What if it's true?Sample

SUNDAY (Rest, Catch Up, and Next Week's Overview)

All of this week's verses are repeated again today in case you missed any of them. 

Four questions to engage with each day:

What stood out to me in today’s passage? 

What does it mean or tell me about Jesus?

What does it say to me about how I view myself?

What choice is God placing before me today in response?

  

Week 4 Overview (John 9:1-12:26)

Last week, we read about the debate swirling around the identity of Jesus. Most of our reading last week took place during the “Feast of Tabernacles” in Jerusalem, which was an autumn celebration to remember Israel’s time in the wilderness. 

This week, the beginning of our reading is still set during the festival. Then we see Jesus celebrate Hanukkah in the winter, flee from Jerusalem to across the Jordan, return to Bethany (a “suburb” of Jerusalem) to resurrect Lazarus, go to a town called Ephraim for a while, and finally return to Jerusalem for Passover, and ultimately his death and resurrection. There’s a lot here! I’d like to bring out a few small points to pay attention to, as well as some things that struck me as I was reading this passage. 

First, Jesus is continuing to tell the world who he is, to all who will listen. In chapter 9, he says, “I am the light of the world,” and later the blind man says, “I was blind, but now I see.” In chapter 10, Jesus says, “I am the door. Anyone who enters by me will be saved.” In chapter 11, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection,” and Lazarus could say, “I was dead, but now I live.” (At least, we imagine he did, as Lazarus says nothing in the Bible!) Who Jesus is affects who we are when we respond to him!

Second, I was struck by Jesus’ interaction with Martha in the story of Lazarus. I think Martha sometimes gets a bad rap for being “too busy” (in another familiar story), but here, we see her confess that she believed who Jesus was more clearly than almost anyone else in the gospels.

Finally, there are two small passages this week that lead us toward the broader story of what Jesus’ ultimate purpose was on Earth. They are signposts pointing us to the culmination of God’s plan for all of humanity, not just the Jewish people. In chapter 10, Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also... So there will be one flock, and one shepherd.” Later, after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we encounter some Greeks who were seeking Jesus. This is where Jesus says, “Unless a seed of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jesus came to bring all humanity back to God!

Certainly, there is more – a LOT more! – that could be brought out of these passages, and I pray that God will bring to your mind this week the things that he wants to show you personally. Pay attention for his voice as you read this week.