August 16, 2015            John 7:30 – 52

Download discussion questions:  John 7_30 – 52 speaking of the Spirit

Confusion – that seemed to be the dominant impression among our discussion group about what was happening in this passage.  One group wants to arrest Jesus.  Others think He might be the Christ, or at least The Prophet, a second Moses promised near the end of Moses’ life (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  A few days earlier during this visit to Jerusalem some in the crowd accused Him of having a demon.  His teaching without formal training mystified those who had the training.  The crowd was unclear about whether or not the leaders really wanted to kill Him.  The religious police are sent to arrest Jesus and come back empty-handed.  All this in the context of a huge and presumably noisy crowd.  Confusion. Continue reading →

August 9, 2015     John 7:15 – 31

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Jesus’ teaching astonishes and puzzles the Jews, the religious leaders who are keeping a careful eye on Him.  Learned teaching takes preparation, and He had none.  Jesus uses the opportunity to point back to His mission from the Father, the One who sent Him (at least four times just in this passage).  Once again we (looking back from our twenty-first century perspective) hear hints of the Trinity, the Father sending the Son. Continue reading →

July 19, 2015  John 6:53 – 7:1

Download discussion questions:  John 6_53 – 7_1 many withdraw

Jesus has been saying things that are “difficult to listen to” (John 6:60) and even more difficult to understand.  The comfortable metaphor about bread from heaven confused the crowd when Jesus said He was the bread, then it became very uncomfortable when He talked of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.  Jesus kept stretching their thinking with something He considered even more of a difficulty for them.  Continue reading →

July 12, 2015   John 6:37 – 60

Download discussion handout: John 6_37 – 60 hard sayings

One of the first comments in our Sunday morning discussion group was the public nature of Jesus’ teaching.  He was speaking openly even knowing that there was considerable “grumbling” among the crowd.  He was in a place where people normally gathered, the synagogue in Capernaum.  The free and unrestricted way Jesus taught was in contrast to the sermon we had just heard on Paul’s warnings to the church at Colossae about the danger of Gnosticism and their secret “special” teaching.  Nothing like that in Jesus’ ministry. Continue reading →

July 5, 2015    John 6:27 – 42

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Jesus has fed the crowd.  He followed His disciples across the lake (they had a boat; He didn’t), and the crowd has followed Him.  They were impressed by the provision of food (like the manna for the Israelites in the wilderness) and possibly by His miraculous crossing of the sea (another reminder of Moses?).  Jesus knows that their motives are essentially materialistic:  more bread. Continue reading →

June 28, 2015   John 6:14 – 33

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To avoid the political desires of the crowd (to make Him king) Jesus went further up the mountain where the feeding of 5,000 took place (vs. 3) to be alone.  One member of our discussion commented on the model Jesus provided here (and in other Gospel accounts, how we often need to get away from others whose influence on our lives is not God’s plan for us. Continue reading →

June 21, 2015 John 5:46 – 6:15

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Sometimes reading a familiar story in Scripture can be a challenge.  The story of Jesus feeding a huge crowd is so well known that we may be tempted to skim over it too quickly.  Familiar stories require our special attention so we don’t rely on our “hearsay impressions” of what the Bible says.  We risk missing something the Holy Spirit wants to show us. Continue reading →

June 14, 2015 John 5:30 – 47

Download discussion questions: John 5_30-47 greater testimony

The Jews accused Jesus of “making Himself equal to God” (John 5:18).  He doesn’t deny the accusation or explain that they had misunderstood Him.  He continues His response (that began in last week’s passage) to show them that they are exactly right. Continue reading →

June 7, 2015 John 5:15 – 30

Download discussion questions:  John 5_15-30 whatever the Father does

Until now, much of what John has written has been narrative accounts with some dialog (Jesus and Nathanael, Jesus at Cana, Jesus cleansing the temple, Jesus and Nicodemus, John the Baptizer and his followers, Jesus and the Samaritan woman, Jesus and the royal official, Jesus healing the sick man).

There has been some direct teaching as Jesus interacted with different persons in different circumstances, but this passage and several more to follow are extended, detailed discourses by Jesus. This passage (John 5:15-30) is His response to the accusation of the Jews, that He was “making Himself equal with God.” Continue reading →

May 31, 2015 John 5:1 – 18

Download discussion questions: John 5_1-18 by a pool on the Sabbath

Samaria, Galilee, now back to Jerusalem.  The first place John records Jesus going is overwhelming in misery and human tragedy.  As one member of the group pointed out, our usual response would be to avoid such places, to go around, to find another gate into the city – anything to avoid being confronted with so much suffering.  Jesus starts there as He enters the city, and he focuses His attention on one particular man.  Jesus did not let an overwhelming situation dissuade Him or distract Him from ministering to an individual, a clear model for us in overwhelming circumstances. Continue reading →