Today’s passage contains two of the seven “I am” statements of Jesus in John’s Gospel. Jesus says “I am the gate” and “I am the good shepherd”.  For this reason, John the author really emphasizes the essential nature of who Jesus is and helps us to know Jesus better personally.  To help us deeply grasp what this means, Jesus uses a beautiful and powerful story about the deep personal relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. 

There are so many things in life we don’t understand: Why some people suffer and others don’t, why someone did something nice for me, why people can be so skeptical, or prejudiced, or self-righteous. Today’s passage gets at the root of it all. Spiritually, we can either be blind, or we can see. How can we see things spiritually? We need Jesus, the light of the world, to open our eyes. But we’re also involved in the process. We see it in this story of a man who gets healed physically, but only gradually starts to see spiritually. In this study we want to learn how he grew. And we especially want to learn from our Lord Jesus’ words and example. May God open our hearts and speak to us through his word today.

What is freedom? Is it to do or say whatever we want, go wherever we want, whenever we want? As with many things, we can enjoy an outward kind of freedom, but we can also enjoy an inner freedom. Someone in a prison cell might actually be more free than somebody going around all over the place. Today Jesus promises freedom to his disciples. In this study we want to learn more about the freedom Jesus gives, and how we can have it. May God open our hearts and speak to us through his word today.

        Some people love it when it gets dark outside; nightfall and the starry sky can fascinate and enchant. Others long to see a glowing sunrise and enjoy basking in a sunny day. In our world physical light and darkness are actually morally neutral phenomena. But in John’s Gospel light and darkness take on a spiritual dimension, a moral tone, and they’re a major theme often repeated. In today’s passage Jesus makes one of his seven famous “I am” statements. He says, “I am the light of the world.” He invites us to follow him so that we would not walk in darkness but have the light of life. In this study we want to learn what it means that Jesus is the light of the world. We want to think about what it means to follow him, to have the light of life, and why we need it. May God open our hearts and speak to us through his word today.

Have you ever felt dissatisfied or empty? Most of us have. On the other hand, have you ever misunderstood someone? Today’s passage links these two things: inner satisfaction, and, understanding. It’s so interesting. At first they seem different, but really they’re closely related. If we’re unfulfilled, we find it hard to understand things. On the other hand, if we’re deeply satisfied in our souls, we can understand better. Today Jesus offers something that can give us both deep satisfaction and discernment. What is it? He says it’s rivers of living water within us. May God open our hearts and help us accept his invitation.

Are you satisfied? We try to be self-sufficient. We don’t want to appear too desperate. But most of us are longing for something inwardly. It could be just for our favorite food, or for a break from life’s many demands. Honestly, we might be longing for lots of money, for real friends, or for some other kind of success. Each day we go from one good thing to the next, hoping to find some satisfaction, but it often lasts only briefly, and we find ourselves hungry and thirsty again. In today’s passage Jesus promises us something. He says if we come to him and believe in him, we’ll never be hungry or thirsty again. What a promise! What does he mean? He says he can do this for us because he’s the bread of life. We want to learn today how we can experience real satisfaction in him. May God open our hearts and speak to us through his living words.

Who are you? What are you doing? Where are you going in life? Though we don’t often talk about it, these questions are actually so important. When we don’t know who we are, what we’re doing, or where we’re going, we feel lost. But where do we get the answers? Today’s passage tells us: in the resurrection of Jesus. At first that sounds unlikely. The resurrection of Jesus seems not only implausible but also pretty irrelevant. But John’s account of this event tells us that the resurrection of Jesus is not only real; it also provides answers to our deepest questions in life. How? May God open our hearts and speak to us personally through his word today.

Have you ever thought about people’s last words when they were dying? Sometimes a person’s last words say a lot about him or her. Robert Louis Stevenson’s last words were, “Does my face look strange?” James Joyce’s last words were, “Does nobody understand?” Winston Churchill’s last words were, “I’m bored with it all.” But Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished.” His are at once simple yet powerful, and very telling words. And they are recorded only by John. What is he trying to tell us? May God speak to us through his words today.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” It’s a powerful question. Many think it’s cool not to know and just live in the moment and go with the flow. But living like that, we eventually can feel forced by circumstances and end up saying and doing things we probably shouldn’t. In life we have so many situations to face, so many choices to make, and there are so many pressures. Should we have any conviction or direction? If so, how can we live by it? In today’s passage Jesus is surrounded by pain and disappointment from those closest to him, humiliation, and even an imminent threat to his life. Experiencing all these difficulties at once, most of us would cave. But Jesus is calm and cool. Why? Because he knows who he is and what he’s doing. How could he be like that? And why did he let himself get in to all this in the first place? As we think about his words to Peter, may God speak to us personally today.