Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 35.

Before we conclude the Gospel According to John, we pause to look at a psalm. Psalm 35 was first prayed by King David, probably before He became king, while he was still on the run from King Saul. David had quickly risen through the ranks as a general in Israel’s army, and Saul began to see David as a threat. He tried to have him killed, but David escaped and remained one step ahead of him.

Even though Saul wrongfully sought to take his life, David refused to kill Saul out of respect for God. In Psalm 35 we see how David leaves vengeance to God and refuses to take initiative in the violence, foreshadowing the humility and restraint of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who made Himself like the poor and needy. Although David showed the utmost care and concern for Israel’s king, he was wrongfully accused of treason, as our Lord was wrongfully tried and condemned. As David hid in caves surrounded by enemies, our Lord called out to God from the darkness of the cross to be rescued from the dark tomb. In the end, just as God vindicated David and made him king over Israel, so Jesus was raised and declared Messiah of the world.

Rev. Bernard Ross, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Alma, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 20.

For all eternity, Mary Magdalene bears the honor of being the first herald of the Lord’s resurrection, the original messenger of Easter, and the apostle to the apostles. She goes up to the tomb before anyone else and makes a discovery that will change everything forever: Jesus’s tomb was mysteriously lacking a dead body that Sunday morning.

In the midst of emotional trauma and overwhelming confusion, John’s account in chapter 20 makes sense of what we have heard from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This all really happened, literally and historically. And yet, what happens is bigger than history itself: Jesus had not just been brought back to life like Lazarus—He had been transformed in the future glory of the Last Day. His words and His mysterious power attest to this future glory that the Lord already possessed in advance. In the end, we are told these things that we may trust in Jesus as the true Messiah. Even if we didn’t witness these events ourselves, they don’t compare to the glory that we will all one day see.

Rev. Mark Kiessling, Director of Youth Ministry with the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 19.

Pastor Espinosa had been reading this part wrong for years! These scenes in chapter 19 are so familiar: our Lord being beaten and mocked, His trial before Pontius Pilate, the violent shouts of the crowds, and His actual death & burial. As familiar as it all is, it’s so easy to miss why one thing leads to the next, particularly with Pilate. Why does he react the way he does to Jesus and the Judean authorities? Why does He suddenly stop insisting on Jesus’s innocence? Why does He refer to Jesus as “the king of the Jews”?

And all the while, John tells the story like this to show us the deeper meaning. In the greatest of ironies, despite uncaring or even hateful intentions, Jesus is literally lifted up as the true king. As the Judean authorities hustle to execute an innocent man so they can maintain their ritual purity for the ongoing Passover festival, the ultimate Passover is underway: like the Passover lamb, Jesus gives His body and blood to ransom our lives. Like the Red Sea, water flows from Him to rescue us from death.

Rev. Shawn Kumm, pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cody, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 18.

Even in the deep of night, the light of the world shines on. Confronted with lanterns, torches, and weapons, our Lord doesn’t shrink back. In fact, He so candidly gives Himself up, the soldiers fall back! Three times Jesus pierces the darkness and hints that He is the Messiah. Later, before the high priest, He will three times point to how openly He has taught in public. Meanwhile, the disciples will three times deny their master, even as the forces of darkness hold an illegal and secret trial in the darkness. The contrast is day and night.

All the while, John develops the Passover theme in chapter 18. Jesus is bound and led away to the high priest, presented like a sacrifice. The Judean authorities cautiously preserve their ritual purity so they can eat the second night’s Passover dinner, all the while missing that God’s true Passover is standing there in front of them, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This sacrificial lamb has come to rule the world as king, but He is misunderstood at every turn by a world full of dark motives.

Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 17.

In the final hours before His betrayal, our Lord allows us to peer over His shoulder and enter into His prayer life. This prayer, known as the High Priestly Prayer, is prayed both for our benefit and for our instruction, much like the Lord's Prayer. Instead of “hallowed be thy name,” He prays “glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,” contrasting two kinds of glory. Instead of “thy will be done,” He prays, “I have given them the words that you gave me.” Instead of “thy kingdom come,” Jesus asks “that they may be one even as we are one.”

In an age of endless denominations, associations, and independent churches, the church may not feel very united. We should make every effort at real dialogue, but our unity doesn’t come from our efforts. We are one because Jesus says we are one, even when it doesn’t look that way. His word of gospel transforms the church into His bride, and through this heavenly wedding, we now join the family of the Father.

