Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/3) John 7:1-13

Jul3

Read and believe in Jesus

“While some said, ‘He is a good man,’ others said, ‘No, He is leading the people astray.'” John 7:12

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus taught a very unpopular message in the synagogue at Capernaum, affirming that He was the true “bread of life,” sent by the Father, and that He had the words of eternal life for any who would come and believe in Him. Then Jesus spoke spiritual words about giving his flesh and blood for the people, and them “eating Him.” Misunderstanding the glorious message of salvation, the people were horrified, and many stopped following Him. When Jesus turned to the Twelve, spokesman Peter responded, “Where would we go? You alone have the ‘words of Eternal Life’.

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John 7:1-2

(NOTE: While the feeding of the 5,000 and the teaching that followed took place near Passover (Spring), chapters 7 and 8 take place during the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles, which is in the Fall. The next Spring, at Passover, is when Jesus will be crucified. You really see the hatred of the Jewish leaders towards Jesus grow in these chapters.)

In the six months following the feeding of the 5,000, John tells us that Jesus “went about in Galilee.” As we’ve already learned in Mark and Luke, Jesus spent a lot of time around the Sea teaching, healing the sick, and casting out demons.

But John’s intention is to show Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, and how men reacted to Him (mostly rejection). He says here that it was “too hot” for Jesus to publicly go to Judea/Jerusalem for the Festival “because the Jews were seeking to KILL Him.”

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John 7:3-10

Even Jesus’ half-brothers (sons of Mary and Joseph born after Jesus) ridiculed Him. They thought He had “visions of grandeur” about Himself and taunted Him to “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!”

Jesus told His brothers that the time wasn’t right for Him. He meant that His time to die for the people was still 6 months off, and the furious Jews might preempt His death if He attended the Festival openly. Of course the five brothers did NOT understand at all.

(But they would eventually. While “not even his brothers believed in Him” then, at least two of them would later. Jacob (James) and Judah (Jude) would even write books in the New Testament.).

Jesus told the brothers that He was not going to Jerusalem as they wanted Him to (with pomp and flash). But He intended to go later “incognito.” (“not publicly, but in private.”)

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The Festival of Booths was a joyous time at harvest. It was the time when the people remembered how God had taken care of them as they had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. The makeshift “booths” they built from branches and palm fronds, which they lived in for the week, were meant to remind them of the temporary dwellings in the desert.

The Festival was also known for water-drawing and lamp-lighting, which Jesus would use to point people to Himself as Messiah when He eventually attended.

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John 7:11-13.

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, “The Jewish leaders were looking for Jesus at the feast, saying, ‘Where is He?'”

And there was much muttering about Him among the people. While some said, ‘He is a good man,’ others said, ‘No, He is leading the people astray.”

“Yet, for fear of the Jewish leaders, no one spoke openly of Him.“

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(It’s not until the middle of the Festival that Jesus shows up.)

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/2) John 6:41-71

Jul2

Read and believe in Jesus

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” John

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus tells the crowd seeking a miracle sign from Him before they “believe” in Him … that He is the true “bread from heaven,” who gives life to the world. “I AM the bread of life,” Jesus said. “Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst,” But it all seems to go over their heads (or rather their stomachs). (This was the first of seven “I AM” statements that John presents about Jesus in his gospel.)

John 6:41-51.

At some point, this conversation/teaching moved into the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus continued as teacher, but these Jews, who moments before were wanting to make Jesus their king so He could give them free bread every day, now grumble about His claims to be “spiritual bread” sent down from heaven. “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He say now that He has come down from heaven?”

Jesus clarifies one thing. It’s not their wisdom and understanding that will draw them to faith in Him. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Jesus then paraphrases Isaiah 54:13 and tells them that they must be “taught the truth by God” and, with that learning, they can be drawn by God. By themselves (and ourselves), they could never come to and believe in Jesus on their own. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever BELIEVES (the word that God has given about Jesus) has eternal life.

