John Part 9-Is This the Christ?


Key Verse:    So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”

(John 7:28-29 ESV)

 

In Luke 12:51 Christ says He came not to bring peace to earth but division.  He also says in John 14:27 that He leaves his people with peace, to have untroubled hearts.  Later in John 16:33, He says that when we are scattered, His words will give our hearts peace.  So the division he brings is not emotional, but a separation of who is His and who is not.  Matt 25:32 says:   

 

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 

This chapter shows the division Christ brings as some can’t accept who He is. 

So study and read, who do you think the Christ is?   The answer to that question will determine on that day what side you are on.  Will the King know you? 

 

Read John Chapter 7

·         Where and when did this chapter occur?  Why do you think Jesus kept His works and travels quiet?

·         Make a list of all the things you read in this chapter that people thought Christ was.  For example in verse 12 you find two opposing views: “a good man”  and “leading the people astray.”  You will find a lot of opposites in this passage…

·         One thing that divided the people was wondering if Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah.  Note what you discover about the reasons they thought He was and wasn’t.  Where they judging rightly (v.24)?  We will reflect on this more in our journal prompt.

·         Reread verse 18.  Why does Jesus say proves that He is telling the truth?

·         Verse 42 describes a prophecy the Jews knew would be fulfilled in the Christ.  Read Micah 5:2 and tell why this caused division among the people? Read Matthew chapter 2 if you are unfamiliar with the story of Christ’s birth and what happened after Herod died. 

 

Journal Prompt

·         Our culture is built around image.  Advertisers manipulate on our desire to show our worth by what we wear or drive.  If we look a certain way, it communicates we are a certain kind of person.  As Jesus says in verse 24, looks are deceiving.  Instead He commands to judge rightly and not to judge by appearances.  At this time in His ministry He was caught in the middle of many people’s opinions of him, as they were judging Him by His appearance.  When did you judge by an appearance?  How did it turn out?  How can we judge rightly as Christ instructs instead? Read John 5:30 and 8:16 for insight.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Titus Study Overview

Sisters and Seekers, So excited to announce that I will be writing a bible study for you on the book of Titus.  I recently read a book by Jen Wilken called Women of the Word  and was inspired to study using her method and create a study out of what I'm learning for you!  Please check out her book as a resource if you want to dig a little deeper. Before we get started, I want to highlights some concepts from her book that I think are important to cover because they give a framework to keep in mind as we go.  The bible is a library, a collection of books with one big message.  It is the message of God and His story, it's not a book about us.  It has an overarching theme of creation-fall-redemption-restoration and every book in the Bible tells part of this one big story that God is telling through His word.  You may have heard this referred to as the metanarrative.  Knowing how what we are learning fits into this big story will help us make conne...
Read more

Study Introduction: Developing a Ministry of Reconciliation

Image
My husband and I finished a four-year process of home building this last February.   Throughout the process we had paperwork, permits, receipts, product manuals, samples of materials, and even some tools and parts left by the sub-contractors that looked important.   So we kept them all.   We put them in a box.   People that know me well know that I love efficiency and organization.   But for this I just needed a box.   A place to put all this stuff that I know I’m supposed to have but don’t have time to deal with.   Stuff that is probably important, but thrown in none-the-less.   It gives me comfort to know at any time I can dig around in this box and find what I need when I need it. Today it occurred to me that my faith is like this box.   One of the fun things about building (and there really isn’t a lot of “fun” involved so you hang on to the joys no matter how small) is getting to customize many things.   One of the things we chose a...
Read more

Devotional: Balance

This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life -1 Thess 4:11 I thought I’d mix things up and share something I’ve been learning a lot about lately: balance.   This verse above has been in my head quite a lot as I’ve been feeling different demands start to pull on me.   All of us have so many different responsibilities and interests that take our time; from family life and work, to hobbies and social events.   It seems like the calendar in my house is often running the show.   In this chapter Paul is writing about how Christians should live.   The word ambition means to be fond of honor, strive to bring something to pass and make a certain state your aim.   Then a few words later Paul then describes the tone of our day-to-day life as quiet.   This doesn’t mean you should be shy or a doormat, but to rest, cease from labor, not to be running around, to say nothing and hold one’s peace (this is my constant need!).   A friend once shared that you ...
Read more