Throughout the Gospel of John, the apostle describes how Jesus, the Son, does activities that point to the Father. Jesus explains who the Father is and shows what His relationship to our world is. This is all in keeping with John 1:18 , which says that He makes the Father known (Greek exēgeomai: to explain, interpret, exposit). Again and again Jesus does this. The word Father (patēr) appears 136 times in John and 18 times in 1–3 John, more than one-third of the entire uses in the New Testament. ...
Dec 10, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2239
We were created by the Godhead for a personal relationship with Them ( Gen. 1:26, 27 ). Yet, because of sin, that relationship was radically disrupted. We can see the immediate impact of this disruption in the Garden of Eden story. Read Genesis 3:7–9 . How does this reveal the breach that sin caused, and what does it mean that it was God seeking them out, not vice versa? The intention of the Godhead was to offer healing to all humanity for that breach caused by sin, even if all humanity would no...
Dec 09, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2238
The Gospel of John is written from the standpoint of the overall biblical narrative, beginning with our origins. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” ( Gen. 1:1 ). Or: In the beginning the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth. They are the Source of all that exists. They created the universe, including the beings who inhabit it. On our planet there was a special creation of life, and the most special of that creation was humanity. And God’s purpose f...
Dec 08, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2237
Read for This Week’s Study John 14:10, 24; Gen. 3:7–9; John 16:27, 28; John 16:7–11; John 17:1–26. Memory Text: The Gospel of John is a mosaic of themes. John calls upon signs (miracles) to show that Jesus is the Messiah promised by the prophets. John uses an array of witnesses to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. He also uses the “I AM” statements to point to His divinity. All three members of the Godhead are mentioned in John 1 (John 1:1–4, 14, 18, 32–34). For centuries humans have tried fully to ...
Dec 07, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2236
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Light of Life,’ ” pp. 463–475, in The Desire of Ages; E. Edward Zinke, “The Authority of the Bible and the Certainty of the Second Coming,” The Certainty of the Second Coming (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), pp. 23–36. When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” He “was in the court of the temple specially connected with the services of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the center of this court rose two lofty standards, supporting lamps...
Dec 06, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 2235
Throughout the Gospel, Scripture plays an important role in telling us about the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. All through the Gospels, as all through the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, the Scriptures play a key role in revealing truth. This is especially true when it comes to teaching us about who Jesus is and what He came to do. Read John 5:38–40 . What is Jesus saying here about the Scriptures? Jesus and His disciples pointed to Scripture again and again to validate Hi...
Dec 05, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2234
Read John 1:14, 17; John 8:32; John 14:6; and John 15:26 . How does John tie the concept of truth directly to Jesus? Again and again in John’s Gospel, truth is connected to Jesus, to His Father, and to the Holy Spirit. Truth is connected with Jesus, the Word (logos), and with light—in contrast to darkness ( John 1:1–14, John 3:19–21 ). And, too, falsehood is connected with the devil and sin ( John 8:44–46 ). Consequently, truth in John is not simply a matter of facts and figures. It does involve...
Dec 04, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2233
Read John 14:5, 6 . What query did Thomas make about where Jesus was going? How did Jesus respond? Thomas’s query seems logical enough. If you do not know where someone is going, how can you know the way to follow that person? Jesus upends the query by indicating that He Himself is the way. The way to what? The way to the Father. In the Prologue ( John 1:1–18 ), the intimate connection between the Word (logos), Jesus Christ, and the Father is emphasized. John 1:18 says that the only begotten (be...
Dec 03, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2232
Read John 14:1–3 . In what context did Jesus say these words? At the end of John 13 , Jesus says that He is going away ( John 13:33 ). This elicits from Peter a query about where He is going ( John 13:36 ). The disciples do not understand that Jesus is talking about His death, resurrection, and ascension. Peter says he is ready to lay down his life for Him ( John 13:37 ). This is when Jesus predicts Peter’s denial ( John 13:38 ). It is in this context that Jesus tells His disciples not to let th...
