A Whisper Will Be Heard

Seeing the Big Picture

John's gospel soars like an eagle above the story of Christ's incarnation, his ministry, death and resurrection, and from the outset John leaves us in absolutely no doubt about who and what Christ is - a Christ whose divinity is clear from the start. The Jesus whom John shows us is a Jesus who is all-knowing, and in full control of his destiny - a Jesus who, at the moment of his death, does not utter a cry of despair and dereliction, as in Mark and Matthew - nor words of forgiveness and reconciliation, as in Luke - but words that confirm that the task he came to do is now complete: 'It is finished'. We get the bigger picture…

Reflect

What helps you to see the bigger picture in your day-to-day life?

In what situations does it feel like you are soaring?

A Whisper Will Be Heard

Cleansing the Temple

Sometimes our spiritual life can become like a market place. We get lost in the functionality of what we’re doing and forget the bigger picture.

Reflect

Do you sometimes forget why you’re here?

In what ways does our worship sometimes point to ourselves rather than to the bigger picture?

In what ways can we point towards the kingdom of God in our lives?

A Whisper Will Be Heard

Cleansing the Temple

Come to your Temple here with liberation

And overturn these tables of exchange

Restore in me my lost imagination

Begin in me for good, the pure change.

Come as you came, an infant with your mother,

That innocence may cleanse and claim this ground

Come as you came, a boy who sought his father

With questions asked and certain answers found,

Come as you came this day, a man in anger

Unleash the lash that drives a pathway through

Face down for me the fear the shame the danger

Teach me again to whom my love is due.

Break down in me the barricades of death

And tear the veil in two with your last breath.

Malcolm Guite

A Whisper Will Be Heard

Signs

In the Gospel of John, Jesus performs seven significant miracles that John refers to as “signs.” These signs form the backbone of the first half of the book, and each sign is meant to reveal something about the person of Jesus.

What does each ‘sign’ reveal to you about Jesus?

1. Who Turns Water into Wine? (John 2:1-11)2. Who Heals the Sick? (John 4:46-53)3. Who Heals on the Sabbath? (John 5:1-29)4. Who Feeds the Multitude? (John 6:1-14)5. Who Walks on Water? (John 6:16-24)6. Who Heals the Blind? (John 9:1-12)7. Who Raises the Dead? (John 11:1-44)