Podcast
Jesus explains what it means for him to be the bread of life. It messes with his followers' world-view and some of them turn back and no longer follow him. But to those who believe that he has been sent by the Father, he offers eternal life, his life in the Spirit.
This Bible passage introduces the first of seven great I AM statements in John's Gospel: "I am the Bread of Life". But on the way there, John teaches us three essential truths about the Christian life:
Bring to Jesus the little you have, and He will do something amazing with it; Go where you know He may be found, and He'll meet you on the way; Seek Him not for what you want Him to do for you, but for what He's actually offering you.
Jesus, moved by compassion, heals on the sabbath.
The second half of John 4 is all about sharing our faith and coming to faith. It speaks of our witness to others in terms of Reality, Rewards, Results and Repercussions: our part in the power-encounter between a human being and Christ.
The woman at the well is a story of encounter, about the gift of eternal life offered to the woman by Jesus that immediately transforms her life and the life of her community.
So far we have seen how various different groups reacted to the light of Jesus; but chapter 3 brings us to the reaction of someone we might have expected to reject him. Nicodemus offers us a template for approaching Jesus, and for the kind of questions we should ask him.
In the two events of this passage we see two different reactions to Jesus, and where each one leads: Invitation or Indignation.
First century Jews were desperate for God to send a saviour. God did just that... but not everyone recognised him. John did, and testified to the imminent arrival ... of God himself.
Jesus is the light that illuminates who God really is, who we really are, and what the world really looks like. It is sometimes difficult and hard to accept, but those who choose light and reject darkness will find life.
