John Baumgartner \\ In these verses, Peter is continuing to teach on the command he gave in verse 17, “Be Holy as God is Holy.” Here he is telling us what holiness will look like in our everyday life: loving one another earnestly from a pure heart, just as Jesus has loved us. This love that was impossible God has made a normal reality for His people, and it is a love that by its very nature begets more love.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Much confusion about Jesus remains amongst the crowds, to the point of division. The religious leadership grows frustrated by Jesus and their minds are darkened. But in the middle of the passage, Jesus declares that all who thirst should come to Him. Those who seek truth will find it in Christ who freely gives the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him.

John Baumgartner \\ In this passage, Peter displays a reversal of thinking: where earthly kings are ransomed by their people, the heavenly King came to pay the ransom for His people. Christ came to ransom us from our slavery to sin so that we will be holy as God is holy.

Caleb Drahosh \\ After an extended period of time, Jesus returns to Judea for the Feast of Booths. We learn of many who do not believe in Jesus, and many who question Him. But Jesus says that there is a way to understand the validity of His ministry and His authority: obedience to God's law. All who are justified by faith are given the freedom in Christ to obey all that God commands, and through obedience they come to know God.

Caleb Drahosh \\ After Jesus finishes the bread of life discourse in the synagogue, many of His disciples choose not to continue following Him. Jesus' words were hard to hear. But Peter, on behalf of the twelve disciples, says to Jesus that they had nowhere else to go. Jesus has the words of life. Those who have life in the Spirit are those who hear, believe, and press on despite the difficulty. Those who do not have ears to hear do not believe and tap out.

Caleb Drahosh \\ All who put their faith in Christ and His atoning work are joined to Christ and become the inheritors of eternal life. What we receive from Christ is received by faith alone, not on the basis of works that we perform, but only on the righteousness of Christ credited to us. Those who eat the bread of life, those who eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, are those who become the beneficiaries of His atoning work; mainly, they are joined to Christ, justified before God, and adopted into His family.

Caleb Drahosh \\ In this text, Jesus dives into the heart of His sermon in which He declares to the crowd that He is the bread of life. He tells them that to work for the food that does not perish is to believe in Him as the One who the Father has sent. Jesus' words are about certainty and assurance. Those who come to Jesus and believe in Him will be given eternal life in which they will be eternally satisfied (35), eternally welcomed (37), and eternally secured (39).

Caleb Drahosh \\ After Jesus and the disciples cross the Sea of Galilee, the crowd catches up. Jesus tells the crowd that they were seeking the wrong thing; they were seeking the gift rather than the giver. But Jesus tells them how it can be corrected. We should not work for temporary satisfaction, but eternal satisfaction in Him.

Caleb Drahosh \\ After Jesus fed the five thousand, the crowd planned to take Jesus and forcefully make Him king. But He slipped away. Meanwhile, the disciples made their way across the Sea of Galilee and a storm came up. Jesus, walking on the water, came to them and delivered them. Although Jesus was unwilling to be crowned king by a rogue crowd, we quickly find out that He is a king and that His kingdom is far greater than the crowd could conceive of. Jesus is sovereign over all creation; the waves and the wind speak to His true kingship.

Kalen Heller \\ Rejoicing in the way fellow believers walk in the truth and encouraging others to do the same is essential to fulfilling the mission Jesus has given us to make disciples of all nations. The central component to walking in the truth of the Father’s command is to do so with love, which has always been the case–as we have heard from the beginning. Many deceivers–false teachers–are in the world who try to keep Christians from walking in the truth of the Father’s commands. Watch yourselves. There is nothing life-giving beyond God’s Word. Do not roll out the red carpet for false teachers.