Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

“‘I don’t know whether he is a sinner,’ the man replied. ‘But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!’” (John 9:25 NLT)

Jesus and His disciples encountered a man who had been blind his entire life. The disciples asked the Lord, “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” (verse 2 NLT). That may seem like an odd question about someone who had been blind since birth. But some Jewish people believed that it was possible for unborn babies to sin in the womb.

Whatever prompted their question, for the disciples, the man’s blindness was an abstract theological puzzle. They had no real compassion for him. They lacked humility, empathy, and concern.

Jesus did not. He explained that the man’s blindness wasn’t the result of his or his parents’ sin. In fact, the man’s blindness gave God an opportunity to work in his life in a way that sighted people would never experience.

The apostle Paul makes a similar point in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul had some kind of disability or affliction that hindered his work. He called it a “thorn in my flesh.” Three times he asked God to remove it from him. And three times God said no. “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT). Our flaws and weaknesses can bring us closer to God if we look at them from the right perspective. They remind us that we need Him. They encourage us to depend on Him.

Jesus showed the power of God in the man’s life in a hands-on way. The man’s blindness wasn’t an abstract theological concept to Him. He spit on the ground, made mud with His saliva, and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. He told him to wash off the mud in the pool of Siloam. And when the man did, he could see! The Light of the world led the man out of his literal darkness.

You can probably guess on which day of the week the healing occurred: the Sabbath. When the Jewish leaders heard about it, they were—again—outraged. How dare Jesus ignore their religious rules to change someone’s life forever by giving him the ability to see for the first time!

Some Pharisees argued that Jesus couldn’t possibly have been sent by God because He worked on the Sabbath. (The man may have been healed of his physical blindness, but their spiritual blindness was still a huge obstacle.) Other Pharisees rightly argued that an ordinary sinner couldn’t perform such a miraculous healing.

Things got so absurd that the religious leaders sent for the man’s parents and tried to get them to admit that their son hadn’t been blind at all. The parents carefully avoided the matter. They had been told that anyone who even suggested that Jesus was the Messiah would be kicked out of the synagogue.

So the leaders again sent for the formerly blind man. They tried to get him to admit that he’d been healed by an ordinary sinner and not the Messiah.

“If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it,” the man replied in verse 33 (NLT). The outraged religious leaders threw him out of the synagogue.

Their unwillingness to see Jesus for who He really was clouded their judgment in practically every other area of their lives. They couldn’t see—or admit—the obvious. Their pride kept them in spiritual darkness. They had no interest in the light.

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“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31–32 NLT)

Believing in Jesus involves more than just accepting what He says as the truth. It involves being faithful to His teachings; changing not just your priorities, but the way you think and act; and restructuring your life so that it resembles His. That’s the message Jesus sends in John 8. You can’t be a casual disciple.

The amazing thing about becoming a disciple is that it doesn’t feel like an obligation; it feels like freedom. When you know the truth about what Jesus offers, you’re set free from the pull of your sinful nature. You have what you need to resist temptation and discover a new way of living.

The Jewish leaders who heard Jesus’ offer were unimpressed. “But we are descendants of Abraham . . . We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” (verse 33 NLT). That was an odd claim, coming from people whose ancestors had been under the control of the Egyptians, Philistines, Babylonians, Persians, Syrians, and Romans at various times in history.

Jesus tried to help them understand that if you sin, you’re a slave to sin because you have no choice in the matter. You have no power to break free from sin’s mastery over you. Only the Son, who enjoys the rights and privileges of being part of God’s family, can free a slave of sin.

The Jewish leaders tried to argue that they were part of God’s family, too, because they were descendants of Abraham. Jesus pointed out that He was the litmus test because He was the true Son of God. Since the Jewish leaders were trying to kill Him, they couldn’t claim that God was their father too.

If God were truly their father, they would have welcomed Jesus. They would have recognized that He had been sent by God. They would have done everything in their power to assist and support Him.

