John 12:1-50

As we continue through John, we continue to see how Jesus slowly reveal the death He was about to experience. Notice Jesus continued to respond to people indirectly and in mysterious words. Of course, now in 2019 we have the Bible and Jesus accomplished His purpose on earth, we can understand Jesus’ responses that are pointing to His death and resurrection. Notice every activity mentioned here in this chapter all point to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Critical Thinking Questions

How have you experienced Jesus in mysterious ways in your life?            —- Isaac Chang

John 11:1-57

In this chapter, there are quite a few places that were not easily understandable contextually or spiritually.
For example, how come there had to be three different places calling out the loving relationship between Jesus and the family of Lazarus? (v3,  v5,  v36)
Or, Jesus chose to use the parable of walking at the daylight and stumbling during the night, to respond to his disciples’ concern of the safety upon traveling to Judea. (v8-10)
Or, Jesus was deeply moved and troubled in spirit when seeing the agony of the family and friends and he wept too…. (v33-35)

However, all these were recorded for us to put our faith in Him.
What happened to Lazarus was a journey of faith for that family, for the disciples, and for many Jews around.
Today, the recorded event also declared God’s glory and led many people believing in Jesus.
What is the journey of our faith? Does it point people to God and give Him the glory?

Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us.
Thank you for being obedient to the Father and to die for us.
Thank you for the work of the Spirit through the Scriptures and the missioners that help us to know that you are the resurrection and the life.
May we all continue to walk in your light and find joy in serving you and you alone. Amen.          —- Ivy Lin

John 10:1-42

Jesus revealed Himself as a shepherd because Israel, especially Judah, understood the life of a shepherd.
An Israelite shepherd had a difficult life.  Shepherds have been described as sleepless, farsighted, weather-beaten, skilled with a staff and cared for the sheep almost like a father cares for his child.
The sheep knew the voice of their shepherd and would not follow a false shepherd, but would flee from him.
In this scripture, the Pharisees represent the false shepherds and those who knew Jesus responded to His teaching, not the false teaching of the Jewish leaders.  Jesus’ own have a special personal relationship with Him – knowing and following His voice – through God’s teachings in the Bible and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus also revealed Himself as the gate.
He is our ONLY way to salvation – any way to God besides Jesus is a false one.
He had the authority to lay down His life for us – His sheep – and on Calvary, He did.  When Jesus spoke these words, the Jews became divided.

Jesus revealed He and the Father are one.
This caused a crisis in the temple and His Jewish opponents set about stoning and seizing Him, but He escaped their grasp. He crossed back over the Jordan river and many people listened and believed in Him.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd and our Gate.
Will you turn to Him with your struggles and fears?
There are so many things to turn to besides Jesus, but none can meet the deepest need of our soul.  He is our Creator, our Good Shepherd, the true source of Joy and our Healer.
Jesus promises that “whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”  Thank you Jesus.            —- Mary Mauderer

約翰福音9:1-41

在這一章的聖經當中是說，耶穌為了一個生來瞎眼的人治病。其中提出幾個問題，
第一門徒問罪的來源？9:2
第二個鄰居懷疑罪可以除去嗎？9:8
第三是法利賽人他們對律法很懂，所以他們懷疑在不守律法的人中，是不可以除罪嗎？9:16
在猶太人的傳統思想當中，生病是因為有罪而來的。
瞎子的父母因為怕罪牽連到他們身上，所以連他兒子得醫治的事實也不敢承認。9:20-21
瞎子真的是很可憐，因為他生來就看不見東西，希望有人可以醫治幫助他；等到有人治好了，得來的結果是沒有安慰只有指駡！

回想他醫治的過程，真的是不容易，因為有一人突然到他的面前說要來醫治他，但是你要給我把泥巴塗抹在你眼睛上，然後你要到一個指定的地方去洗眼睛，就可以看到光明。
就是那麼簡單？他會不會曾經有一刻會懷疑有人在捉弄他呢？
我們看到的他是有信心的走每一步，他不但只要洗乾淨，而且他要去給人家驗證他的結果。
懷疑他的人，發問的問題他都一一回答清楚，他相信醫治他的是神。9:32-33。

我曾經看過一段文章，寫的是「信心能把應許發作預言，因著我們相信應許將會實現，並且我們相信神是不說謊，也經歷過他。
所以我們可以大聲地宣告並確信將來要發生的大事。
信心也能看到上帝事情中包含著的意義。
神的兒子來到我們的當中表面上是受盡折磨，鞭傷，血肉模糊。
世人都離棄他，連上帝也掩面不看他。
當中所包含的意義是什麼呢？」──「拯救」。

