John
Hardened Hearts and the Fear of Man
In this passage, there were those who would not believe and there were those who would not openly confess Christ even though they had believed. The first group, despite all Jesus’ miraculous signs, still would not believe in Him (vv. 37-38). This rejection had been prophesied by Isaiah …
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathaniel
Next Jesus brings Philip personally to Himself and tells him “Follow me” (v. 43). Philip, Nathaniel, and Peter were all from the same town (v. 44). Then Philip goes to Nathaniel and brings him to Jesus (v. 45). (Bible scholars believe that Nathaniel and Bartholomew are the same …
Pilate’s Compromise
Pilate sought to compromise to please both sides. Long before His arrest in the garden, the Jewish leaders had planned to kill Jesus (John 11:47-51), but they lacked the right to execute him. Seeking Roman approval, they brought Jesus before Pilate (v. 28). Pilate wasn’t anxious to get involved in …
Changing Water into Wine
Jesus with His six new disciples traveled from Bethany, which is near Jericho, to Nathaniel’s hometown of Cana in Galilee, which is about a two days’ journey on foot. Since Cana is near Nazareth, perhaps Jesus stopped in his hometown. Jesus and his disciples were invited to a …
Jesus Calms Their Fears
In the evening following the feeding of the 5000, the disciples got into a boat and left Jesus behind while they began to row toward Capernaum (vv. 16-17). As it became dark, a strong wind was blowing them off course (v. 18). Suddenly, to their amazement, they saw Jesus not far from the …
Philip Fails the Exam
There were great multitudes that followed Jesus everywhere He went because they did not want to miss the tremendous excitement of the “signs†which he did (vv. 1-4). They had just traveled along the northern shore of the sea of Galilee through rugged terrain to get to where He was. Jesus was …
The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep
The Pharisees were strangers, but Christ knows His sheep (vv. 14-16). Christ has a relationship with the sheep similar to His relationship with His Father. Jesus will bring other sheep (both Jews and Gentiles) into his flock (v. 16). Jesus will take up his life again. His death will be followed by …
Jesus’ Prayer for His Disciples
This passage continues the beautiful prayer of our Lord for His eleven disciples. He prays that they may be kept from the enemy, from the world and the devil (vv. 14-16). He is asking God to assume responsibility for these men directly, so that while He is personally absent from them, they may …
The Disciple’s Question
Jesus spoke these things while He was with the disciples, but His time with them was running out. The Holy Spirit would soon come to teach and to remind them of everything Jesus had taught them (vv. 25-26). This Helper is defined by holiness and truth (v. 17). Jesus was the Father’s …
Jesus is the Light
John, who presents Christ as the Son of God, begins his gospel in eternity past. He says that when time began, the Word (Christ) was already in existence (v. 1). Having established the eternity of the Word, John then pro¬ceeds to give a witness about Jesus’s involvement in creation …