“I AM the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. THIS is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and NOT die. I am the LIVING bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of THIS bread, he will LIVE FOREVER.”

And then that statement that began their distancing from Him. “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is … my flesh.”

(Of course we know the rest of the story. Jesus DID give His life, His “flesh,” for the world, so that “whosoever believed in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) His life for theirs.

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John 6:52-59.

But the selfish, glory-seeking Jews in the audience took the wrong meaning. “How can this man give us his FLESH to eat?” (Among other obvious reasons, this would have been super UN-kosher.)

Jesus doesn’t coddle them. He trusts His Father to give understanding and belief to those He wants to draw toward faith. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man … and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (Imagine their faces, aghast and cringing, as He continues.) “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood HAS eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ABIDES in me, and I in him.”

The crowd, as one, has leaned or retreated back from Jesus, imagining the gruesome “physical” picture He was painting. (Yes, there were a few who were getting the Spiritual” meaning, as we’ll see in a minute.)

Jesus concludes his Sabbath sermon with this summary. “THIS is the bread that came down from heaven, NOT like the ‘bread’ the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

To us, this is a message of hope, but to these Jews, understanding evaded them, and they did not receive His teaching.

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John 6:60-65.

Many of the crowds of Jesus’ followers now had second thoughts. This was not the great and grand Messiah who would lead Israel to victory against the Romans. This man spoke almost like a crazy man. His teaching was “hard,” and they took offense. MANY turned back and no longer followed Him.

“Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?

And then this truth for all who are ever drawn to Jesus and saved: “It is the SPIRIT who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and LIFE.”

And again, “This is why I told you that NO ONE can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

John 6:66-71.

Jesus looked deeply at His twelve chosen disciples and said, “Do YOU want to go away as well?”

“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,” said Simon Peter.

And yes, there was even one of the twelve who did not KNOW Jesus as the “Bread of LIFE.”

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/1) John 6:25-40

Jul1

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“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” John 6:37.

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus miraculously feeds 5000+ people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish from a boy’s lunch. All are filled, and there was enough leftover for the disciples to have their fill. The people wanted to make Jesus KING, so He would feed them for free every day. But He hides, sends the disciples back across the Sea, and after it’s dark, He walks to them (on the water). Another pair of miracles.

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John 6:25-29.

Jesus and the disciples had arrived back in Capernaum during the night via a miracle of Jesus. The crowds had waited around and, when they found Him gone, had boarded boats (or traipsed around) and arrived much later.

“Rabbi, when did you come here?‘” they asked Jesus in wonder. I think their real question might have been HOW did you come here? Jesus had walked on the water half way, got into the disciples’ boat, which was then miracously at the opposite shore. Wouldn’t that have shocked them!!

Jesus knew the reason for their anxious seeking Him. They still wanted to make Him king after that miraculous sign of multiplying the loaves and fish. But Jesus wanted them to “hunger” for Spiritual things, for Him.

“Don’t labor for the food that perishes, but rather for the food that endures to eternal life … which the Son of Man will give to you.” (What a promise!)

“What must we DO to be doing the works of God?” The people thought they were required to do some works to “earn” eternal life.

(OH, isn’t that what so many people think today. They HAVE to be good, not lie, cheat, steal, kill, and all the other commands, to be “good enough” to deserve eternal life. NOT SO! We can never be good enough. It is a gift of God that Jesus gives by His own sacrifice.)

“THIS is the work of God,” Jesus tells them. “that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

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John 6:30-34.

Believe in Jesus, the Son that God sent into the world to save the sinners whom He loved so much. Believe in that mercy and grace, and receive life everlasting. (John 3:16)

But the people are way off on another planet in their understanding. Jesus’ words of salvation go right over their heads. “Um…then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness (for 40 years!) Moses gave them ‘bread from heaven to eat.”

Had they completely forgotten how Jesus had just miraculously fed a crowd of 20,000 with one boy’s lunch???

(I would have given up on them and just walked away. But Jesus shows His love for His own people.)

