This is week two of our John reading plan. As we read quietly through John’s gospel, we will see Jesus speaking with four different people.
October 5 – 9
Day 1 John 3:1-21
Day 2 John 3:22-36
Day 3 John 4:1-26
Day 4 John 4: 27-54
Day 5 John 5:1-15
Nicodemus is a Pharisee who seeks out Jesus to find out who He is and what He is teaching (John 3:1-21). Jesus crosses ethnicity boundaries with the Samaritan woman who has a shady and sinful past. The nobleman pursues Jesus to ask for his son’s healing. Jesus approaches a disabled man by the Pool of Bethesda and offers to make him well.
What do these four instances show us about Jesus? They show us that it doesn’t matter who we are, where we’ve been, or what we’ve done, Jesus is not too busy for any of us.
Jesus wants to be in our lives.
Perhaps, like Nicodemus, you’ve made knowing Scripture more important knowing the Author of all Scripture. Maybe you’re like the Samaritan woman and have tried to find your identity in your spouse (or spouses) rather than in Christ. Maybe you are like the nobleman with more prestige than you know what to do with or like the sick man at the pool who is a social outcast. It doesn’t matter. Jesus wants to speak to you — to each of us.
He wants us to hear that He did not come to condemn us but give you eternal life (John 3:16-17).
Jesus wants us to understand that He knows all we’ve ever done and wants our worship anyway (John 4: 21-29).
He wants us to believe in His power and the words He has spoken (John 4:48-50).
He desires that we experience His presence and testify of His mercies (John 5:6-15).
My prayer this week is that each of us hear, understand, believe, and experience Jesus at a more intimate level than every before. I hope that we connect with these stories because, like the individuals in these stories, we are sinners in need of a loving and forgiving Savior. Jesus is this Savior. May He manifest Himself to us as we spend time in His word this week.
Only by grace,
Kelli
This post is part of the Quietly Through the Gospel According to John series. You can find all the posts in the series here. If you’d like to download the full reading plan, you may do so here.
