Category: Lent Bible Study

Today’s reading picks up the day after Jesus walked on water. The crowds are diligently searching for Jesus and finally find him. They are seeking him because he fed them physically with the fish and the loaves. He tells them they should not be searching for food that spoils; they should be searching for eternal life.

The crowd wants to know what they have to do to get this eternal life. Jesus says,”They must believe in the one God has sent.” Their reply is, “Give us a miraculous sign.” I’m annoyed at this point because I’m thinking, “Didn’t he just feed five thousand plus?” Of course, they may not be aware of the walking on water miracle, but seriously!

Jesus tries to explain to them that God gives bread from heaven. They are looking for the manna that their forefathers ate, but Jesus tells them that he is the true bread from heaven. He is the bread of life. They were looking for manna to feed them everyday like they were fed in the desert. Jesus fed them once. Moses fed them daily. They demand to see more.

Of course, Jesus is talking about the spiritual while they are focusing on the physical. They completely miss the point. He then goes on to talk about coming down from heaven and raising up people on the last day. The Jews start grumbling at this point because they know his parents are Joseph and Mary. They can’t fathom how it would be possible for Jesus to come down from heaven.

Jesus than tells them they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to gain eternal life. At  this point, the crowd decides he’s nuts. How can they eat his flesh and drink his blood? Jesus is looking towards the cross that he knows is coming. He’s referring to the sacrament of the Last Supper. The crowd can’t possibly know this and the disciples can’t understand it either. But, I wonder if this large group of doubters remembers this conversation after the Resurrection?

Clearly, the Apostle John remembers, because he wrote it down. What must they have thought about this truth on the Easter side of the Last Supper and the Cross?

Many of the disciples who had been following him, desert him at this time. His words are simply too shocking for them. We have to remember that there were more disciples than the twelve who were specifically called. There were others who followed Jesus too. Many of those chose to leave.

Then he addresses the twelve and asks them if they will leave too. Peter tells him , “We know you are the Holy One.” Outspoken Peter, nails it this time.

Then Jesus tells them that he has chosen each one personally, but one of them is a devil. I’ve always wondered about Judas. Did Jesus know from the very first that Judas would betray him? Did the disciples ever discuss among themselves who “the devil” was? Did any of them ever ask Jesus along the way?

The fact that Jesus allowed Judas to remain in his company day in and day out is close to unfathomable to me, but Jesus knew what his mission was and he never wavered from it. What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

In today’s reading, Jesus is busy performing miracles. The first one he performs is the feeding of the five thousand. This is a very familiar story to most Christians and is one of only two miracles that appear in all four Gospels. The other is the greatest miracle, the resurrection.

John tells us it was some time after the showdown with the Jewish leaders and Jesus has put some distance between himself and Jerusalem. The text tells us that he has crossed to the far side of the Sea of Galilee. At this point, there are crowds that follow him everywhere because of the miracles he had performed on the sick. They wanted something from him.

I think we can all plead guilty to leaning into Jesus when we want or need something. These people simply had the opportunity to follow him physically. Are we any better today than they were? Do we follow him closely all of the time or more often, when we are in need?

Jesus sees the huge crowd. There are five thousand men; that doesn’t even take into account the women and children. He knows it’s getting late, so he decides to test poor Philip. He asks him where they can go to buy bread to feed these people. The all too human and practical Philip, states the obvious. They don’t have enough money to buy food for this crowd. It would take eight months wages to have enough money. Philip was leaning on human understanding, but he was speaking to the Divine. How often are we guilty of doing the same?

Andrew doesn’t do much better when he says, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far can they go among so many?” Again, the human, leaning on human understanding is speaking to the Divine who is capable of anything.

This is such a common response for us, though, isn’t it? We pray to a God who created the universe, who spoke the stars into existence, is there anything that He can’t do?