“It wasn’t Moses who gave you Manna, but my Father in Heaven. My Father (now) gives you the TRUE bread from Heaven … the “Bread of God” is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus is speaking of Himself.

Then, much like the Samaritan woman who sought the water that would quench her thirst forever, these people misunderstood Jesus’ words. “Sir, give us THIS bread always.”

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John 6:35-36.

“I AM the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.“

Jesus could not make that much plainer. HE was the answer to their heart’s hunger and thirst. HE was sent down by the Father to fill them and satisfy them. And yet they do not believe.

(Earlier in John 1:10, the apostle says, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” Paul later explains that Israel was blinded or hardened temporarily concerning Jesus, as a mercy for the Gentiles to be included in salvation. Then the nation of Israel would believe. See Romans 11:25-31)

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John 6:37-40.

This section is full of wonderful promises. Read and meditate on them!

“All that the Father gives me WILL come to me…

“And whoever comes to me I will NEVER cast out.”

“I have come from heaven NOT to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose NOTHING of all that He has given me.”

“For this is the will of my Father, that EVERYONE who looks on the Son and believes in Him, should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

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Amen! Thank You, Jesus!

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/30) John 6:1-24

Jun30

Read and believe in Jesus

“When the people saw the SIGN that He had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world.'” John 6:14

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – After stirring up the religious leaders by healing a cripple on the Sabbath, Jesus began teaching the controversial topic that He was equal to God, and in fact WAS God, having all the power and authority as His Father. Jesus again and again referred to the OT Scriptures, in which the religious leaders were wrapped up, but they still couldn’t believe. The common people believed in Jesus because of the signs and miracles He performed, not for His words of grace and truth.

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John 6:1-4.

Jesus is back in Galilee, on the Eastern side of the Sea. A large crowd followed him BECAUSE OF THE SIGNS He was doing on the sick. Seeking some time alone with His disciples, he went up a mountain to a secluded place alone.

“Now, the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.” (almost there). Because the author, John, isn’t too concerned with telling a chronological account of Jesus and instead presents Him only through a series of signs and “I Am” statements that prove Him to be the Messiah without a doubt, we learn that it is Passover time again. If yesterday’s reading took place in Jerusalem, at the Feast of Tabernacles, this event is happening 6 months later. If that healing of the invalid at the pool of Bethesda was at a Passover, then this event is now one year later.

(Try to get in the Apostle John’s mindset, and let the dates become less important until the end of the story.)

Anyway, the time Jesus wanted alone with His disciples was interrupted when He saw a large crowd coming from around the Sea looking for Him. They followed him “because they saw the miracles he was doing on the sick.” Nevertheless, Jesus had compassion on them.

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John 6:5-9.

“Philip, where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Jesus said this to “test” him, for He already knew what He would do.

“Huh? Are you kidding, Jesus?” Philip might have thought. But he answered aloud, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little!” And you KNOW that Jesus had way less denarii than that! It was almost a year’s wages for a laborer.

Then Andrew steps up. (Remember, he was the one who brought his brother, Peter, to Jesus.) Now he was bringing a little boy to the Master, who had perhaps offered his meager lunch of 5 rolls and two sardines. (Picture THAT, and not big loaves of bread and a couple of trout.) Andrew was cautious, “But what are these for so many?”

I can so imagine Jesus smiling down at the boy, seeing the huge miracle He was about to do because of the”faith” of a little child.

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John 6:10-13.

“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. It was spring, and the hillside was covered with soft green grass. John notes that there were 5,000 men there. With some women and children, the total number could have been up to 20,000 hungry, seeking people!

Jesus then took the boy’s lunch, looked to Heaven to thank His Father, and distributed it to His disciples, who took it to the thousands of people sitting. Again and again they came back to take more food out. Jesus always handed them more. Their eyes bulged, their thoughts raced, they were speechless. 20,000 people ate from the boy’s 5 rolls and two tiny fish. 20,000!!!

AND THEY ATE AS MUCH AS THEY WANTED! THEY WERE FULL!

