S – This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he listens to him. 32 Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.” 
John 9:30–33 CSB

O – Commentary:
The beggar proceeded to teach them since they admitted ignorance of Jesus’ origin. The irony is strong for the reader knows His origin (1:14, 18). According to the beggar’s logic, this miracle was notable and unique. He said that no one had ever heard of … a man born blind receiving sight. He reasoned that God grants not the requests of sinners but those of the righteous (cf. Elijah, James 5:16–18). Therefore this Man, he said, is from God. Otherwise He could do no miracles.
 E “John,” (https://ref.ly/logosres/bkc?ref=Bible.Jn9.30-33&off=9&ctx=9%3a30%E2%80%9333.+~The+beggar+proceeded+to+teach+t) in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – The Bible talks about how the “foolish will confound the wise.”  This passage illustrates this.  The learned teachers of the Jewish faith could not fathom the simplicity of God using Jesus to do a miracle. Or, they didn’t want to believe it so they rationalized it away.  This happens today.  We overcomplicate situations that God is working in our lives.  Or, we don’t like the results and choos to not see God’s involvement.  We need child like faith that sees what God is doing, step towards it and give him all the glory.

R – Heavenly Father, we worship and surrender to you.  Thank you for all that you do in our lives.  Help us move toward you in trust and faith even when we don’t understand.  You are working for our good and we believe in you.

S – Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 CSB

O – Commentary:

Jesus … said, I am the Light of the world (cf. 1:4, 9; 12:35, 46). The world is in darkness, a symbol of evil, sin, and ignorance (Isa. 9:2; Matt. 4:16; 27:45; John 3:19). “Light” in the Bible is a symbol of God and His holiness (Acts 9:3; 1 John 1:5). Jesus is “the Light,” not merely a light or another light among many lights. He is the only Light, “the true Light” (John 1:9), for the whole world. When Jesus said, Whoever follows Me, He meant whoever believes and obeys Him (cf. 10:4–5, 27; 12:26; 21:19–20, 22). Jesus was speaking of salvation

“John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – The darkness is there everyday.  It was there before God created light.  Yet, any element of light dispels and defeats the darkness.  Jesus’ love, character and blood defeats all forms of darkness.  When we walk in a relationship with Him, we navigate the darkness of sin with victory and confidence that God defeated the darkness from the beginning and still does today.

R – Heavenly Father, you are the Light of the world.  Thank you for giving us victory over any darkness that comes against us.  We choose our relationship with you as a foundation for our day.  We choose to put our faith and trust in you.

S – As he was teaching in the temple, Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me is true. You don’t know him; ²⁹ I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.” 

John 7:28–29 CSB

O – Commentary:

He responded to their supposed knowledge of Him (7:27) with irony. He is from the Father. God is true (“reliable”; cf. v. 18; 8:26) and had sent Jesus. Whereas His enemies did not know Jesus or God (1:18; cf. Matt. 11:27), Jesus knows the Father because of His origin (John 1:1, 14, 18) and divine mission.

“John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Jesus asserts who sent him and that God is true.  Later, when he says, “I am the truth, the way and the life,” it assigns the unity with God and that he is indeed the messiah.  What we decide about Jesus today is the foundation of our relationship with God.  Each of us has an opportunity to choose him as our Lord and savior.  Will we do that or will he remain a historical figure without spiritual impact to our lives?

R – Heavenly Father, you are holy and worthy of all praise.  We accept that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  We recognize that he was God who came in the form of a man.  We are grateful for the price he paid on the cross for our sins and that we can have relationship with you.  Thank you, God.

S – What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked. 

²⁹ Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.” 

John 6:28–29 CSB

O – Commentary:

The people recognized that Jesus was saying God had a requirement for them. They would do God’s requirement if He would inform them what it was. They believed that they could please God and thus obtain eternal life by doing good works (cf. Rom. 10:2–4).

