Bent Oak Church

Jesus continued his conversation with the Jewish leaders by turning to the topic of the resurection. He had been given the power of life. Though Jesus spoke of the expected future resurrection, he also said that hour was now. Resurrection was here. On this Easter Sunday, we take a look at what it means to live with the hope of a future and present resurrection. Practice resurrection. 

The Jewish leaders confronted Jesus about his healing on the sabbath. But Jesus didn't buckle under their pressure; in fact, he doubled down. He explained that as the father had been working since creation, so too had he. Jesus went on to explain why all authority to judge and give life and been given to him. It makes a turn in John's gospel in which the Jewish leader decide that Jesus must be killed.

On arriving in Jerusalem for a festival, Jesus found a man who had been lame for 38 years and healed him. It was a miracle, but we quickly learn that it was also the Sabbath and Jesus had commanded the man to take up his mat, a violation of Sabbath law. The leaders were forced to make a decision, had Jesus violated the Sabbath, or was he the fulfillment of it.

Jesus returned to his home region of Galilee to a warm welcome. His hometown fans had seen his miraculous signs and were suddenly supports. Everyone suddenly claimed to beleive in him. But Jesus was skeptical and used the desperate request of an official to talk about true belief. 

Most people have heard about the Jewish and Samaritan division. We understand the tension of a Jewish man sticking up a private conversation with a Samaritan woman. But most miss the bigger reality of Jesus' conversation. The language of division—gender, ethnicity, place of worship—is hers. Jesus instead offers something new and better—living water, Spirit, and truth.

John uses the word believe more than 100 times in his gospel. It is used on almost every page. But what does it mean? Many around Jesus misunderstood. We take a look at the importance of believing in Jesus.

Under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus came to Jesus. He had seen Jesus's signs and recognized Jesus had come from God. But Jesus pushed that conversation much deeper leaving Nicodemus confused and disoriented. At the center of the conversation was a question about faith. What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Jesus's clearing of the temple was not an emotional outburst. It was another sign. A deliberate action by which Jesus revealed himself to his followers. The temple was not the future, not the physical one at least. Jesus, by His resurrection, would become a new and better temple. 

John tells us that Jesus's first sign was turning water into wine, but he also gives us several other details crucial to understanding the significance of Jesus's action. He was not pressured into by his concerned mom, Jesus chose this miracle for its symbolic meaning. Jesus was the messiah who came to offer a better wine and an eternal banquet. 

Jesus, realizing he was being followed, turned and asked the two men, "what do you seek?" It was a question that would change their lives and the world. Those men became some of Jesus's first followers.