The Gospel of John 5:16-47
In any family business, the heir of the business must one day display the kind of ability to run the business just as it has been run in the past. Jesus is in the family business. If Jesus is God’s son, then he can do everything his Father can do. Just don’t tell the Pharisees that.
Weekly Memory Verse: John 5:24
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
Monday, October 31 Read John 5:16-30. This is the first time in John where we see Jesus really talk about his identity. Who does Jesus say he is? What does this mean?
Tuesday, November 1 Read John 5:31-47. Jesus calls out testimonies on his behalf. How many testimonies does Jesus bring? Four? Five? Does Jesus even need to do this?
Wednesday, November 2 After reviewing John 5:16-47, read Hebrews 1. Describe the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Why is this so important?
Thursday, November 3 After reviewing John 5:16-47, read Ephesians 2. It sometimes scares us to see that God will judge by what we have “done” (John 5:28-30). When the blood of Jesus is done with us, what’s left to judge? What do we have to do about it?
Friday, November 4 After reviewing John 5:16-47, read Deut. 19:15-21 and Deut. 30:15-20. It suddenly feels like a courtroom with Jesus calling up witnesses. How strong is Jesus’ case for himself? What would you say if Jesus called you to bear witness for him?
Saturday, November 5 After reviewing John 5:16-47, read John 8:14-20. It’s easy to judge by human standards. It’s really our default! After all, our human courts judged Jesus guilty. How do we know the difference between declaring God’s judgment, and imparting our own?
Bethel Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN – bethelstpaul.com