“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father” (John 10:14-15a).

One of my favorite aspects of my relationship with God is that He knows everything about me. He knows where my thoughts go and what I am struggling with. He knows what I desire and what I fear. He knows how much I have grown and how much more growing I have to do. In fact, He often knows when I need to grow in patience and perseverance more than I need an immediate answer to my prayer. He knows when I need to hear from Him and when I need to see His hand at work. God knows me completely and yet loves me intensely – so powerful is God’s love for me that He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

“So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded” (John 10:15b-18).

Just as we found significance in the timing of what we studied yesterday – that Jesus was speaking to the people during the Festival of Dedication and the significance that had to what He was saying – so we find significance today in where Jesus was standing as He went on to use the same language that can be found in Ezekiel 34:22-23. Consider that Jesus was walking through the section of the Temple known as Solomon’s Colonnade. It was winter and this area was located on the east side and known for providing shelter from winter weather. It was in this protective area that Jesus said the following:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).

Most likely Peter and John were with Jesus on that day and heard him say these words of comfort and protection while standing in Solomon’s Colonnade. I wonder if His words came back to them a few years later when they stood again in Solomon’s Colonnade.

Peter and John had come across a man lame from birth begging from the people as they were going into the Temple. When he asked Peter and John for money, Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” When the people saw him walking and heard him praising God, they rushed in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John (Acts 3:1-11).

Peter took this opportunity to preach to the people, clarifying that it was faith in the name of Jesus by which this man was healed. He called the people to repentance of their sins and to turn to God, so that their sins may be wiped away (3:19). It was while Peter and John were speaking to the people in Solomon’s Colonnade that the priests, the captain of the Temple guard and some of the Sadducees came and arrested Peter and John and threw them in jail. They commanded them to never again speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).

The knowledge that Jesus was their Good Shepherd gave Peter and John boldness even in a moment of uncertainty in the future. Instead of choosing fear and caving to pressure, Jesus’ disciples chose to trust in the One who they knew with confidence would protect them. They knew the power of the One to whom they belonged. That knowledge is available to us today also. Let’s rest in the words of the One to whom we belong and sing as the psalmist did:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths, bring honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23).

As I start off a new week and a new day with a fresh cup of my morning coffee, I find myself moving further into the book of John to chapter 10. It was the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) and Jesus is preaching about how he is the Good Shepherd. I have read this passage through many times and even had it memorized in high school for Bible Quizzing, but I wanted to see it fresh and new this morning.

I am unfamiliar with the significance of this Festival and so I decided to read through the notes of my study Bible to see if there is a reason that Jesus chose to speak about sheep at this Festival. What I found was very interesting and good timing for where I am at in my spiritual journey. Isn’t God wonderful like that?!! He creates in us a desire to know more and then He faithfully guides us into an understanding of the Scripture that helps us take next steps in our faith walk with Him.

The Festival of Dedication commemorates the rededication of the Temple after it had been defiled by Antiochus IV. At this Festival, the priests would do some self-examination, considering their own commitment or dedication to the ministry to which they had been called. They would reflect on Ezekiel 34, so I went back and read Ezekiel 34 – a passage we looked at on June 13th as we shared our morning coffee together. I went back and reread what the Lord had given me on that Wednesday seven weeks ago.

In that passage, the Lord was upset with the “shepherds” or leaders of Israel. He accused them of abandoning the flock and taking care of themselves first, leaving the sheep to starve. God said, “I myself will search and find my sheep…I will find my sheep and rescue them…I will bring them back home…I will feed them…I will give them good pastureland…I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace…I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak…You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” – Ezekiel 34: 11-16,31

Most of us have a ministry of some sort, whether that is a full-time paid job or a volunteer position at Church or at a ministry in town. Many of us are also parents who have been given a ministry to our children. How are we caring for the sheep? Are we still putting forth our best effort? Are we concerned about those who are spiritually starving or wandering away? Have we become comfortable and begun to worry more about ourselves then about caring for the sheep? Are we feasting on what God provides without sharing the abundance of God with others? Perhaps today is our Festival of Dedication, a time to examine our service to God. Let’s consider this as we hear what Jesus has to say at this Festival long ago.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice…

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep” (John 10:1-13).

