Key Thought

Who do you say Jesus is? Is he prophet, king, teacher, messiah, lord, master, imposter, pretender, fake, charlatan, deceiver? So often others try to make their decisions on improper information. They think they know because they have heard about him at a church or read about him in a magazine or have been told by someone else. The real issue, however, is whether or not each of us has personally gone on a quest to discover Jesus. As you read the Gospel of John this year, also try to read the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Ask God to help you meet Jesus for who he really is. The most important question any of us will ever answer is this: "Who do you say Jesus is?"

Today's Prayer

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O God, Almighty and Everlasting, please reveal Jesus to me so that I can know him personally and follow him passionately. I don't just want to know him by reputation or report, but from personal knowledge and experience. Please reveal your Son to me and in me as I seek to know him better. It is in his name, Jesus the Christ, that I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

The last day of the festival came. It was the most important day. On that day Jesus stood and said with a loud voice, "If a person is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. If a person believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from his heart. That is what the Scriptures say." Jesus was talking about the {Holy} Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given to people, because Jesus had not yet {died and} been raised to glory. But later, those people that believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit. The people heard these things that Jesus said. Some of the people said, "This man really is the Prophet. " Other people said, "He is the Christ. " Other people said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee. The Scriptures say that the Christ will come from the family of David. And the Scriptures say that the Christ will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived." So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. Some of the people wanted to arrest Jesus. But no person tried to do this. The temple police went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, "Why did you not bring Jesus?" The temple police answered, "The things he says are greater than the words of any person we've ever heard!" The Pharisees answered, "So Jesus has fooled you too! Have any of the leaders believed in Jesus? No! Have any of us Pharisees believed in him? No! But those people {out there} know nothing about the law. They are under God's curse!" But Nicodemus was there in that group. Nicodemus was the one that had gone to see Jesus before. Nicodemus said, "Our law will not let us judge a person without hearing him. We cannot judge him until we know what he has done." The Jewish leaders answered, "Are you from Galilee too? Study the Scriptures. You will learn that no prophet comes from Galilee." [The oldest and best Greek copies of John do not have verses 7:53-8:11]

— John 7:37-52 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.