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In a Little While   READ   John 16:16-18   16 “In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”      17 Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”     Reading now from the viewpoint of history, it is easier to understand now what Jesus

The High-Priestly Prayer   READ   John 17:1-2   1 After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.”     John 17 is commonly called “The High-Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. Matthew 6 records the model prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray, but John 17 is the prayer that Jesus Him

Keep Them Safe   READ   John 17:13-15   13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.”     The reason that Jesus told the disciples many things is that they might be fille

The Mount of Olives   READ   John 18:1-3   1 After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. 3 The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.     Jesus left Jerusalem

Interrogation   READ   John 18:19-21   19 Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 20 Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”     The high priest was asking for information he likely already knew. Although asking bo

Are You the King of the Jews   READ   John 18:33-35   33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.     34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”     35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”     Pilate now returned to his quarters to interrogate Jesus. Asking i

Crucify Him   READ   John 19:6-7   6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”   “Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”   7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”     The religious unbelievers wanted Jesus put to death, but they already acknowledged they couldn’t do that. Pilate goaded them on by telling them to crucify H

Place of the Skull   READ   John 19:17-18   17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.     Once Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified, the religious leaders took Him away. Apparently Jesus was too physically weak to carry the cross all the way because of the beating He had endured. Other gospels

It Is Finished     READ   John 19:28-30   28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.     This passage tells of the last three hours Jesus was on the cross. His humanity is shown in that He was t

The Stone Rolled Away   READ   John 20:1-2   1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”     Mary Magdalene was a faithful follower of Jesus. On the first day of the week she came to the to

Visitor   READ   John 20:19-20   19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!     Until now the location of the disciples has not been mentioned. Now it is learned they were in hiding. They assumed the Jewish le

The Reason   READ   John 20:30-31   30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.     These verses include the purpose of John’s Gospel. If you were doing a book review, you would search for the purpose of the author. Then you would read the b

Do You Love Me     READ   John 21:13-15   13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.     15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”    “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”     “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.     After indicating this was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after His r

Getting Started…   In his letter to the Romans, Paul, the author, reveals a mystery that had been hidden in plain sight. The salvation that Jesus provided through His death and resurrection was not meant for the Jews only, but for the entire world.     This would have been a startling revelation to the people of his day, but Paul, clearly and eloquently lays out his argument piece by piece in one of the most inspiring defenses of God’s long-abiding love for humanity. Join aut

Sent Out to Preach READ Romans 1:1-3 1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line.   The custom in New Testament times was to say at the beginning of one’s letter who was writing.  Paul reveals he is the author. Likely in t

Sense of Obligation READ Romans 1:13-15 13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and  see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.   There we

Purity READ Romans 1:26-27 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.   Paul continues to tell what God did with those who knew

Day of Judgment READ Romans 2:5-8 5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live fo

Teach Yourself READ Romans 2:21-22 21 Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? 22 You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples?   Paul now focuses on those who thought they were superior because they knew the Old Testament law. They were teaching others how to have proper conduct, but they did not have it themselves.

God Is True READ Romans 3:3-4 3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? 4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”   Paul was careful to distinguish between unfaithful people and the faithfulness of God. Even if everyone should lie; God remains true. Isaiah 65:16 refers t

We Are Sinful READ Romans 3:19-20 19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.   From the time the law was given, as recorded in Exodus 20 and beyond, people have misunderstood its purpose. Some get into heated arguments about wheth

When We Have Faith READ Romans 3:29-31 29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.   The Jews considered they were special because of the way G

Father of the Faithful READ Romans 4:11-12 11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham

Mankind Redeemed READ Romans 4:23-25 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.   Having mentioned that righteousness was put on Abraham’s account because of his faith in God,