After learning about the Festival of Dedication and after reading through Ezekiel 34, I see this passage differently today. I am the hired hand, given responsibility over some of the sheep by the Good Shepherd. Am I working only for the money or am I working to please the Shepherd? Do I run when things get tough or do I listen for the voice of the Shepherd, realizing that I, too, am under His care? Do I still care about the sheep or is my focus on myself, as it was for the leaders in Ezekiel 34?

God, strengthen my call this morning. Give me a fresh desire to serve You by serving others. Lord, I am listening for Your voice, a voice I know so well because You are my Shepherd. What do you want me to do with this day you have given me? Help me to see all of Your sheep through Your eyes – that I would never abandon this responsibility that you have given me, that none would starve while in my care. Amen.

The Jewish leaders were so caught up on where Jesus had come from and from whom he had been born that they were missing who Jesus was and from whom he had been sent. They tried to use this information to prove that he was not the Messiah. They knew where Joseph and Mary were from and they knew that Jesus had grown up in Galilee so they assumed he was also born in Galilee. They actually used the argument that, if Jesus truly was the Messiah, he would have been born in Bethlehem as the Scriptures clearly state (John 7:42). Duh!

While Jesus was in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know Him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you” (John 7:28-29).

Let’s keep in mind that the Pharisees and Jewish leaders knew who Jesus’ mother was when we consider what they did next and probably that she was found to be with child before she was married to Joseph. John tells us that these teachers of the law were trying to trap Jesus when they brought to him a woman who had been caught in adultery. They were waiting to see if Jesus would be faithful to the law of Moses, which demanded she be stoned.

…but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:6-12).

We continue today to judge one another by where we came from, who our parents are and by the sins of our past. The enemy wants to define us by these things so that he can convince us that we belong to the sinful world and not to our Heavenly Father. If he can convince us of this, it is easier for him to convince us that sinning is simply a part of who we are and where we came from.

But Jesus says – I know who you are and what you have done. Go and sin no more. You don’t have to continue to walk in darkness if you follow me for I am the light of the world. If you will walk in my light, you will truly experience life. Jesus went on to explain you will also experience true freedom if you follow his teachings instead of remaining a slave to sin.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:31-32,34-36).

Freedom – freedom from who the world wants us to be, freedom from who others define us to be, and freedom from our past mistakes and sins.

In anger, the people asked Jesus, “Who do you think you are?” They also asked him where his father was and then made the statement, “We are not illegitimate children! God himself if our true Father” (8:53,19,41). Oh yes, they knew what they were doing when they brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. What they didn’t know is who Jesus truly was and to whom he belonged.

When others try to define you by where you came from or by past sins, remember who you truly are – You are a child of God, forgiven and set free from sin. When the enemy tries to pull you back into a life of sin, remember who you truly are – you are no longer a slave to sin but a part of God’s family forever. You have been set free from the past, free from sin and you are a faithful follower of Jesus.

The Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well was thirsty for something different in her life. She longed for this “living water” that Jesus spoke of and knew there were many others who would want to encounter Jesus just as she had. The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village to tell everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” – John 4:29

In the meantime, the disciples returned with food for Jesus and He turned His focus on them, speaking again in symbolic language. Jesus turned down their offer for food and they wondered who had fed Jesus while they were in town. They did not understand the fulfillment Jesus had received by doing the will of His Heavenly Father.

Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” – John 4:34-38

Jesus knew there was no greater fulfillment in life than to be in the center of God’s will – doing what God wants us to do where He wants us to do it, impacting the lives of those He places in our path. Jesus did not want to miss one opportunity to offer the gift of life to God’s children.

“For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:38-40).

When the Samaritan woman went back to the village to tell them about Jesus, the people came streaming out to see him. Many believed and asked Jesus to stay in their village, so he stayed for two days. He could have said he was too busy or was on his way to do something else, but he stayed. In those two days, many more people heard his message and believed. They turned to the woman and said, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the World” (4:42).

The fields were ripe for harvest – the people were hungry for an encounter with Jesus! Do we desire to do the will of God today, even if it requires getting out of our comfort zone and leading someone to Jesus? My prayer today is that God will show us the fields that are ripe for harvest – that the harvest we reap today will be people who are brought to eternal life. What joy we will experience if we allow God to use us in this way today!