“Gather up the leftovers,” Jesus told His disciples, “that nothing may be lost.” LEFTOVERS! From 20K people eating one boy’s lunch?

Yep. And there were 12 “lunchbox” sized baskets filled with the fragments. Perfect for the 12 disciples to eat.

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John 6:14

“When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

What did they mean by that? And why did their stomachs full of bread and fish spark this thought?

Back in Deuteronomy 18:15-18, God told Moses that He would “raise up a prophet” like him, who would speak the words of God. And that the people should listen to Him, or God would require it of them.

So, why did this miracle feeding spark the thought of that Prophet? Didn’t God say the people should listen to His WORDS, His teaching? This crowd, and others, did NOT listen to Jesus. They were drawn to Him by the miracles.

Now, what miracle did Moses “do” that would remind this crowd of Jesus? Why, it was supplying Manna in the wilderness. “Bread” from heaven, if you will. Hadn’t Jesus just miraculously supplied “bread” from thin air? Whoa…. HE MUST BE THAT PROPHET!

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John 6:15.

Oh, man. How disappointing. Perhaps Jesus had some wonderful teaching planned, now that they were fed and comfortable. Perhaps something like the Sermon on the (other) Mount from Matthew. But no, what did this crowd want?

They were getting up, brushing off crumbs and grass, and …. preparing to come and take Jesus by force and make Him king!

What?

Disappointed, Jesus again withdrew through a thin mountain pass to a secluded place where they would not find Him. (Later, after the crowd had dispersed, Jesus sent his disciples back to Capernaum in a boat, while He prayed alone to His Father.)

(NOTE: The two miracles where Jesus actually “created” something involved the two elements of Communion: wine (from water) and bread (to feed a crowd from a sack lunch). They symbolize His body and blood given to us, which we remember even today when we partake in “The Lord’s Supper.”)

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John 6:16-21.

The disciples started across the Sea. It was dark, and the wind picked up. They struggled to row in the wind and rough sea, and had made it only halfway across when…..

They saw a phenomenon. They thought they were seeing a ghost, for a figure was walking on the sea and coming near to them.

“It is I; do not be afraid,” Jesus called. Boy, were they glad! And they took Him into the boat. Then ANOTHER MIRACLE! The boat was IMMEDIATELY at land on the other side of the sea.

Four miles in one second! Wow!

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John 6:22-24.

Meanwhile, back on the other side of the sea, many of the crowd who had eaten the miracle bread were looking for Jesus. They saw theone boat was gone when the disciples left, but Jesus had not been with them. Soon some other boats arrived, so when the people saw that Jesus was not there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum too. They were still SEEKING JESUS. For healings? Or to make Him their king, a king who could feed them every day, FOR FREE?

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In tomorrow’s reading, Jesus will delude them of that thought. In fact, He will “gross them out” so much that many who considered themselves His followers will turn away, offended.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/29) John 5:31-47

Jun29

Read and believe in Jesus

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have ETERNAL LIFE; and it IS they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may HAVE life.” John 5:39-40

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Last time, Jesus claimed He was equal with God, calling Him His Father. This infuriated the religious leaders, and they began at this point to seek how they could KILL Jesus. Then, as if to drive His point home with these know-it-alls, Jesus listed the ways that He had the same authority as the Father, even to the point of raising the dead and giving life. Jesus promised that whoever heard Him and believed His words would pass from death to LIFE. And yet, to emphasize His utter “oneness” with God the Father, Jesus stated, “I can do nothing on my own.”

John 5:31-47.

In Jewish law, two or three testimonies/witnesses were REQUIRED in order to prove a fact – either guilt or innocence. (See Deuteronomy 19:15-16). Jesus tells the religious leaders that there are indeed FOUR witnesses to His authority and origin.

  • Vss 33-35 – the testimony of John the Baptist
  • Vs. 36 – the “works” (or miracles) that He does
  • Vss 37-38 – God, His Father, had given witness for Him, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
  • Vss 39-47 – the very Scriptures these men revered and studied so well gave witness about Jesus.

