After Jesus miraculously fed thousands, the crowds revealed their hearts by the questions they asked. They focused on their physical needs rather than Christ’s spiritual provision, sought to earn salvation rather than receive it, and hoped for more miracles in order to be convinced of Jesus’ deity. In this study from John 6, Alistair Begg examines the needful warning, remarkable declaration, and gracious invitation Jesus offered in response. Only when we’re properly focused on eternity will we recognize Him as the true King and Bread of Life.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus performed numerous signs, including feeding thousands of people by miraculously multiplying five loaves and two fish. Many who witnessed this miracle were fascinated, followed Christ, and yet remained unchanged, because they were more focused on the miracle than on what it signified. Others took offense at His words and walked away. As Alistair Begg explains, however, signs like this help us understand who Jesus is—the very Bread of Life Himself, God incarnate—and what He’s done so that by believing we will have eternal life.

When Jesus walked on water, His disciples reacted in fear and disbelief, even despite having just witnessed Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand. Echoing words from the Old Testament, Jesus displays to His followers proof of His deity. Alistair Begg emphasizes how true security only comes from Christ and warns us that proximity to Christ is not the same as being in a personal relationship with Him. When we repent of our sins and trust Jesus for forgiveness, we will know a Savior who not only commands the seas but also rescues us from the storm.

Jesus stands at the crossroads between the broad way that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to eternal life. In this study of John 5:25, Alistair Begg examines Jesus’ announcement of two critical, life-transforming hours: one in the present, when the spiritually dead are made alive in Christ, and another in the future, when Christ returns and the physically dead will be resurrected to either eternal life or eternal judgment. All who hear and believe Jesus’ words are invited to trust Him and be saved.

With words alone, Jesus healed a helpless man who’d been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. Instead of rejoicing over the miracle, though, the Jews focused on broken Sabbath rules and traditions and sought to persecute, and ultimately kill, Christ. Alistair Begg explains how Jesus’ words can either radically transform a person’s life or inflame hard-hearted opposition, because they so clearly declare His deity. Yet Jesus still invites all who hear Him to believe and enjoy eternal life. Will you listen and be saved?

In the early part of John’s Gospel, Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus, a Jewish leader who questions Jesus’ authority. Jesus answers him, making it clear that being “born again” is necessary in order to see the kingdom of God. Alistair Begg reminds us that the new birth of which Jesus spoke is essential and supernatural—a miraculous and mysterious work of Almighty God that brings about a complete change of heart and gives the believer a new family, a new identity, and a new mentality.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus makes pronouncements that begin with the word “Truly”—but only in the Gospel of John does He use the word in repetition. Alistair Begg reminds us that Jesus’ “Truly, truly” declarations must be understood in view of the overarching purpose of John’s Gospel and in the context of the preceding verses. John’s account of Jesus, which begins with eternity past, gives heaven-sent evidence so that we may believe He truly is the Son of Man, the one who invites us to “come and see” and to trust Him for eternal life.

In this interview about his book The Christian Manifesto, Alistair Begg considers the challenge presented to us in Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain and its relevance two thousand years later. The Lord’s teachings on forgiveness, possessions, obedience, and more speak to and make demands on believers from every background. But as we remember the compassionate character of our Lord and put our trust in Him, we can learn to live the life He’s called us to with perseverance and humility.

Jude closed his letter to Christ’s followers with a doxology praising the splendor and sovereignty of the one true and timeless God. Wrapping up a study in Jude, Alistair Begg explains why our knowledge of God shapes the way we worship Him and directs how and why we share the Gospel with others. Like Jude, those who have experienced God’s mercy and salvation should be driven to humbly declare His glory to a predominantly lost and self-focused world.

Can knowing the God of the Bible help us tackle life’s issues or fix our problems? The closing verse of Jude’s letter returns his readers to where he began, focusing on the greatness of “the only God, our Savior,” who has dominion and authority over all things. Far from being impractical or irrelevant, as this and every worldly culture is prone to think, Alistair Begg reminds us that knowing God through Christ provides the only framework, focus, and foundation for living an abundant life.