John presents Jesus as the Word—God’s revelation of himself to humanity. The Word is with God, preexistent, distinct from God, coequal with God, and a person.

Through the Word, God brought light to darkness and life to nothingness. The light and life we find in Jesus is supreme, eternal, and universal.

One of the great mysteries of the Gospel of John is that the world did not recognize Jesus. He was presented to all, rejected by most, and received by some.

When we recognize Jesus as God, we have the opportunity to become God’s children. As such, we become his witnesses—light in a dark world.

Jesus is the embodiment of God’s grace and truth. In him, we find undeserved favor and intimate access to God.

John the Baptist brings an important and difficult message, calling people to repent in preparation of the coming Messiah. God intentionally sets the stage for his people to receive Jesus.

Jesus does not meet the expectations of the Jewish people, which leads to many rejecting him.

In Jesus, God gives us what we need, not what we want. We believe we need something or someone to make our lives better. But Jesus shows us that we need a whole new way of life.

When John the Baptist’s disciples leave him to follow Jesus, he knows that God’s mission is more important than his personal role.

As Jesus begins to gather his disciples, he shows them his true nature. He is their access to God, the One who connects Heaven and earth.

Mary expects Jesus to solve an immediate problem. However, he is clear that not only has the time not yet come for him to reveal himself as Messiah, but that his mission transcends solving earthly problems.

While Jesus corrects his mother, he also cares for the bridegroom. For the first time, he reveals his glory and power, and it moves his disciples to belief.

The miracle of turning water into wine is symbolic—Jesus uses ceremonial jars that represent the restriction of the law and turns them into a sign of abundance.

Jesus’ miracle happens behind the scenes, which creates a paradigm for us as believers. Our obedience in small, quiet places is often where God is at work.

The disciples are moved to belief by Jesus’ power, but many are not, including his brothers. The problem is not one of information, but of the heart.

When Jesus encounters distraction and even corruption in the Temple, he exerts his authority, driving out the merchants and money changers.

Jesus is clear that his priority is God’s people being able to worship and connect with him without distraction.

In their entitlement, the religious leaders seek to get Jesus to perform on their terms by asking him to authenticate his authority with a miracle.

For a receptive heart, miracles affirm faith. But for one whose heart is hardened, miracles further strengthen that person’s resistance to Jesus.

As Jesus reveals himself, we are all given opportunities to humble ourselves and engage him. We are also given opportunities to resist and reject him.

Jesus is the true Temple—not only is he our access to God, he is the sacrifice that makes it possible for us to approach God.

Sometimes we miss Jesus because our appetites are too small. We are content with less than what he is offering.

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus misinterpreted and reduced God’s Old Testament promises. We too can misinterpret Scripture, which was not written to justify our own sense of rightness. It was given as a witness to who God is.

Just like Moses lifted the snake in the desert, Jesus offers himself as a greater deliverance. If we receive him on his terms, despite our lack of understanding, he will give us life that cannot be destroyed.

Jesus was sent not to judge the world, but to save the world. Judgment is therefore dependent on us and our reception of Jesus as he presents himself.

Jesus wants to give us more. He holds himself out as the fulfillment of Scripture, as the source of life, hope, forgiveness, and salvation. When our identities are challenged, Jesus reveals whether or not he is our real source of life.

Although John the Baptist’s ministry diminishes, he is filled with joy at Jesus’ success. John understands that Jesus is the main character and he is simply a witness.

Being able to receive with gladness what God gives to us is a mark of great spiritual maturity.

While none of us are the main character, we do have a role to play. We can find freedom in accepting our place and our assignment from God.

We naturally want attention and affirmation for ourselves. This is revealed through our anxiety, stuck marriages, hidden sin, busyness, and worry over our children.

Unlike the Old Testament prophets, Jesus receives the Holy Spirit without limit. His authority is in a different category.

The gospel reveals Jesus’ identity as God’s beloved Son, and we are invited into that loving relationship. We must choose either faith in Jesus, which is revealed by obedience and grants us access to eternal life, or our own autonomy—rejecting Jesus and remaining under God’s judgment.

The woman’s need for water is real, but it is not her greatest need. We also can become obsessed with legitimate needs that are not our greatest need.

Jesus exposes her shame, which is painful. But we can only find genuine faith and healing when our sins are exposed.

In his love, Jesus forces her to a moment of judgment in order to give her an opportunity to go in a new direction. Likewise, if we are willing, Jesus will bear our shame.

It’s easy for us to think of Christianity as a series of rituals, but it is above all a relationship with Jesus. The substance of our faith is that Jesus died for us and put us in right relationship with God.

When the woman shares her story, many are compelled to hear more. We also should respond to God’s prompting, even when we don’t know where the journey will take us.

As Jesus returns to his hometown, he knows he will not be honored. However, he is not driven by a need for affirmation.

Most of the Galileans miss Jesus because they are distracted, judgmental, and demanding. They want Jesus to meet their agenda.

The official finds Jesus because he is broken, humble, and dependent. He understands his need, which makes it possible for him to receive Jesus with faith.

God uses pain as a doorway to his love and mercy. While suffering is difficult to endure, we can be encouraged that God uses it to reveal himself and draw us closer to him.

The official responds in faith even when he has no evidence of his son’s healing. Often, the only way we know we have faith is by obeying.

After finding his son alive and well, the official honors Jesus. When Jesus acts on our behalf, we also should take time to respond in faith and worship.

When Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, he creates tension for the Jewish leaders. They use the Scripture to exert control, and Jesus is threatening their power.

Jesus is clear that he is God’s Son, he is equal with God, and God has given him authority to judge as well as power over life and death.

