Just over a week ago we celebrated “Good Friday.” Since when does the brutal murder of a 33-year-old Jewish man constitute anything “good”? The betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was not a good thing. It’s the worst crime ever committed in human history. All of us are guilty of that crime, because our sin put Him on the cross. Yet the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was necessary to who Jesus is and what He came to do.

The Joy of Following Jesus

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer, which He prays after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come.

Jesus prays this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him. We are reminded by Jesus that no matter the fearful circumstance, we can always turn to the Father in prayer.

Prayer Points to the Purposes of the God.

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer. Jesus is the perfect priest. Jesus prays this right after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come. Jesus is praying this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him.

Each believer desperately needs this prayer which has been recorded for our instruction and growth. We need to know and understand the heart of Jesus, properly responding when our hearts are troubled and turning first to Jesus who knows us best.

What God Says about the Holy Spirit.

Last week, we talked about how the world of unbelievers will hate Jesus' followers, because the world hated Jesus. Jesus told His disciples this to prepare them for what was to come.

Being In Christ Jesus.

Outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, there isn’t much for a Christian to boast about. Therefore, there is no greater expression of the Christian life than the words in verse 30: "it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus." The phrase "in Christ Jesus" is repeated in the beginning of many of Paul’s letters. The phrase can become commonplace and lose the depth behind these familiar words. However, they underpin the several doctrines of the Christian faith.

Becoming True Worshippers Like the Magi

The use of a Nativity scene as a Christmas reminder of Christ’s birth originated about 800 years ago from Frances of Assisi. As Christmas decoration, this scene sometimes depicts various people and animals. The actual scene revealed in the Bible shows that someone was conspicuously absent: the religious leaders of the Jews, the very ones who should have been seeking and joyous of Christ’s arrival.

Special Gathering of the Whole Church Family for a Christmas Devotional

Principles of Prayer:

Jesus is going to depart, and the disciples cannot go with Him. Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled (John 14:1).” While the disciples had Jesus physically present, they did not need to pray to Him, making the instructions given by Him in John 14:12-15 to pray in Jesus’s name new information.

Prayer is a tool given to Christ’s disciples to encourage their belief in Him. We cannot grow in our faith without prayer. Believers must rightly understand and exercise prayer in agreement with the Word of God.

Believe in Jesus, Who Is Enough.

The conversation with the disciples continues in John 14:7-15. Jesus is going away, and the disciples cannot go with Him. Their hearts are troubled.

Philip, representing all the disciples, desires more. He wants to see the Father and that will be enough (John 14:8). The problem from Philip’s perspective is bigger than who he sees Jesus as being. Yet, Jesus is enough. Enough for the disciples then, and enough for each believer now.

The Final Lesson to Love One Another Like Christ

Jesus is a rabbi, a teacher in the Jewish culture, teaching final, critical lessons to His disciples. The upper room discourse begins in John 13:31-38. Earlier in John 13, Jesus provided an object lesson for His disciples when He washed their feet. As He will soon be departing, Jesus desires for His disciples to thrive without His physical presence, as they will not yet be able to follow Him.

No matter their fear, uncertainty, failure, or doubt, Jesus has a final, powerful lesson for His disciples to learn: that loving one another like Christ is the way of perseverance.

What Love Looks Like in the Face of Evil.

In John 3:16-21, Jesus talks about the difference between light and dark. Those who would reject Jesus rejected that light due to their deeds being exposed.

Last week we talked about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, but when Jesus came to Judas, He didn’t skip him. Jesus was instructing them on how to love in the face of evil.

You Should Love One Another as Jesus Loves You.

If you knew you had 24 hours to live, how would you spend it? A common answer is to spend it with the people you love the most. But if you knew those people would leave you during that time when you needed them most, would that change how you would spend it?

In John 13:1-17, Jesus knew that He was about to be betrayed and crucified. Yet Jesus called His friends to and modeled for them the defining characteristic of a Christ-follower.

The Results of Jesus’ Ministry.

Many commentators who study the book of John divide the book into two parts, the first part being Jesus’ public ministry and the second part as His private ministry to His disciples. The passage today makes that clear in verse 36 when Jesus says, “while you have the Light, believe in the Light.”

Although Jesus performed many signs before them, the hearers would not believe. This leaves a question lingering in the air: Is Jesus’ ministry successful? The people Jesus came to save refused Him. The religious leaders rejected Him. The people He spoke to would put Him to death. Even Jesus’ disciples had to go into hiding.

However, the God of Heaven said, “Yes, You have glorified Me and You will glorify Me” (verse 28). In reality, Jesus’ ministry is powerful and merciful.

Jesus Will Be Glorified through Suffering.

In John 12:27-36, we come to the end of Jesus’ public ministry. We’ve already talked about the curious Jew worshiping Jesus, the marvelous worshipper Mary, and covetous Judas. As we look at these groups and their responses to Jesus, hopefully we aren’t interested in just calculating what we can get from Jesus like Judas did. Instead, let’s elaborate on how the seed has to die in order to bear fruit.

The Triumphal Entry of Christ.

The Scriptures describe past military parades and conquests of Israel’s kings (1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles) as well as one to come (Rev. 6). John 12:12-19 is an explanation of the Christian’s greatest parade of conquest to this point in spiritual history. Recorded in all four gospels, the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover is the commencement of Christ’s passion week. We see an irony of faith in this grand parade for the Son of God who has come to suffer and die for the sin of the world.

To Worship Like Mary.

We learn from the woman at the well that true worshippers of God must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24), while those who are forgiven much, love much, as demonstrated by the woman who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50). In John 12:1-11, we learn from Mary how to worship.

The Power of Jesus Even Over Death

Many scholars have called the raising of Lazarus, Jesus’s seventh sign and last public sign, the climax of Jesus’s ministry and the greatest of His public signs. In this chapter, John is preparing the reader for the cornerstone of our faith in Jesus Christ, which is the resurrection of the dead. We cannot have Christianity without the resurrection, and there cannot be resurrection without Jesus having authority over death.

Today we will examine 3 interactions that Jesus had once he arrived in Bethany in John 11:17-37.

Jesus' Ministry to His Disciples.

Last week, we studied Jesus' human love for the family of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. This week, we will look at how He ministered to His 12 disciples during this crisis.

Jesus' Seventh & Greatest Sign.

For approximately 90 days between the events of John chapters 10 and 12, Jesus ministers in the Perean area. John 10 contains Jesus' last public invitation for the Jews to believe in Him, and John 11 contains Jesus' most powerful self-proclamation and most dramatic miracle.