At the time of the events in John, chapter 7, some time has passed since the miracle of the loaves, and the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles was near. People would be flocking to Jerusalem for this annual spiritual rite. Tents would be set up around the city to commemorate Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness.
Read MoreOur scripture reading for this week begins with a well-known story, for some: Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. Fun fact, this is the only miracle recorded in all four of the Gospels! Anyway, back to the text...
As had become the norm by this time in His ministry, Jesus has a huge crowd of people coming to look for Him. He decides to feed them. It’s not just miraculous that He accomplishes this, but also HOW He does it.
Read MoreChapter 5 of John starts with Jesus having great compassion on a man who’s been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. This leads to the Jewish leaders questioning the man that was healed and ultimately persecuting Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus responds to their questioning with grace but also with clarity as to what spiritual healing must look like.
Read MoreJesus and his disciples were in the Judean countryside, and John the Baptist and his disciples were near by—both were baptizing people. John’s disciples come to him confused and jealous that people are going to Jesus instead of coming to them for baptism. John’s response really sums up this first section: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). John reaffirms what his role is, and points to the truth of who Jesus is.
Read MoreOur study of John 1 last week started with the revelation that Jesus was with God from the very beginning—and in fact is God. That He came to earth and dwelt among us. It ended with Jesus’ baptism and His choosing of some of the disciples. Quite a lot to digest for sure.
Chapter 2 starts with a wedding in Cana, a fairly common event. Jesus is there with His mother, Mary, and the disciples. He performs His first miracle by turning water into wine. I hesitate to call it a small miracle (is there such a thing?), but it certainly wasn’t as public or as dramatic as other miracles He did. The wedding guests didn’t even know it happened. A friend suggested to me that maybe He used that event simply to anchor the faith of His disciples. It makes sense. They had chosen to follow Him just a few days earlier because they believed who He was, but perhaps they needed this extra confirmation before Jesus began His public ministry.
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