John 6:1-15 concerns the feeding of the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. John records this miracle as further proof of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and shows how the disciples could only think of solving the problem of a hungry crowd in an earthly way. However, when a meagre amount of food was offered, Jesus had no trouble in multiplying the amount and providing more than enough for all. What we bring to Jesus, no matter how small, can also be multiplied into large amount of blessings that can satisfy all who come to him in faith.

John 5:31-47 continues the words of Jesus to the Jews defending his strong claims that he was the Son of God, by referring to the testimony of many witnesses. Among those he mentioned included the testimony of John the Baptist, the words of God the Father, the writings of Moses and his own miraculous signs. These all agree and testify to the truth he proclaimed about himself.  It is not a lack of evidence that keeps people from believing, but a hardness of heart.

The text of John 5:16-30 records that after Jesus healed the paralysed man, he ran into immediate trouble with the Jews who had trouble with his claims and his actions. In this text, Jesus defended himself against accusations of fraud and claimed to be the Son of God with power to grant life and eternal life. As no-one else offers what Jesus offers, He is our only hope in the face of an uncertain world and our eventual death.

In this text Jesus healed a paralyzed man at Bethesda. The miracle serves to remind us of the effect of sin upon all mankind, our inability to save ourselves and the grace and mercy of Jesus the Saviour who proved to be worth more than many friends or much money. Our faith is to be in Him and is wrongly placed if it is in ourselves or any other.

Here Jesus is met by a royal official whose son is dying. His riches and status cannot protect him and his family from hardship and death. His faith may have only been enough for him to seek Jesus in a time of need but Jesus’ response shows that his power has no bounds – not even distance. The official’s faith grows and he trusts Jesus at his word, leaving to go home and find his son healed. John writes so that we can be encouraged to have faith even without sight just like the official and all generations since.

In the second part of John’s account of the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, the results of their conversation become evident. By returning to her people with news of her experience of Jesus, the woman became a witness to the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. By telling us this, John also  reminds us that evangelism is a process, that fruit follows real faith and that harvests need reaping. Our witness can and will be used to bring others into the Kingdom of God.

John 4:1-26 highlights the life transforming conversation Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus overcame social, religious and racial barriers to speak with this woman and confronted her with the truth about her own sinfulness and his own identity. By degrees, Jesus also led the woman to move her thinking away from quenching her physical thirst to seeking after the ‘living water’ that he could and does bring to those who seek and find him.

Just before the events of Good Friday, John records an event in the life of Jesus when Greek men came and sought him out. The arrival of these men has a trigger for Jesus that the ‘hour’ had come, that the cross was near, but what did the arrival of these men signify?  What was John saying about what was before Jesus? And, was it ‘all over’ once that has taken place?

Rev Philip Burns preaches from John 12:9-19 concerning Palm Sunday. While all the gospels report the events of Palm Sunday, John highlights Jesus as the centre of the crowd’s attention, the fulfillment of the prophet Zechariah’s prediction and the willing servant who came to do the Father’s will. Getting on a donkey may not be that impressive in itself, but getting of a cross is quite another! By riding as he did into Jerusalem, Jesus set his face toward the cross and obeying the Father’s will to the utmost