said to Him, “Teacher, ^[bi]this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵Now ^[bj]Moses, in the law, commanded us ^[bk]that such should be stoned. But what do You ^[bl]say?” ⁶This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, ^[bm]as though He did not hear. 

⁷So when they continued asking Him, He ^[bn]raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹Then those who heard it, being^[bo]convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰When Jesus had raised Himself up ^[bp]and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers ^[bq]of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 

¹¹She said, “No one, Lord.” 

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go ^[br]and sin no more.” 

¹²Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” 

3. Question: What do you think Jesus means by saying, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” and Why? (see also 1 John 1:6-8)? 

Reading 3, John 8:13-36

Jesus Defends His Self-Witness

¹³The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not ^[bs]true.” 

¹⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. ¹⁵You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” 

¹⁹Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” 

Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” 

²⁰These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. 

4. Question: Who is it that will judge all people (John 5:22)? 

What is another reason you find in this passage for not judging other people? 

Jesus Foretells His Departure

²¹Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” 

²²So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 

²³And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 

²⁵Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” 

And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.²⁶I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” 

²⁷They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 

²⁸Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift^[bt] up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. ²⁹And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” ³⁰As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 

The Truth Shall Make You Free

³¹Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

³³They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 

5. Question: In the context of verse 31 – 35,  When Jesus says, “ you will know the truth,” 1) what does He mean, 2) how do you come to know the truth based on what Jesus says above.   3) What are you set free from by knowing the truth? 

Reading 4, John 8:37-9:12

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

³⁷“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ³⁸I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have ^[bu]seen with your father.” 

³⁹They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” 

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹You do the deeds of your father.” 

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.⁴³Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. ⁴⁴You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. ⁴⁵But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” 

6. Question: When Jesus said in verse 37, “ you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you,” what do you think He meant by, “My word has no place in you”? (See also Matthew 13:23) 

Before Abraham Was, I AM

⁴⁸Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 

⁴⁹Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. ⁵¹Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” 

⁵²Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ ⁵³Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?” 

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is ^[bv]your God. ⁵⁵Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 

⁵⁷Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” 

⁵⁹Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going^[bw] through the midst of them, and so passed by. 

7. Question: Why did the Pharisees pick up stones to stone Jesus with when He said, “I AM?” (See also Exodus 3:14) 

John 9  

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ²And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 

³Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. ⁴I^[bx] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 

⁶When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. 

⁸Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was ^[by]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?” 

⁹Some said, “This is he.” Others said, ^[bz]“He is like him.” 

He said, “I am he.” 

¹⁰Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” 

¹¹He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to ^[ca]the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.” 

¹²Then they said to him, “Where is He?” 

He said, “I do not know.” 

8. Question: Why was this man sick?  What are some different reasons you can think of the Bible and otherwise for people getting sick. 

Reading 5, John 9:13-41

The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man

¹³They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. ¹⁵Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 

¹⁶Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not ^[cb]keep the Sabbath.” 

Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 

¹⁷They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” 

He said, “He is a prophet.” 

¹⁸But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. ¹⁹And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 

²⁰His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. ²³Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 

²⁴So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.” 

²⁵He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” 

²⁶Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 

²⁷He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” 

²⁸Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. ²⁹We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” 

³⁰The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! ³¹Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. ³²Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. ³³If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 

³⁴They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they ^[cc]cast him out. 

True Vision and True Blindness

³⁵Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of ^[cd]God?” 

³⁶He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 

³⁷And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” 

³⁸Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. 

³⁹And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” 

⁴⁰Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” 

⁴¹Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains. 

9. Question: In the context of the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees, what do you think Jesus meant by saying, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind”? 

Reading 1, John 4:1-39

John 4  

A Samaritan Woman Meets Her Messiah

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John ²(though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), ³He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. ⁴But He needed to go through Samaria. 

