Day 135: John 21-30

“I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” - John 8:24 ESV

The more days we accumulate on planet earth, the easier it can get to write people off that are currently making bad decisions. We think (as Jesus said) they are doomed to die in their sins, and so we move on to the next individual who may seem more open to the idea of faith in Jesus.

Can you remember a time in your life when you weren't open to the way of Jesus? Perhaps it was a tragedy or hypocrisy among Christians that drove you away. Aren't you glad you had people who didn't consider you a lost cause?

Even with the stubbornly bent-on-evil Pharisees, Jesus knew there was still an opportunity for them to repent (return to God). If anyone could have been given up on, it would have been these men. Yet, Jesus still holds out an invitation to them.

Beating hearts in our chests and breath in our lungs prove that there is still hope for us not to die in our sins.

What do you know, at the end of our reading, John records that "many believed in Him." (verse 30)

Jesus died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3) to prevent us from dying in them.

"Jesus teaches that his time with the Jews is brief, and that he will go back to where he came from, to God (13:3). They are prevented from following him because of their sin. ‘Sin’ is singular here (v. 21), because Jesus is speaking of the primary sin that disqualifies them, the sin of unbelief (v. 24)." - Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John (Jn 8:21–24)

Day 134: John 8:1-20

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”' - John 8:12 ESV

This is the second of seven "I am" statements John records in his Jesus biography. The first was in 6:35: "I am the bread of life."

This second "I am" statement being made within the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) backdrop is significant. At the end of each day during this feast, a great candle-lighting ceremony would take place in the evening. Light would flood the night sky. Jesus had a physical illustration happening as He declared Himself to be the light of the world.

It wouldn't have just been the candles that got the people's attention; it also would have reminded them of three key prophecies from the book of Isaiah (42:6, 49:6, 51:4) in which Israel is promised to be a "light for the nations."

Jesus is declaring Himself to be that light. Without our Savior, this world would be dark. Many would like to think Jesus is removable from culture. Yet, if we were able (which we are not) to remove Him, this would not be a place in which anyone would want to dwell; picture hell.

The Apostle Paul drove it home as he wrote: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” - Colossians 1:13-14 ESV

Want your life to be flooded with light and hope for tomorrow? Follow Jesus, and He'll take care of the illumination.

"The pure light walks the earth; the darkness, received into the heart of Deity, is there swallowed up. Where, except in uncreated light, can the darkness be drowned?" - C.S. Lewis. Joyful Christian. (pg. 52)

Day 133: John 7:31-53

“Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, ‘Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?' They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”' - John 7:50-52 ESV

"At this point Nicodemus did not declare his belief in Jesus, but he did speak up on a point of legal procedure, and so questioned his colleagues’ hasty judgments about Jesus.” - Kruse, C. G. (2003). John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 4, p. 195)

The story of Nicodemus has to be one of the most fascinating among all the characters in the four biographies of Jesus' life and ministry. He had hitched himself to a group that was the most vehemently opposed to everything Jesus did. His nightcap visit that he made to Jesus had clearly been something that he couldn't shake (see John 3:1-21).

The seed that Jesus planted about being born again started to take root. Also, the observation the Pharisees made in verse 48 about whether any of their group had "believed" in him is sort of answered in Nicodemus coming to Jesus' defense here.

The work that God did in Nicodemus' heart didn’t stop there. We will later see him joining Joseph of Arimathea in taking Jesus' bloodied body down from the cross, wrapping it in 75 pounds of spices, and laying it in Joseph's tomb (see John 19:38-41).

Are you frustrated with the slow progress of someone you're trying to tell about Jesus?

It may help you to think about the progression of Nicodemus. Once God goes to work in someone's heart, He is relentless in His desire to carry it to completion (see Philippians 1:6). Don’t give up just yet.

Day 132: John 7:1-30

“So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”' - John 7:3-4 ESV

It's almost as though Jesus' brothers were saying, “Jesus, if you want to scale this Messiah role, you've got to go live on Instagram with one of your top-notch miracles in Jerusalem at a well-attended feast. I mean, the water into wine was pretty miraculous, but how about the healing of a man born blind from birth? It is time to roll out your true IPO so that you can start to reap the benefits of the stock market. This doing-things-in-secret method is really getting you nowhere. Do you need representation? Because we would be willing to be your agents!"

