Bible Talks from John

After spending all night with his disciples, Jesus now lifts his eyes and prays to his Father who is in heaven. In this passage, we get the privilege of hearing God the Son speak to his Father to hear what was on his heart just hours before his death. Although it shouldn’t surprise us, what we hear on Jesus’ lips is what is in his heart, and there we find his Father’s glory, his disciples, and us.

Jesus prays for himself, for the 11 apostles, and most wonderfully for us 2000 years later. His big prayer point is that we would be one in love and truth so that the world may know that Jesus is heaven sent.

As Jesus prepares his disciples for his arrest and death, he comforts them with news of joy that will overcome their grief. In fact it will be a divine joy, anchored in Jesus, perfect for a world feeling shaken by anxiety and fear.

Just as Christians receive the benefits of Jesus’ love with the father, so too we receive the consequences of the world’s hate towards him.

Jesus warns his disciples that the world not only hates Him but will also hate them. They are to witness to that world alongside the Spirit.

Apart from Jesus we can produce no fruit, no transformed life that will last for eternity resulting in God's glory and our joy.

Last week Jesus prepared his disciples for his death by reminding them that he’d be with them by his Spirit. This week Jesus warns them – and us – that a God-honouring life will only be reality for us if we continue to stay close to Jesus so that he continues to live through us.

Jesus has announced to his disciples that he is leaving and he reassures them that they won't be alone. They must trust Jesus that him going is better than him staying.

Jesus has announced that he is leaving and the disciples can’t come, at least not for now. They must trust him that he alone is the way to the Father.

There are so many opinions, issues and causes in our community that try to win our attention, and among the voices is Jesus calling us to follow him. In a sense, every passage in the Bible is written to show us that following Jesus would be the best thing we could do, but in this incredible passage Jesus really shows us why that’s the case. It’s centred around who he is, and like the disciples we may not be as confident of this as we’d like to think.

Jesus has given a model of love. Now he gives a command to love. In the midst of a betrayal Jesus demonstrates his continuing love and the fact that he truly is in a class of his own.

Last week we saw Jesus tell his disciples to put their faith into action by serving one another as Jesus served us. This week we see what it looks like to ignore that advice, and go your own way. This passage makes the decision to follow Jesus so clear, with Judas being an everlasting example of the consequence of ignoring Jesus’ words.

In John 13 we're told that being a follower of Christ first begins not with serving Jesus but asking Him to serve you by cleansing you from your sin.

It’s the Last Supper and Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death, resurrection, and life empowered by his Spirit as he rules the universe from the Right Hand of God. There’s just one week before he goes to the cross, and in this powerful scene Jesus demonstrates what it is to be Christian, but don’t miss the main point of the scene. Jesus will model God’s love to us and tell us what he expects from us, but it all hinges on us receiving what Jesus came to bring to empower us to follow in his steps.

In John 12 we see Jesus glory through Mary, the crowds of Jerusalem and Jesus teaching about the cross.
Some believe and some refuse because they desire the praise of people over the praise of God.

Peter is both apostle of our Lord Jesus and a glorious mess and it’s in his story we meet the God of grace.

Jesus speaks with such authority, and has perfromed such miraculous signs, that the people in his time were ready to make him King and to follow him wherever he led them. In our passage, Jesus reveals to them and to us, that being King does not mean what they think it means. We need to come to him on his terms and not ours.

In Australia we have a life expectancy of over 89 years! Which is great news compared to countries that hover around 50, but very sad and short in light of eternity. What’s the answer to this tragedy? Medical intervention? Anti-oxidants? Exercise? Jesus cuts right to the heart of this problem as he reveals his power over death.