• What different emotions do you think the woman felt over the course of her discussion with Jesus?

• What do verses 31-38 have to do with the rest of the chapter?

• Read Psalm 63. How does this relate to what Jesus says about thirsting and drinking?

• The Samaritans from the town believed because of the woman’s testimony, and the official’s household believed even though Jesus never came to the house. Do you really think that something like that is possible with your hometown and family?

  Optional extra content: Listen to the hymn “Jesus, Lover of my Soul” by Charles Wesley (here, performed by the church group Providence). Pay particular attention to the third verse and think of how it relates to John 4: “Thou of life the fountain art; freely let me take of thee! / Spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity!”

Chapter 5

• The man was an invalid for 38 years before Jesus healed him! Are there any areas of prolonged suffering in your life? How would your answer to Jesus’ question in verse 6 compare with the man’s answer?

• Verse 19 begins with the connecting word “So.” What argument is Jesus making in verses 19-47, and how does it address what happened in the first half of the chapter?

• Does the way that Jesus talks about God the Father and God the Son seem natural to you? Why or why not?

Chapter 6

• What does the “feeding the five thousand” passage teach us about Jesus?

• From verse 26 onwards can be a little dense! Try making a list of all the verbs Jesus uses with respect to us, and all the verbs Jesus uses with respect to God. What main ideas is Jesus talking about?

• Based on what Jesus says in this passage, what does it mean to eat the bread of life, and how do you do it?

• Are there any verses in this chapter that are particularly encouraging to you? Try to memorize them!

Optional Extra Content: Poem - John Newton’s The Disciples at Sea

Optional Extra Content: Healing at the Pool at Bethesda - Tyndale House

John 7 Questions

There is one verse that captures an important theme in John 7. Matthew 10:34 says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Throughout this chapter we see Jesus create division as He is persecuted by the Jewish leaders (even literally with a “sword” as the leaders were trying to kill him) and rejected by many for speaking the truth. However, we see Jesus use this opportunity to point to the Father, the one who sent Him, to both respond to the people’s doubting and glorify Him (v. 28). In Chapter 8, we see Jesus go on to describe the Father as His second witness (v. 18), and he quotes Deuteronomy 19 to establish that two witnesses is enough to establish truth (v. 17). Because Jesus is living in perfect obedience to His Father, the testimony of Jesus is consistent and trustworthy. Consequently, Jesus sets an example of how we, as His followers, should respond to criticism, doubt, or persecution from the World; this is with a heart of obedience towards our King and by giving glory to the Alpha and the Omega.

• What persecution have you experienced for following Jesus?

• Matthew 5:11 says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” What are some practical steps you can take to encourage yourself and/or others of this hope in Christ that we have in the midst of difficult times or persecution? 

John 8 Questions

In this chapter Jesus boldly confronts the Pharisees with the truth of the Gospel. Many in the crowd believed (v. 30), yet we see Jesus continue to be persecuted by the people, even having stones thrown at Him as He leaves the temple (v. 59). Jesus’s boldness for the Gospel in the face of adversity is evidence for verse 28, that He does nothing of His own authority. In His ministry, Jesus was fully obedient to God in His actions and trusted God with the results, whether the results that He saw were being stoned as he went out of the temple or having many in the crowd believe.

• What are some situations you are in on a regular basis (or over the break) where the expectations of the world don’t align with God’s? 

• Have you ever had a friend you were praying for or sharing the Gospel with and it didn’t turn out how you wanted? What are some truths or passages in the Bible you can turn to for encouragement?

  Optional extra content: Read the article “Your Sin is Not What You Think” by John Piper

John 9 Questions

As Jesus performs a miracle by giving sight to a blind man, He continues to demonstrate His heavenly authority and what it means to follow Him. This chapter highlights how the Pharisees take pride in their “religiosity,” or their false presumption that having more scriptural knowledge makes them inherently them more righteous, blinds them from the work that God is doing right in front of them. When the Pharisees are interrogating the man who had been blind, he gives a testimony of who Jesus is and what He did for him, stating “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (v. 32-33). Yet, the Pharisees quickly dismiss his first-hand perspective that is glorifying to Jesus, citing how the man was “born in utter sin” and has the audacity to “teach us” (v. 34). For giving his honest testimony of what Jesus did, the man who had been blind ends up facing excommunication from the synagogue, a consequence that we see many believers in Jesus are not willing to take on because “they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43). We see the man almost instantly recognize Jesus as Lord, while the Pharisees hate anyone who associates themselves with Him. At the end of the chapter, Jesus addresses this paradox (that the more “religious” or “knowledgeable” group is the one to actually hate His righteousness) by proclaiming, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” Jesus is not referring to physical blindness; he is referring to spiritual blindness. As said in Ecclesiastes 1:18, “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” If the Pharisees knew only how much they didn’t know and came with humility before God and trusted in His righteousness, Jesus wais saying their sins would be forgiven. But as long as they hadve their faith in their own righteousness, they weare destined to much sorrow and no forgiveness.