Jesus tells them to have the people sit down. He takes the loaves and fish and gives thanks. He didn’t focus on the fact that there wasn’t enough in front of them. He gave thanks for what they had. When we put our needs into God’s hands, there will always be enough. This miracle is a concrete example of why we should have faith. God will provide and quite often with way more than we need. There were twelve baskets left over.

Can you imagine the whispers in the crowd as the word of what had happened spread like wildfire? Can you imagine what Philip and Andrew were thinking?

The people knew immediately that Jesus was something special and were going to force him to be their king. This was not what he wanted. Jesus believed that the world’s version of kingship came from the devil. So, he withdrew to a mountain by himself.

We see Jesus do that fairly often. He gets away from the crowds for some alone time. Maybe we should do the same.

It got dark outside and the disciples went to the lake and got into a boat. It doesn’t say why they didn’t wait for Jesus. Maybe if they had waited on him, there wouldn’t have been a strong wind to start with. They were about three-and-a-half miles out and Jesus approaches them, walking on the water. I think it’s important to note that he didn’t walk on water just a few steps. It was over three miles. There could be no doubt this was miraculous.

The disciples were scared to death. Then Jesus says one of my favorite lines; “Don’t be afraid. I am here.” Do we really need any other words from our Savior? They let him in the boat and immediately arrive at the safety of the shore.

Hmmmm, if we let Jesus into our boat, maybe we would witness the same.

What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, the showdown with the Jewish leaders continues. Yesterday, they argued about Jesus healing on the Sabbath and he tells them that he is the Son of God. He tells them that they should require no more testimony than that, but he knows they don’t believe him, so he talks about others who have testified about him.

He starts with  John the Baptist. He tells them that he knows they sent a delegation to John asking about Jesus and John told them that he was the Messiah. Jesus tells them that he doesn’t need human testimony about who he truly is. In other words, God doesn’t rely on humans to prove that he is God. But, Jesus is mentioning John’s testimony so that perhaps they will believe John’s word about him and be saved. The Jews had more respect for John’s word than Jesus’ word.

Jesus goes on to say that John was a “lamp that burned and gave light and you chose for a time to enjoy it.” The past tense may indicate that John had already been imprisoned or executed. But, the Jews never were truly comfortable with John’s message either.

Jesus says that he has an even stronger testimony than John’s. The miracles that he has performed should prove to them that he is from God.  But, they don’t know who God is.They studied every tiny detail of the scriptures hoping it would make them holy and righteous, but they missed the fact that the scriptures pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

Then, Jesus gives them an unexpected twist. He tells them since they have put all of their faith in Moses and in what he had to say, Moses will be their accuser before God, not Jesus. He says if they really believed Moses then they would believe Jesus because Moses wrote about him. Jesus is probably referring to Genesis 49:10. “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.”

So what does today’s reading mean for us some two thousand years later? I think today’s reading is kind of hard for us to grasp because it’s basically a debate between Jewish scholars and Jesus, who was also a Jew. These arguments sound strange to my Christian ears. We’ve seen miracles surround Jesus since his mother Mary was visited by Gabriel. Why in the world are these Jews so hard-headed?

We have to keep in mind that we live on the Easter side of the cross and they didn’t. They believed in their hearts, that they were protecting Judaism, which was always under attack. They thought they were honoring God, because they were looking for something else, a different kind of Messiah. We too, can miss blessings when we look for something to fill our preconceived notions.

Jesus cared enough about these people to try and convince them of the truth. He could have refused to talk to them and who knows, maybe he did change a few hearts. We know the majority weren’t convinced, but maybe a few were. To Jesus, every soul counts. What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Just as we suspected, the Jews were outraged by the healing of the man at the pool. Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath and that broke their laws. The Jews of that time didn’t refer to God as “Father;” the term was too intimate. When Jesus referred to God that way, he was saying that God was his father. This angered the Jews.

Jesus also said that the work of his Father didn’t stop on the Sabbath. He meant that God’s deeds of compassion didn’t stop because of the Sabbath or any other day. Deeds of compassion should be done on the Sabbath like all days and Jesus was doing them just like God does them.

