Read John 4:46–54. What problem brought the official to Jesus, and what was the real underlying issue here?
This man came to Jesus, the Light of the world, but he had made up his mind to believe only if Jesus healed his child. We could say this man’s theology was a “theology from below.” Theology from below sets rules and standards for God and His Word. Human ideas, as flawed and as limited and as subjective as they are, become the final authority on how people interpret the Word of God. What a dangerous trap to fall into!
The world is in darkness; it shuns the light and cannot, on its own, find its way to the true God, the personal God of Creation, revelation, and Redemption.
Read John 21:20–22. What question led Peter down a wrong path? How did Jesus straighten the path?
Jesus had just restored Peter to ministry and told him, “Follow me” (John 21:19). It was probably an actual physical following of Jesus down the beach. And that is because Peter turns and sees John following Jesus as well, and he inquires about John. “ ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ ” (John 21:21, NKJV).
Read John 21:1–19. What crucial truths are revealed here, especially about God’s grace—and human humility?
John 20 ends with the purpose of the book, which would be the logical place to conclude, but there is one more chapter. Chapter 21 begins with some of the disciples back in Galilee, with Peter suggesting a night on the lake. It looks as though old times have returned, and the disciples are back to their old trade, fishing. But they catch nothing that night.
“ ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” (John 5:39, NKJV).
John’s Gospel, like Mark’s, ends with a meeting in Galilee. This final lesson on John deals with that meeting but integrates it with the theme of how we know Jesus and the Word of God—a concept that runs through the fourth Gospel.
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘It Is Finished,’ ” pp. 758–764; “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” pp. 779–787; and “ ‘Why Weepest Thou?’ ” pp. 788–794, in The Desire of Ages. See also, Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2020).
Read John 20:11–13. What happened here that shows why Mary Magdalene still did not understand the meaning of the empty tomb?
The last reference to Mary in the text before this one is her telling Peter and John about the empty tomb (John 20:2). They ran to the tomb, and she came back there a little later. After Peter and John inspected the tomb, they left it. But Mary returned and, weeping, lingered there. No doubt she had done a great deal of crying during the last few days. And now—this as well? Stooping over, she looked inside.
Read John 20:1–7. What is the importance to us about what is depicted in these verses?
Jesus died late on a Friday afternoon and rose early on Sunday. Because the Sabbath was near when He was buried (John 19:42), the burial process was done hastily and not completely. However much they loved Jesus, His followers kept the Sabbath day and did not go to the tomb (compare with Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56). After the Sabbath, a number of women bought spices to the tomb on Sunday morning. To their shock, the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty.
As John 19:17–22 shows, Pilate wrote an inscription in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew that said, “ ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’ ” (John 19:19, ESV). The religious leaders wanted it changed. Pilate would have none of it, and the inscription remained, a mute witness to the truth about Jesus and one of the markers that Jesus is enthroned on the cross as the King. Here was Jesus, truly their King, the King of the Jews, hanging on a cross like a common criminal.
