Read John 1:1-28

John the author (not to be confused with John the Baptist) opens the book with a beautiful (and slightly confusing) introduction of Jesus as the Word and the light. Simply put, these two names illustrate two of Jesus’ purposes during His time on earth that John the author thought to be of great significance. The Word describes Jesus as the embodiment of God’s thoughts and desires. In the same way that we use our words to articulate what we think and feel, God sent Jesus to express His thoughts and feelings to us. John the author also says here that the Word (Jesus) was with God and He was God. This is John’s way of teaching the great mystery of the trinity – that Jesus is distinct from God but also one with Him (super confusing). The light describes Jesus as a teacher. In the same way that light makes it possible to see, Jesus came to open our spiritual eyes to things that we would otherwise not understand. There are many layers to these names, but that’s a starting place to understanding them.

 After introducing us to Jesus, John the author introduces us to John the Baptist. One thing that is interesting, is that John the Baptist claims to be no one special. He says that he is simply telling people about Jesus. He has some high praise for Jesus that creates great anticipation for who Jesus is and what He will do.

•  John the author claims at the very beginning of the book that Jesus is God. Consider the weight of that claim. If there is a God that created our world and he came to earth as a human, what does that mean for you? Do you want to know who that God is?

• How have you experienced Jesus as the Word and the light?

Read John 1:29-51

In the first section of today’s reading, we see a new name of Jesus – the Lamb of God. John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God to show that He is the fulfillment of God’s law. In all of human history prior to Jesus’ life, God’s people had to make sacrifices (usually animal sacrifices) to pay for their sin. By calling Jesus the Lamb of God, John the Baptist is saying that Jesus will be the final sacrifice for sin that had been prophesied. His death would pay for the sins of anyone who believes in Him. We will continue to see many names of Jesus as we read. It might be helpful to keep a list of them and what they tell us about Jesus.

 Next, Jesus calls His first disciples to follow Him. In the first invitation, He asks Andrew “What are you seeking?” Jesus asks Andrew to examine his motives before deciding to follow Him. Another interesting part of these interactions is Nathanael’s response to hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. (SURPRISE! Another name! Messiah is the name used throughout the Old Testament to prophesy of God’s anointed savior who would save God’s people.) Nathanael seems to be shocked that the Messiah would come from the small town of Nazareth. Despite their initial concerns, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael all follow Jesus.

• Do you feel like your sin separates you from God? That’s why Jesus came! Do you trust that Jesus, the Lamb of God, paid for your sin on the cross? 

• As we begin reading about the life of Jesus, what are you seeking?

• Do you, like Nathanael, have any biases or preconceived ideas about Jesus or God that might keep you from seeing who Jesus really is as we read?

Read John 2:1-25

In chapter 2, we see John the author’s accounts of a couple of firsts from Jesus. We see His first miracle and His first prediction of His death and resurrection. As we read, try to remember that God does nothing on accident. Even the order and timing of His actions tell us something about who He is. Pray that God would show you His character as you read.

At the beginning of the chapter, we see Jesus turn the water into wine. This is our first glimpse at the power of Jesus. Like Jesus’ disciples and the people who witnessed the miracle, this is the first time we see Jesus’ divinity in action – not just hearing Him or others speak of it. Next, we see Jesus create a bit of chaos in the temple. He sees that people are using the temple for trade and personal gain, and He is furious! He drives them out and demands that they respect the temple. Finally, when He was asked what authority he had to do this, he used the metaphor of tearing down and rebuilding the temple to predict His own death and resurrection.

•  Do you believe that God can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants?

• Try to imagine what it would have been like to be one of Jesus’ disciples. Would His actions be confusing? Scary? Alarming? Have you ever experienced confusion in your life following Jesus?

• How can we balance trusting that God is all powerful and not always understanding what He’s doing?

Read John 3:1-21

Chapter 3 begins with the introduction of a new character – Nicodemus. We don’t know much about Nicodemus other than his high religious profile as a Jewish Pharisee. This means he was very knowledgeable and a teacher of the Jewish faith (God’s chosen people throughout the Old Testament). Jesus tells Nicodemus that to be a part of God’s family, you must be born again. Naturally, Nicodemus is confused, and Jesus explains that it is not another physical birth that is required but a spiritual birth. We must be spiritually made new by God to be a part of His family. Nicodemus is still confused and Jesus tells Nicodemus that we need to look beyond what our physical eyes can see to experience the spiritual fullness of God.

After explaining this spiritual rebirth to Nicodemus, Jesus tells Nicodemus how God will make this rebirth possible. Jesus says that He is the one who can reunite us with God and make our spiritual rebirth possible. He explains that God sent Him into the world to save it. God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn us for our sins but to free us from them! Jesus says that he will be lifted up (referring to his crucifixion), and that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Trusting that Jesus’ death pays for our sin is what makes it possible for us to be born again.

• In this interaction, we see that Nicodemus had all of the head knowledge, but He missed the spiritual work of Jesus. How can we be careful to not only engage who Jesus is with our heads but also with our hearts?

