Contemplative Bible Reading

John 5:16-18 (New International Version 2011) 16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them,“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”18 For this reason they tried all the more to […]

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John 6:8-9 (New International Version 2011) 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” These verses are from the feeding of the 5,000 as recorded in the Gospel of John. […]

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John 13:35 (New International Version 2011) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Jesus is speaking here. People will know that we follow Him by our love for one another. How are we doing? How are we doing in America? If we judge by how well we […]

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John 9:32 (New Century Version) Nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a man born blind. This simple statement is part of the (hi)story of Jesus giving sight to a man who was born blind. Jesus made mud from dirt and spit, put the mud on the man’s face, and told him to […]

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John 12:47-48 (New International Version) 47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very […]

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John 11:47 (New International Version) Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.    “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. What a great question: What are we accomplishing? This group of religious leaders gathered to consider what to do with and about this man […]

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John 10:33 (New International Version) “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” Speaking here are Jews in Jerusalem. They are going to execute Jesus for a capital crime. Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be the Son of God. To […]

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John 10:22-23 (New International Version) 22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Festival of Dedication doesn’t mean much to me. I recently learned that this festival is today known as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. Wikipedia […]

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John 1:17 (New International Version) For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. I hadn’t noticed this short verse of a dozen or so words before. This type of writing is called contrast or opposition. It shows one thing, then another. Moses – a great and humble servant of […]

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John 5:6 (New International Version) When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” What a silly question? Jesus asks a man who had been an invalid for 38 years if he wanted to get well. […]

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