So far in 2012, the gospel has been presented to 400 people who have entered the doors of a Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center. This represents 400 people who were asked if they would like to hear the gospel and said “yes.” 400 people willing to hear what we have to say – we are standing in the middle of a field ripe for harvest! Out of those 400 people, 80 accepted Christ for the first time becoming a new believer in Jesus and 25 recommitted their lives to God. Praise God! Last year, we saw 259 people make a spiritual decision for Christ out of the 841 who heard the gospel. That’s 30% of those who heard the gospel accepting the message of salvation last year, and 26% so far this year. These numbers represent whole families who have come to the Lord, found a Church to attend and are serving the Lord today.

So can we conclude from this that 26-30% of people we know would repent and accept Christ Jesus as their Savior if only given the opportunity? These gospel presentations were mostly for individuals we had known less than 30 minutes. Imagine the willingness to hear God’s plan from friends, coworkers, neighbors and family we have known for months or years.

“We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (Jesus’ words in John 9:4). Our time is limited. May we seek to do God’s will today, listening to our Heavenly Father and responding to His Spirit’s voice. May we see through His eyes the harvest around us and may we sense the urgency to carry out the tasks assigned us by the One who sent us.

In this next chapter of John, we find Jesus again meeting individually with someone – knowing where they were coming from, what they were searching for and how to help them find it. Just as he did with Nicodemus, Jesus used a simple everyday concept the Samaritan woman could understand to help her discover a much deeper truth. Just as Jesus knew what Nicodemus was searching for and what he needed, Jesus knew the situation this woman was coming from and how thirsty she was for something different in her life.

Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” – John 4:5-12

An everyday concept – “dead” water is the term they used to describe stagnant or standing water, such as a cisterns that caught and stored the winter rains and wells that tapped into underground water tables. “Living” water described sources such as a river or spring or rainfall – water that was fresh and considered to be coming straight from God. So when Jesus said, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water,” he had the woman’s attention. She knew there were no rivers nearby. How could Jesus offer her such a thing?

“If you only knew the gift God has for you” – this must have also gotten the woman’s attention. Because she was a Samaritan, she was considered a lower class citizen. Because she was a woman, she was considered more of a possession than an individual. Because of her past experiences with men, she was considered an outcast and unwanted, which is probably why she was coming to the well alone at that time of day. Yet here Jesus was saying that God had a gift for her – something as valued as “living water.”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water!” Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come her to get water.” – John 4:13-15

Can you hear the desperation in her voice? Can you sense how deep her need is for salvation? My heart goes out to this woman who had been used by men and shunned by women. But God had a gift for this lonely child of His – an encounter with Jesus that would forever change her life.

“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband – for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” – John 4:16-18

Jesus knew her situation and he knew her need. Out of love for this woman, he offered her “living water” – the same thing he offers us today. We don’t have to remain stagnant. Life does not have to be the way it has always been. We can walk away from the place our decisions have left us and choose a new, fresh way of life. If we drink of the living water that Jesus offers us, we will never be thirsty again – we will never be left desiring more. God’s gift to us will become a fresh and bubbling spring within us, giving us eternal life.

In order to help us understand spiritual truths, Jesus would often take something that could be easily understood and use it to explain something harder to grasp. He did this when he was talking with Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. Nicodemus had seen and heard of the miraculous signs that Jesus was doing and he understood them to be evidence that God was with Jesus (John 3:2) – that God was the source of what Jesus was accomplishing.

Jesus seemed to know what Nicodemus was struggling to understand. Without really explaining why he had come to Jesus and why he had chosen after dark to do so, Jesus knew what Nicodemus was searching for and the decision he would have to make between darkness and light. Jesus went on to explain what needed to happen in order for Nicodemus to find what he was looking for – the Kingdom of God.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit” (John 3:3-8).

Nicodemus still did not understand and Jesus knew that the reason he could not understand was because he was struggling to believe. Nicodemus was a very intelligent man but this was going to require more than just head knowledge, this was going to require a response of the heart. Jesus knew Nicodemus was going to have to choose between remaining in the dark or stepping into the light by believing not only that God was with Jesus, but that Jesus was sent by God. Jesus went on to explain this to Nicodemus.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge him, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (John 3:16-21).

If you want to experience the Kingdom of God you are going to have to step out of the darkness and believe in who Jesus is. The price has already been paid – the Light of the World has already come to save us. We must choose to step into the light, allowing our sins to be exposed. When we come to Him believing, the Light of the World does not judge those sins but instead saves us from them.

John the Baptist believed in Jesus and with that came an understanding of what it meant to be born again or born of the Spirit. John knew that the miraculous signs were more than just evidence that God was with Jesus – He knew that God had sent Jesus. John explained this to his disciples.

