Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Almighty God, I thank you for revealing yourself to me in Jesus. Thank you for speaking your words of truth through your Son. Help me as I seek to both understand and obey Jesus' words and honor your will. Transform me to be more like your Son as I seek to honor his words in my lifestyle. In Jesus' name I pray. 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 was doing these things (healing) on the Sabbath day. So the Jews began to do bad things to Jesus. But Jesus said to the Jews, "My Father never stops working. And so I work too." This made these Jews try harder to kill him. {The Jews said}, "First this man (Jesus) was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. Then he said that God is his Father! He is making himself equal with God!" But Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth. The Son can do nothing alone. The Son does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does. The Father loves the Son, and the Father shows the Son all the things he does. {This man was healed.} But the Father will show the Son greater things than this to do. Then you will all be amazed. The Father raises dead people and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to the people he wants to. Also, the Father judges no one. But the Father has given the Son power to do all the judging. God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same as they respect the Father. If a person does not respect the Son, then that person does not respect the Father. The Father is the One who sent the Son.

But Jesus said to those Jews, "You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't belong to this world. I told you that you would die with your sins. Yes, you will die with your sins, if you don't believe that I AM. " The Jews asked, "Then who are you?" Jesus answered, "I am what I have told you from the beginning. I have many things I could say to judge you. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One that sent me. And he speaks the truth." These Jews did not understand who Jesus was talking about. Jesus was telling them about the Father (God). So Jesus said to them, "You will lift up (kill) the Son of Man. Then you will know that I AM. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority (power). You will know that I say only the things that the Father has taught me. The One (God) who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone." While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.

The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace (kindness) and truth. John told people about him. John said, "This is the One I was talking about. I said, 'The One who comes after me is more important than I am. He was living before me.'" The Word (Christ) was full of grace and truth. From him we all received more and more blessings. The law was given through Moses. But grace and {the way of} truth came through Jesus Christ. No man has ever seen God. But the only Son (Jesus) is God. He is very close to the Father (God). And the Son has shown us what God is like.