Then Jesus’ sad words, “Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

Then Jesus tells them that Moses (his writings, the Law), which they so highly regarded, is the very thing that will accuse them to God, the Father. “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me.”

Deuteronomy 18:15 – (Moses speaking to the Israelites.) “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers – it is to Him you shall listen.”

John 4:19 – “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.'”

John 6:14 – “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is come into the world.'”

John 7:40 – ‘When they heard these words, some of the people said, ‘This really is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ.'”

(It seems the people were “getting it,” but the pious leaders ground their heels and refused to believe.)

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(Oh, Lord! We do believe. But help our unbelief. Help us never to let our learning or perceived knowledge block the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Help us to see Jesus and believe all He says. Let us never refuse the eternal life He offers.)

Jesus here claimed FOUR witnesses to his veracity.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/26) John 5:16-30

Jun26

Read and believe in Jesus

“Truly, truly, I say to you, “whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.” John 5:24

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – While in Jerusalem, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. The man said he was waiting for the angel who stirred the water of the pool to heal him. But when Jesus asked if he WANTED to be healed, the man hedged. Nevertheless, Jesus spoke and healed him, telling the man to pick up his mat and get out of there. Later the religious leaders chided the man for “working” on the Sabbath. Then, after Jesus met and cautioned the healed man to “sin no more,” he went to those leaders and identified Jesus as his healer… and the One who told him to carry his mat. This infuriated the uber-legalistic Jews.

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John 5:16-17.

The religious leaders now had a foothold on which to stand and accuse Jesus. They said He broke the 4th commandment by doing miracles on the Sabbath. They soon would have another reason to not only accuse and persecute Him, but to execute Him.

Jesus said to them, “My Father is working continuously (even on the Sabbath), and I (also) am working.” It was very clear to these Jews that Jesus was calling God His Father, and indeed saying He was equal with God. (a blasphemy worthy of death)

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John 5:18-24.

So Jesus gave his own personal statement of His diety. He is equal with God…..

  • in His person. (calling God His Father) vss. 17-18
  • in His works (what the Father does, the Son does) vss.19-20
  • in His power and sovereignty (as the Father raises the dead, so the Son gives life) vs 21
  • in His judgment (the Father has GIVEN all judgment to the Son) vs. 22
  • in His honor (all honor the Son just as they honor the Father) vs. 23

I can imagine the religious leaders standing stunned and silent at so open a declaration by Jesus to be EQUAL WITH GOD.

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John 5:25-30.

Then, Jesus proclaims yet another time “the way to eternal life,” “Truly truly (double emphasis), 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.” Did they even HEAR this??

And again, a shocker. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

And, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. AND, He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”

Then Jesus tells them that He can do nothing on His own, but only at the will of God who sent Him. What does He mean?

(This all was the will of the Godhead, the triune God, who were in complete accord since before time and creation, when this moment in time, this plan of salvation through the substitutionary death of Jesus, was all planned and agreed upon. And now, Jesus does exactly that will, even after His prayer in Gethsemene. Then: Not my will, but thine. And now, I can do nothing on my own.)

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More in the next reading of this difficult section.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/25) John 5:1-15

Jun25

Read and believe in Jesus

“Do you want to be healed?” John 5:6b

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus is back in Galilee, after an evangelstically refreshing two days in Samaria. Right away desperate people rush to Jesus to have their needs met, First is an important man with a seriously ill son. Jesus does heal the boy, but is disappointed with His own people for their fixation on signs and miracles and not on His Words of Eternal Life.

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John 5:1-9.

Again Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for a Feast.

(There are three Feasts (out of the seven festivities) that God required (able-bodied) Jewisih men to attend in Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 16:16 names them as 1) the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover, 2) the Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost), and 3).the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths. Two are in the first half of the year, one occurs in the fall. John does not name this one, and as his gospel is not always chronological, we can’t be sure. Many believe it is Passover when this incident happens.)