弟兄姊妹你們信心的眼睛所看到的是什麼呢？
一個血肉模糊的基督，還是一個三天後復活的基督呢？
醫治只是表面的治好，赦罪是我們內心的釋放！
你們有信心大聲的宣告拯救者的語言嗎？
希伯來書11章1節「信就是所望之事的實底，是未見之事的確據。」        —- Ivan Ho

約翰福音8:1-59

挑剔別人的錯，指出別人的罪總是最簡單的。往往不僅是簡單，甚至會是喜歡做這件事。
因為當別人的罪過被放大的時候，自己的罪過就不怎麼明顯了。
為著不想面對從自己的罪來的罪惡感，也為著內心要比別人好的驕傲，我們不去反省自己的問題，反倒是想出各種因素來看扁別人，想辨法去找別人的錯。
可是耶穌在第七節的教導說：『…你們中間誰是沒有罪的，誰就可以先拿石頭打他。』
我們每個人都是罪人，每個人都是天天犯錯，不完美充滿瑕疵的人。

我們自己的屬靈功課多的做不完，甚至用盡在世上的時光都做不完，別浪費時間在無意義的指責和挑剔上面，反倒更應該的是專注在奔跑這條屬靈的道路。

看見自己的罪性，求神賜我們渴慕神和敬畏神的心，聰明和智慧，堅持和毅力，自律和能力，使我們能越發的有耶穌的樣式，使我們真正活出神要我們活出的生命。

在第十二節，耶穌說：『我是世界的光。跟從我的，就不在黑暗裡走，必要得著生命的光。』
讓我們不再自我感覺良好，自以為義，活在指責人的罪裡，反而是反省自己，學習有基督的樣式，活出一個新的生命，一個屬神的生命。   — Bob Liu

约翰福音7:1-52；诗篇21:1-13

最难去爱的往往是我们的亲戚。
很多人信主最大的挑战和逼迫是来自家里。耶稣有许许多多的门徒和追随他的人，然而他弟弟们却不信他。这是撒旦常常借着亲人去逼迫和阻碍神的工。耶稣的时候还没到，他的工还没有做完，而撒旦却企图借弟弟们的话阻挠神的工。

感谢主，我没有兄弟姐妹，但是我却有很多因为我们一家人是基督徒而“走失”的亲戚。没有往来，也无从去“爱”。也许就像耶稣的弟弟们那样，他们不信自己的兄弟。
我想我应该为这些亲人代祷，他们不会信我，但我可以撒种，为他们得救祷告，也许有一天，在别的人向他们传福音的时候，在他们偶尔听到福音歌曲的时候，在一次旅行的火车上，这颗种子会发芽。然后，有一天我会在某个人那里听说——你知道吗？你有位亲戚在我们教会受洗了！

祷告：

亲爱的天父我们因你的能力欢喜因快乐。
有人靠车，有人靠马，但我们只单单依靠耶和华。
我们心里所愿，嘴唇所求你都按着我们所需赐下。
因你的慈爱不不动摇，因你的荣耀我们也必不至于羞愧。            —- Elim Du

John 6:1-71

Bread of Life

John is a wonderful Gospel narrative.
So far into John, we see a number of miracles Jesus performed in front of people (healing, resurrection, water into wine, etc.).
Chapter 6 begins at the point after a series of miracles He performed. The crowd followed Jesus even after seemingly a long day of preaching and miracles. As people got hungry, Jesus fed the crowd.
Notice the breads and fishes did not blossom as Jesus blessed the food or multiplied all of the sudden; rather, the disciples realized there were abundance of food through the collection of the food fragments.
The miracle was performed slowly and steadily while dispersing the food!
Next miracle Jesus performed was Him walking on water, met the disciples on a boat, then reached their destination.
At the destination, Jesus met with another crowd of people waiting for Him to preach.

Before we head into what Jesus preached, we have to notice all of the miracles follow a very interesting pattern.
In each and every miracle performed by Jesus, Jesus was in front of group of people, performed a miracle, revealed a snippet of the Gospel, then moved on.
This snippet of Gospel sounded like crazy talk to the people listening, because they did not fully understand who Jesus was and what He was talking about.
Notice the nature of these miracles; sure, they do appear to show God’s omnipotence. But Jesus performed these miracles in the way God led the Israelites in the Old Testament, stories that are all too familiar with the crowd.
Jesus walked on water shows Jesus’ power over nature, just as God controlled the rain with Noah, and Moses’ ability to part the sea.
Jesus fed the five thousand just as He provided for the Israelites Manna while they were in exile.
Jesus did these things before the crowds to show His validity, that Jesus is God in human flesh. So, Jesus showed that He has legitimate power from God, now what? He has a message for the people. Jesus established His credential to tell everyone about the Gospel, and what is going to happen on the cross.

