The raising of Lazarus caused the religious authorities to decide to arrest and kill Jesus in fear of losing their power and privilege. Caiaphas, the high priest, unwittingly prophesied that Jesus’ death would be a substitutionary atonement. We see that the God of all grace is sovereignly at work, at all times and in all places and no council nor authority can frustrate His plans.

When Jesus saw Mary and the Jews crying, he was both angry and weeping. The same sin and death that prompted his outrage, also generated his grief. Moved by compassion He went to the tomb and with a loud voice He called Lazarus from death to life, revealing the glory of the Father. Since dead people cannot hear, this calling points to the divine calling, where Jesus calls His own out of the grave of their sin.

The people in Jerusalem wanted to arrest and kill Jesus for blasphemy. Yet Jesus escaped them because his time had not yet come. What calls him close to Jerusalem where He could possibly be arrested and killed is the appeal of Mary and Martha with the news that one of his dearest friends was ill. Yet when Jesus heard the news, he delayed two more days, and in their pain and confusion he revealed himself as the resurrection and the life.

As Jesus’ ministry continued, it seemed that the opposition continued to grow stronger and stronger. The Jews gathered around Jesus, and from their question it seemed like they wanted to know who Jesus was and believe on Him. However, after Jesus had told them and shown them that He was the Son of God and one with the Father they refused to acknowledge this truth and wanted to kill him. In a sense they claimed to want to believe, but truly they had come to condemn Him.

Immediately after the man was healed of his blindness and was kicked out by the religious leaders, Jesus began to speak of the true shepherd of Israel. In this imagery, he is comparing the true shepherd of Israel with the thieves, robbers and hired hands. At the end Jesus claimed to be the good shepherd, the true shepherd of Israel that the prophet Ezekiel spoke about.

The man who had been blind his entire life could now see, rather than the religious leaders rejoicing with the people, the healing was met with skepticism. The discussion between the religious leaders and the healed man revolved more around the identity of Jesus than the meaning of the miracle. Was Jesus from God or was He a sinner? When questioned, the healed man was not sure how to answer. Yet one thing he did know, was that he was blind, but now he could see.

Chapter nine centers on one event in the life of Jesus. It is here that we see Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. In this miracle, we see one of the greatest demonstrations of what the gospel does and what salvation is. For through Christ, the blind can see.

Jesus continued his conversation with the Jews where he confronts their unbelief and gives the reason for their unbelief. At the heart they were believing lies and rejecting the way, the truth and the life that stood in front of them.

As Jesus spoke to the crowds, he spoke of the life and freedom that is found in being a true disciple. Throughout the book of John, we have seen many believing in the Lord. But not everyone had true faith and were genuine disciples. In our passage, Jesus speaks to those who were following Him and tells them what it means to be a true disciple.

During the celebration of the Feast of Shelters, the people looked back and remembered how God delivered and provided, and the people looked forward to God providing a Messiah to deliver and provide for them. In that moment Jesus stood up and declared that He was the light of the world. He was showing them that the whole Exodus of deliverance and provision was pointing to Him.

The question of who Jesus is rings throughout chapter seven as the people were amazed at Jesus. With questions swirling around who Jesus is, at the end of the feast, Jesus makes a passionate plea to the pilgrims before they departed to their hometowns. The response of the people remained divided even among the religious authorities.

Jesus’ ministry was leaving those He encountered curious about who He was, and what exactly He had come to do. Who is Jesus? That is the question that every person must answer. If Jesus is who He says that He is, then this demands a response in the hearts and lives of every person.

As Jesus continues in his conversation with the crowd in the Synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus is calling the people to come and eat his flesh and drink his blood. To come and feast on him. In this metaphorical calling, it began to become clear to those following Jesus could no longer follow him, because his teaching was harsh and offensive. What they wanted, Jesus would not give, what Jesus offered, they would not receive.

After Jesus had fed thousands with just a small lunch. The people followed Jesus to see more miracles. But Jesus was showing them something more. For He did not come to give physical bread, he came to give Himself. For He did not come to provide temporary desires, but to satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts. The people came asking questions. But instead of answering their questions, Jesus answered the question of their hearts.

In chapter 6 we find out that the time of the Passover was near, and the people would have remembered their history and the deliverance of God’s people out of Egypt. John is going to show us the miracles Jesus performed. In these miracles John is going to show us that Jesus is the Promised One from long ago. He is the true and better Moses. These miracles shout out the message of the gospel, that there is nothing impossible for Jesus. There is nothing that He cannot overcome.

After Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, Jesus made a stunning declaration that God was His Father. The religious leaders knew what that claim meant, for Jesus was claiming to be equal to God. Based on the staggering claims that Jesus makes about himself, he reveals his equality and unity with God the Father. Our response to Jesus must be that of honoring, believing, and obeying his Word.

As Jesus continues to heal, there were some who came to Him asking for healing, but there were others like the man in our story today who did not even know Jesus and did not ask for healing. Jesus who knows all, sees this man, and with a powerful word heals him. This set the stage for confrontation with the religious leaders over the Sabbath.

Jesus performed many miracles during His public ministry. Some who saw Jesus performing miracles, only saw him as a miracle-worker, but John is trying to show his readers that He is so much more than that. For the man (Jesus) who performed signs and wonders was also the promised Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. In our text today, John invites us to believe, but to believe in who He is and not just what he can do for you.

Salvation had come to the Samaritan woman, and through her testimony she would point others to the One who Saves. Her story reminds us that our stories that God is writing are powerful tools to proclaim the goodness of God and the message of the gospel.

John intends to contrast between Nicodemus of chapter three and the Samaritan woman in chapter four. Nicodemus was a learned, powerful, respected, orthodox and theologically trained. The Samaritan woman was unschooled, without influence and despised. Nicodemus was a man, a Jew, and a ruler. She was a woman, a Samaritan, and a moral outcast. Yet both needed Jesus. Whether rick or poor, young or old, prestigious or outcast, there is only one answer to the aching in our souls. Jesus is who we long for. Jesus is who we need.