Dec 02, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2231
The farewell discourse ( John 13–17 ) provides instruction for Jesus’ disciples concerning the future. Its literary pattern is similar to Moses’ farewell in Deuteronomy or Jacob’s blessing his children ( Genesis 47–49 ) or David’s instructing Solomon ( 1 Chronicles 28, 29 ). Jesus consoles His disciples regarding His departure. He promises a surrogate to represent Him (the Holy Spirit; John 14–16 ). He predicts grief to come ( John 15, 16 ), and He exhorts the disciples to stay faithful ( John 1...
Dec 01, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2230
Read for This Week’s Study John 13:1–20; John 14:1–3; Dan. 7:27; John 14:5–11; John 1:14; Col. 1:16, 17; John 5:38–40 . Memory Text: The Gospel of John is divided into four main sections: The Prologue ( John 1:1–18 ), the Book of Signs ( John 1:19–12:50 ), the Book of Glory ( John 13:1–20:31 ), and the Epilogue ( John 21:1–25 ). Our study so far has focused mainly on the Prologue and the Book of Signs, laying out who Jesus is via His miracles (signs), dialogues, and teachings. The lessons now sh...
Nov 30, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 2229
ead Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26; “Controversy,” pp. 601–609, in The Desire of Ages. “In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. ‘Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ Phil. 2:8 . As the high priest laid aside his gorgeous pontifical robes, and officiated in the white linen dress of ...
Nov 29, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 2228
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because [he has] not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. . . . Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that [his] deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” ( John 3:18–21, NIV ; compare with John 1:10 ). Why do people come into judgment? John 3:18, 36; John 5:24, 38; John 8:24; John 12:47 . The rejection of Jesus ...
Nov 28, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 2227
Some of the saddest accounts in all of Scripture occur in the Gospel of John. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . . [The Light] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” ( John 1:5, 10, 11, NKJV ). The “I AM” was rejected by many of His own people. No wonder Paul later warns, “Do not cast away your confidence” ( Heb. 10:35, NKJV ). As we have seen again and ...
Nov 27, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2226
Read John 1:12, 13 . What are the steps described here about becoming a Christian? John wrote his Gospel so that we would believe in Jesus and that by believing we may have eternal life in His name ( John 20:31 ). In John 1:12, 13 , this process is described in two steps. First, we receive Him, that is, believe in Him. Second, He gives us authority or power to become God’s children, described in verse 13 as being begotten by God. Thus, there is a human and divine aspect of becoming a Christian. ...
Nov 26, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2225
Read John 6:61–68 . When Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave Him, what was the meaning of Peter’s answer? Peter’s words about “eternal life” tap into a theme that runs throughout the Gospel of John. A concentration of phraseology about eternal life appears in John 6 , in the context of the feeding of the 5,000 ( John 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68 ). Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life ( John 6:35 ), meaning that His life, His death, and His resurrection are the source of eternal salvation. ...
Nov 25, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 2224
In John 1:1 , the apostle clearly states that Jesus is God, the divine Son. Consequently, in John 1:4 —“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (NKJV)—the reference to life here has to be divine life, underived eternal self-existence. Because He has life within Himself, He can lay down His life and take it again ( John 10:17 ). And, because He has life within, He can give life to whom He will ( John 5:21 ; compare with John 14:19 ). This term life (zoē) appears 36 times in the Gospel...
Nov 24, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2223
Read for This Week’s Study John 1:4; John 10:10; John 1:12, 13; John 6:61–68; Num.13:23–33; Matt. 4:1–4 . Memory Text: In the Gospel of John, when asked who He was, Jesus answered with the term that designates deity. “I AM” was an unmistakable reference to the Lord Himself, who had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. “ ‘I AM WHO I AM,’ ” He said to Moses ( Exod. 3:14 ). And this same God, the “I AM,” then “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only bego...
Nov 23, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2222
In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for. And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead. Why? Read John 8:12–30 . What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many rejected Him? Jesus says that they know neither Him nor the Father ( John 8:19 ). They should have know...
Nov 22, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2221
In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for. And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead. Why? Read John 8:12–30 . What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many rejected Him? Jesus says that they know neither Him nor the Father ( John 8:19 ). They should have know...