⁵So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 

⁷A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”⁸For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 

⁹Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 

¹¹The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹²Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 

¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 

¹⁵The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 

¹⁷The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” 

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” 

¹⁹The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 

²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²²You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father inspirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

²⁵The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 

²⁶Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” 

1. Question: What do you think God is looking for in a true worshipper, one that worships in Spirit and Truth, rather than this place or that?  (See also Matthew 22:37, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 8:8-10, Psalms 100:1-2, Matthew 15:8-9)  

The Whitened Harvest

²⁷And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” 

²⁸The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ²⁹“Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰Then they went out of the city and came to Him. 

³¹In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 

³²But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 

³³Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” 

³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ³⁶And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.³⁷For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” 

• Question: What important things stand out to you in verses 34-38 where Jesus talks about doing the Father’s will, work, and harvesting? 

Reading 2, John 4:39- John 4:15

The Savior of the World

³⁹And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of His own word. 

⁴²Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed ^[w]the Christ, the Savior of the world.” 

Welcome at Galilee

⁴³Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. ⁴⁴For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. 

A Nobleman’s Son Healed

⁴⁶So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain ^[x]nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” 

⁴⁹The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” 

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ⁵¹And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” 

⁵²Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household. 

⁵⁴This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. 

John 5  

A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ²Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, ^[y]Bethesda, having five porches. ³In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, ^[z]paralyzed, ^[aa]waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. ⁵Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 

⁷The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 

⁸Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” ⁹And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. 

And that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” 

¹¹He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ” 

¹²Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. ¹⁴Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” 

¹⁵The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 

• Question: Why do you think Jesus told this man he healed to go and sin no more or something worse would happen to him, since He did not say this to everyone He healed? 

Reading 3, John 5:16-47

Honor the Father and the Son

¹⁶For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, ^[ab]and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” 

¹⁸Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. ¹⁹Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. ²²For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, ²³that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 

• Questions: There were a number of reasons the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus.  What two reasons were given above in verses 16-18)? 

Life and Judgment Are Through the Son

²⁴“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. ²⁵Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice ²⁹and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. ³⁰I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. 

• Question: From what you have been learning in the Gospels from Jesus’ teachings, how should we interpret verses 28-29 (see also Matthew 7:22-24)? 

The Fourfold Witness

³¹“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not ^[ac]true. ³²There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. ³³You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.³⁵He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. ³⁶But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. ³⁷And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. ³⁸But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.³⁹You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. ⁴⁰But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 

• Question: Why did the Jewish leaders not benefit from searching the scriptures? 

⁴¹“I do not receive honor from men. ⁴²But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. ⁴³I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. ⁴⁴How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. ⁴⁶For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” 

• Question: Why do the Pharisees not have the love of God in them (see also 1 John 4:7-8)? 

 Reading 4, John 6:1-40

John 6  

Feeding the Five Thousand

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ²Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.^[ad] 3And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 

⁴Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” ⁶But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 

⁷Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 

⁸One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 

¹⁰Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them ^[ae]to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” ¹³Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 

• Question: At the time of verse 14, what did these men believe about Jesus? 

Jesus Walks on the Sea

¹⁵Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. 

• Question: Why was it not the Father’s will at this time for Jesus to be made king by the force of the people (see also Matthew 20:28)? 

¹⁶Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. ¹⁸Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. ¹⁹So when they had rowed about ^[af]three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. ²⁰But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. 

The Bread from Heaven

²²On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except ^[ag]that one ^[ah]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— ²³however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— ²⁴when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 

²⁶Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.²⁷Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 

²⁸Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 

²⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 

³⁰Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? ³¹Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 

³²Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.³³For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

³⁴Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 

³⁵And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. ³⁶But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will ^[ai]by no means cast out. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.³⁹This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” 

10. Question: Why do you think Jesus’ response to, “what shall we do to do the works of God,” was “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent”? 

Reading 5, John 6:41-71 

Jesus is Rejected by His Own

⁴¹The Jews then ^[aj]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴²And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 

⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[ak]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ⁴⁴No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who ^[al]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ⁴⁶Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes^[am]in Me has everlasting life. ⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 

⁵²The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 

⁵³Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.⁵⁵For My flesh is ^[an]food indeed, and My blood is ^[ao]drink indeed. ⁵⁶He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 

⁵⁹These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 

11. Question: What do you think Jesus was talking about when He compared himself to mana that came down from heaven to feed and give life to Israel in the desert, with Jesus being bread come down from heaven and being real food?  

