In this passage, Jesus is urging us to lift up our eyes and see the many opportunities we have to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those around us. May God help us to be faithful labourers in the spiritual harvest awaiting us.
In this passage, the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman turns to the topic of worship. God is seeking true worshippers who will worship Him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). Regardless of who we are or what we've done, if we have put our trust in Jesus Christ and worship what is true about God, then we are the true worshippers God is seeking.
In this passage, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well, and He offers to quench her thirst forever. If we're thirsty for something more than what this world has given us, then we can come to Jesus who will give us abundant life in Him, so that we will never be thirsty again.
In this passage, we are encouraged to give thanks to the Lord for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Because God acted to save Jesus from death, we can know that all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ will also be delivered from death on the last day. May we therefore joyfully celebrate the Lord's day, not just on Easter Sunday, but every Lord's day that we gather together to triumphantly declare what the Lord has done for us.
In this passage, we see the steadfast love of the Lord on display. When the psalmist was near death, the Lord responded to his distress and became his salvation. Unlike the psalmist, Jesus would actually die. But three days later, Jesus would be raised from the dead, later ascend into heaven, and will one day come again to raise His people from death to life. Because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, all who believe in Him will also conquer death. What ought to be our response to the Lord's goodness? We ought to "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118:1, 29)
In this passage, we see the humility of John the Baptist in making much of Jesus. Because of where He comes from, because of what He speaks, and because of His authority, Jesus Christ is to be exalted "above all." For those who believe in the Son, there is the hope of life. For those who do not believe, there is the promise of death.
In this passage, we see the greatest Lover (God) give the greatest gift (His only Son) that leads to the greatest result (eternal life). But there is a choice before us. Which “whoever” are we – the one who believes in the only Son of God, or the one who doesn’t believe in the only Son of God? What we choose will decide whether we have come into the glorious light of Christ, or whether we are still in darkness.
In this passage, Jesus highlights the importance of being born again - that is a entirely work of God, that it is transformational, and that all that is required to be born again is to look to Christ and believe.
Jesus is often pictured as being meek and mild, gentle and lowly. But in this passage, we see what Revelation 6:16 calls "the wrath of the Lamb." Jesus' anger is directed toward those who would use religiosity as a veneer for personal gain at the expense of God and others. Will we come to the true and better Temple - Jesus Christ - for forgiveness and grace?
In the Gospel of John, we have seen how Jesus is the Word, the life, the light, the Lamb, the Christ, the King, the Son of God, the Son of Man. In this passage, we come to a familiar story - Jesus turning water into wine. But there is nothing ordinary about Jesus here. Jesus is the true and better Master of the Feast who supplies the abundant wine of the gospel, and He is the true and better Bridegroom who makes purification for His Bride - the Church - through His blood that was poured out as the sacrifice for our sins.