6:29. Jesus’ response to their question was a flat contradiction of their thinking. They could not please God by doing good works. There is only one work of God, that is, one thing God requires. They need to put their trust in the One the Father has sent. Because of their sin people cannot please God by doing good works for salvation (Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5). God demands that people recognize their inability to save themselves and receive His gift

“John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Could it be that simple – believer in the one who God sent?  Yes! And it is true today.  Salvation comes when someone believe that Jesus Christ can save them from their sins and is the bridge to a relationship with God.  People think they need to “do” more to be godly.  Instead, God is more about “being” in relationship with him.  

R – Heavenly Father, you alone are the one, true God.  Salvation come in believing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  Empower us to confident in that action as the way to you.  Our other actions should come from a desire to know you more.

S – Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” ¹⁸ This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him: Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God. 

John 5:17–18 CSB

O – Commentary:

Jewish prayers often called God “Father,” as the Father of Israel; the issue here is that Jesus seems to treat his relationship to the Father in a special way (see e.g., Ex 4:22–23; Is 63:16; 64:8; Jer 3:19). Because Jesus appears to usurp prerogatives solely attributed to God (5:17—the right to work on the sabbath), his hearers think that he thereby claims a position equal to that of God, a claim that naturally sounds blasphemous to them

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

A – In hindsight, it is not a “big deal” that Jesus claimed a relationship with God and even equality.  In that day, it was truly a strong statement that the Jewish leaders would find offensive and punishable.  We cannot take for granted the “shift” that Jesus made in many aspects of life.  This one is central to our own faith today.  Jesus is God, in the form of a man, who came to earth and took the penalty of our sins on himself.  We can have a relationship with God because of him.

R – Heavenly Father, you are our Savior.  Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins so we may have relationship with you.  He paid a price that we could never pay. We choose that relationship today and move toward a genuine walk with you.

S – But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” 

John 4:23–24 CSB

O – Commentary:

True worshipers are those who realize that Jesus is the Truth of God (3:21; 14:6) and the one and only Way to the Father (Acts 4:12). To worship in truth is to worship God through Jesus. To worship in Spirit is to worship in the new realm which God has revealed to people. The Father is seeking true worshipers because He wants people to live in reality, not in falsehood. Everybody is a worshiper (Rom. 1:25) but because of sin many are blind and constantly put their trust in worthless objects.

4:24. God is Spirit is a better translation than the KJV‘s “God is a Spirit.” God is not one Spirit among many. This is a declaration of His invisible nature. He is not confined to one location. Worship of God can be done only through the One (Jesus) who expresses God’s invisible nature (1:18) and by virtue of the Holy Spirit who opens to a believer the new realm of the kingdom

“John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Worship goes through Jesus – He is the Truth, God’s Word personified and it is absolute.  To pair this foundational certainty with the daily application of the Holy Spirit, you have true worship.  Reverence, fear of God and daily proclamation in our thoughts, words and actions take on a new depth and vitality because it is relationship based on an unchanging foundation.  We can worship with full confidence knowing God is not changing but in His presence, we are.

R – Heavenly Father, we worship you in spirit and truth today.  Thank you for your unchanging truth found in Jesus.  He personified your every aspect of your character and principles for us to live by each day.  Thank you for your spirit that empowers us to live a life for you in all of the chaos and changes we face.  We want our lives to be a genuine reflection of your love for us and others.

S – Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit

John 3:5–6 CSB

O – Commentary:

Converts to Judaism were said to become “as newborn children”; their conversion included immersion in water to remove Gentile impurity. “Born of water” thus could clarify for Nicodemus that “born from above” means conversion, not a second physical birth.

The Greek wording of 3:5 can mean either “water and the Spirit” or “water, that is, the Spirit.” Ezekiel 36:24–27 used water symbolically for the cleansing of the Spirit (cf. especially the *Dead Sea Scrolls), so here Jesus could mean “converted by the Spirit” (cf. 7:37–39)—a spiritual *proselyte *baptism. Whereas Jewish teachers generally spoke of converts to Judaism as “newborn” only in the sense that they were legally severed from old relationships, an actual rebirth by the Spirit would produce a new heart (Ezek 36:26).