The Jews did not object to the idea that God is the Father of all, but they had huge issues with the concept that Jesus had a special relationship with God, making him an equal.

Jesus goes on to say that he can only do the things he does because of his dependence on the Father. Jesus tells his persecutors that God has revealed His plans and purposes to him and Jesus is obediently carrying them out.

He then continues to blow their minds and stir their anger by saying that he has the ability to judge the dead and raise the dead. The Jews believed that God was the only one with the ability to judge and raise the dead, period. This was a very firm and important belief to them. This teaching sounded like blasphemy to them, hands down. They believed that his claims were impossible, wrong and perhaps even evil and he had to be stopped.

Jesus also tells them that he can also give the spiritually dead life, now.

He ends the conversation by discussing judgement. Although salvation comes from God, in response to faith, judgement is on the basis of works. There’s a fine distinction here. He’s not talking about the concept of eternal life, but judgement on those who have done “good” and those who have done “evil.”

Jesus stresses again his dependence on the Father. He judges as he hears from the Father. He says, “By myself I can do nothing.” This makes his judgement fair.

Jesus was talking about some radical concepts. In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders saw him as a prophet, then they saw him as a nuisance. After this conversation, they saw him as an enemy to their faith. They really began looking for a way to kill him and shut him up for good.

The Jewish leaders were looking for a different kind of Messiah, not Jesus. They looked for something different and wanted something different, so they missed the gift right in front of them. How often do we make the same mistake? We are searching for, or waiting for something different, something we think we need, and we miss beautiful gifts and opportunities that are put right in front of us. Food for thought.

What do you think about today’s reading?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today’s reading picks up, “some time later,” after Jesus healed the official’s son. Until now, we have had more of a day-to-day account of what Jesus was doing, but today, a little time has passed. We know Jesus was in town for a feast. There were three that all Jewish males were required to attend, but the scripture doesn’t say which one.

Since Jesus was back in Jerusalem, he would be under much closer scrutiny by the Jewish leaders. He would have had more freedom in Galilee as well as Samaria to teach and heal without constant questions and objections from the people who considered themselves in charge. He had to have known that each time he healed or taught when he was in the area of the temple, would bring him a step closer to the cross. He healed and taught anyway.

There was a pool that attracted all sorts of disabled people from blind to lame to paralyzed. They believed that from time-to-time and angel of the Lord, stirred up the water and caused it to bubble.The first person in after the movement in the water was healed. So, these people sat day after day, hoping for a miracle, hoping for healing.

Jesus walks by and sees a man lying on a mat. The text tells us that he had been an invalid for 38 years. He may have been completely paralyzed or have had very little use of his legs; the Bible isn’t specific. Either way, he couldn’t make it to the pool without assistance.

Jesus asks him the simple question, “Do you want to get well?” It seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Yet, it has a deeper meaning. Jesus asks every one of us on a daily basis, “Do you want to get well? Do you want to be whole? Do you want to be forgiven? Do you want to be free?” How do we answer these questions when they are directed at us?

The man answers, “Sir, I have no one to help me to the pool.” He doesn’t ask Jesus for help or for healing. He doesn’t appear to know who Jesus is. Until now, people have come to Jesus asking for help. Their faith heals them. But, in this instance, Jesus heals a man who has no idea who he is.

He tells him to pick up his mat and walk. Here’s the faith part in this story. He picks up his mat and walks. He doesn’t argue. He doesn’t hesitate or ask a bunch of questions. He does as he’s told. He hasn’t walked in 38 years, but stands up and walks away. Here’s another example of someone doing as Jesus tells them to, with fabulous results.

Jesus sees him later in the temple and tells him to stop sinning or something worse could happen. This man had been physically trapped for a long time, but Jesus wanted him to know  that there are eternal consequences for sinning. The the man tells the Jews who healed him.

