Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Give me strength, O God, and a pure heart for my journey to you. Don't let me be deterred by those who would seek to dilute my faith or derail my sense of mission. At the same time, dear Father, please help me honor the people around me with respect. Give me wisdom to know how to honor those I should honor while still remaining true to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

After this, Jesus traveled around the country of Galilee. Jesus did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jewish leaders there wanted to kill him. It was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters. So Jesus' brothers said to him, "You should leave here and go to {the festival in} Judea. Then your followers there can see the miracles you do. If a person wants the people to know him, then that person must not hide the things he does. Show yourself to the world. Let them see these things (miracles) you do." (Even Jesus' brothers did not believe in him.) Jesus said to his brothers, "The right time for me has not yet come. But any time is right for you {to go}. The world cannot hate you. But the world hates me. Why? Because I tell the people in the world that they do evil things. So you go to the festival. I will not go to the festival now. The right time for me has not yet come." After Jesus said this, he stayed in Galilee.

Related Scripture Readings

The Jewish leaders tried to get Jesus again. But Jesus escaped from them. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River. Jesus went to the place where John was baptizing before. Jesus stayed there, and many people came to him. The people said, "John never did a miracle. But everything John said about this man (Jesus) is true." And many people there believed in Jesus.

And I am glad that I was not there. I am happy for you, because now you will believe {in me}. We will go to him now." Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other followers, "We will go too. We will die with Jesus {in Judea}."

There were many Jews that came to visit Mary. They saw what Jesus did. And many of these Jews believed in Jesus. But some of the Jews went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus did. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish council. They said, "What should we do? This man (Jesus) is doing many miracles. If we let him continue doing these things, all the people will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our temple and our nation." One of the men there was Caiaphas. He was the high priest that year. Caiaphas said, "You people know nothing! It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. But you don't realize this." Caiaphas did not think of this himself. He was high priest that year. So he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for the Jewish people. Yes, Jesus would die for the Jewish people. But Jesus would also die for God's other children that were scattered {in all the world}. He would die to bring them all together and make them one people. That day the Jewish leaders began planning to kill Jesus.