“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves His Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:31-36).

I have friends who seek to understand the Bible, to understand spiritual truths, but they want to understand before they will believe. The problem is that human understanding is not going to come as long as we choose to remain in the dark. It is in believing and stepping into the light, experiencing the re-birth of the Spirit, that spiritual truths begin to make sense.

Today’s Jesus Calling devotional: I am the Light of the World. Men crawl through their lives cursing the darkness, but all the while I am shining brightly. I desire each of My followers to be a Light-bearer. The Holy Spirit who lives in you can shine from your face, making Me visible to people around you. Ask My Spirit to live through you, as you wind your way through this day. Hold My hand in joyful trust, for I never leave your side. The Light of My Presence is shining upon you. Brighten up the world by reflecting who I AM. – [Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, 2004]

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:1-5).

Don’t we ask this same question all the time – Why has this happened? How could God allow this? Why is this person going through such a difficult time? Our hearts break when we watch those we love get sick; we fall to our knees when a diagnosis changes our lives forever. What did we do? Why has God allowed this suffering? We can’t see the road ahead of us through the pain and tears. What is ahead appears so dark; it’s not a journey we want to walk and we beg God to take it away!

Jesus says – I am the light of the world. I will shine my light in the darkness that surrounds you. This has happened so the power of God can be seen in him – in you!

Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing (John 9:6-7).

Later, after the man had been questioned by the Pharisees, Jesus found him and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment – to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind” (John 9:35-39).

How often do we think our faith is strong until something tragic happens and then we realize we don’t have enough faith to get us through this difficult time – we realize we are blind and we need Jesus, the Light of the World, to give us sight. We want to believe – Lord, help us to believe! Strengthen our faith and shine your light into our situation.

Mary and Martha asked similar questions of Jesus when their brother died. They were grieving and begging Jesus to explain himself – to do something!

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask” (11:21-22).

When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (11:32).

Before arriving, Jesus had told his disciples, “Lazarus’ sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this” (11:4). Later, at Lazarus’ grave, Jesus said, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” (11:40-44).

Why? So that we can see – so that we can see the Light of the World and believe, so that we can see the glory of God! Perhaps this prayer is for you today:
Heavenly Father, thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me but sometimes I need to remind myself that You are listening, that you love me and have not abandoned me. God, I feel like the darkness is closing in around me and my heart is breaking. Please give me sight! Light of the World, wrap Your arms around me so that I can see You in the midst of all of this. Show me Your glory! Please do something so miraculous that it can only be explained as You and Your power and to Your glory! Help me to believe, give me the miracle of sight today. Amen.

“Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do?” This was the ridiculous comment the crowd said to Jesus just after he had fed the 5000 with only five barley loaves and two fish. They were following Jesus that day because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick (John 6:2,30). Then God provided for their physical needs in an amazing way, similar to when He provided the manna from Heaven for their ancestors. But apparently healing the sick and feeding 5000 people with a child’s sack lunch were not enough for this group. They wanted more.

They wanted more – this is where we come in. How often does God provide over and over again for us, yet we sit back and say, “I’ve never experienced a miracle” or “I wish God would move in a mighty way.” God provides for our needs every day yet we desire more. We look at what others have around us and see what we do not have, rather than focusing in on what God has so generously given us.

Jesus calls us out to us today just as he did to the crowd in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He says to stop getting caught up in the perishable things this world has to offer – these things do not even last. “Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you” (John 6:27).

Then, it wasn’t enough that the crowd was able to witness miraculous signs in the lives of others, they wanted the ability to perform these miracles themselves – they wanted power and glory.

They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent” (6:28-29).

At times our focus is on the desire for God to do something great and mighty through us for others to see, just as this crowd requested the ability to perform God’s works. But God’s response to us may be the same as it was to the crowd – to first seek Him, consume Him, believe in Him and fully experience life through Him.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh” (6:47-51).

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever” (6:53-58).

It is as if God is saying – I can answer your prayers and provide for your needs here on earth, I am capable of that. I can once again show you my generosity and you can experience the miracle of My provision, but I want to provide you with so much more than what you are asking for. I can heal you of your physical problems or diseases but you will still die eventually. I am offering you something so much greater – I am offering you eternal life!