Instead, they showed who their real father was by spreading lies about Him, turning people against Him, questioning His authority, trying to embarrass Him, scheming against Him, and plotting to kill Him. “You are the children of your father the devil,” Jesus told them (verse 44 NLT).

Jesus saw these people for who they were: opponents of God’s work and His will. But not everyone could see through their disguise. The same problem exists today. It’s possible for people to be spiritual leaders, to have respect and authority in the eyes of many people, and still be obstacles to God’s real work. Their teachings may seem reasonable, spiritual, and even scriptural to those who aren’t listening closely.

That’s why God’s Word instructs us to be discerning and wise, to test everything we hear against the truth of Scripture.

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“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.’” (John 8:12 NLT)

The Jewish religious leaders wanted revenge on Jesus. He had exposed their hypocrisy and made them look foolish in front of a large crowd. They wanted to return the favor. They came up with a plan to embarrass Him in a public setting.

They caught a woman who was having an adulterous affair and brought her to the temple, where Jesus was teaching during the Jewish Festival of Shelters. They asked Jesus what He thought they should do with her. This was a trap. Under Jewish law, a person could be stoned to death for adultery. However, the law was rarely enforced.

If Jesus said, “Let her go,” He would be breaking Jewish law. If He said, “Stone her to death,” He would be breaking Roman law because the Romans didn’t allow Jews to carry out religious executions.

Instead of passing judgment on the woman, Jesus turned the tables on her accusers. “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (verse 7 NLT). The accusers had sinned by hatching the plot in the first place. And by bringing the woman to Him publicly to humiliate her. And by ignoring the man who had committed adultery with her. And by not really caring about her. They didn’t even try to argue with Jesus. Instead, they just slipped away, one by one. Defeated. Again.

Jesus resumed His teaching with an amazing claim: “I am the light of the world” (verse 12 NLT). His words had special significance during the Festival of Shelters. The Jewish people celebrated God’s pillar of fire that gave light to the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land. Jesus wanted the people to understand that the same light that guided their ancestors centuries before was available to them.

And it’s available to us too. Anyone who follows Jesus will not walk in darkness. Jesus illuminates the way to God. The way to eternal life. The way to lasting joy, peace, assurance, and fulfillment.

Not everyone appreciates that light. Certainly not the men who had just brought the woman to Jesus. There are certain things people prefer to do under cover of darkness. Things they want to keep hidden. Things that might change people’s opinion of them if they were discovered.

So they resent the light. They stay as far from it as possible, for fear of being exposed. They don’t realize that having their sins exposed is the first step of a life-changing process. When we acknowledge our sins, we can ask God’s forgiveness for them. We can break free from their power over us.

Everyone who chooses to walk in Jesus’ light, to turn away from darkness and put their trust in Him, will be saved. And they will walk with Him forever.

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“Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’ Still others said, ‘But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?’” (John 7:41 NLT)

The Jewish Festival of Shelters, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, was a weeklong celebration of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. As part of the celebration, Jewish families traveled to Jerusalem in Judea, where they stayed in temporary shelters made of branches and leaves.

Jesus didn’t want to draw attention to Himself in Judea because He knew the religious leaders there were plotting to kill Him. He wasn’t afraid of them. He was simply following God’s timeline. It wasn’t time for Him to die yet.

His brothers, the children of Joseph and Mary, thought that was a mistake. One of the reasons the “important” Jewish leaders rejected Jesus is that He did most of His miracles and teaching in Galilee, a region they considered unsophisticated. His brothers wanted Him to show what He could do on the big stage of Jerusalem.

His brothers saw that He could work miracles, but they didn’t believe He was the Messiah. Maybe their sibling rivalry was too strong. It wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection that His brothers became His disciples.

Jesus traveled to the festival alone to avoid making a big entrance. But He didn’t avoid making His message known. He went to the temple and began to preach—boldly and with authority.