(Note: the other Holy Days are: the Feast of First Fruits, after passiver, the Feast of Trumpets (in the fall), and the Day of Atonement. There are also two Festivals that were man-initiated that were celebrated: Purim in the spring, to commermorate Queen Esther’s victory, and the Festival of Lights (Hannucha), in December, to celebrate the victory of the Macabees.)

ANYWAY….. Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a “feast of the Jews” when this incident of chapter five took place. And here we begin to really see open opposition to Jesus by the religious leaders increase (romorrow’s reading). And it has to do with the Sabbath.

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John describes a pool by the Sheep Gate. This small gate was in the northern part of the city and Temple mount where sheep could be brought in for sacrifice.

Nearby was the 5-sided pool called Bethesda. There was a story about this pool. As it goes, when the waters ruffled (probably from the underground sping thaf fed it), it was a sign of an angel’s presence, and the first invalid into the pool after it happened, would be healed. Many, many sick individuals lay around this pool for years and years waiting for that miracle.

One such man was approached by Jesus. “Do you want to be healed?” Jesus asked.

This seems peculiar. Why wouldn’t the man WANT to be healed? But Jesus knows all hearts. Perhaps he had gotten so used to lying there for 38 years. He had like-fellows around him that he knew, and perhaps chatted with. He collected a small amount of alms for food. He had no responsibilities. DID he really WANT to be healed and become a part of regular society?

Notice that his answer wasn’t “Yes!”

He said, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I’m going,(crawling?) another gets there befre me.”

Enough with the nonsense. Jesus commands, “Get up. Take up your bed. And walk.” And he did. (No one refuses a command of hte Lord Jesus.) And he was healed.

AND… that day was the SABBATH.

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John 5:10-15.

Now, in the Old Testament, work was forbidden on the Sabbath day. (Exodus 20:8-11). It was assumed tht this mean one’s cistomary job (farming, teaching, selling, plumbing, computer repairing … etc.) Very easy to understand. Of course if emergencies came up (your cow fell in a well) it was okay to deal with it. BUT, through the years, the rabbis sought to “protect the law” by hedging it in with more and more details about what exactly “no work” meant. And by Jesus’ time, it had gotten ridiculous.

“It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to take up your bed (a mat),” said the Jews to the man who had been crippled for 38 years and had just then been miracously healed.

Not willing to assume guilt for breaking the “law,” the healed man said, “The man who healed me, that man told me to take up my bed and walk.” WHERE was the exuberance at beeing healed?? Why wasn’t he “walking and leaping and praising God”?

Granted, the man did not KNOW who Jesus was. It was crowded and Jesus had withdrawn. But where was the gratitude?

Later, Jesus found him in the temple (He could now enter the temple for he was no longer crippled).

“See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you,” Jesus said befre slipping away again. Hmmm. What did THAT mean?

Well, the man then went to the religious leaders and told them that it was Jesus who had healed him.

And tomorrow, we will see what trouble for Jesus that “tattling” caused.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/23) John 4:27-42

Jun23

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“Come, see a man who told me all I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” John 4:29.

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus managed His path and His time to be exactly where a certain Samaritan woman would be about noon, alone and carrying a large water jar, sweating in the noonday heat. He amazed her by asking for a drink. (Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans, especially a woman.) The conversation that followed intrigued her and whetted her thirst for things spiritual. Jesus talked to her about God the Father, worship that was neither there nor in Jerusalem, but in the Spirit. He offered HER living water, despite knowing that she was a “fallen” woman. Confused, she said that one day the Messiah would come, and He would explain all things. Jesus looked at her and said, “I am He.”

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John 4:27-30.

“I am He,” Jesus said to the woman. And just then His disciples came back from town with some Kosher falafel wraps. They stopped dead, marveling that Jesus was talking to a woman, and a Samaritan at that. But (wisely) none of them asked WHY he was talking to her.