Again, Jesus had to have known the trouble it would stir up for him by talking to the man in the temple, but he did it anyway. He had a mission.

What do you think about today’s reading?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

After two days with the Samaritans, Jesus and his disciples head for Galilee, his hometown. Apparently, Jesus didn’t expect much of a reception because he pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. In other words, the folks you grow up with, don’t have much respect for you.

His comment points to human nature in general. When you grow up with someone or watch someone grow up, I think it would be difficult to see them in a new light as a prophet. It would be even more difficult for them to believe he was the Messiah. If your next door neighbor was gone for a few years and came back home as a prophet with followers, it might be hard to believe. I think Jesus is tapping into our own human weaknesses and simply pointing them out to his disciples. He is stating the truth of human nature.

But, when he arrives, the Galileans welcome him. Had Jesus been wrong about his hometown welcome? Unfortunately, no. If we read carefully, we will see that they had “seen all he had done.” It says once again, he visited Cana. Remember what happened in Cana? Yep, the first miracle was there.

The Galileans weren’t welcoming the Messiah. They were welcoming a miracle worker. They welcomed Jesus because of what he could do for them. Does this sound painfully familiar to us today? How often do we seek Jesus when we need something physical, like healing? Do we wait to seek him when there’s nowhere else to go? Do we wait to seek him when we want something from him? I suspect most of us are a lot like these Galileans.

To make matters worse, a royal official in Herod’s service, heard Jesus was in town and asked him to heal his gravely ill son. This guy wasn’t even a Jew. He was a Roman; but as most parents know, was willing to do anything to save his child.

I picture Jesus saying wearily, with a sigh, “Unless, you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

The man persists, as any parent would, and Jesus simply tells him, “You may go. Your son is healed.”

The man took Jesus at his word and left. Let’s ponder that for a moment. The man took Jesus at his word. Here’s a Roman who likely knew nothing about God or Jesus or anything about the Jewish faith. He took Jesus at his word. Do we take Jesus at his word? Do we have the faith of this Roman officer in Jesus’ abilities?

His faith was rewarded and the boy was healed at the exact time Jesus said he would be. The official’s entire household believed. I once again, find myself wondering about these people. How many people were in that household? How many people did that miracle change forever? Did they go on to share their faith with others? Did they come to the aid of other new Christians down the road? We will never know; but my curious mind would love to.

The scripture ends saying this was the second miraculous sign, but specifically, it was the second time Jesus performed a miraculous sign after coming from Judea to Galilee.

What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, we find Jesus on the move. The Pharisees had heard about his disciples baptizing people and began to take a special interest in Jesus and he knew it was time to go. He would come back eventually and eventually, that path would lead him to the cross. He knew that and accepted that, but now was not the time for that. His time had not yet come.

So, he and the disciples traveled through Samaria. Jesus was tired and thirsty and rested by a well, while the disciples went into the village to buy some food. I love this human glimpse of Jesus. He was tired and thirsty from his long walk. The Son of God was tired and thirsty. Don’t we all get tired? Jesus understands. He’s been there.

It was around noon and a woman comes out alone to draw some water. She had several strikes against her.  First of all, she was a Samaritan and Jews did not associate with the Samaritans. They were considered unclean. Secondly, she was a woman. Jewish men did not talk to women who were alone. Finally, she was an outcast of her own people, coming to the well by herself and not with other women. She had been married five times and was now living with a man she wasn’t even married to. Scandalous!

But, here the Messiah was asking her for a drink of water. She wants to know why he would even ask her for a drink of water. A Jew would become ceremonially unclean if he used a drinking vessel handled by a Samaritan, because the Samaritans were considered unclean. Jesus again, shows us that he sees people for who they are, not where they are from. He also shows us that he is quite comfortable talking with women, something completely unacceptable until this point.

Jesus tells her he has a kind of water to offer her that will keep her from ever being thirsty again and will give her eternal life. Her response was:  “Where do I get some?” I feel the same way as she did when I read this. It sounds so inviting doesn’t it?