When the Jewish leaders heard Him, they were amazed and confused. He taught like a highly educated rabbi, but He had no formal training. They were more concerned about His credentials than His message. Jesus explained, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me” (verse 16 NLT). In other words, “If you reject it, you reject God.”

Jesus questioned why the religious leaders, who were guilty of sin, wanted to kill Him, who was sinless. He pointed out their hypocrisy. They performed circumcisions on the Sabbath, but they condemned Him for healing people on the Sabbath.

Jesus’ bold confrontation left many people confused. If the religious leaders wanted Him dead, why didn’t they arrest Him? He was challenging them to their faces. Did that mean they believed He was the Messiah?

On the other hand, many of these people knew who Jesus was. They knew His family. They knew where He’d come from and what He’d done for the first three decades of His life. He was one of them. They were waiting for a Messiah who was mysterious and heroic—not a local guy. And especially not a local guy from an insignificant place like Galilee.

The people wanted a Messiah who checked off very specific boxes of their own making. Since Jesus didn’t check off all those boxes, they refused to believe in Him. They chose to overlook the miracles He performed and the powerful truth of His teaching. And they continued their fruitless search for their type of Messiah—one that God never promised.

If we want to understand the truth about Jesus—who He is, what He did, and what He wants from and for us—we have to go straight to the source, God’s Word. We can’t rely on our own ideas or the educated guesses of others.

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“But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” (John 6:27 NLT)

The people who followed Jesus across the Sea of Galilee woke up the next morning to find that He and His disciples were gone. So they rowed back across the water to Capernaum, hoping to see more miracles. They wanted Jesus to keep feeding them miraculous food. They wanted Him to be their miracle-working, Roman Empire-fighting king. They wanted Him to fulfill their expectations.

They found Him in the synagogue. Religious leaders from Jerusalem were also there to interview Him. Jesus took the opportunity to set them all straight. He made them see that they were seeking temporary fixes, miracles that momentarily satisfied their hunger and stirred their imagination. They were focused on the small picture of the miracles themselves. They missed the big picture of what the miracle worker could do for them eternally.

The physical food Jesus gave them lasted a few hours. The spiritual food He offered would last a lifetime—and then forever. He said, “God the Father has given me the seal of his approval” (verse 27 NLT). They could have confidence in Jesus because God Himself guaranteed the truth of His words.

The people realized that Jesus wasn’t going to bend to their wishes. So they tried a different approach. “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” they asked in verse 28. Their goal was still the same: to get Jesus to be who they wanted Him to be. What they wanted to know is how they could please God with their works to make that happen.

“Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent’” (verse 29 NLT). Some translations use the word trust instead of believe. Trusting may seem easier than performing works, but it’s not. Trusting in Jesus means giving up our own agenda and embracing God’s plan. It means letting go of what we want and sincerely asking for what God wants.

The religious leaders from Jerusalem, who had heard about the miraculous feeding of more than 5,000 people, wanted to see Jesus’ power for themselves. And the people who had eaten the loaves and fish wanted to eat again. So they tried to manipulate Jesus using the Old Testament story of God providing manna for the Israelites in the wilderness. They wanted Jesus to provide them daily bread to eat.

In verse 35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” (NLT) the One who had come down from Heaven to give spiritual nourishment—the Word of God and eternal life, things that were much more important than food.

And that’s when the crowd started to murmur. Come down from Heaven? He was the son of Joseph and Mary, local people! The idea of a miracle-working king appealed to them. The idea of trusting in someone for eternal life didn’t. So many followers deserted Jesus.

When Jesus asked His 12 disciples if they wanted to desert too, Peter answered for the group. “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God” (verses 68–69 NLT).

Wise people don’t try to alter the truth to fit their thinking; they alter their thinking to fit the truth.

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“Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.” (John 6:11 NLT)

Crowds followed Jesus wherever He went. People couldn’t get enough of His healing miracles. When He crossed the Sea of Galilee and headed for a remote hillside for some alone time, 5,000 men (along with an untold number of women and children) joined Him. But only one of them packed food for the journey. A young boy carried five barley loaves and two small fish.