Seeing the men arrive, she left her water jar and ran off into the town, saying to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

And so the people of the town, though they had shunned the woman, were curious at her words and came out to see for themselves. (Something had sure wound up the woman!)

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John 4:31-38

Meanwhile the disciples were unwrapping the falafel pitas and urging him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he refused the food saying that he had a “food” to eat that they knew nothing about.

As they chomped the spicy falafel, they asked quietly among themselves, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat while we were gone?”

But Jesus knew their thoughts. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” And looking out at the fields of grain around them, he said, “Do not say, ‘There are yet four months till harvent.’ Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and SEE that the fields are white with harvest!” They followed his pointing finger to see the people of the town following the woman out.

And many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.” When they got to Jesus that asked Him to stay with them, and He did, for three days, teaching truth.

MANY MORE believed because of His word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we KNOW that this is indeed the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.”

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(WOW, maybe we should not always avoid the places that are uncomfortable to us. Maybe there is someone who needs to hear about God’s saving grace, and the salvation that Jesus bought with His own life. Maybe we could take a chance and testify!)

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/22) John 4:1-26

Jun22

Read and believe in Jesus

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty…” John 4:15a

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – John the Baptist exalts Jesus one last time. He humbly tells his disciples that the end of his mission is near, that now Jesus must increase, while he must decrease. He then goes on to lift up and praise Jesus, the Son of God. Such a man of God, and such an example of humility.

John 4:1-6

After spending a bit more time in Judea while His disciples baptized a few people, Jesus heard that the religious leaders were causing a fuss about Him because He was baptizing more than John (He wasn’t). To offset possible trouble, He and his disciples left the area and made for Galilee.

Of course, without a long detour, that meant that they had to walk THROUGH Samaria, that land where the hated Samaritans lived. (Most Jews would cross the Jordan River and walk on the east bank until they passed Samaria, then cross the river again to reach Galilee.)

(NOTE: The Samaritans were a people of mixed ancestry. After the Northern Kingdom had been defeated by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:1-6), only a few poor Jewish farmers were left in the land. Then, as was his way, the Assyrian king relocated people from other lands he’d conquered to live in Israel. These intermarried with the Jews, and over time their “religion” became half truth and half pagan. The Jews of Israel avoided contact with these “pagans.”)

But that day, Jesus had an “appointment” with a certain Samaritan woman who lived in Sychar. The ancient well that the patriarch Jacob/Israel dug was there, and after sending His disciples into town for food (was Kosher food to be found there??), Jesus sat down at the well.

It was about noon, and it was hot.

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John 4:7-15.

A Samaritan woman approached the well carrying a water jar. She set it on the ground and glanced at Jesus. Now, usually the women of town would come in the cool of morning to draw water, so right away we know something was different about this woman. She was disliked and shunned by the Sychar Ladies Society. Why? We will find out.

“Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her.

The woman gave Him a double take. Usually men did not speak to women in public … especially JEWISH men.

“How is it that YOU, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? she asked.

‘If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is that is saying to you, ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

The woman’s jaw dropped open. Then she said,

“Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” (She knew her history.)

Jesus answered her with a beautiful offer.

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Silence again. And then…

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty … or have to come here to draw water!” The Samaritan woman wasn’t quite sure what Jesus was offering. Was this some mystical holy water? Or some special means to receive regular water without work? Was He “pulling her leg?”

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John 4:16-26.

Jesus abruptly changes the topic. “Go, call your husband and come here.”

Ah…um…“I have no husband.”

“You were right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you said was true.” Jesus quickly answereed back. His eyes never left her face.

Softly she answered, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”

Then more boldly, trying to change the subject from husbands, she said, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but You say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.“

Jesus corrected her and gave her new knowledge. “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do NOT know, we worship what we DO know, for salvation is from the Jews. But… the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Almost more than she could comprehend, she said firmly, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When HE comes, HE will tell us all things.”

Silence, until she looked right at Him.

“I who speak to you am He.” Jesus said softly.

Whoa!

(And that’s where we leave them today. But stay tuned, it gets really exiting and amazing.)

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