Rev. William Cwirla, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 16.

In John 16, on the eve of His betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus continues to prepare His disciples for what is to come. Is this lesson only for them, or does it apply to us too? Pastor Bill Cwirla explains that there are multiple levels going on here. On the one hand, Jesus was leaving because He was about to die. After the resurrection the Holy Spirit would, like an advocate or an attorney, vindicate the disciples for believing in Jesus and condemn the world for executing Him.

On the other hand, Jesus has ascended into heaven and we are still waiting for His second coming. The Spirit has come to us to show that sin, righteousness, and judgment are much bigger than we had imagined. The Holy Spirit “delivers” Jesus to us through the Gospel and the sacraments, and Jesus holds both the past and the future together in Himself.

Rev. David Andrus, pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in St. Louis and Not-Alone.net Ministries, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 15.

Our Lord Jesus says that it’s time to go out and face the darkness, so He makes His closing remarks. John chapter 15 begins with the final symbolic “I am the” statement: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” This recalls our Lord’s very first miraculous sign of turning water into wine. The message is clear: even though He and the disciples are about to face shame and anguish, their sorrow will be turned to joy, like the overflowing wine at the wedding in Galilee.

Like a wedding, they will have joy because of the love they have for each other. The resurrection will bring us such transforming joy that we will forget all about the pains and discomforts of this life, like a mother holding her baby for the first time. For now, God “cleans up” the prideful tangles of our hearts as He prunes us to produce fruit of humble and loving service. We are both Jesus’s branches and Jesus’s friends, and with Him we are never alone.

Rev. Mark Jasa, pastor of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Pasadena, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 14.

Peter, Thomas, Philip, and the rest of the disciples are sad and confused. They trust in God and they want to follow Jesus wherever He goes, no matter what. In John chapter 14, Jesus sees their distress and responds in love: it’s going to be alright, even if they’re separated. They will be separated, but Jesus will bring them life and salvation: When Jesus is raised from the dead, His resurrection will guarantee them a spot in THE resurrection; reservations with our names on them have been secured, and we will all be together again when Jesus comes on the Last Day.

Jesus leaves the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth who has been with them all along. Whatever we ask for by the Lord’s authority together as His church, will we receive. And what does the church ask for by the authority of Jesus? The forgiveness of sins! Forgiveness that never runs out, forgiveness big enough for any sin. Not permission to sin, but God’s love that lets go of sin to embrace in grace.

Rev. Mark Preus, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church & Campus Center in Laramie, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 13.

Many readers are confused by the opening words of John chapter 13: “Now before the Feast of the Passover.” Hang on a second, what? John chapter 13 describes the Last Supper, but did that happen before Passover? That would contradict Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it would put the crucifixion not on Friday, but Thursday!

If we pay close attention to the language, we see there is no contradiction. The opening words here refer to our Lord’s resolution to go ahead with the Father’s plan of loving self-sacrifice, just before the Passover began later that Thursday at sunset. As the darkness grows, so do the forces of evil swirling around Jesus. Satan prompts Judas to carry out his plan of betrayal, and Peter twice confronts our Lord and attempts to reverse his master’s plan. Jesus answers back with nothing but grace and truth, love and authority: He has come to serve and to save, and He humbly offers His life for ours.

Rev. Todd Kollbaum, Director of Rural and Small Town Mission with the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 12. Learn more at lcms.org/rstm.

John 12 completes the thought of the previous chapter: now that Lazarus has been raised back to life, even the hard-hearted people in Judea are coming around on this guy from Nazareth. Our Lord is welcomed into the city like a war hero, as palm branches and shouts of Hosanna effectively say “All hail the king!” The tension with the Judean authorities has reached a boiling point, and Jesus knows there isn’t much time left.

Although John says that even some of the Judean authorities have started to believe in Him, this faith is in the earliest stages of infancy. They do not really understand what kind of king Jesus is. He hasn’t come to be king of Israel alone, but of the whole world. Their patriotism is greater than their faith in God, and the crowds are still baffled by our Lord’s “Son of Man” predictions. John however tells us that the disciples would understand later: Jesus was pointing them to the Cross, where He would be glorified by His Father.