Verses 26-34 brings out the Gospel message Jesus wanted to preach.
Every miracle people saw, every works Jesus and other people did (such as Moses) were works of God, not of men.
Works done by men do not bring eternal life, but only through believing and seeking Jesus that people may be saved. Those who believe in Jesus will receive the bread of life that you would not be hungry again. Nothing you do will give you eternal life but believing in Him.

Critical Thinking Questions

Do you believe in Jesus?
What CAN you do to help you gain eternal life?            —– Isaac Chang

John 5:1-47

In this chapter, there were two accusations from the Jews toward Jesus: breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy, a deadly violation on “Moses’ law”.  They criticized on Jesus’s work and who He Is, using the law to go against the One who commanded it. Jesus spent a big portion of this chapter, trying to tell them that they missed the point, and missed the mark.

Where the Jews missed the point:

First, Jesus told them he has been always doing God’s work (no matter it is Sabbath or not; Every day is His day!). He also revealed his loving relationship with the Father, and the more amazing God’s work is on the way. (V19-20)

Then, Jesus expanded a little bit on the work of God he is tasked with and implication on human beings – Giving life and judgment  – whoever believe will have eternal life, others will stay condemned. (V21-30)

Where the Jews missed the mark:

They failed to recognize who Jesus is, though many testimonies have been provided – the Father, John the Baptist, and the Scriptures. They failed to believe any of them, lest believe in Jesus and the work he was doing. (V31-47)

Lord, thank you for giving us the book of John and even greater thanks for saving us from perish so that we would not miss the point and ultimately miss the mark. Please help us recognize every day of who you are and what you have done, help us to stay on your path and do your work as you commanded us. Amen.          —- Ivy Lin

John 4:1-54

Jesus was different from the other Jews who would avoid Samaritans as much as possible.
In order to reach Galilee, Jesus chose to travel through Samaria.  Jesus, as God, knew the Samaritans needed to know the living Savior- to know Him.  And as a man, He set by the well of Jacob to rest, tired from a long journey.  He chose to show Himself to them as fully God and fully man.

Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman who came to the well, revealing Himself to her in stages.  He won her confidence with a question.  Next He offered her living water and explained its meaning.  The woman asked for the living water.  He led her to conviction and confession of sin and instructed her concerning worship.  Then He revealed Himself as Messiah.
We learn that conviction and confession of sin are necessary for cleansing.
These words remind me to look closely at my sin so I can confess and receive His cleansing.
Is the Holy Spirit calling you to look at yourself as well?

Jesus’ thirst-quenching living water filled the woman with the desire to share Christ with those in her town.
Jesus’ words had changed her!  His words have the power to change us all!
The eternal life Jesus gives is fully satisfying.  Jesus loves and accepts each of us and give us purpose to our lives.
He is the true satisfier of all our deepest longings.  Whom will we tell of what Jesus has done?             —- Mary Mauderer

約翰福音2:1-25;  3:1-36

耶穌基督所行頭一個神跡，他選擇跟他的母親和幾個門徒一起去參加一個在迦拿舉行的婚宴。在席中，酒喝完了，他就把水變成酒。

行神跡在神來說是一件簡單的事。他的目的是要讓他的母親跟他的門徒知道，他是神所差遣來的獨生兒子。

在屬靈的教導方面，是要讓我們看見他有神的一面，也有人的一面。神的一面需要讓眾人知道，他是神的兒子。而在於人的一面需要讓我們知道，他雖然是神的兒子但是他已經成為人，所以他就要走進人群當中。他可以有很多事情去忙，但他也顧念到人的需要。

今天或許我們在教會裡面的重要的同工，但是有一些事情我們願意謙卑去為別人服務嗎？

在以後的經文當中，我們都會看到耶穌走進人群當中，為一些別人看是很微小的事但是他也很留心的去做。在23到25節當中，很多人因耶穌所行的神跡來信他，但耶穌知道他來的目的是要帶給人永遠的生命，但是有多少人願意接受耶穌呢？

所以在第三章裡面說得很清楚，我們每個人都活在黑暗當中不願意接受光，因為一旦接受了光，我們的罪很容易就顯露出來。人人都想要看神跡卻不承認自己的罪接受基督。

在屬靈的教導方面，神是光，他一直都在黑暗的周邊，只要我們踏出一步就能看見光。神的救恩也是在我們當中。只要我們口裏承認心裡相信就能得救。       —- Ivan Ho