The Gospel of John: Signs
The Logos
Mark starts his Gospel account with the a full grown John the Baptist, making an announcement about Jesus. Luke starts with the birth of John the Baptist, and the birth of Jesus. Matthew starts even further back in time, with a human genealogy of Jesus dating all the back to Abraham. But John starts from a different place entirely, with the pre-existent and eternal "Word" or "Logos" of God, through whom all the universe was made.
His Own Did Not Receive Him
The Word (or Logos) of God was coming into the world. Light shown out in the darkness. But this was a moment of both joy and confrontation, an event that separated light from darkness, forcing a decision among all those who encounter the Light.
The Logos Became Flesh
In John's opening verses, he challenges and overthrows the beating heart of Judaism, setting aside the Law and the Temple, and recalibrating Jewish faith and history around the person of Jesus. But in the process he does something equally provocative to their very concept of God.
Light of the World
John describes the Word becoming flesh as "the Light of the world" stepping into the darkness. The true Light anticipated by all other lights has arrived. But what are the implications of this Light? How does it affect our dying world? And what does it illuminate as it comes?
The Lamb of God
As John officially begins his narrative account, we get seven new titles for Jesus - only one of which appeared in the prologue. But the first is simply that Jesus is "the Lamb of God" come to take away the sins of the world. Why is this title significant? And why was it so difficult for John's original audience to receive?
Are You the Messiah?
As an oppressed nation waits with bated breath for their Messiah, suddenly a mysterious figure arises in the wilderness, and thousands flock to the desert to be baptized by him and sit under his teaching. The people believe he is a prophet (the first in 400 years) and the nation is stirred from top to bottom. The nation's leaders come to interview this man, and they start with the million-dollar question: are you the Messiah? How does John the Baptist respond to this crucial moment? And what does it have to teach us today?
Come Follow Me
In the opening chapter of John, we get to see the very first people begin to encounter Jesus and respond to Him in discipleship. What is involved in this encounter, and how are we to respond to the same Jesus today?
The Wedding Banquet
Chapter 2 starts with Jesus' first "sign" - turning water into wine at a wedding. But why does John call it a sign and not a miracle? And what is the deeper significance of this moment that John wants us to grasp?
Clearing the Temple
Even as the Word is becoming flesh, and God comes to "tabernacle" among His people, it begs the question, what will happen when God comes to His temple? Early in his account, John tells the events that unfold when Jesus enters the Temple in Jerusalem, as tables are turned and people and animals flee into the crowded streets of the city. But what was behind this act? And how it should it shape the way we see ourselves today?
Nicodemus Comes at Night
The last century has been the bloodiest in all of human history. Yet the Enlightenment (and the secular culture its produced) has refused to change its tone, insisting that human beings are essentially good and that we just need the right external changes in order to flourish. Jesus has an entirely different take on the human condition, and what it truly needs to flourish.
Wait, God Loves the World?
As Jesus wraps up his conversation with Nicodemus, John the author bursts out from behind the narrative, eager to interpret these events. And he starts with the words "For God so loved the world." To us, this verse is familiar enough to become cliche, but for the original audience it was provocative, if not shocking, and in some sense, it still provocative for us today.
Living Water
As Jesus sits with an unlikely person in an unlikely place, he tells her "If you knew who I was, you would ask, and I would give you living water." But what is this living water? And what are the lesser waters we run to that leave us thirsty again?
What are your Gifts?
In chapter 4 we find Jesus at an unusual place, talking to an unusual person. But the most remarkable part of the conversation is the way Jesus talks to this Samaritan woman, activating her in the way that the church was always intended to activate people.
Faith and Physical Healing
Jesus continues his journey from Jerusalem out to the fringes of Galilee, but the remarkable thing is, the further out he goes, the better response he receives. Those deemed "spiritually blind" on the fringes are actually the ones exercising the most faith, and therefore the ones who experience the most physical healing. But what is the relationship between faith and physical healing? Does Jesus still heal today? And if so what does it look like to partner with God in physical healing?
Healing on the Sabbath
Some time after healing the official's son, Jesus is back in Jerusalem as the scene for another healing story. But this one isn't primarily about physical healing at all, it's actually about the Sabbath.
Divine Self-Disclosure
After provoking the Jewish leaders by healing on the Sabbath, a confrontation erupts between Jesus and the Jewish leadership. Similar to the "temple clearing," Jesus responds by further provoking the national leaders. By rather than giving them a one a liner, He gives thirty verses worth of divine self-disclosure, unveiling who He is and what is relationship is like with the Father.
Life in the Desert
During the Passover celebration, the Jewish nation remembers the Exodus: its release from slavery, the conquering of the Red Sea, and miraculous provision in the wilderness. As the nation celebrates, Jesus feeds thousands of people in the wilderness, shows Himself enthroned over the Sea of Galilee, and invokes the divine name "I AM" (from the Exodus). But the crowds who were present misunderstood, and just like the Israelites of the Exodus, the most confusing part of our faith is our time in the desert.