The hilly location was miles and miles away from anyplace that sold food. And even if such a place could be found, the disciples couldn’t pick up the tab for a party of five-thousand-plus.

So one of them, Andrew, did the only thing he could think of. He brought the boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus. Notice the first thing Jesus did after He accepted the boy’s food: He gave thanks. No matter how meager the resources might have seemed, they were a gift from God, and He treated them like one.

Then He broke off piece after piece of the five loaves and two fish and handed them to His disciples to distribute. And He didn’t stop until 5,000 men, along with the women and children, had been fed.

What little the boy had to offer was more than enough to impact thousands of people. Jesus helped His followers see that it’s not how much you have that matters, but rather who’s distributing it. What seems inadequate to us may be just enough to accomplish something incredible.

After witnessing Jesus’ miracle, the crowd got overly excited and tried to make Him their king. They imagined Him using His powers against the Roman Empire. But Jesus had a much greater role to fulfill, so He quietly slipped away into the hills for some much-needed alone time. He had met the people’s needs, but He had no interest in meeting their expectations.

That night, when His disciples couldn’t find Him, they got in their boat and rowed back across the Sea of Galilee without Him. They didn’t get far. The Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden, violent storms. It sits 600 feet below sea level. When the sun sets and the air cools, the wind rushes in from the west and churns the waves. The disciples were headed west, toward Capernaum, so they were heading directly into the storm. After several hours of rowing, they had made it only halfway across.

The physical conditions that held back the disciples had no effect on Jesus. He walked across the water toward His disciples. In the darkness, they couldn’t see that their salvation was coming. They thought the figure approaching them across the water was a ghost, until Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” (verse 20 NLT).

Jesus’ followers invited Him into their boat—and into their struggles. And they immediately and miraculously arrived at their destination. Jesus’ way may seem scary at times, but when we invite Him into our struggles, He will make sure we get where we need to be.

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“But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.” (John 5:36 NLT)

Jesus returned to Jerusalem to observe the holy days at the temple. While He was there, He passed the pool of Bethesda, a place of hope and despair. The waters of the pool seem to have had a healing effect. Many people believed that an angel occasionally came down to stir the waters. And the first person who entered the pool after the waters had been stirred would be cured of their ailment.

That explains why crowds of sick, blind, disabled, and paralyzed people gathered on the five porches that surrounded the pool. They each hoped for a miraculous healing. One man had been disabled for 38 years. But since he had no one to help him into the water, he had no hope for healing. Or so he thought.

With one sentence in verse 8—“Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (NLT)—Jesus changed his life forever. The man was healed instantly. He picked up his mat and walked away. Only to be busted moments later by the Jewish religious leaders.

It turns out that the healing had taken place on the Sabbath. And in Jewish culture, there were all kinds of rules about what people could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath.

So when the religious leaders saw this man who had been disabled for four decades suddenly walking, the first thing they wanted to know was . . . why he was carrying a mat on the Sabbath.

And when the man identified Jesus as the One who had healed him, the Sabbath police went after Him. They didn’t express awe over Jesus’ healing power. They didn’t praise Him for His compassion and concern. Instead, they harassed Him for breaking their Sabbath rules.

These hypocritical religious leaders, with their misplaced priorities, were so concerned about Jesus’ growing influence that they started looking for reasons to have Him put to death. Jesus gave them everything they needed and more.

He referred to God as “My Father,” which was the same as calling Himself equal with God. He pointed out that everything He said and did had God’s blessing. That meant His words were God’s truth. He claimed the power of judgment over everyone. He made it clear that anyone who didn’t honor Him—including the Sabbath-obsessed religious leaders—didn’t honor God, who sent Him.

Jesus told them that the power of eternal life rested with Him. And that He was carrying out the will of His Father. So anyone who opposed Him opposed God’s will.

