Lesson Thirteen: EPILOGUE: KNOWING JESUS AND HIS WORD
As we climax the study of the various themes that cross through the Gospel of John, this week, we are looking at Jesus Christ’s encounter with His disciples after his resurrection at the Sea of Galilee and what it truly means to know God through His Word as the Gospel entails.
Memory Text: John 5:39(NKJV)
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
SABBATH; In as much as the disciples of Jesus Christ had been with Him for over three years, and even though Jesus had told them over and over again about what would take place, they still were unprepared for His crucifixion and resurrection. This is because they didn’t take Jesus at His word. Likewise if we keep reading and hearing God’s word without obeying it and abiding by it, we are bound to do the same thing as the disciples.
SUNDAY; Jesus appeared to His disciples at the sea of Galilee, the morning after Simon Peter and a couple of other disciples failed to catch fish the previous night. He instructs them on what to do, and they obtain a bountiful catch of fish. Upon John recognising Jesus Christ, they return to the shores. Jesus Christ asks Peter three times if he loved Him. Peter refers to Jesus, and not himself and responds with humility, in contrast to his response before his denial of Jesus Christ, that he indeed loved Him. Because of this, Jesus restores Peter to ministry.
(READ John 21:1-19)
MONDAY; Upon being restored back to ministry, Peter worries about John’s outcome. However, Jesus responds to him by saying that it is a matter of His will if His return were to find John alive. Jesus wanted Peter to have his focus on Him and not on the outcomes of John. By this, Jesus meant that we should only focus only on Him for He is our Saviour who never disappoints, unlike fellow people who can disappoint us at any given point.
(READ John 21:20-22; 21:23-25)
TUESDAY; Humanity is unable of fully understanding divinity on its own. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can understand God as revealed in His Word. Jesus is the only Messenger who can explain who God truly is and what it means to know Him and we can achieve this by accepting Him as the light of this world and following Him in our interpretation of His Word. This is through faith and obedience to the Word of God.
(READ John 1:4-10; 3:19-21; 5:35; 8:12,42-44; 9:5; 11:9&10; 12:35; )
WEDNESDAY A nobleman came seeking Jesus so that He could heal his son with the decision to believe in Jesus only after his son’s healing. This setting of rules that are based on human ideas in order to have belief in God is not biblical faith. God calls us to first believe in God and His word and thus responding in faith. Having doubt in God’s word makes abiding in Him impossible. Furthermore, hearing God’s word means putting it into action and practice for this is God’s will, and by doing so, it is an expression of our love for Him.
(READ John 4:46-54; 6:14&15, Matthew 8:8-10; 2 Timothy 3:16 )
THURSDAY The Gospel of John is filled with examples of individuals who show that willingness to know God and do His will draws one to Jesus. Among these was Nicodemus, the woman at the well; the 5000 who were fed; Mary and Martha, the religious leaders; the blind man at the pool of Bethsaida; and Pilate. Their encounter with Jesus all left them with choices to make, concerning the truth and light that He brought. Furthermore, the secret to spiritual health and growth is staying connected to Jesus through His Word, for we are drawn to the Godhead through God’s word and it is to this word that we are to surrender our own views.
(READ John 12:32; 15:1-11)
FRIDAY; We get to know God’s will in His Word. The choice is ours to make towards understanding this will by accepting the light that comes from Jesus Christ revealed through His Word. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord has revealed the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ so that we may get to know how deep His love for us is.
(READ The Desire of Ages pp 143)
CAPTIONS:
SUNDAY; Meeting in Galilee
MONDAY; Keeping your eyes on Jesus
TUESDAY; Light and darkness
WEDNESDAY; Theology from “above” or from “below”
THURSDAY; Abiding in Jesus
FRIDAY; Further thought
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS;
- Why is it usually difficult to lay aside self as the arbiter of truth? Can we ever fully do it, or will our humanity, to some degree, still impact how we view the Scriptures? Why must we recognise this fact, and how does humility come to help us surrender our prejudices to the Word of God?
- Knowing that someday we may face the time of trouble alone, how dependent should we be on other Christians around us? Do we still need others to prop us up, or have we learned to draw strength from our companionship with Jesus? Explain.
- What does it really mean to you, in everyday life, that without Jesus, you can do nothing? Specifically, what does that “nothing” refer to?
