October 18th
Jesus has been traveling around and healing people wherever he goes. But the religious elite take offense to the point of plotting to kill him. Why? Healing people isn’t bad, but he’s doing it on the Sabbath, and the leaders see this as an obvious violation of God’s law. But they also saw Jesus’ acts of healing as breaking an even more serious law. After Jesus miraculously fixes a paralyzed man’s broken back, “the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him [Jesus] because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Jesus does not refute this accusation—he doubles down. Jesus says he and the Father are one. He is saying that eternal life comes through him and that the Hebrew Scriptures are being fulfilled in him. Notice Jesus’ courage here. This isn’t a macho attitude or an aggressive dismissal of his opposers. This is fearless truth-telling in the face of murderous hatred. Jesus speaks every word with love, seeking to rescue and heal everyone, including his enemies. In contrast to the response of the religious leaders, the crowds often favor Jesus and welcome his gift of life and healing. In John 6, as Passover approaches, the people follow Jesus into the wilderness, eager to benefit from a miracle-working prophet. There, Jesus feeds the hungry multitude with bread and meat, recalling the way Yahweh once fed Israel with bread, or manna, and quail meat in the wilderness. The crowd’s response? They see Jesus’ power and want to take it for their own advantage. Jesus can make our dreams come true, they think, so let’s seize him and make him our king (John 6:15). Jesus escapes across the sea, but the persistent crowd tracks him down, demanding answers and more food. Jesus’ responses drive away the crowds and most of his followers. Peter speaks for the small remnant who stays: Where else could we go? Only you, Jesus, speak words of eternal life.
October 19th
In today’s reading, Jesus continues making eye-popping claims that compel some to accept and believe him, while others reject him. The Feast of Tabernacles, or “tents,” mentioned in John 7, marks one of the three most important Jewish festivals each year. This celebration remembers Yahweh’s provision for Israel while they lived in tents, wandering in the wilderness. Just as God provided water from a rock in the wilderness, Jesus, on the last day of the festival, stands up to invite all who are thirsty to come and drink from him. Jesus is God with them, and he is the water from that rock —he is God’s life-giving provision for the people. Watch today’s video for a deeper dive into the way Scripture talks about rejuvenating water. Notice the way Jesus repeats the phrase “I am” when debating about his identity with religious leaders. At the burning bush, God tells Moses that his name is “I am.” Jesus appears to be not-so-subtly claiming that he is God. If that’s not true, then this is blasphemy. But if his claim is legitimate, then to trust and follow Jesus is to trust and follow God. Even more, all who follow will find their thirst quenched by messianic springs of life. They’ll discover what it means to truly live, by following the God who is the great “I am.”
October 20th
Our reading today in Psalm 107 describes people who experience suffering as a consequence for their own poor decisions. In Jesus’ day, people read passages like this out of context and misunderstood them as implying that sicknesses and disabilities were divine punishments. Some still do this today, and Jesus’ disciples are assuming as much when they say that a blind man’s suffering is either his own fault or that of his parents. Jesus upends this common assumption when he says neither is true. This is just blindness. But it’s also an opportunity to show how God’s power can illuminate the world and restore sight to the blind. Jesus heals the blind man, and once again, the religious leaders are furious because Jesus did it on the Sabbath, which they call unlawful. The leaders interrogate the healed man, trying to expose Jesus as a lawbreaking sinner. But their attempt falls flat. Because Jesus does not obey them, they assume he’s working with some evil power. But then an uneducated, poverty-stricken beggar bests them in theological debate. Stumped and irritated, the religious leaders throw him out of the synagogue. This healing encounter sets up Jesus’ “I am the good shepherd” statements that comprise the first half of John 10, leading to Jesus’ ultimate claim as God’s true Son. Jesus—the good shepherd and the door, who is also God—cares for his sheep, unlike the religious experts and elite who throw them out of the synagogue. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, shepherd imagery described Israel’s leaders, in both good and bad comparisons. Jesus, through his care of this blind man and his confrontation of poor leadership, demonstrates that true shepherds do not harm their sheep—they lay down their lives for them.
October 21st
The fact that Jerusalem’s religious leaders want Jesus dead is no secret by now. But when Lazarus, who lives right next to Jerusalem, falls ill, Jesus and his disciples must decide whether to avoid the death threat in Jerusalem or face it head-on to be with Lazarus. The disciples balk at traveling to Lazarus’ hometown, Bethany, which means “house of suffering.” Thomas is sure that they’re all going to die, but Jesus is willing to lay down his life for his friends, so he faces the threat. The disciples follow. Upon arriving—after Jesus’ intentional delay—the disciples learn that Lazarus has been dead for several days. Notice the parallels in Jesus’ conversations with Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha. Both women start with anguish. “Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died.” Martha expresses her grief and also her faith, trusting that Jesus is the Messiah and that her brother will be raised one day. Entirely devastated, Mary throws herself at Jesus’ feet, and he weeps with her. Even though Jesus knows that Lazarus’ future will continue, he still grieves deeply over his death. The fact that God will ultimately heal does not make death and suffering feel like a minor problem. Jesus weeps. And then Jesus commands: “Lazarus, come out!” This miracle is Jesus’ seventh major sign act in John’s gospel, beginning with turning water to wine and completing with this resurrection of life. Still, when news of Lazarus’ resurrection spreads, the scheming religious leaders remain unmoved. They agree that only God can raise the dead, so this sign should humble them, but their blindness drives them to hate. They even begin plotting to kill the newly resurrected Lazarus. From here, Jesus heads to Jerusalem. Riding a donkey into the city, the crowds praise him like a king. However, he knows he must be lifted high as the suffering servant (Isa. 6:1). Jesus knows heading to Jerusalem means laying down his life. Watch today’s video for a reminder of all that Jesus has done before heading into Jerusalem in this upside-down triumphal entry.
