Wednesday in the Word

Who is Jesus? The people respond with belief, confusion and awe over Jesus' teachings. These responses reflect our complex relationship to truth.

John 6 opens with two famous miracles: feeding 5,000 people and Jesus walking on water. What makes this chapter intriguing is John does not focus on the miracles, but on their aftermath—the dialogue that follows.

Jesus heals an invalid on the Sabbath. Instead of marveling at this miracle, the Jewish leaders are incensed by the violation of their strict Sabbath laws.

While exploring his theme of belief, John teaches us about worship and hungering for God’s will.

John adds a new twist to his theme of testimony and belief: this time the believers are the hated Samaritans. John explores three themes this chapter. We examine the first theme in this podcast.

John the Baptist decreases: In this narrative, John affirms his contentment and joy with following God's plan for him.

Nicodemus approaches Jesus as a truth-seeker who acknowledges Jesus is a teacher from God. Jesus warns him four ways that's not enough to gain eternal life.

Jesus challenges Nicodemus four ways. First, he tells Nicodemus seeking truth and responding to miracles are not enough to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus cleanses the temple, provoking the leaders to demand a sign of his authority. No one understood his answer until later.

Only the disciples and a few servants saw Jesus turn water into wine at the wedding at Cana. John highlights how this quiet miracle confirmed their belief that Jesus is the Christ.