Mark Moore's comments here are helpful:  "To make matters worse, Jesus missed the last Passover. So it’s been eighteen months since he last went to Jerusalem. Any ‘good’ Jew would now feel obligated to fulfill his religious duty to worship in the Holy city. The last time Jesus was there, however, the ruling council decided to kill him (Jn 5:18). It’s not a safe place for Jesus. And now his brothers are essentially saying, 'Put up, or shut up! If you can’t do it in Jerusalem, then you’re a fraud.'"  - Moore, M. E. (2011). The Chronological Life of Christ (p. 333)

What the world needed, though, was not a celebrity. What it needed was a Savior. The same is true today.

We crave celebrities while at the same time being starved for salvation. The popular among us can't give us what Jesus offers.

Jesus ends up going to the Feast of Booths anyway, but he goes in secret, midway through the festivities. He wasn't there to capitalize on His celebrity; He was there to make yet another announcement about the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

If Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem when His brothers did, chaos would have ensued, and a push for His death among the Jewish leaders. But Jesus' time to die had not yet come, and He would be doing things on His terms and in His time.

I love that Jesus was (and is) not an insulated celebrity. He is the One who lived in our skin and died to set us free.

Day 131: John 6:43-71

“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”' - John 6:66-69 ESV

As Jesus finished his difficult-to-understand teaching on eating His flesh and drinking His blood, it was too much for many of those who had started to follow Him. It turns out that when the multiplication of bread ends up being an illustration of Jesus' eventual sacrifice for sins, it doesn't scale as well.

He wasn't a new Moses. He wasn't offering new manna. Jesus actually had something great in mind, which for the Jews seemed like an impossibility. Greater than Moses? I mean, come on.

By Jesus offering Himself on the cross for the sins of many and then raising on the third day, He was going to enact change that had never been seen before.

Yet, none of this crowd got that from His message on this particular day. Even the 12 were bewildered by it. But when Peter really thought about it, though he may not have understood, he was convinced that only Jesus was speaking eternal life. Peter just assumed, correctly, that it was over his head.

Is there something in the Bible that has you confused? Do you assume it is wrong, or do you work with the preconception that you just can't (yet) wrap your mind around it?

Know this today: Jesus can be trusted. He gave His life as proof and rose again to further solidify His love for you and the entire world.

"There are different ways a teaching can be hard. It may be hard to understand, or it may be difficult to accept even when understood. That these people did not fully understand Jesus is evident. There was more to it, however. They were reluctant to go in the direction He was leading. He said the flesh counts for nothing, but the Spirit gives life." - Foster, L. (1987). John: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (p. 80)

Day 130: John 6:22-42

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”  - John 6:27 ESV

What do we desire more?  The provision or the Provider of the provision?

When it came right down to it, these people saw Jesus as more of a second Moses, or a Panera Bread, than the Giver of life itself. This would have been so hard for these Jewish people whose economy was fractured and over-taxed. They needed a break. They needed fresh bread to materialize out of nowhere regularly. I mean, can you blame them?

We get caught in this trap on a regular basis as well. Our prayer lives can easily morph into a cosmic wish list. In this mindset, we turn God into someone who can provide for us, but not someone we want to turn our entire lives over to in worship.

To this day, Jesus still offers food that will never spoil. Bread that satisfies and secures all who eat of it. This is why so many people misunderstand heaven. Most of us look forward to all that heaven is going to offer, not Whom heaven is going to feature. The greatest benefit of heaven will be God Himself. His presence is what we really want, but we keep trying to fill that desire with stale bread that doesn't satisfy.

Dear Jesus, set your seal on us as well. Impress on us more of who you are. Satisfy our souls in the way that only You can.

"The provision of God through Jesus is for supernatural water and bread, a spiritual nourishment that cannot be depleted. Jesus clearly identifies the bread of life and its source. It was not Moses who gave the bread of life from heaven. It was God. It was God then; it is God now." -Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John (Jn 6:26–29)

Day 129: John 6:1-21

“He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.” - John 6:6 ESV

I've always found this verse to be fascinating. If Jesus knew what He was going to do, why would He ask Philip a question about where they were going to get all of the food for this crowd that probably could have packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse?

Well, John tells us. It was to "test" him. The Greek word for test is peirazō, and it can also be translated as make proof or examine. Jesus was a master at teaching, always looking for an opportunity to stretch the understanding of His disciples. This experience was going to be another faith exercise to show what Jesus could do. This same word was used to describe what the Pharisees did to Jesus in order to try and trap Him (see Mark 10:2). They were testing in order to trap. Jesus was testing in order to teach and foster faith.

We are all, even today, disciples (apprentices) to Jesus. Do you think He would test us in the same way He did in our reading today with Philip or even as he did with Abraham (see Genesis 22:1)?