He reminded the religious leaders that they had taken John the Baptist seriously—and John the Baptist’s entire ministry was built on testifying that Jesus was the Son of God. And then He pointed out that the religious leaders revered Moses and his —and Moses had written about Him (Jesus) centuries before.

The truth that Jesus’ enemies couldn’t wrap their heads around still gives us assurance and confidence today: Every reliable witness testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior.

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“Then Jesus told her, ‘I am the Messiah!’” (John 4:26 NLT)

As word of Jesus’ miracle-working powers spread, more and more people flocked to see Him. And when they heard His message, they asked to be baptized. Before long, Jesus’ disciples were baptizing more people than even John the Baptist himself. That level of popularity attracted the attention of the Jewish religious leaders. They started to feel threatened by Jesus’ increasing influence. Instead of giving them a chance to scrutinize Him, Jesus returned to His home region of Galilee. And the route He took surely raised some eyebrows.

The quickest route from Jerusalem to Galilee led through Samaria. However, most Jewish travelers preferred to take a longer detour to the east to avoid the region. That’s how much they hated Samaritans.

Samaritans were of mixed ethnicity. Most Jewish people regarded them as half-breeds. Their religious practices combined Judaism with pagan elements, which caused their Jewish neighbors to hate them even more. Centuries of bad blood had created a deep animosity between Jews and Samaritans.

Jesus took the path straight through Samaria. And He stopped at a well near the town of Sychar. While His disciples went into town to buy food, Jesus rested near the well.

Around noon, a Samaritan woman approached the well to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink. The woman was stunned because there were several invisible, but very real, social barriers between Jesus and her. One, Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans. Two, men didn’t talk to women privately. And three, few people talked to a woman with her reputation. She had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband.

Yet Jesus refused to allow these artificial boundaries to prevent Him from making a personal connection and sharing His Good News. The woman pointed out that, like the Jews, the Samaritans were waiting for the Messiah, God’s chosen Redeemer.

“I am the Messiah!” Jesus revealed.

The takeaway here is obvious. Our culture urges us to focus on the differences that divide us. Conservative vs. liberal. Men vs. women. Young vs. old. Christian vs. non-Christian.

Jesus urges us to focus on the things that unite us. The need for compassion, love, understanding, peace of mind, and assurance about our future. The desire to be known, to have a purpose, to find fulfillment and joy, and to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

The woman told other Samaritans about her encounter with Jesus, and they believed in Him too. So we see that when one person is willing to cross social barriers, the impact can be enormous.

Word of Jesus’ coming arrived in Galilee before He did. The people there welcomed Him because they’d seen what He did in Jerusalem during the Passover celebration. In Cana, the site of His first public miracle, He got an urgent request from a government official whose son was on his deathbed.

In this passage, we see why Jesus initially hesitated when His mother asked Him to intervene when the wine ran out at the wedding feast. Jesus recognized that the spectacle of His miracle-working would overshadow His message. That’s why He asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” (verse 48 NLT).

The key to Jesus’ encounter with the government official is that the man believed what Jesus said. In this case, his son was healed. Not every prayer is answered that way. Not everyone recovers from sickness. But everyone who believes what Jesus says will find grace, forgiveness, comfort, strength, direction, endurance, and wisdom.

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“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)

Not all Jewish religious leaders opposed Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the ruling Sanhedrin. He was educated and influential in Jewish society. And he was impressed by Jesus—so impressed that he wanted to meet with Him personally.

He came to Jesus at night. Maybe he chose that time because that’s when the crowds went home, and he could have some one-on-one time with Him. Or maybe he chose it because he didn’t want other religious leaders to see what he was doing.

Nicodemus recognized that Jesus had been sent by God; no one could do what Jesus did without God’s power. But he thought of Jesus as a teacher—a rabbi—one of many in Israel. Jesus helped him see that He wasn’t bringing new learning; He was bringing new life.

