Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Father, please give me courage and wisdom to demonstrate my faith in appropriate and effective ways. I need your help to influence those around me to come to Jesus. I need your guidance as I try to be bold about my faith without turning off those around me. In Jesus' name I ask for your help to have a redemptive influence in my world. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

So Jesus' brothers left to go to the festival. After they left, Jesus went too. But Jesus did not let people see him. At the festival the Jewish leaders were looking for Jesus. The Jews said, "Where is that man?" There was a large group of people there. Many of these people were talking secretly to each other about Jesus. Some people said, "He is a good man." But other people said, "No, he fools the people." But none of the people were brave enough to talk about Jesus openly. The people were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The festival was about half finished. Then Jesus went to the temple area and began to teach. The Jews were amazed. They said, "This man has never studied in school. How did he learn so much?" Jesus answered, "The things I teach are not my own. My teaching comes from him (God) who sent me. If a person wants to do what God wants, then that person will know that my teaching comes from God. That person will know that this teaching is not my own. Any person that teaches his own ideas is trying to get honor for himself. But a person that tries to bring honor to the one that sent him—that person speaks the truth. There is nothing false in him. Moses gave you the law. Right? But none of you obey that law. Why are you trying to kill me?" The people answered, "A demon is making you crazy! We are not trying to kill you." Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle {on a Sabbath day } and you were all surprised. But you obey the law Moses gave you the law about circumcision —and sometimes you do it on a Sabbath day. (Really, Moses is not the one that gave you circumcision. Circumcision came from our people {that lived before Moses}.) Yes, you often circumcise babies on a Sabbath day. This shows that a person can be circumcised on a Sabbath day to obey the law of Moses. So why are you angry at me for healing a person's whole body on the Sabbath day? Stop judging by the way things look. Be fair and judge by what is really right."

Related Scripture Readings

Jesus did all these many miracles. The people saw these things, but they still did not believe in him. This was to make clear the full meaning of what Isaiah the prophet said: "Lord, who believed the things we told them? Who has seen the Lord's power?" This is why the people could not believe. Because Isaiah also said, "God made the people blind. God closed their minds. God did this so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their minds. God did this so that they would not turn and be healed." Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory. So Isaiah spoke about him. But many people believed in Jesus. Even many of the Jewish leaders believed in Jesus. But they were afraid of the Pharisees. So they did not say openly that they believed. They were afraid that they would be put out of the synagogue. These men loved praise from people more than praise from God. Then Jesus said loudly, "The person that believes in me is really believing in the One (God) who sent me.

The Jews still did not believe that this really happened to the man. They did not believe that this man was blind and was now healed. But later they sent for the man's parents. They asked his parents, "Is this your son? You say that he was born blind. So why can he see now?" The parents answered, "We know that this man is our son. And we know that he was born blind. But we don't know why he can see now. We don't know who healed his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough to answer for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders had already decided that they would punish any person that said Jesus was the Christ. They would put those people out of the synagogue. That is why his parents said, "He is old enough. Ask him."

Later, a man named Joseph from Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. (Joseph was a follower of Jesus. But he did not tell people, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders.) Pilate said that Joseph could take the body of Jesus. So Joseph came and took Jesus' body away. Nicodemus went with Joseph. Nicodemus was the man who had come to Jesus before and talked to him at night. Nicodemus brought about 100 pounds of spices. This was a mixture of myrrh and aloes. These two men took Jesus' body. They wrapped it in pieces of linen cloth with the spices. (This is how the Jews bury people.)