Key Thought

Today's Prayer

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]

Related Scripture Readings

Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus said to his followers, "I am the Son of Man. Who do the people say I am?" The followers answered, "Some people say you are John the Baptizer. Other people say you are Elijah. And some people say that you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets. " Then Jesus said to his followers, "And who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea. He was born during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. The wise men asked people, "Where is the new baby that is the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw the star rise in the sky in the east. We came to worship him." King Herod heard about this new king of the Jews. Herod was troubled about this. And all the people in Jerusalem were worried too. Herod called a meeting of all the leading Jewish priests and teachers of the law. Herod asked them where the Christ would be born. They answered, "In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this {in the Scriptures }: 'Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are important among the rulers of Judah. Yes, a ruler will come from you, and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.'" Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men from the east. Herod learned from the wise men the exact time they first saw the star. Then Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem. Herod said to the wise men, "Go and look carefully to find the new baby. When you find the baby, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too." The wise men heard the king and then left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east. The wise men followed the star. The star went before them until it stopped above the place where the baby was. The wise men were happy to see the star. They were very excited. The wise men came to the house where the baby was. They saw the baby with his mother Mary. The wise men bowed down and worshiped the baby. The wise men opened the gifts they brought for the baby. They gave the baby treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But God warned the wise men in a dream. God warned them not to go back to Herod. So the wise men went home to their own country a different way.

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. "