3:6–7. The “spirit” that is born from God’s Spirit may reflect the “new spirit” of Ezekiel 36:26. Everyone understood that like begets like

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

A – Acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the way to enter God’s kingdom.  It takes our physical person and aligns it with our spiritual person.  Jesus implements a new concept in this by introducing relationship with God.  Before, it was going through the priests.  Now, you have your own relationship with God.  

R- Heavenly Father, you are eternal, the Alpha and Omega.  Thank you for allowing us to have relationship with you.  You are so big and without limitation.  Yet, you know us intimately. We are grateful for all that you do for us.

S – Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 

 John 2:11 CSB

O – Commentary:

The significance of the miracle was explained by John as a manifestation of Christ’s glory. In contrast with the ministry of Moses who turned water into blood as a sign of God’s judgment (Ex. 7:14–24), Jesus brings joy. His first miracle was a gracious indication of the joy which He provides by the Spirit. The sign points to Jesus as the Word in the flesh, who is the mighty Creator… The first miracle—a transformation—pointed to the kind of transforming ministry Jesus would have (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). The disciples put their faith in Him. This initial faith would be tested and developed by a progressive revelation of Jesus, the Logos. At this point they did not understand His death and resurrection (John 20:8–9) but they did know His power.

 “John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – God does things that reveal his glory.  Some are miracles that are amazing – healing a medical condition, providing something unexpected, or supernatural displays of his power.  He also reveals his glory in things that mean something to us – nature, environments, or creation.  It is revealed in the heart of the beholder – God knows our hearts and reveals himself in a way that we will look to Him and glorify his presence.

R – Heavenly Father, we worship and surrender to you today.  Your glory is all around us and yet it personal to us.  Thank you for revealing yourself to us in ways that bring meaning and reverence to us.  We glorify you alone today.

S – He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,

John 1:10–12 CSB

O – Commentary:

The world (kosmos) means the world of men and human society which is now in disobedience to God and under the rulership of Satan (cf. 14:30). The Logos came among people in the Incarnation, but mankind did not recognize its Maker (cf. Isa. 1:2–3). The failure to recognize (egnō, “know”) Him was not because God’s nature was somehow “hidden” in people, as some suggest. Rather, it is because of human ignorance and blindness, caused by sin (John 12:37).

1:11. In some ways this is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. The Logos went to His own home but He had no welcome. Jesus went to His own people, the nation Israel, but they as a whole rejected Him. In rejecting Him, they refused to accept Him as the Revelation sent by the Father and refused to obey His commands. Isaiah long before had prophesied of this Jewish national unbelief: “Who has believed our message?” (Isa. 53:1)

1:12. That unbelief, however, was not universal. Some received Jesus’ universal invitation. To all who accepted Jesus as the Revealer of the Father’s will and as the Sacrifice for sin, He gave the right to become children of God. The word “right” (exousian) is a needed improvement over the KJV‘s “power,” and “children” (tekna) is better than the KJV‘s “sons.” People are not naturally children of God but can become so by receiving the gift of the new birth.

 “John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Reading John’s description in hindsight allows us to clearly understand the plan of salvation. We can know God when we believe and accept that Jesus was God in the form of man who came to bring salvation.  There are a lot of dynamics in why Israel didn’t believe in Jesus.  We should learn from their disbelief and let it be a catalyst for us to believe.

R – Heavenly Father, we recognize you are God, Son and Holy Spirit.  Thank you for making your presence known to us through all three entities of who you are.  Empower us to walk in our relationship with you in honoring your character and person.

S – But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. ²¹ Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. 

Genesis 50:19–21 CSB

O – Commentary:

After the death of Jacob, whose body was returned to Palestine for burial, the brothers still feared Joseph and expected revenge. They could not understand this man whose willingness to do the will of God had given him joy even in suffering. Again Joseph reassured them: “You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives

The Teacher’s Commentary 

A – Our plans are limited to our understanding, resources and strategy.  God has no limitations.  He takes our plans and transitions them into his plans.  The key is for us to find the “joy” even when we are suffering and to remain faithful to his ways.  

R – Heavenly Father, you are the one, true God.  Your ways are above ours and your purposes far exceed our comprehension.  Give us strength to endure the challenges that come in walking faithful to you direction.