October 22nd
On the night before his death, Jesus kneels before his disciples with a water bowl and towel, washing their dirty, travel-worn feet. Household servants were supposed to wash guests’ feet, not important teachers. Peter is appalled, stammering his objections, but Jesus insists. Peter flails to the other extreme by saying, “If you’re going to wash my feet, you might as well wash me from head to toe!” Jesus assures him that won’t be necessary. This cleansing is an example to follow. Jesus is showing Peter (and everyone) a way to live, which is not about grasping for status but about humbly taking care of one another. In the Kingdom mindset, there are no people who are too important to care for others’ needs. Humble love and service is the divine-human way. Notice how the narrative pace in John slows after chapter 12, with chapters 13-17 serving as Jesus’ final teaching for his disciples (often called the Upper Room Discourse) before he goes to the cross. Here, Jesus says that those who seek the Father can do so by following him. When he departs, the Holy Spirit will come to guide them into fuller understanding. Above all, by obeying him, they will remain rooted in his love like branches in a vine. Obedience means loving each other—not with soft sentimentality but with a kind of love that acts. This is a love so strong that it requires laying down the old life to abide in God’s new life. In today’s video, you will see how far Jesus is willing to go to demonstrate this type of love. The true mark of Jesus’ people is the fruit of abiding love, cultivated in the soil of obedience, watered by the Spirit, and budding into the shape of a cross.
October 23rd
Today’s reading concludes Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse with his disciples, which John writes about in chapters 13-17. As we continue reading, Jesus is facing his impending death. It feels as if time slows and the air is heavy until Jesus wraps up his conversation with the high priestly prayer in John 17, recorded only in this gospel. When they see him murdered, the disciples might begin to doubt his claims, so Jesus reminds them that he is truly from the Father and will be departing soon to return to the Father. But this does not mean he will abandon them. The Holy Spirit will be with them, guiding them in everything Jesus said and did, continuing to move them toward the goal of total union with Father, Son, and Spirit. Some see Jesus’ prayer like a doorway into life with God as Trinity. Jesus wants his people to live completely as one, just as he is one with the Father and Spirit, so that the world will know he is real and that God truly sent him (John 17:20-23). The next scene turns dark, as Judas’ betrayal leads to Jesus’ arrest and confrontation with the Roman governor over Judea, Pontius Pilate. When Jesus tells Pilate that he came to bring the truth, Pilate scoffs, “What is truth?” This subtle hyperlink strings together earlier teachings that “God’s word is truth” (John 17:17) and that the “Word became flesh” (John 1:14). Pilate scoffs at the idea of truth while the truth stands in front of him.
October 24th
Jesus stands bruised and bloodied before Pilate, a crown of thorns puncturing his head. After enduring relentless mockery—“He thinks he’s the king of the Jews!”—Jesus then hears his death sentence. “Crucify him! Crucify him!” This coronation of the world’s true king is the ugliest ceremony ever. Jesus said he would be “glorified,” but this can’t be what he meant, right? How can anyone believe this humiliated, defeated man is any kind of king? Hyperlinks to the Hebrew Bible permeate John’s crucifixion scene, stressing that Jesus is not defeated here. From the division of Jesus’ clothes (Ps. 22:18), to the offer of sour wine (Ps. 69:21), the use of a hyssop branch (Exod. 12:22-23, Lev. 14:49-53), and the piercing of Jesus’ side (Zech. 12:10), John’s literary connections throughout this dark scene suggest that the Scriptures have always been anticipating this moment. The big idea here is that Jesus does not die as an unwilling victim. He enters into his fate out of love for all people, including his enemies—this is what an upside-down kingdom looks like. That kind of love rises victorious over death itself, which leads to the most unbelievable moment of all: The king resurrects and returns! Jesus finds Mary Magdalene in a garden. In a callback to Eden, here, God is walking beside humanity in a garden once again. When Jesus utters her name, Mary believes the unbelievable and runs to tell the others. Having just doubted, denied, and deserted Jesus, Peter now believes what his eyes see. He rushes to Jesus and declares his sincere love for him. It’s a moment of forgiveness and restoration that, as you’ll see in today’s video, represents everything the Kingdom of Heaven is all about. Concluding his gospel, so upside-down and shocking that it’s hard to believe, John confirms that he’s written all of these stories down for one purpose: “so that by believing, you may have life in his name.” John invites us to come and see and believe in Jesus so that we might have true life.