Same Feet, Different Faith
Sermon notes from Dr. E. Dewey Smith at One Community Church, following Mary's journey from the Word to weeping to worship at the feet of Jesus.
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Same Feet, Different Faith
Dr. E. Dewey Smith
One Community Church
The theme is faith that shows up. Through Mary's encounters with Jesus, we see a progression of faith: the same feet, but a different posture and a different experience.
Luke 10:39
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39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.
John 11:32
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32 When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Different Lenses on Jesus
Each Gospel writer presents a different aspect of Jesus:
- Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah King.
- Mark presents Jesus as the suffering servant.
- Luke presents Jesus as a strong man.
- John presents Jesus as the Son of God.
We can also learn about Jesus through the significance of his body.
His Presence, Perception, and Proclamation
- His face represents presence: the illuminating presence of the Lord.
- His eyes represent perception: he sees our circumstances and our needs.
- His mouth represents proclamation: when he speaks, storms become silent and the dead can rise.
Jesus saw Zacchaeus. He saw the woman who had been bent over for eighteen years. He sees beyond our faults to our needs.
Luke 13
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1 At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2 To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate?
3 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
7 So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.
9 If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’”
10 One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
11 and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.
12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.”
13 Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.
14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
15 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?
16 Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
17 When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
19 It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
22 Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way toward Jerusalem.
23 “Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?” Jesus answered,
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
25 After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’
28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
30 And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”
31 At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”
32 But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’
33 Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
2 To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate?
3 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?
5 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
7 So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.
9 If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’”
10 One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
11 and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.
12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.”
13 Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.
14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
15 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?
16 Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
17 When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
19 It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
22 Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way toward Jerusalem.
23 “Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?” Jesus answered,
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
25 After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’
28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
30 And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”
31 At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”
32 But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’
33 Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
John 1:1
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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
His Heart, Hands, and Side
- His heart represents purity: God's heart toward us is for a future and an expected end.
- His hands represent power: healing hands, power, and provision.
- His pierced side represents atonement: redemption and reconciliation with God.
Jeremiah 29
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1 This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2 (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)
3 The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
4 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.
6 Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.
7 Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.
9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
10 For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
15 Because you may say, “The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,”
16 this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—
17 this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.
18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
19 I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened, declares the LORD.”
20 So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
22 Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’
23 For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
24 You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that
25 this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
26 ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.
27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?
28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”
29 (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)
30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
32 this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
2 (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)
3 The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
4 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.
6 Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.
7 Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.
9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
10 For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
15 Because you may say, “The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,”
16 this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—
17 this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.
18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
19 I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened, declares the LORD.”
20 So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
22 Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’
23 For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
24 You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that
25 this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
26 ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.
27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?
28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”
29 (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)
30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
32 this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
But What About His Feet?
The feet of Jesus speak to our positioning and our posture. We should be positioned at his feet.
Many of us want to be near his hand because we want provision: bills paid, relationships restored, and desires fulfilled. But Mary repeatedly appears at his feet.
Her faith journey is revealed through that consistent position.
1. She Shares Her Concerns
Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Their home in Bethany was a place where he visited and received their ministry.
Previously, Martha had been preparing a meal while Mary sat at his feet. Now their brother Lazarus is sick, and the sisters send word to Jesus.
They bring the illness of someone he loves to his attention.
John 11:3-5
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3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
4 When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Share Your Heart Without Dictating the Outcome
The sisters do not explicitly ask for a miracle, healing, or even his arrival. They share their concern.
Sometimes our responsibility is to tell God how we feel and allow him to determine how he will act.
There is nothing wrong with a specific request. But sharing our concerns also means being willing to accept God's sovereign intervention rather than insisting on our own response and timetable.
Proverbs 3:5
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5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
His Delay Does Not Disconnect His Love
Jesus loves this family, yet he stays two more days after hearing that Lazarus is sick.
Why is his love connected to delay?
We often measure God's love by whether he provides in the way we want. But maturing faith learns to worship even when his response does not match our expectations.
If he shows up, I'll bless him. If he's delayed, I'll bless him. His hand is not what matters most. Let me remain at his feet.
He Responded to Others
The earlier chapters of John make this delay difficult to understand:
- At a wedding in Cana, Jesus turns water into wine and spares a couple embarrassment.
- He heals a man who had been by a pool for thirty-eight years.
- He feeds a hungry crowd with two fish and five barley loaves.
- He extends forgiveness to a woman caught in adultery.
- He gives sight to a man born blind.
Mary could reasonably have expected him to respond to the family he loved. Yet when he arrives, Lazarus has been dead four days.
John 2
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1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
8 “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,
9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
10 and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. But you have saved the fine wine until now!”
11 Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this, He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples, and they stayed there a few days.
13 When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.
15 So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
16 To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
18 On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
20 “This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”
21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.