I Am the Bread of Life
After multiplying bread and walking on water, the crowds come to Jesus eager to engage again, but Jesus tells them they don't understand the deeper sign, they don't recognize who He is or the fact that He alone will satisfy their true hunger and thirst.
Will You Leave Also?
As Jesus goes to the Festival of Tabernacles, his ministry seems to be in crisis. The religious leaders are plotting to kill him, the crowds can't decide if he is good or bad, most of his disciples have deserted him, and even his own brothers mock and tease. But it's important that we understand what Jesus is experiencing in this season, because it mirrors the cultural moment that we are living in. Millions of American Christians are walking away from their faith, and Jesus is once again turning to the remnant that is left and asking "will you leave also?"
Rivers of Living Water
As Jesus stands up at the Festival of Tabernacles, on the last and greatest day of the festival, and as the priests are pouring out water on the Temple grounds, He proclaims to His followers that He offers living water, and that those who come and follow Him will have rivers of living water (God's Spirit and blessing and salvation) that flow out of them. Whether we are in a "desert season" or a place of abundance, Jesus' promise to His followers remains.
Caught in Adultery
In a later inserted story, we see Jesus confronted by a mob who has caught a woman in the very act of adultery. They are ready to stone her according to the law of Moses, and they intend to trap Jesus in the process, but He comes at the situation from a very different angle. How did the religious leaders get things so wrong when they thought they were so right?
Darkness and Light
As great fires are being lit on the temple grounds, and the Israelites celebrate the Exodus and God's light, Jesus stands up and claims to be the light of the world. Whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but because He is the light, whoever rejects Him has no choice but to walk in darkness.
Doubting Jesus
As the crowds listen to Jesus' words and watch Him do impossible things, many continue to doubt that He is the Messiah. We are quick to judge them for their lack of faith, but we live in an age of doubt and skepticism, where all of us will have moments where we doubt Jesus.
The Father of Lies
Our discipleship to Jesus can be framed as a journey into greater and greater truth, but along the way we face an enemy described as the "father of lies." These lies distract and enslave, from individual lives to entire world-views, ideologies, and nation states. How do we recognize these lies? And what does true freedom look like?
Who Do You Think You Are?
In a world full of people claiming to be Savior or Lord, Jesus stands apart as unique. But why do we believe Him over the other voices? And what does it look like to acknowledge the truth of who He is in all areas of life?
The Healed Beggar
After Jesus heals a man born blind, he is dragged before the religious elite, who refuse to believe what has happened. Unfortunately the verdict was decided before the trail, and the evidence of the healed beggar doesn't count. But the reason this story is so striking is that it captures the cultural moment that we're living in. In what ways are we the healed beggars of the 21st century, dragged before modern day pharisees who have put the verdict before the trial?
Whose Voice Are You Following?
We all struggle in the day to day to conceptualize what God is like. But when God comes on the scene in the person of Jesus, He invites us to picture Him in the form of a Good Shepherd, someone who is close, loving, and intimate in the midst of a dark and difficult world. But even more than that, Jesus claims that in a world full of competing voices, His sheep will recognize His voice among them...
To Whom Do You Belong?
We all want to belong somewhere, but our sense of belonging actually guides a lot of what we choose to believe and not believe. We'd like to believe that we "rational autonomous selves" guided by truth, but often our desire to belong guides our sense of "truth."
Lazarus - Part 1
As Lazarus falls ill and dies, we see Jesus in action, revealing the truth of who He is and the way that He relates to us in our suffering.
Lazarus - Part 2
After mourning with the family and praying, Jesus prays and then calls Lazarus out of the tomb. But this was more than just a miracle, it was a sign, pointing forward to His resurrection... and our own.
Better That One Man Dies
After giving a final and climatic sign to the Jewish nation, it's time for the verdict. Will Israel and its leadership accept Jesus or reject Him? It's ultimately the high priest who drops the gavel, condemning Jesus for the same reason that millions of His followers have been condemned and persecuted all over the world, right up to this very day.
A Pint of Pure Nard
As Jesus and His disciples enjoy a meal together, suddenly the moment is interrupted when Mary does the unthinkable...
Ochlos vs Methetes
As Jesus enters Jerusalem, crowds gather to welcome Him as the new King. But just days later those crowds become disillusioned and want Jesus dead. What fueled such a radical change? And what separates the disciples from the crowds?
Lifted Up
As Jesus enters Jerusalem and people from diverse backgrounds flock to Him, He highlights a fate that no one is truly anticipating.
Three Inhibitors of the Light
Despite all that Jesus has done up to this point, there are still many that don't believe in Him. Some don't believe because they don't want to believe, others believe but hide their faith in fear of others, and still others have their faith "choked out" by competing loves and the worries of this life.
