Easter Devotional
Friday
Scripture Reading
John 12:44-50 (ESV)
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Reflection Questions
- Who is Jesus claiming to be in this passage (vv. 44-46)?
- How can Jesus not “judge the world” for failing to obey His words (v. 47), while also having His words be the judging mechanism of those who reject Him (vv. 48-50)?
- Are you rejecting or obeying Jesus’s words? How so, specifically?
- What do you think is the significance of the placement of these statement in the Gospel of John? Why are they at the very end of John 12, before the start of John 13-17?
- If you are to trust and obey Jesus today, what might that look like?
Prayer
- Pray that Jesus would give you a heart eager to obey Him, even this day.
- Pray that God would show you (or show you more of) the “eternal life” that He has promised us through faith in Him.