Many seek Jesus as a way to better their lives. However, our biggest issue is not fulfilling our dreams—it is that we are dead and separated from God.

It’s normative in our culture to say you follow Jesus and live a life that does not reflect that reality. However, true belief leads to life change.

Like the Jewish leaders, we often twist the Scriptures to preserve our comfort and the illusion of control because we are fearful.

The crowd is drawn to Jesus because of his miracles. However, they are blinded by their own expectations and reliant on their own power, so they miss Jesus.

Jesus’ hiding from the crowd is a kindness. The worst thing that can happen to someone blinded by their own “truth” is to get what they want and realize it is not enough.

In contrast, the disciples simply desire to be with Jesus for who he is. They are operational, working in the field alongside him. It is important for us to serve on Jesus’ terms and not our own.

Life as a disciple includes obedience without understanding and waiting on Jesus. We must receive Jesus as he offers himself, not as we want him to be.

There will be times when we feel alone, but when we struggle through those fears and receive Jesus on his terms, he will act on our behalf.

Jesus is worthy of our trust because he is vulnerable for our sakes and patient with our limitations. We can trust that he is coming for us.

Many who follow Jesus are more interested in what he can do for them than in Jesus himself. Jesus will bring them to a point of decision—all must either believe in or reject him.

The only work we can do is to believe. Yes, our salvation represents a momentous work, but it is Jesus’ work, not our own.

Our independence is deeply embedded, and we all struggle to trust Jesus more than ourselves.

Like the crowd, we understand that if Jesus is King over our lives, he is in charge and we lose control. That element of risk requires faith in his goodness.

Our obedience to God is not always about our own benefit—it is about his glory. Part of following Jesus is obeying when we do not understand.

God is clearly sovereign over salvation, and we are responsible to pursue God and choose him. This is a mystery, and the fact that we cannot understand it is good.

Like Jesus’ brothers, we can seemingly be on board with Jesus without truly believing in him, seeking our own agendas instead.

The crowds recognize there is something different about Jesus’ teaching. Instead of attaching people to himself to gain affirmation, he promotes God and his kingdom.

Confronting them with their conflicting Sabbath rules, Jesus challenges the crowd to look beneath the surface to see what he is actually doing—bringing restoration. As a result, many believe in him.

Jesus is the solution to our spiritual thirst. Those who are thirsty, those who recognize their need, will come to him.

The defining quality of a Christian is the presence of the Holy Spirit working and regenerating them on the inside.

The Pharisees evaluate Jesus and reject him. In order to believe, we too evaluate Jesus, but we must also evaluate ourselves in order to recognize our spiritual thirst.

As Jesus reveals himself as the light of the world and offers himself as the source of life, the tension with religious leaders escalates.

In defining himself as the light, Jesus clearly claims to be God’s presence in the world, bringing order out of chaos and pushing back the darkness of sin.

Jesus exposes our sin and offers a cure. And we must choose either to follow the light of Christ or despise him for disrupting our darkness.

Unless we believe Jesus is who he claims to be and accept him as he offers himself, then we will die in our sin, separated from God.

Jesus tells his audience that his death will also be his glorification, and it will be a moment of revelation for many. In offering himself up for us, he provides a path through death into eternal life if we accept him on his terms.

In response to Jesus’ message, the religious leaders resist the idea that they need freedom from sin. They feel privileged and entitled because of their Jewish heritage.

Jesus acknowledges the reality of Abraham’s faithfulness and obedience to God. However, he is clear that his audience is not following Abraham’s example.

We also like to create our own categories of merit, but unless we reach despair over our brokenness, we will not see our need for what Jesus offers.

Jesus clearly claims equality with God, and it enrages his Jewish audience. If Jesus is who he claims to be, we must either offer our lives to him, or reject him.

Ultimately, our lives are not about us—they are about Jesus. He asks us to trust him and give ourselves to him in faith.

While the disciples are bogged down in their preconceptions of why a man would be born blind, Jesus sees and engages the man as a person.

Because God is our Creator, we exist for him—not ourselves. He has the right to do with us what seems best to him to reveal his power and glory.

We can trust God because Jesus came to suffer with us under the curse of the world’s brokenness and create a way out for us.

The man born blind is asked to obey in difficult circumstances. Even though he has very little information, he has courage born out of faith in Jesus.

Our faith cannot be built on answers and information—it lives through our stories of redemption.

Obeying Jesus and accepting him as he offers himself will disrupt our preconceived notions of the world. However, obedience is the only way to see Jesus.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus offers care, safety, and life. As his sheep, we follow and trust him because we know his voice.

The world has aligned itself with the values of the Enemy, and what it offers looks like freedom and affirmation, but that path ends in destruction.

In contrast, Jesus provides freedom from destruction. In order to enjoy Jesus’ protection, we have to trust him more than we trust ourselves.

We know Jesus is a Good Shepherd because he sacrifices himself for us. He was willing to take the judgment meant for us in order to provide us with eternal life.

God has pursued us in astonishing ways, and our response should be one of gratitude.

As believers, we can walk with the confidence of being cared for by our Shepherd. This enables us to rest in his protection even when we don’t understand his direction.

As Jesus offers himself to the Jews, they continue to reject him. The dark reality is that their opportunities to follow Jesus are diminishing.

There is an intimate connection between the Shepherd and his sheep—they follow him because they know and trust his voice. Likewise, the Shepherd knows his sheep.

Jesus offers us life that is both eternal and abundant. It may be different from what we imagine, but it will be stronger, better, and truer.

Because God has given believers to Jesus, nobody can take us from his hand. We can rest and have peace in his strength.

When Jesus offers himself, it creates a watershed moment. We must choose either to accept or reject him. This happens in both big and small ways throughout life.