Jesus tells her to go and get her husband. She tells him the truth. She doesn’t have one. He tells her that he already knows this and goes on to say that she has had five husbands and isn’t even married to the one she is living with. The woman is stunned.

Confession works the same way with us. Jesus already knows what we have done before we confess, so why is it so hard to confess? We know we will be forgiven. Why do we hesitate?

She asks Jesus why the Jews insisted that Jerusalem was the only place to worship. Jesus tells her that the time is coming when the place of worship will not matter. The worship will be about the person worshiping in Spirit and truth, not about the place.

She tells him she knows a Messiah is coming and then he says the magic words. “I am the Messiah.” NLT

The disciples return and are shocked to find Jesus talking to the woman, but don’t have the nerve to ask him why. They have to know by now, that everyday with Jesus is a wild ride. He’s performed miracles and driven unscrupulous people from the temple. Who knew what he would do next?

The woman ran into town and told the other Samaritans. She must have been believable because many people followed her to the well. Here is a great example of Jesus’ ability to change us.

The Samaritans ask him to stay with them and he stayed for two days and many believed. We don’t get the disciples’ reaction to them staying in Samaria, but that had to have been shocking to them too. That’s where today’s scripture ends.

What do you think about Jesus and the Samaritan woman?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, a rivalry begins. Jesus is traveling around with his disciples and teaching. His disciples begin baptizing people. John the Baptist’s disciples hear about it and get upset. They are losing some of their followers to Jesus. They go and tell John.

Once again, we get a front row view of John’s humility. He tells them that he and Jesus have gifts given to them from God, so there is no place for envy. He is content to serve with what he has been given. He reminds them that he has told them from the very beginning that he is not the Christ, but someone sent ahead to prepare the way.

He then goes on to say that it is the bridegroom who marries the bride.  The bridegroom is the most important man at the wedding. The best man is happy to stand there and hear the vows. The best man is there to help, not to be in the spotlight. John says his joy is now complete.

John then goes on to say that Jesus must become more and John must become less. These are such wise words. So often, we can get enthralled with some kind of Biblical teacher, preacher or writer. We have a tendency to follow their teachings and their philosophies. We buy their books. We often forget, that while these people may have the ability to shine brilliant light on the Bible or on God, they are just teachers and helpers. The light has to shine on Jesus, not on man. John is a perfect example of humility, graciousness and truth.

John then goes on to say that people are from earth and can only speak as people from earth. Jesus is from heaven. He testifies from divine experience. When anyone accepts Jesus’ testimony, they accept the truth that Jesus came from heaven and that God was acting in him for the world’s salvation.

John ends this discussion by saying that, “The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands.” That means Jesus has the wheel, if we give it to him. If we believe, Jesus is in charge, a fact I find very comforting. He then paraphrases Jesus’ earlier words that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But, then John goes a little bit further.

He says, “Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath will remain on him.” God’s wrath is a strong expression and is only found in this Gospel. It means that God is actively opposed to everything evil. The wrath will not fade away; it is permanent. John the Baptist is telling his followers that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, period. He has been preparing the way and hopefully, preparing his own disciples for Jesus, but this is it. Jesus is the real deal and they need to accept him, just as John has.

What do you think about today’s scripture? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

 

In today’s reading, we find Nicodemus intently trying to understand Jesus’ message.We learn that he is a Pharisee. We love to think badly of those guys because they always seemed to be in conflict with Jesus, but in all fairness, they were trying to be good Jews. They were a lot like Christians today, who attend church and try to follow all of the rules. We have to remember that grace was not a concept the Jews were familiar with. They had the law to guide them, not grace.

Modern Christians can fall into that trap as well if we are not careful. Sometimes we can quote scripture all day long, but are we living in the love that comes from the Gospel? Are we a reflection of the grace that comes from Jesus? We have the luxury of knowing how this story ends. We live on the Easter side of the cross. The Pharisees did not.

