Read John 1:35-42, John 20:11-18
If you have a bible that highlights Jesus’ words with red letters, you’ll notice that these verses contain Jesus’ first words in the gospel of John and his first words after his crucifixion and resurrection. Interestingly, both sets of first words contain the same question from Jesus: What or whom are you seeking? And each question is followed by an invitation to meet with Jesus.
Some two thousand years later, the question and the invitation still stand. If you are seeking Jesus, he wants you to come and spend time with him. That’s exactly what we’ll do as you work through this bible study, reading about him and answering the questions below.
In this passage, what does Jesus demonstrate power over?
When he speaks to his disciples, what characteristic does he value that they are lacking?
How do the disciples react to Jesus being Lord over creation?
The disciples go from a disaster movie to a horror film when they disembark. What does Jesus demonstrate power over in this passage?
Notice how Jesus engages the man, asks questions and has a conversation. How is this different from popular views of Jesus?
How did the towns people react to Jesus’ Lordship over demonic forces?
In this passage Jesus demonstrates power over sickness and even death. A great crowd is following him. Do you think the crowd is faithful? Why or why not?
Jesus is personal and doesn’t rush when talking to the bleeding woman. What did he want to make sure she knew?
How does the crowd respond after Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead?
When Jesus goes to his hometown are the people faithful? Why or why not?
The people who think they know Jesus the best are often the most wrong about who he really is? How can you avoid misconceptions about Jesus?
How is Jesus limited by their lack of faith?
[Video – I love these chapters because the picture of Jesus that is painted by the bible is nothing like the pop culture idea of Jesus today. He’s often portrayed as weak and frail but in these passages he’s so strong that it scares people. He’s humble but he’s also totally in control.
In each passage there is a response to Jesus – fear, astonishment, doubt, rejection, or faith -We seen that Jesus is Lord over creation, the wind and the waves obey him, he’s Lord over demonic forces, even the demons submit, he has the ability to heal even the worst illnesses and even death bows before him. When we see that Jesus is Lord over all of this, I guess the question that we have to ask ourselves is how will we respond? Will we make him Lord of our lives or will we reject him like those in his hometown did? Let’s keep reading and see the best possible response – it’s this thing called discipleship – we’ll study out what discipleship means in our next study]
Jesus gives them authority like he demonstrated in the last chapter. What does this tell you about the power that Christ’s followers have?
Why do you think he sends them out with nothing to aid them in their journey? Who will they have to rely on to keep warm and well fed?
Why do you think they were told to stay for a long time in any house that would accept them? What does this teach us about how we should go about teaching the gospel today?
You’ve just taken Jesus up on his offer to come and see what a day with him is like. Is this what you expected? You’ve seen the various reactions that people have toward Jesus. How will you respond?
In what ways does Jesus make you afraid like the disciples on the boat and the townspeople on the shore?
What doubts do you have about Jesus or about yourself and your ability to follow him?
Is there any area of your life that you aren’t letting Jesus have Lordship over?
What would it be like for you if you spent every day with Jesus?