We need to know that God deeply desires that we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). He will never approve of us stagnating.

When God allows any circumstance to happen in your life, you need to know that it is an opportunity for Him to make proof to the world of how genuine your faith in Him really is.

Jesus is always moving forward, doing the impossible, and has invited us to join Him for the ride.

"Testing can be negative (cf. 8:6), or positive as it is here. Jesus’ purpose was to test Philip’s faith in him and confirm it with the miracle to follow." - Kruse, C. G. (2003). John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 4, p. 162)

Day 128: John 5:24-47

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” - John 5:24 ESV

Everything we are doing now is preparing us for the moment we take our last breath. We would like to think that many of our actions are neutral, flying under the radar with God. Yet, every decision we make is a statement of death or life.

This is why believing (trusting) in Jesus is the most important decision we will ever make in this life. It not only affects our day-to-day life now but will also translate into eternity after we die.

The Apostle Paul affirmed this teaching of Jesus when he wrote:  “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV

It is difficult for us to come to the understanding that all we currently see will become irrelevant. When Jesus returns, and we are all assigned our eternal destinies, what will rush through our minds? Will we be worried about the replacement of our kitchen countertops or the fact that we failed Organic Chemistry? No. Hopefully, we will be thankful that we trusted the only one who is able to grant eternal life.

Need help learning what belief in Jesus looks like? This page on our website is super helpful.

“We ought always to consider what it is that the Gospel offers to us; for we need not wonder that he who receives Christ with all his merits is reconciled to God, and acquitted of the condemnation of death; and that he who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit is clothed with a heavenly righteousness, that he may walk in newness of life, (Rom. 6:6.)” - Calvin, J., & Pringle, W. (2010). Commentary on the Gospel According to John (Vol. 1, p. 203)

Day 127: John 5:1-23

“But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.”' - John 5:17

Maybe like me, your mind immediately goes toward the song “Way Maker” (written by Sinach) when you read this verse. It is in the bridge that the song goes…

Even when I don't see it, You're workin'

Even when I don't feel it, You're workin'

You never stop, You never stop workin'

I love Psalm 121:4 when the Psalmist sings that God "never slumbers nor sleeps."

There is so much pressure on us to perform. In our classes. At our jobs. In our families. In our churches. On social media platforms. I got exhausted just typing out those five things, and there are even more areas where expectations are constantly high for us to be good enough.

Jesus consistently made the religious leaders mad with His insistence on doing good on the Sabbath day. He was bringing rest to those who couldn't find it on the day of rest. While the nation of Israel was stopping, He was busily re-starting the lives of so many.

Take a deep breath. There isn't as much pressure on you as you think. God is the one who is ultimately in charge. Sure, He will use your life to make a difference in this world, but it doesn't all rest on your shoulders. His shoulders alone are strong enough to maintain the weight you are trying to carry.

“In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” - Isaiah 30:15 NASB

"The dawning of every day, the opening of the flowers, the flowing of the rivers, the sustenance of vegetable, animal, and human life, reveal through every moment of the agelong sabbath-rest, and on every sabbath-day, his intense and constant activity." - Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). St. John (Vol. 1, p. 211)

Day 126: John 4:43-54

“Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” - John 4:50 ES

Since the Reformation in the 1500s, there has been a real stigma against obedience. Many churches focused on the inner, spiritual life in reaction to the Catholic Church's overemphasis on the external. At this point, many Christians severed belief from obedience.  Yet, as we read through the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles, we see over and over that belief and obedience are inseparable.

The man we encountered in our reading today desperately wanted his son to be healed. He even had a plan, and it was to get Jesus to come down and heal his son. The persistence of the father shows Jesus how much this man believed that He could heal his son. Jesus tells the man, "Go; your son will live." The man had a choice to make. Was he going to continue and implore Jesus to come down and heal his son, or would he choose to do what Jesus had asked? He chose to trust Jesus, and his son recovered. You see, genuine belief will always activate obedience.

In what ways is your belief/trust in Jesus lacking? Can you see it surfacing in your disobedience?

We need to be reminded today that Jesus can (and should) be trusted with everything. Go ahead, step into an awakened life of obedience to the only One who can do the impossible.

"The man had faith based on Jesus’ simple affirmation. It was not until the next day that he had confirmation of the miracle when he met his servants coming to tell him that his son’s fever was gone. It had ceased at the very hour when Jesus had given His assurance to the father." - Foster, L. (1987). John: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (p. 57)