So, Nicodemus, a respected Pharisee, meaning he was well acquainted with Jewish teachings and the law, sought out Jesus to try to learn more. The scripture says he met with Jesus at night. Maybe he was embarrassed  about being seen with Jesus. Maybe he knew that Jesus was surrounded by crowds during daylight hours and he wanted to have uninterrupted alone time to ask his questions. The scripture doesn’t tell us, so we can only speculate.

Whatever his motives were, Jesus certainly knew what they were and he was more than happy to share the truth with him. This is such a fantastic picture of Jesus. It doesn’t matter who seeks him or the circumstances; he will always share his truth and his grace. If we seek him, we will find him.

Nicodemus tells Jesus that he knows he is from God, because of all of the miraculous signs he has performed, but he wants to know more. Jesus talks to Nicodemus about the concept of being born again. Nicodemus is confused by this revelation. Jesus explains that humans can only make human life, but the Holy Spirit gives spiritual life. The Holy Spirit works as he pleases in his renewal of the human heart.

Jesus then goes on to say one of most Christians’ very favorite Biblical lines, John 3:16:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” I also really like the following verse: “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus has summed up the Christian faith in a nutshell. It’s at the heart of what we believe. It’s about love and sacrifice. It’s about hope. Unfortunately, we don’t see a reply from Nicodemus. How did he react to those deep words of truth? Did he get his answers or did he have more questions? I really would love to know.

The exchange ends with Jesus saying the light that has come into the world and evil hates the light. People who live by truth come to the light. I think, the question for us is how are we doing at seeking the light, at seeking more of Jesus? Do we seek him in the light for all to see or do we seek him behind closed doors?

What do you think about Nicodemus and his exchange with Jesus? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

After the wedding at Cana, Jesus and his family, and his disciples, spent a few days in Capernaum. When it was almost time for the Passover Feast, which all Jews were required to celebrate, Jesus went to the temple and was angered by what he saw.

There were money changers and merchants selling cattle, sheep and doves in the outer court of the temple. The Jews were required to offer a sacrifice and those traveling from far away, often needed to purchase one. That in itself, was not the problem. These people were offering a needed service. There was also only certain currency that was allowed to be used in the temple. The money changers were providing a service. This was not the problem either.

The problem was, that in jockeying for the “best position,” these folks had decided not to just provide these services when the traveling pilgrims got close to the temple; they decided to go onto the temple property itself. This outer court, was the only place that the Gentiles, the non-Jews who may be seeking God, were allowed to pray. The Gentiles were not allowed inside the temple.

So, if a Gentile were to come to pray during Passover, they were greeted with a marketplace and since they weren’t allowed to go inside, this would be all they would get to witness of the Jews worshiping God. This made Jesus very angry.

We rarely think of Jesus as being angry. This is the man who willingly gave his life for all of mankind. This is the man who asked God to forgive those who taunted him as he was dying on the cross. But, defiling God’s house made him angry. Not only did it make him angry, he fashioned a whip out of cords and drove them out.

What does this display tell us? Well, it’s kind of comforting to me to know that it is okay to get angry about something we are passionate about. The Bible has many places where God gets angry. Anger is a natural emotion for us and is sometimes justified.

But, I think the bigger story here may be that the greed of these merchants may have been a stumbling block for those who were seeking God. I don’t think he had a problem with them providing a service or even making a reasonable amount of money. I think his issue was they had taken their greed and moved it into the temple, into God’s house. That made him furious.

I think it’s also important to note that Jesus wasn’t just some passive person. He was the Son of God. He was strong and he was passionate. I think we would like to put him in a neat little box where he was never angry and always had a smile on his face. The scripture paints a different story.

The chapter ends with him telling the religious leaders who were angry at his display that they could destroy the temple and he would rebuild it in three days. They thought he was crazy, but he was already referring to his death and resurrection. Jesus knew exactly what was coming.

What do you think about Jesus clearing the temple? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