John 14:15-31 (NIV)

Imagine what might have been going through the disciples’ mind when they heard Jesus was going away. Some might have guessed what he meant, others are still confused, but regardless, they were probably starting to freak out. The man they had given up everything for--the man they believed to be the Messiah- was leaving.

In today’s passage, Jesus addresses those fears. Another will come--a helper, a comforter, an advocate. The Greek word here, parakletos, is rich with meaning. The comfort of the parakletos isn’t just hugs and Hallmark cards. The parakletos takes up the cause of the needy. The parakletos will fight for you. And the parakletos will live in you.

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1. What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage? Why might that be?

2. What places in your life and in the world around you need an advocate?

3. Where in your life do you need to hear the words “Do not let your heart be troubled” or “do not be afraid”? Where might Jesus be asking you to lean into the strength and comfort of the Helper?

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John 14:1-14 (NIV)

Imagine we were Christians living in the first century. For most of us, our first encounter with the Gospel of John would have been hearing it read at a gathering of our house church. Once the story had made its way through Jesus washing the disciples' feet, we begin to hear it as if we were there in the room with the disciples and the LORD.

Throughout the next few chapters in John we want to make a little more space at the end of each episode to reflect on the words of Jesus. There is so much in each passage so we are asking the Holy Spirit to guide each of you as you respond. But as we usually do, we’ll give you a little historical context up front.

In today’s passage, there are some famous verses that could stand to be read with a bit more context. Jesus tells the disciples that His Father’s house has many rooms, and that he’s going to prepare a place for them. Often these verses are read and preached as Jesus talking about mansions in heaven, some cloudy utopia in the sky. But did you know that the last time Jesus talked about his Father’s House, he was talking about the Temple, the place where God’s presence dwelt, where heaven and earth met?

What if Jesus is talking about New Creation, the place where heaven and earth are overlapping and interlocking? What if he’s talking about his death and resurrection when he talks about going to prepare a place, knowing that it’s through this that New Creation is about to burst into the world? What if he’s talking about the Holy Spirit that will fill each Jesus follower, making them a new temple?

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1. What word or image stood out to you in the passage?

2. What about this passage encouraged you? What about it challenged you?

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this passage today? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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John 13:31-38 (NIV)

Imagine knowing you only had a few days left to live. Who would you want to talk to? What would you want to tell them?

Jesus has said that his “time has come.” And so today’s passage brings us into what some have called the farewell discourses. Judas has left the room, and John devotes the next four chapters to telling his readers the intimate details of Jesus’ last conversation with his disciples.

As you listen, try to imagine that you’re in the room. What do you see and hear? What do you feel?

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1. What words or phrases stood out to you in the passage?

2. This scene presents a contrast between Judas and Peter. Judas’ devotion to Jesus is in many ways just a front. We don’t know much about his motives, but we do know that he is secretly planning to betray Jesus. Judas is easy to hate. Peter, on the other hand, has his heart in it. He really really wants to understand, and he truly believes that his devotion to Jesus is solid. And yet, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him too. Have you ever committed something to Jesus that you turn around and fail to deliver immediately? Bring that to the LORD who loves you today.

3. Jesus tells his friends that the world will know that they are his disciples because of the way that they love one another. How are we doing at that? How clear is it today that we are Jesus disciples? Ask the Lord to bring to mind other believers that you need help loving.

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John 13:18-30 (NIV)

Throughout the Gospel of John, the duality of light and darkness has been weaving in and out of the narrative. In today’s passage those two forces are embodied by characters who are close to Jesus. John, the beloved disciples representing the light, and Judas who represents the darkness and in the end walks out into it.

Remember, Jesus and his disciples are celebrating the Passover, when Yahweh instructed the people of Israel to sacrifice the spotless lamb so that death would pass over their household. One other cultural detail that makes this passage come alive is that dipping a piece of bread in the dish and passing it to someone was a sign of special friendship. Jesus, in the very act of deep trust and friendship, is betrayed.

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1. What disciple stood out to you the most in this passage?

2. Again, to be passed a piece of bread after it was dipped in the dish was a special sign of friendship. This passage opens up the possibility of being offered the gift of friendship by the light of the world, yet still in the end walking out into darkness. Wherever you’re at today with Jesus, pause and consider your response to his offer of friendship.

3. This passage is full of contrasts: light and darkness, Jesus and the satan, John and Judas, the beloved and the betrayer. We see the depth of Jesus' love in that he opens himself up to the risk of betrayal in his actions towards Judas. Love is vulnerable because you risk betrayal. Take a moment to bring the relationships where you fear betrayal before the LORD. Ask him to fill you with love.

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John 13:1-17 (NIV)

In today’s passage Jesus will share the Passover meal with his disciples  commemorating Israel's liberation from Egypt, their redemption from empire. This scene might be familiar to many of us because of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous imagining of the scene. But his painting doesn’t give us the right idea in terms of the world Jesus lived in.

Instead of the disciples sitting on stools with the legs under the table, they would have been almost lying down at the table, with their feet resting behind them away from the table. And just before the meal Jesus begins to do something they couldn’t have imagined, going from one disciple to the next around the outside of the table washing their feet. The job they would have expected a servant or slave to do.

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1. What moment of this scene would have made you the most uncomfortable?

