Luminaries throughout the ages have admired Jesus as a teacher of ethics and a model of true morality. But the events remembered during the Easter season reveal that Jesus is far more than just a great philosopher or moral example. Jesus tells us that He did not come to live as heroic figure or to merely disseminate enlightening ideas but to die as humble servant scorned by humanity. “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour,” Jesus says. He knew what His followers would soon learn: through His dying and rising, the human race can not only come to understand who God truly is, we are forgiven and empowered to participate in an entirely new kind of life. Jesus’ death and resurrection literally changes everything.
Join us over the next four weeks as we explore the narrative at the heart of the Gospel and the words of Jesus that help us to understand what God is up to as He works to restore this broken world.
In John 12:1-19 we are told that the glorification of Jesus illuminates every other aspect of the Gospel.
In John 12:20-36 Jesus explains that His death was designed to bring humanity to faith in God.
In John 13:1-17 Jesus embodies the heart of God by serving his students by washing their feet.
In John 20:19-29 Jesus rejuvenates the faith of those who felt disappointed with God.
Todd Stout
Senior Pastor
Church of the Advent Hope, New York
The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
The New Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of John (Volume 2) by William Barclay
The IVP Bible Background Commentary by Craig S. Keener
For All God’s Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church by N.T. Wright
John for Everyone Part 2, Chapters 11–21 by N.T. Wright