• Does the idea of being born again make sense to you? Do you agree that all humans need a spiritual rebirth? If this idea is confusing, I’d encourage you to read today’s reading in the Message Bible. If you don’t know how to find that, just Google “John 3 in the Message Bible.”

• How does it make you feel that God loves you so much that he sent Jesus to die so that you can have eternal life with Him?

Read John 3:22-36

In today’s reading, Jesus and John the Baptist were baptizing people. One of John the Baptists disciples asked him why he was not upset that many people were choosing to go to Jesus instead of him. John the Baptist responds by saying that his whole life mission has been to point people to Jesus – never to get people’s approval for himself. He says that Jesus’ praise must increase, and his own praise decrease. John the Baptist’s only goal was to point people to Jesus.

John the author then explains John the Baptist’s reason for living this way. As he writes about who Jesus is, he implies that it only makes sense to point people to Jesus because He is the one with all power, and He is the one who can give eternal life. The chapter ends with John the author saying this in verse 36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36 ESV) The words John the author chooses here imply that we all have God’s wrath on us because of our sin. The idea here is that all sin must be paid for by death (see Romans 6 for more), but through Jesus, God is offering an alternative payment for our sin if we believe in Jesus.

• How can we learn from John the Baptist’s example and make our lives all about Jesus? What parts of your life do you need to refocus on Jesus?

• All of us have sinned, and all sin must be paid for. There are two options for how our sin can be paid for. We can pay for our own sin in death and separation from God or we can accept Jesus’ death as the payment for our sin. Does this idea make sense to you? If not, please reach out to Julia or Darron!

• If you have accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for your sins, take a few moments to thank Him.

Read John 4:1-45

Today we read about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Do you remember a few days ago when we said that Jesus doesn’t do anything on accident? That is definitely true in today’s reading! What town Jesus goes through and what time he passes the well seem to be coincidences until we meet this Samaritan woman. As we observe their interaction, it becomes clear that Jesus is not there on accident; He is there for her! This story is a beautiful example of the way God pursues us.

As we read about their interaction, John the author points out a couple other cool things. One is Jesus saying that He can provide spiritual water. He uses the example of water to say that he can meet our spiritual thirsts and desires – He can satisfy us. Finally, after Jesus tells the Samaritan woman things about her past that He could only know if He was the Messiah, she believes Him! The last thing we see in this story is the woman’s response. She goes and tells everyone about Jesus, and many people believed because of her testimony.

• How has God pursued you in your life? Some examples might be people He put in your life or times when you were at your worst and God was still there.

• Do you have a spiritual thirst or desire for God? Pray that God would increase your desire to know Him and increase your faith that He is the one who can satisfy your greatest longings.

• How can we learn from the Samaritan woman’s example? God has pursued you and meets your greatest desires! How eager are you to tell others about Him?

Today, we see two more miracles of Jesus. He heals a man’s son that he has never even met and he heals a lame man by telling him to get up and walk! As awesome as these miracles are, there’s also beauty in the order of these events. Jesus meets the physical needs of each of these people, and then they begin to follow Him! It’s amazing that Jesus seems to be ok with that. Through meeting their physical needs, He softens their heart to believe in Him so that he can meet their spiritual need.

Another interesting thing in this passage is the building tension between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus was the Messiah that would fulfill God’s promises to them, but many of them did not believe.

• How can you learn from Jesus’ example of how to invite people to follow Him? Who are the people around you with physical needs that you can meet? That just might be what softens their heart for Jesus to meet their spiritual need.

• We talked in chapter 3 about how Nicodemus had all of the head knowledge but missed the spiritual work of Jesus. Today, we see the same thing with many Pharisees (Jewish leaders). In what ways are you tempted to value your knowledge and opinions over your spiritual submission to God?

In today’s reading, Jesus speaks and addresses two themes that we have seen throughout the gospel of John so far. First, he speaks of his oneness with God the Father (You can now add Son of God to your list of names!). He says that He and the Father are one, and all of the power and knowledge that He has was given to Him by the Father. The simplest truth here is the most profound: a man is claiming to be God. Yes, there are many mysterious and marvelous layers to what Jesus is saying. The claim that every man and woman must wrestle with, though, is His claim to be the Son of God. Jesus says that our belief or doubt regarding this claim determines whether or not we will have eternal life.

The second theme Jesus speaks to is the doubt of the spiritual elite (the Pharisees and Sadducees to name a couple). There was a group of people when Jesus was alive who were very well acquainted with God’s word, but they did not believe in Jesus. Jesus implies here that they have put so much faith in their own knowledge and understanding that they cannot see their need for a Savior.

• What doubts do you have that Jesus was the Son of God? Is there a lack of evidence that causes these doubts or is it a lack of knowledge? Have you ever seriously looked for answers to your questions about who Jesus was?

• What are the reasons or evidences that make you most confident in your belief that Jesus was the Son of God? What are some things you can do to learn more of these evidences to increase your faith? (Examples: online research, books, podcasts, asking a spiritual mentor)

• Why do you think the religious leaders of that day had such a hard time believing that Jesus was the Son of God?