22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
23 While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.
24 But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.
25 He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.
2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
8 “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,
9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
10 and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. But you have saved the fine wine until now!”
11 Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this, He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples, and they stayed there a few days.
13 When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables.
15 So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
16 To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
18 On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
20 “This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”
21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.
22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
23 While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.
24 But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.
25 He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.
John 6
BSB
1 After this, Jesus crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias).
2 A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick.
3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.
4 Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
6 But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.
7 Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
9 “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
10 “Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
12 And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
15 Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet gone out to them.
18 A strong wind was blowing, and the sea grew agitated.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.
20 But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”
21 Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but they had gone away alone.
23 However, some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Him.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
28 Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
29 Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
30 So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.”
35 Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
36 But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.
37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
40 For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42 They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied.
44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
46 not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
47 Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
52 At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
57 Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?
62 Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
64 However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)
65 Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
66 From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
67 So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69 We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God. ”
70 Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”
71 He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.
2 A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs He was performing on the sick.
3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples.
4 Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
6 But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.
7 Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piece.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
9 “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
10 “Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
12 And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
15 Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet gone out to them.
18 A strong wind was blowing, and the sea grew agitated.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.
20 But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”
21 Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but they had gone away alone.
23 However, some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Him.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
28 Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
29 Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
30 So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.”
35 Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
36 But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe.
37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
40 For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42 They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied.
44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
46 not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
47 Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
52 At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
57 Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?
62 Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
64 However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)
65 Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
66 From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
67 So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69 We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God. ”
70 Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”
71 He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.
John 8
BSB
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them.
3 The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them
4 and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?”
6 They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.
7 When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.”
8 And again He bent down and wrote on the ground.
9 When they heard this, they began to go away one by one, beginning with the older ones, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there.
10 Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”
12 Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going.
15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.
16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me.
17 Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.
18 I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me.”
19 “Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.”
20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
21 Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
23 Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 “Who are You?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied.
26 “I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that He was telling them about the Father.
28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.
29 He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”
30 As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
31 So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you.
38 I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.
41 You are doing the works of your father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!
46 Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?
47 Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
50 I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge.
51 Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
52 “Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’
55 You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”
58 “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am! ”
59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
2 Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them.
3 The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them
4 and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?”
6 They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.
7 When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.”
8 And again He bent down and wrote on the ground.
9 When they heard this, they began to go away one by one, beginning with the older ones, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there.
10 Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”
12 Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going.
15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.
16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me.
17 Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.
18 I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me.”
19 “Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.”
20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
21 Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
23 Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 “Who are You?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied.
26 “I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that He was telling them about the Father.
28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.
29 He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”
30 As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
31 So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you.
38 I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.
41 You are doing the works of your father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!
46 Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?
47 Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
50 I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge.
51 Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
52 “Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’
55 You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”
58 “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am! ”
59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
John 9
BSB
1 Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth,
2 and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.
4 While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
7 Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
12 “Where is He?” they asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.
15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
16 Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them.
17 So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.
18 The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents
19 and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”
20 His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind.
21 But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
23 That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”
26 “What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?”
27 He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”
30 “That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
32 Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”
34 They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.”
37 “You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.”
38 “Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
41 “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
2 and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.
4 While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
7 Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
12 “Where is He?” they asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.
15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
16 Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them.
17 So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.
18 The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents
19 and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”
20 His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind.
21 But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
23 That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”
26 “What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?”
27 He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”
30 “That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
32 Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”
34 They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.”
37 “You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.”
38 “Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
41 “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
John 11:20
BSB
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home.
2. She Sits Because She Has No Control
When Jesus arrives, Mary remains seated in the house.
It is easy to assume she is angry or refusing to speak to him. But perhaps she is exhausted. She has prayed, hoped, waited, and buried her brother.
Life will bring circumstances you cannot do anything about except sit in them.
Sometimes faith needs a moment to process what has happened.
Grief Cannot Always Be Outrun
Dr. Smith shares the loss of his godmother, mother, best friend from college, and sister within twenty-eight days.
There were four caskets, four obituaries, four cemetery plots, and four eulogies. Staying busy became a way to avoid sitting with the pain.
He describes trying so hard to be the preacher that he did not allow himself to be a son. But grief caught up with him through depression, difficulty getting out of bed, and the ache of holidays without his mother.
Knowing his mother was in heaven did not remove the pain of her absence here.
Relinquish Control
Being a person of faith does not mean life will not hurt. Being a leader does not put everything within your control.
Busyness, shopping, alcohol, and a smiling appearance can become ways of masking pain rather than facing it.
Sitting with what has happened can become a first step toward healing: acknowledging that you have exhausted your possibilities and must trust God with what is beyond you.
Stop trying to figure everything out. Let God meet you with his presence and the assurance that you are not alone.