Perhaps the miracle is not in the provision but in the satisfaction. We know that God is able to provide – the moment of surprise is when we rest in His care, trusting and believing in Him whether or not He provides as we have asked. The miracle is in our satisfaction with what God has done and will do according to His will. Consume the Bread of Life and you will experience the miracle of satisfaction.

The Jewish leaders tried to make this next miracle about timing but Jesus corrected them, letting them know this was not about “when” but about “who” – not about the physical healing but about spiritual healing.

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people – blind, lame, or paralyzed – lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him (John 5:1-15).

Crowds of sick people all around and Jesus approached one man, knowing this man had been ill for a very long time. He knew this man, knew his situation and his need – not only for physical healing but for spiritual healing. Jesus’ desire was for this man’s life to change. For 38 years he had been sick but Jesus had more than just physical healing in mind to change this man’s situation. Jesus wanted to give this man life – eternal life!

For God loved the world so much that he have his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life – John 3:16. This was a miracle of life that Jesus was offering. The physical touch was for the purpose of this man believing in Jesus and choosing obedience. Jesus told this man to do two things: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” and “stop sinning”. The first required a moment of faith and obedience. He had been sick for such a long time. He had to believe in Jesus enough to stand up. The second required a life of faith and obedience, a healing of the heart that would change the way this man lived the rest of his life – holy and set apart for the One who had healed him.

While the Jewish leaders focused in on the timing of the miracle, Jesus tried to point out to them the source of the miracle. Jesus had come to bring life and they were missing out on this miracle that was available for them also because they were too caught up in the legalism of when the miracle had taken place. What it is that has us so distracted that we are missing out on the miracle of life that God is offering?

For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants (5:21).

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death to life. And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice – the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son (5:24-26).

You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life (5:39-40).

The miracle of life is what Jesus was offering at the pool of Bethesda and it is what He is still offering us today. This miracle comes from the love of a God who would send His one and only Son to die for our sins so that we might believe and experience eternal life. This miracle of life is available to all of us – it requires a moment of faith and obedience, as well as a life of continued faith and obedience. The purpose of all of these miracles performed by Jesus were to prove that He was sent by God so that we might truly believe and experience eternal life (5:36).

John 3:23 says that Jesus performed miraculous signs while in Jerusalem but John does not give us details regarding those miracles. He does give us the results of those miracles – many began to trust in him. John goes on to tell us in detail about the second miracle Jesus performed in Galilee after leaving Jerusalem.

As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.

While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus. This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea (John 4:46-54).

God’s timing is a beautiful thing! It is often in the timing of an event or miracle in our lives where our faith is strengthened the most. The miracle itself is incredible but it’s the timing of the God’s movement that confirms that it is God Himself at work.

I see two elements of timing in this account of John’s: 1.) at the time when the government official’s son became very sick, Jesus was arriving in nearby Galilee, and 2.) the boy was healed at the very time when Jesus had said the words, “Your son will live.”

For most of my life, I have heard the saints in the church say, “God is always on time. He’s never late and He’s never early.” I have found that to be true in my own life but I must admit it is not always easy to patiently wait for God’s timing. But it is in the waiting that God has our attention and it is in His perfect timing that we learn to trust in Him and our faith grows.

There’s another miracle John describes in 6:16-21 that is a miracle of timing: That evening Jesus’ disciples went to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew rough. They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination.

Mark’s account of this miracle says: They climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed… (6:51). Matthew’s account is similar: When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed (14:32-33).
The moment Jesus stepped into the boat, the storm calmed – a miracle of timing. The timing of Jesus action was beautifully choreographed and their faith was strengthened.

What is your story of God’s perfect timing in your life – timing that confirmed God was at work rather than simple coincidence? Perhaps you are in the midst of the storm right now, rowing until God chooses to calm the waves and winds. Notice Jesus did not calm the storm after the disciples had rowed one mile. They rowed three or four miles before Jesus made His presence known to them. The disciples were never alone, Jesus had not abandoned them in the storm. He was there all the time, waiting for the perfect moment to say, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!”

My prayer for you this morning is that you will hear the words of Jesus today. I pray you will know without doubt that He is with you and that you will trust in His perfect timing. Remember, God is never late and He is never early – He is always on time!

The disciples began to worship Jesus when He stepped into the boat and the storm calmed. Let’s choose to worship Him while still rowing through the storm, praising Him in confidence for what He is going to do and for His presence in the midst of the waves and wind.