John's gospel carefully and convincingly presents Jesus as the Messiah. And now, the Messiah God dies. Some thought it wasn't supposed to be this way, but this account shows that it always had to be this way. This week we look at the crucifixion to see what that meant for Jesus then and for us today.

After the last supper Jesus retreats to the Garden of Gethsamane with his disciples. As the soldiers come and arrest Him, it is clear that Jesus is not surprised and willingly gives Himself over to the. This passage shows the depths of Jesus's devotion to us, contrasted but the denials of Judas and Peter.

Jesus reminds his disciples and us that in this world we will face trouble, but we can stay faithful through the struggle and celebrate in the victory Jesus won for us at the end. This message illustrates a study approach to difficult texts using context, content and connection.

In the midst of His extended goodbye, Jesus reassures His disciples that He’s the One who wants to be with them. He uses the metaphor of a vine and branches to help the disciples understand what it takes to remain close to Him.

As Jesus prepares the disciples for His departure the night before he was crucified, they are filled with grief (and probably confusion). Jesus speaks to them so that they may be comforted, for this is certainly not the last time that life will not be what they want it to be for them… or for us.

As Jesus gathered with His twelve closest friends around a table to celebrate Passover, they started arguing about who was the greatest. In response to them, Jesus got up and washed their feet. Through this radical act Jesus teaches the disciples that they need Him and they need each other. Today, we are challenged to lean on Jesus and what's He's done for us, as well as be a community with the DNA of sacrifice and self-less love for each other.

Using imagery of a seed, Jesus explains that his death will multiply His life and kingdom. He then shifts to bring the light imagery to a climax – by believing in Jesus, the light, we become children of the light. We become the means by which the light of God's presences defeats the darkness of sin throughout the world.

It was important that the disciples knew that Jesus' death was no surprise or accident. It was the plan all along because the Kingdom comes through selfless sacrifice. The more we follow, the more we will relinquish to Jesus. This is what created jealousy in Pharisees and joy in Mary.