A constant problem for the reputation of the church is the presence of persons who claim to be believers but deny the faith with their lives. This problem is not new. In fact, in John 8:30-59, Jesus had an extended argument with some who had believed in him but ended up wanting to kill him.

The feast was over. The water and light show has dazzled the crowds. Jesus had offered living water to quench our thirst and added in John 8:12-30 that he is the light of the world. However, his hearers missed the message by challenging his procedure. In response, Jesus directed them back to himself as the

Irony occurs when a situation turns out to be the opposite of what is expected. Dramatic irony is when the author and the audience know that the situation is opposite of what the actors think it is. The Gospel of John, especially John 7:32-52, is dripping with irony. However, John used his irony not to

As we approach the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, we learn from John 7:1-31 how Jesus approached time and timing. He always ordered his life according to God's timing. We too have our time, and we all have the same amount of it. The question is how we are going to use

After becoming popular and attracting many followers, Jesus taught about what we call the Incarnation, the Son of God becoming human flesh. The Incarnation made it possible for people to have eternal life. Instead of being overjoyed at this news, many so-called followers turned away from Jesus in John 6:41-71. After asking the his original

Just like us, the people of Jesus' day spent much of their time laboring for things that perish. Just like us, they often found themselves not satisfied. In John 6:1-40, we read about two of Jesus' most well-known miracles, feeding the 5000 and walking on water. Because the people missed the meaning of the miracles,

If a man makes a great claim about himself, he should be ready to present evidence to back up his claim. In John 5:17-47, Jesus made the most astonishing claims imaginable for a human being. By his own admission, if he alone held this opinion of himself, we should not believe him. Therefore, he backed

There is a popular expression that says "seeing is believing." However, many people saw the amazing signs performed by Jesus and did not believe in him. In two separate incidents recorded in John 4:43-5:18, Jesus performed signs of healing, but few believed in him. One politically connected man did believe while the religious leaders did

Things had not worked out in life as she had hoped. After five broken marriages, she found herself in another uncertain relationship with a man. Then one one hot day at noon, she met a thirsty Jewish man. At first she despised him because of his race and religion, but he spoke to her in

Ever since there began to be two groups preaching and baptizing, there were those who wanted to set up a competition between them. In John 3:22-36, John the Baptist put an immediate stop to the idea of competition between Jesus and himself. His response provides not only pastors but all Christians with an excellent motto