Nov 21, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2220
Jesus said to the religious leaders: “ ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” ( John 5:39, NKJV ). What an incredible claim to make about Himself! Estimates vary, but some scholars argue that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies. Whatever the amount, the odds against one man’s fulfilling even a few of them, much less them all, are staggering. Every now and then someone will use an image like t...
Nov 20, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2219
In a discussion with the religious leaders about His identity, Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture. At first glance, it would seem unnecessary for Him to do that because the religious leaders believed in Scripture. Nevertheless, even with them, Jesus would emphasize the authority of the Scriptures, and He did so in order to show them who He was—no matter how hard their hearts were, and no matter how much they tried to fight conviction. Meanwhile, John records many direct quotations from an...
Nov 19, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2218
In addition to the specific signs and testimonies that John used to point to Jesus as the Messiah, John also appealed to the authority of the Old Testament and to its prophecies, which foretold the work of Christ. The Old Testament is central, not just to John’s Gospel but to all the New Testament. Justification for Jesus, for who He was, where He came from, what He did, and what He will do—is based on Scripture, in this case the Old Testament. Read the following texts: John 5:39, 40, 46, 47 . W...
Nov 18, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2217
Read for This Week’s Study John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; John 13:18; John 17:12; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 9:9; John 8:12–30 . Memory Text: We can see again and again in the book of John all the things that Jesus said and did which revealed that, yes, the Messiah (hammashiach), the Christ, had come to Israel. And He had come, in fact, as one of them, a Jew born in Bethlehem, just as the Scriptures had predicted. Yet, as John wrote, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world d...
Nov 17, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2216
Read for This Week’s Study John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; John 13:18; John 17:12; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 9:9; John 8:12–30 . Memory Text: We can see again and again in the book of John all the things that Jesus said and did which revealed that, yes, the Messiah (hammashiach), the Christ, had come to Israel. And He had come, in fact, as one of them, a Jew born in Bethlehem, just as the Scriptures had predicted. Yet, as John wrote, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world d...
Nov 16, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2215
Read Ellen G. White, “The Test of Faith,” pp. 145–155, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “In Pilate’s Judgment Hall,” pp. 723–740, in The Desire of Ages. Thomas “cast himself at the feet of Jesus crying, ‘My Lord and my God.’ ” “Jesus accepted his acknowledgment, but gently reproved his unbelief: ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ The faith of Thomas would have been more pleasing to Christ if he had been willing to belie...
Nov 15, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2214
Again and again, as John presents witnesses to Jesus, his point is to bring us to a sweeping conclusion: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” ( John 20:30, 31, NKJV ). Imagine having been there, in person, in the flesh, and having seen Jesus do many of these miracles. We’d certainly believe, w...
Nov 14, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2213
Read John 20:19–31 . What can we learn from the story of Thomas about faith and doubt? What major mistake did Thomas make? Christ appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, when they were shut up together in a room because of fear. Thomas was not with them. Later, he heard the reports of the Resurrection from the other disciples, but he despaired. It did not fit his picture of the kingdom. And, too, he surely must have wondered why Jesus would have revealed Himself to the others when he h...
Nov 13, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2212
Time and again, John records the attempts of the religious leaders to seize Jesus, to bring Him to trial, and to sentence Him to death. A theme in John’s Gospel, stated often by Jesus, is that His time or hour had not yet come, by which He meant the time for His crucifixion ( John 2:4; John 7:6, 8, 30; John 12:7, 23, 27; John 13:1; John 17:1 ). Now the hour had come. Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, brought before Annas, then Caiaphas the high priest, then twice before Pilate. Joh...
Nov 12, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2211
Six days before Passover, Jesus came to visit Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised to life. Simon, who had been healed of leprosy, hosted a feast in appreciation for what Jesus had done for him. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was sitting at the table with the guests ( John 12:1–8 ). What was the significance of Mary’s actions here? How was this a witness to who Jesus really was? (See John 12:1–3 .) The perfume was very expensive, worth about a year’s wages for the comm...
Nov 11, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2210