• Have you ever been tempted away from Jesus and towards “religiosity” like the Pharisees? What are some practical steps to stay “grounded” in a way that is glorifying to Christ?

John 10 Questions

In verse 7, Jesus calls Himself the “gate for the sheep” and in verse 11 “the good shepherd.” What does He mean when He gives Himself these titles? What does this mean about how we relate to Him as “sheep”?

Reread verse 16. What do you think Jesus means when He talks about the “other sheep that are not of this fold”? (Hint: Galatians 3:26-29) As gentiles we were all at one time outside of Christ’s fold. Who in your life doesn’t believe in Jesus or feels far from Jesus? Pray for them.

Reread verses 25-30. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” What does it mean to hear Jesus’ voice? (You can look other passages in scripture like Psalm 119:9-116). In what ways have you struggled with this (past or present)? In what ways can you be more attentive to what Jesus is saying to you? Pray over this.

Optional Extra Content: Moving Works Missions Movie - Not by Sight in reflection on John 9

In verses 11:9-10, Jesus says, “If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” What do you think Jesus means when he talks about walking in the daytime, and what does it mean for you to walk in the light in your own life? (See 1 John 1:5-10)

Reread verses 10:32-37. This section describes Jesus being “deeply moved” by the sorrow of His friends.  What does this tell us about Jesus’ nature as a human although he is also the Son of God? What can passage this tell us about the way Jesus sees us and the sorrows in our lives?

Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead. Earlier, in verses 10:25-26 of this passage, Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” In the same way that Jesus has brought Lazarus back from his physical death, He also has brought us back from our spiritual death. What can this passage and other parts of scripture (such as John 3) tell us about this? Pray and thank God for his power over death!

Reread verses 11:1-8, specifically with a focus on verses 7 and 8. What do you think Jesus means when he talks about the “day of my burial”? In what ways can we give up what is valuable to us to Jesus in the way that Mary did?

In verse 11:25, Jesus says, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Based on this passage and other things we know from scripture, what does this verse mean for us in our walk with Jesus? Pray about this.

In verse 11:46, Jesus says, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” In what areas has Jesus brought light into your world after following? (John 1:1-14) In what ways is it still tempting to stay in the darkness? (John 3:19) Pray over these things and thank God for the light he provides us.

Optional extra content: Poem - The Raising of Lazarus by Franz Wright‍ ‍

Optional extra content: Art - Raising of Lazarus by Rembrandt

For the next few questions, you may want a blank piece of paper and something to write with.

Look back at Jesus’ “I am” statements in the Gospel of John (6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). Which of these statements is most memorable to you? Which seems most important in your life right now?

Refresh yourself on the last two chapters of John’s Gospel. The disciple Thomas’ story is a good pointer toward belief; Peter’s story, at the end, is a good pointer toward repentance. 1 John 1:9 says, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What do you need to repent from, to turn to God in belief? If you’re able, pray to him now for those things.

John’s Gospel has shown Jesus’ ability to heal diseases, cure spiritual sickness, defeat demons, and even raise from the dead. When people saw these things, the right response was to go away rejoicing and praising God. What has God done in your life, over the last semester or during winter break, which you can thank/praise him for? 

Look back at the examples Jesus gives of prayer to the Father (namely in ch. 17). Of course we cannot follow Jesus’ example perfectly in all things, since he is perfect and is God. Nonetheless, which parts of his example could you follow today?

Take some time to pray to God about all of these things. Praise him for his righteous character; thank him for his mercy on us despite our sinfulness; repent / ask for forgiveness for your shortcomings; and ask him to help you going into this next semester.

We will likewise be praying for you, as we all kick off Spring 2027 at UT! See you soon! :)

Find a community to corporately worship with today.

Have a good semester! Pray today and commit your semester to the Lord.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” (Psalm 37:4-6 ESV)