2. Jesus calls his disciples to do as he had done for them, yet one of the things that he did was wash the feet of a man that was about to betray him. How does this land with you? How willing are you to wash the feet of those who’ve done you wrong, or who likely will?

3. Knowing that the Father had put all things under his power, knowing that he’d come from God and was going to God, he stood up and humbled himself to the point of the lowest of servants. There is a lot of talk about power and identity in this cultural moment. How does Jesus' use of power challenge the way you see power and identity.

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John 12:37-50 (NIV)

Today’s passage recounts the last moments in John’s Gospel where Jesus is in public and not in custody. Right after this the scene shifts to a private room where he will share the Passover meal with his disciples, where he will wash their feet and be betrayed by Judas. The story is about to zoom in and slow way down. But first John uses this scene as a summary of Jesus’ ministry so far.

Remember chapter one, how it’s a kind of road map for the book. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… he came to his own but they did not recognize him… He is the light of the world that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Keep these things in mind as you listen to John summarize the first half of his story about Jesus.

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1. What images stood out to you from this passage? Why do you think that is?

2. The Jewish leaders would not acknowledge their faith in Jesus for fear of being removed from their faith community. Do you ever fear associating with Jesus? Consider how much of that might be due to desiring honor from people over honor from the LORD.

3. Jesus draws a contrast between hearing his words and rejecting his words, not keeping them versus not accepting them. So on the one hand there are those of us who hear and trust and agree, but then we just struggle. And then there are those of us who reject Jesus’ words, not trusting, not agreeing, and rather than struggling with them, we flat out deny their authority over us. Which are you more inclined towards?

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John 12:20-36 (NIV)

Just before today’s passage the pharisees were frustrated by how the whole world was going after Jesus. In today’s passage we see just that. God- fearing Greeks come to worship in Jerusalem and are wanting to meet Jesus. This is it, this is the thing that tells Jesus that his time has come. But instead of meeting with them, instead of stepping out into the fame and glory that the people want to shower him with, he steps away. But why?

These Greek worshipers had the right idea, get to know Jesus… But Jesus knew that in order to really satisfy their request, it could not be by the path of power, fame, and self-absorbed honor. If Israel was to finally live up to it’s calling to be a blessing to all the nations… it would require a representative to do what Israel could not do for themselves, through weakness, sacrifice, and humility.

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1. What tensions or contrasts surprised you in this passage?

2. Jesus sees his death and resurrection as a seed dying in the ground and coming out of the ground with new life that produces many more seeds. As we follow Jesus, our life is like a seed. It only produces fruit if we are willing to part with it and place it in the soil of humble, sacrificial, self-giving love. Otherwise, we hold the seed in our hand and it produces nothing. How might Jesus be calling you to offer up your life to be planted today?

3. Jesus speaks of his own death in this passage. He says that when he is lifted up--another way to translate that is to say, when I’m exalted, he says that then he would draw all people to himself. He is calling the crucifixion his exaltation. How does this paradox challenge your worldview when it comes to power, honor, and esteem?

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John 12:12-19 (NIV)

If you grew up in church, you’re familiar with Palm Sunday--the day when churchgoers, often just the children, march around with palm branches. It’s cute, parents snap photos; it’s something to do with Jesus coming into town on a Donkey and people shouting “Hosanna,” and it marks the Sunday before Easter.

Today’s passage takes us there--to the palm branches, to the donkey. . . but in light of what we’ve seen so far in John’s gospel, there is nothing cute about this scene. Murders are being planned. Revolution is in the air. National security is on the line, and a Messiah unlike what many imagined chooses this moment to officially announce himself as Israel’s Savior.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?

2. The palm branches were a reminder of Israel welcoming the Macabee kings in Jerusalem, about 200 years earlier. They were a sign of military might, and rescue from an oppressive state. And yet, here is Jesus riding not on a strong horse with a shield and a sword, but on a young donkey. What might these two symbols being juxtaposed in this scene tell us about Jesus?

3. The word Hosanna means Save Us! While the people of Israel were longing for a leader to save them from the Roman Empire, we too face modern empires that use similar tactics, abusing power, exploiting the vulnerable. What would it look like for you to cry out Hosanna today? How might this humble king bring you hope?

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John 12:1-11 (NIV)

Today’s passage might be a familiar one, but seeing its place in the full context of John’s gospel might be a new experience for you. Regardless, as you listen today, remember what’s come before, and consider what’s ahead. As we did with the story of Lazarus’s resurrection, let’s imagine ourselves in this scene. What do you see, smell, hear? Notice how your body might react to those things and what feelings come to the surface for you. . .

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John 11:45-57 (NIV)

By this point in John’s gospel, it seems that for many the way Jesus is inaugurating God’s kingdom could be a fulfillment of long-awaited hope. For others they see him as a serious threat to national security. Jesus has confounded the expectations of just about everyone he’s encountered with healings, teachings, and miraculous signs, and now he has raised his friend Lazarus from the dead.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in the passage?

2. In this passage Jesus’ understanding of his vocation and the desires of the Jewish leaders are actually beginning to intersect. Have you seen God at work in your life even during seasons or experiences that were unjust or painful? What did that look like?

3. It often feels like the political sphere is the most powerful and primary--and that in order to have control we must figure out how to leverage power in that realm. How does Jesus’ interaction with the political world challenge you? How does it shape your view of power?

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