Themes in the Gospel of John

In Cana of Galilee, Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding, the first of his signs. The disciples believe in him.

Explore how justice and love shape healthy, multi-layered relationships across home, work, and society, and how the church and the gospel guide reconciliation.

Jesus prays for God to keep believers from the evil one and set them apart in your word, the truth, so the world may see one in glory and love.

Explore how the gospel heals broken relationships through Jesus’ love, the foot washing at the last supper, and the command to love one another, guiding believers toward unity.

Explore the true vine in John 15, where the father prunes and cuts branches, and remain in Christ to bear fruit that lasts and love one another as chosen friends.

Explore how the church heals relationships across ethnic, class, and social boundaries through love and unity, modeling a new way of being human.

Jesus cleanses Jerusalem's temple at the Judean Passover, drives out money changers, and declares the temple of his body will be raised in three days; his disciples remember and believe.

Explore how modern culture longs for spirituality beyond materialism, and how the gospel of John presents true spirituality as a gift rooted in Jesus's overflowing love, not private feeling.

Jesus speaks with a Samaritan woman at the well, offering living water that quenches thirst, and proclaims true worship in spirit and truth.

Jesus invites the thirsty to come to him and receive living water through the Spirit promised to believers after his glorification, while the crowd debates messiah, prophecies, and Bethlehem lineage.

John presents humans as living at the overlap of heaven and earth, with Jesus as the true image guiding living water, light, and spirit toward new creation.

Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath after 38 years, provoking Judean persecution and claiming work with the Father and equality with God.

Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb as Peter and the disciple inspect the folded napkin and linen cloths, signaling the master's resurrection, then Jesus appears and Mary tells the disciples.

Jesus appears to fearful disciples and offers peace. He shows his hands and side, breathes the Holy Spirit, and sends them to forgive sins as the Father sent him.

Thomas doubts until Jesus invites him to inspect his wounds, then proclaims faith. Jesus blesses those who believe without sight and indicates these signs lead to life in his name.

Explore how John's gospel invites a heaven–earth spirituality today, following Jesus who says come and see, worshiping in the temple-sabbath frame, and living new creation through signs, prayer, and compassion.

Jesus arrives in Bethany, proclaims the resurrection and life, raises Lazarus, and prompts belief among the crowd while some go to the Pharisees.

Explore how beauty reveals God in creation, scripture, and art, and why beauty without God leads to darkness, with the Gospel pointing to a permanent reality.

Wash the disciples' feet at supper, demonstrating servant leadership and love as Jesus does and foreshadowing the betrayal by Judas.

Explore how the gospel of John frames glory as both divine radiance and authority, revealing Jesus as walking temple and source of beauty through love, resurrection, and new creation.

Pilate questions Jesus about being king, and Jesus declares his kingdom is not of this world but founded on truth. The crowd rejects him and asks to release Barabbas instead.

The lecture argues that beauty belongs in worship and culture, portraying art, music, and liturgy as signposts to the gospel and a call for Christians to be world makers.

Explore the paradox of freedom by showing how authentic liberty requires discipline and purpose within social and historical contexts, from ancient empires to Jewish and Christian visions.

Explore the cross in John 19:25-36 as Jesus entrusts his mother to the disciple he specially loved and fulfills scripture, declaring 'it is finished' after drinking sour wine.

John frames the gospel around the Passover, presenting Jesus as freedom beyond Moses' law, in grace and truth, with the Holy Spirit building a tabernacle community freed from sin.

Jesus teaches that loving him means keeping his commands, the Spirit of Truth will be with you and in you, and you will know I am in the Father.

Explore how freedom intertwines with responsibility in John's gospel, contrasting Jesus's sovereign freedom with Pilate's constraint, and highlighting vocation, worship, and the call to new tasks.

Engage with how truth becomes precarious in postmodernity, from fake news to verification forms, and distinguish objective reality from personal truth, culminating in Jesus as the truth.

Examine how John 19:1-16 portrays Pilate's interrogation, Jesus' silence, and the crowd's insistence on crucifixion, culminating in handing Jesus over to be crucified.

Explore how John presents Jesus as the embodiment of grace and truth, the Spirit of Truth empowering believers to inhabit the new world and become truth tellers within creation.

Jesus proclaims he is the gate and the good shepherd who knows his sheep, offers abundant life, and protects them from thieves and hired servants.

The session frames the church as a truth-telling community that uses history and science with hypothesis and verification to speak truth to power through grace in Jesus and the gospel.

Explore how power works, the call to serve orphans and widows, and the dangers of corruption, as discussed in session nineteen of themes in the gospel of John.

Reveal the power of self-giving love in John, where God's lamb takes away the world's sin and shifts power from the cross to the commissioning of the disciples.

Explore Jesus' threefold question to Peter in John 21:15-22, commands to feed my lambs and sheep, and the death by which Peter would bring God glory; follow me.

Examine a fresh vision of power in John's gospel, shaped by the cross, highlighting cruciform theocracy, humble service, suffering love, and the church's role in justice, healing, and outreach.