Jewish people believed that their birth assured them a place in God’s kingdom. Because they were God’s chosen people, their Jewish identity guaranteed their entrance into Heaven. Some rabbis even taught that Abraham stood watch at the gates of Hell to make sure that none of his descendants entered by mistake.

Jesus explained that it isn’t the first birth that assures people a place in God’s kingdom; it’s the second birth. To receive eternal life and enter Heaven, we must be born again.

Nicodemus assumed that He was talking about some kind of moral awakening. That would have been confusing to him because the Pharisees considered themselves extremely moral people. They worked hard to be above reproach. As far as Nicodemus was concerned, he had already experienced the new birth.

Jesus helped him see that a second birth—and eternal life—would be possible only if Jesus were “lifted up.” First, on the cross, to take God’s punishment for the sins of the world. And second, when He ascended to Heaven after His resurrection, when He destroyed the power of death forever.

John 3:16 gives us the story of salvation in a single verse. It starts with God’s love, something we’ve done nothing to earn. It’s a gift. All we have to do is receive it. It required an unimaginable sacrifice. God gave the most precious thing He had to give: His Son. He sent Jesus to suffer and die in our place.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, everyone who believes in Him will not perish. Believing means more than just agreeing with what the Bible says about Him. It means placing our full trust in Him, embracing the truth that only He can save us.

Everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. Eternal life refers not just to quantity, the length of time we will exist (which is forever); it also refers to quality. The life we will experience after we die will be deeply fulfilling and joyous. There will be no sickness, suffering, or weakness. We will live as God created us to live.

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“But his mother told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (John 2:5 NLT)

Even with John the Baptist’s hype, Jesus kept a low profile—until He attended a wedding in Cana with His mother, Mary, and His disciples.

Hospitality was an essential part of first-century Jewish culture. The more lavishly a person entertained, the greater his social standing grew. Weddings were the ultimate test of a person’s hospitality. So it wasn’t unusual for wedding celebrations to last for days, with food and wine flowing all the while.

Running out of wine in the middle of a wedding celebration was a worst-case scenario. But that’s what happened at the wedding Jesus attended. Mary realized that the host would face public humiliation and shame if word got out. So she asked Jesus to intervene.

Jesus was reluctant at first. “My time has not yet come,” He told her (verse 4 NLT). He had not yet performed a public miracle. He knew that when word got out about His miracle-working, crowds would follow. And people would be less likely to focus on His teachings if they were just waiting for the next “wow” moment.

Considering that Jesus hadn’t yet performed any public miracles, it’s interesting that Mary believed He could do something in that situation. She’s the first person in John’s Gospel to put her faith in Jesus. “Do whatever He tells you,” she told the host’s servants.

Jesus rewarded her faith. He instructed the servants to fill six water jars, each with a capacity of 20 to 30 gallons, with water. When the servants dipped into the jars, they found that it was wine of the highest quality.

That may have been the first clue for John and the other disciples that the rabbi they were following was something more than a rabbi.

A short time later, Jesus and His disciples traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. But when Jesus entered the temple, He saw that it had become a place of business. The Jerusalem temple was the center of worship for Jewish people throughout Israel. Many traveled long distances to worship and offer sacrifices there. But rather than bringing their own animals for sacrifice with them, many purchased them from merchants inside the temple complex.

Several merchants exploited the opportunity and turned the temple complex into a marketplace. Jesus had too much reverence for God’s house of worship to allow it to be defiled like that. So He overturned tables, scattered coins across the ground, and chased the merchants out of the temple. And those—like John—who listened closely while Jesus disrupted business as usual at the temple, might have heard Him refer to the building as “my Father’s house” (verse 16).

The Jewish religious leaders demanded that Jesus perform a miracle to prove that He had authority to take such drastic action.

“‘All right,’ Jesus replied. ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’” (verse 19 NLT). The religious leaders scoffed because they didn’t realize Jesus was talking about His own body. But John and the other disciples realized it less than three years later when Jesus rose from the dead three days after being crucified.

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