Today’s passage: John 20:1–18 Focus verse: Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18) Although Mary Magdalene shows up in each of Jesus’s four biographies, we know little about her. What we learn from Scripture is that Jesus casts seven demons out of her. Though people debate […]
Today’s passage: John 19:28–42 Focus verse: Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. (John 19:38) In reading the biographies of Jesus, it’s easy to assume that all the religious leaders oppose him and reject his message. They do this even though Jesus is the fulfillment the Old Testament […]
Today’s passage: John 19:1–27 Focus verse: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” (John 19:11) The Jewish religious leaders want to kill Jesus. They view him as a threat to the little authority their Roman occupiers have given them to rule their people. Retaining power matters […]
Today’s passage: John 18:28–40 Focus verse: “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) Jesus talks often about his kingdom. John, along with Mark and Luke, uses the phrase kingdom of God, while Matthew prefers the kingdom of heaven. The two phrases mean the same thing. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll use kingdom […]
Today’s passage: John 18:1–27 Focus verse: Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. (John 18:27) Peter has pledged he would die to protect his teacher (John 13:37). I’m sure he meant what he said—at the time. When we’re at our best, I suspect we might say the same thing. […]
Today’s passage: John 17:20–26 Focus verse: “I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.” (John 17:23) Jesus’s last prayer has three sections. First, he prays for his mission, its successful completion, and giving God glory. Next, he moves on to pray for his disciples, that they will persevere, […]
Today’s passage: John 17:1–19 Focus verse: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) With the time of his arrest drawing near and having given his final teaching to his disciples, Jesus prays. This isn’t a quick, God-help-me prayer. It’s an […]
Today’s passage: John 16:16–33 Focus verse: “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) As Jesus continues his last instructions to his disciples, he talks of his departure, which his disciples will mourn, and the world will celebrate. But as a woman struggles through childbirth, and then rejoices over the birth of her baby, […]
Today’s passage: John 16:6–15 Focus verse: “When he comes, he [the Advocate] will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8) Jesus tells his disciples he will soon leave. This dismays them. But he says his departure is for their good. Unless he leaves, the Advocate can’t […]
Today’s passage: John 15:18–John 16:5 Focus verse: “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” (John 16:2) Too many people do not see God at work and instead oppose those who follow him in fresh […]