After some Greek men sought an audience with Jesus, He then began to speak openly about his imminent death. He spoke of it in terms of a seed that dies and in dying brings forth fruit and of being ‘lifted up’ as so drawing all types of men to himself. The Greek men were serious, persistent and believing, unlike the Jews whom Jesus then denounced for their stubborn unbelief. The death of Jesus continues to demand a response from people. Either we come seeking Him as Saviour in faith or we will end up facing Him as Judge.

Following the raising of Lazarus, a dinner was held at his home at which Jesus was present. The dinner would have been interesting to be at – for there was a man who had been dead sitting next to a mean who would soon be dead. At this dinner, Lazarus’ sister Mary showed her gratitude to Jesus by an extravagant gift of perfume upon his feet, while Judas was revealed to be far more interested in the money he could have got from the perfume. Meanwhile the Jewish authorities continued to reject Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God and so determined to put Jesus and Lazarus to death – in order to get rid of the evidence that would support this claim.

After claiming to be the ‘Good Shepherd’ who loves and dies for His sheep, Jesus went on to speak about the eternal security of His sheep. Because He is God and by His death saves His sheep completely, he can say that none of His sheep will be lost. Such truths are of great comfort to the believer, but also should cause discomfort to those who do not believe. If there is no salvation outside of Jesus, then no man or woman can have any hope of eternal security without belonging to Him.

After healing the man born blind in chapter 9, the conversation that Jesus had with the Pharisees centred upon the imagery of shepherds and sheep. The Pharisees’ actions in throwing out the man proved that they were not shepherds of God’s people. Jesus, however, claimed to be the one who truly loves the sheep by laying down his life for them. There is only one Good Shepherd who saves all who come to Him in faith. There is no other way of entering into the Kingdom of God.

After declaring that he was the ‘light of the world’ in chapter 8, Jesus then illustrated this by means of healing the man born blind in chapter 9. Though the man received his sight and his spiritual sight, the miracle not only confirmed Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah, but also revealed the hardened state of the hearts of the Pharisees who could only dismiss the miracle on the grounds that it had been done on a Sabbath. In doing so, they ignored the testimony of the formerly blind man which was, ‘I only know that I was blind, but now I can see’.

In John 8:31-59 Jesus was unafraid to speak openly about His claims to the Pharisees even though it cut across their understanding of truth. In a long debate between Jesus and the Pharisees, Jesus made some very significant claims as to His divinity, especially claiming to have lived long before Abraham, and that though the Pharisees claimed to be descended from Abraham, this did not make them right with God.  Salvation comes through faith in Jesus not by the process of birth.

In John 8:12-30, Jesus claimed to be ‘The Light of the world’. In doing so, He made clear his identity as the Messiah, pointed out the darkness that lived in the hearts of those who refused to believe in Him, and encouraged those who believe him to follow Him in the light He gives. Jesus also taught that His disciples are also ‘the light of the world’ who are in the world to reflect His light to many who walk in darkness.

At the Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem, Jesus found himself in ‘the hot seat’. The religious authorities wanted to kill him and the crowds were divided about who He was. However Jesus spoke and made His identity clear to all, gave an indication of His departure from earth and spoke of the ministry of the Holy Spirit who would come and fill our greatest thirst. Despite facing such tension, Jesus issued a challenge to all who heard him to believe in Him and find the true source satisfaction in life.

When Jesus’ brothers encouraged him to attend the Jewish celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem, they did so for the wrong reasons. Their hope was that Jesus would make a name for himself and become some kind of celebrity figure. However, when Jesus attended the Feast, he did so on the quiet, yet continued to teach about himself quite openly. This led to a division among the crowds. Some thought him a madman, others said he was a good man. Varieties of opinions about Jesus continue to cause confusion today. In the midst of this uncertainty Jesus made his identity clear and remained determined to do the will of God and not the will of man.

When the crowds began to walk away from Jesus because of a hard saying, the Twelve were asked if they would also like to leave him. It was a watershed moment for the disciples. Peter replied that they had found something unique in Jesus – that His words had eternal quality – and that they could never leave him. Jesus, however, pointed out that one of the Twelve (Judas) was a traitor. Some who heard Jesus dismissed his words. Others hung on to them as life itself. Judas heard but did not believe. In which group do you belong?