Many Disciples Turn Away

⁶⁰Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ^[ap]hard saying; who can understand it?” 

⁶¹When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ^[aq]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ^[ar]offend you? ⁶²What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 

⁶⁶From that time many of His disciples went ^[as]back and walked with Him no more. ⁶⁷Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 

⁶⁸But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹Also we have come to believe and know that You are the ^[at]Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

⁷⁰Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. 

12. Question: What can we learn and apply to our everyday lives from what Jesus said in verse 63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. “ 

Reading 1, John 1:1-19

John 1  

The Eternal Word 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[a]comprehend it. 

John’s Witness: The True Light 

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹That^[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His ^[c]own, and His ^[d]own did not receive Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the ^[e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

1. Question: What do you think we actually letting go of in order to truly receive Christ as Lord and Savior, in the way that God accepts and gives us the right to become His child and His family? Hint, you might think of this as some things we would let go of because they are the type of things that say we don’t need Christ.  What type of things we would turn away from because they repel us away from Him (or are mutually exclusive).  
    
   The Word Becomes Flesh 

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 

¹⁵John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ^[f]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 

^16 [g]And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten ^[h]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 

Reading 2, John 1:19-42

A Voice in the Wilderness 

¹⁹Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 

²⁰He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 

²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” 

He said, “I am not.” 

“Are you the Prophet?” 

And he answered, “No.” 

²²Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 

²³He said: “I am 

‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ 

as the prophet Isaiah said.” 

²⁴Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 

²⁶John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. ²⁷It is He who, coming after me, ^[i]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” 

²⁸These things were done in ^[j]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 

The Lamb of God 

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who ^[k]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 

³²And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” 

2. Question: Why would John testify of Jesus that He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? How would Jesus be different from the lambs the Jews had been offering year after year to atone for their sins (see also 1 Peter 1:18-20, Acts 8:32)? 

The First Disciples 

³⁵Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. ³⁶And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 

³⁷The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” 

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 

³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the ^[l]Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). ⁴²And he brought him to Jesus. 

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of ^[m]Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, ^[n]A Stone). 

Reading 3, John 1:43 – 2:12

Philip and Nathanael 

⁴³The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 

⁴⁶And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” 

Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 

⁴⁸Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” 

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 

⁴⁹Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 

⁵⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter^[o] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” 

Water Turned to Wine 

John 2  

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 

⁴Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 

⁵His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 

⁶Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. ⁷Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. ⁹When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. ¹⁰And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” 

¹¹This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and ^[p]manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 

¹²After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 

Reading 4, John 2:13 – 3:12

Jesus Cleanses the Temple 

¹³Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers ^[q]doing business. ¹⁵When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. ¹⁶And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” ¹⁷Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house ^[r]has eaten Me up.” 

¹⁸So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 

¹⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 

²⁰Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 

²¹But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²²Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this ^[s]to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. 

3. Question: What can we learn from the way Jesus responded to the Jews when He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” What does this say about the way Jesus may answer or talk about things, and how we may need to perceive it? 

The Discerner of Hearts 

²³Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. ²⁴But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, ²⁵and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. 

4. Question:  It says in verses 23-25 that many believed on His name when they saw the many signs, but Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men and what was in man (see also Matthew 16:13-19)?  What do you think was missing in their belief that Jesus did not commit Himself to them? 

John 3  

The New Birth 

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 

³Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born ^[t]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

⁴Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 

⁵Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

⁹Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 

Reading 5, John 3:13-36

¹³No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ^[u]who is in heaven. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in Him should ^[v]not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.²⁰For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” 

5. Question: What is the difference in the kind of belief that those had that Jesus would not commit himself to in John 2:22-25, as compared to those who believe (John 1:12-13) and are born into the family of God, forgiven, don’t perish, but have ever lasting life (John 3:15-16)? 

John the Baptist Exalts Christ 

²²After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. ²³Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. ²⁴For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 

²⁵Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. ²⁶And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 

²⁷John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ ²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease. ³¹He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³²And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. ³³He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. ³⁴For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” 

6. Question: How do you understand verse 36?