Daily Read

John 2:13-25 (NIV) 

After the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turns water into wine, John the author takes us to a scene in the Temple at Passover. Now, it’s important to note that Passover was the celebration of God’s redemption of Israel from the Egyptian empire. Every year, for thousands of years, the Jewish people would commemorate this event while feasting on the Passover lamb, as a way of celebrating but also longing for God to do it again; and this time once and for all.

In today’s passage Jesus enters the Temple, which was the center of worship, yes, but also of politics, society, and national identity. The LORD promised Israel that he would dwell in this temple. But in the narrative that John has been telling so far… The WORD has made his dwelling somewhere else, he has been called the lamb of God. And this draws direct contrast between what’s happening in Jesus and what is going on in the temple on this passover.

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

1. What word or phrase stood out to you?

2. What parts of this passage reminds you of the narrative of the Hebrew Scriptures?

3. According to John's gospel so far, the arrival of Jesus upsets the status quo. Sometimes with delight and joy, and sometimes with confusion and questions. In what area of your life might you need Jesus to upset the status quo? In what area might you be nervous for him to enter?

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John 2:1-12 (NIV)

New Testament scholar NT Wright talks about the John’s Gospel as “a kind of treasure hunt, with careful, sometimes cryptic clues laid for us to follow.” John set the scene for us in Chapter 1, and he ended with a peculiar word to Nathaniel referencing Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28. He says that Nathaniel will see heaven opened, with angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man!

He’s talking about them seeing heaven and earth come together--God’s space and human space becoming one. Throughout the book and in today’s passage, these moments are marked by what John calls signs--Signs Jesus performs that should ring a bell in your mind to remember the first chapter and see that it’s happening, and we are invited to come and see. Come and see heaven and earth together... God's space and human space together... In and through the person of Jesus of Nazareth!

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

1. What stands out to you in this passage?

2. If this sign reveals God's glory in Jesus, what is it that we learn about that Glory?

3. According to this passage, when heaven and earth come together, shame is replaced by honor, sorrow by joy. In what areas of your life do you need honor in place of shame, joy in place of sorrow? 

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John 1:43-51 (NIV)

In today’s passage Jesus continues to call disciples. And so far in the Gospel, as people encounter Jesus, we’ve watched as they react. Some are skeptical, some decide to follow, and some don’t even recognize him. Today we’ll see Jesus run into the prejudice that potentially existed within the Jewish community--how some people from one town looked down on people from another. How will Jesus respond? 

----------RESPOND----------

1. When the Word becomes flesh and makes his dwelling among us, it confounds our expectations. Like Philip, how have you responded to other people's prejudice, and how it might keep them from following Jesus?

2. Like Nathaniel, what prejudices or biases do you carry that might keep you from following Jesus?

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you what you need to come and see.

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John 1:29-42 (NIV) 

Have you ever waited for something for a really long time? Is there something that you’ve longed for your entire life? In today’s passage we meet the first disciples of Jesus who, as Jewish people, would have been longing for Messiah since the time they were children. A set of priests, Levites, and Pharisees have already written off John the Baptizer … How would they respond to the moment when Messiah comes?

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

1. What stood out to you in this passage? What does it mean? 

2. How might the Lord be inviting you to respond today? 

3. What in your life keeps you from following Jesus, from responding to his invitation to come and see? 

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John 1:15-28 (NIV) 

In the beginning of John's gospel, he’s doing his best to try to show how the story of Jesus is the continuation of the long story of God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel, and through Israel, a blessing to the world. He starts in the very beginning, moving to Moses and the law, to the coming of Jesus, and then we meet John the Baptist. This guy is in the wilderness calling people to repent and believe, and he’s seen here quoting the prophet Isaiah, announcing the coming of the Lord. But what will it mean? What will it look like? 

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

1. What surprises you about this passage?

2. What word or phrase stands out? 

3. What parts of this passage remind you of the whole of the story of Scripture?

4. The Priests the Levites and the Pharisees all fail to see John for the messenger that he is because of their fixed categories of what a messenger of the LORD would look like. What fixed categories do you have that might keep you from seeing a message from the LORD when it shows up?

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Ms. Skip McDonald is a long time InterVarsity Staff, an author, a nursing and mental health professional, and a dear friend. We sat down with Ms. Skip to talk about daily rhythms with Jesus and how they impact our mental health.

Enjoy a lighthearted conversation about important things! 

RESOURCES:

John 1:1-14 (NIV) 

For the coming weeks we’re going to spend some time in The Gospel of John, as a way to sit in the larger message that biblical authors have when they weave these stories together. John's Gospel, we’re told at the end, is written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah (or anointed King), and that by believing, you may have life in his name. The gospel opens with a soaring introduction to Jesus that ought to leave us in wonder.

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

1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. How does this passage fit with the whole of scripture?

3. How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to respond?

4. What will it look like to respond? What will need to change? what will need to stay the same? 

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Psalm 6 (NIV)

On June 19th, 1865 it was proclaimed to the last slaves in the US by a Union general that they were free... Emancipated.... liberated.... Today, as the nation still longs for justice we are reminded that for many in our land, freedom has only come in portions. And a portion of freedom is no freedom at all. So we long for justice.... We long for freedom...

Psalm 68:1-10 (NIV) 

Some psalms were thought to be songs that the people of god sang during processions as the ark of the covenant was returned from battle. They were songs of victory. If you’ve ever been in the midst of a fight or struggle. It’s psalms like these that can stir your soul.

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

1. What word or phrase stands out to you?

2. Ask the LORD what this phrase might mean? 

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond to him? 

4. What will it mean to respond? What might need to change? What might need to stay the same?

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Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV) 

It’s likely that the Letter to the Ephesians is written by Paul who is writing from prison. He’s encouraging churches throughout a region to hold fast to their faith and pursue unity. In chapter three he records a prayer for these early believers who faced persecution and suffering.

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

1. What word or phrase resonated with you?

2. Ask the LORD what that might mean? 

3. How is the LORD inviting you to respond to this prayer? 

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