The Illustration of the Struggling Swimmer
Dr. Smith recounts a story attributed to Watchman about a struggling swimmer and a lifeguard. He uses the swimmer's exhaustion and rescue as an illustration of surrender.
The sermon's point is that frantic effort can keep us trying to control what we cannot resolve. Surrender acknowledges that our own strength is exhausted.
God, take the wheel of my life. You are not my co-pilot. You are Lord.
3. At His Feet in Conflict
When Mary comes to Jesus, she falls at his feet in grief over her brother's death.
In Luke, she was at his feet hearing the Word. Now she is at those same feet weeping.
She is living between what she knows of Jesus and the reality of her broken heart. Faith does not mean that tension disappears.
Same feet. Different posture. Different faith.
Job 13:15
BSB
15 Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
Job 14:14
BSB
14 When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait,
until my renewal comes.
Show Me Where You Have Laid Him
Jesus asks to be taken to Lazarus's tomb. The family knows Lazarus has been dead four days and that his body has begun to decay.
But their lack of answers does not mean Jesus lacks a solution.
Jesus calls for the stone to be moved. Those standing nearby must participate by moving what stands before the grave.
John 11:39
BSB
39 “Take away the stone,” Jesus said.
“Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
A Word at the Tomb
Jesus calls Lazarus out, and Lazarus comes forth.
The same mouth that speaks with power speaks into this family's grief.
Mary did not know how Jesus would respond. She could not control the outcome. Yet the one at whose feet she wept had power even over the grave.
A Delay for a Wonder
Dr. Smith explains the four-day delay against a first-century belief that a deceased person's spirit could remain near the body for three days.
He contrasts Lazarus's resurrection with the raising of a young girl and a widow's son, whose deaths others might dispute.
In the sermon's explanation, the fourth day leaves no room to dismiss the miracle. The delay is not presented as punishment for something Mary did wrong, but as the setting for a wonder that gives God the glory.
John 12:3
BSB
3 Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
At His Feet Again
After Lazarus's resurrection, Jesus withdraws to Ephraim. He later returns, six days before Passover, for a dinner.
Martha is there. Mary is there. Lazarus, who has been raised from the dead, is there.
Mary takes costly spikenard, anoints Jesus's feet, and wipes them with her hair.
Once again, she is at his feet, but now her posture is worship.
1 Corinthians 11:15
BSB
15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
Her Glory at His Feet
Dr. Smith draws attention to the significance of Mary's hair. What Paul calls a woman's glory is placed at the feet of Jesus.
Mary's action becomes a picture of surrendering personal glory to the one who deserves all glory, honor, and praise.
At the feet of Jesus, I put my glory before the one who is due all glory.
From the Word to Weeping to Worship
- Luke 10:39: learning at his feet, receiving the Word.
- John 11:32: leaning at his feet, weeping.
- John 12:3: lavishing his feet, worshiping.
Our faith grows, moves, and progresses. The experience changes, but the position remains.
Whatever you do, do not lose your posture at the feet of Jesus.
You Do Not Have to Hide the Tears
Some are at his feet receiving the Word. Others are at his feet weeping.
Dr. Smith challenges the masks people wear in church: appearing to have everything together while hiding grief, conflict, and pain.
Being saved does not mean you never struggle. Take off the costume. Allow yourself to weep.
If we stay at his feet together, he can move us from the Word through weeping into worship.
Consecration for What He Has Done
Mary pours out ointment worth a year's income. Dr. Smith presents her worship as an act of deep consecration.
First, she worships because of what Jesus has already done. Her brother, dead for four days, has been brought back to life.
In chapter 12, she can praise him for his provision in chapter 11.
Look back over the previous chapter of your life. Remember the ways God has made, the needs he has met, and the doors he has opened.
Consecration for What Is Ahead
Dr. Smith also connects the anointing with burial preparation. Mary's worship in chapter 12 points toward Jesus's death in chapter 19.
He presents her consecration as gratitude for what Jesus has done and worship in anticipation of what he is going to do.
The movement is from remembered provision to expectant worship.
John 19
BSB
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.
2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
3 And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.
4 Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
7 “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,
9 and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer.
10 So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
14 It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
15 At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
16 Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away.
17 Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.”
27 Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.
28 After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.
31 It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
35 The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
36 Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”
37 And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
38 Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body.
39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
41 Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.
2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
3 And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.
4 Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
7 “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,
9 and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer.
10 So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
14 It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
15 At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
16 Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away.
17 Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.”
27 Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.
28 After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.
31 It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
35 The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
36 Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”
37 And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
38 Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body.
39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
41 Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.
Stay at His Feet
Stay in his Word. Allow yourself to weep. Give him worship.
Frustration and struggle do not have to change your position.
The faith may be different. The circumstances may be different. But stay at the same feet.
Do not wait until the battle is over to give God praise.
