As the saying goes, we look for love in all the wrong places. God's love is the only source of true satisfaction and acceptance. The [Samaritan] woman said to [Jesus], “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus invites us to receive his living water —the Holy Spirit— and find fulfillment, hope, and purpose in our lives. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman challenges us to break through cultural and societal barriers, recognizing the inclusive love and grace of Jesus that extends to all people. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
John gives us another glimpse of Jesus' humanity as he speaks of how the divine became human because of God’s love for us. Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John — although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
John the Baptist continues to testify about Jesus in this passage, telling us we reject him at our own risk. The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
We can learn profound lessons of humility, purpose, and selflessness in John the Baptist's response to Jesus' increasing popularity, emphasizing the importance of recognizing our role in God's plan and rejoicing in the success of others. After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
Are we willing to confront the darkness within us and embrace the truth? Or do we want to cling to the shadows, allowing sin to have power over us? It is the choice we all have. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
If we believe in the Gospel message of salvation, we are duty-bound to be ambassadors of Christ so that the world is saved and not condemned. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Everybody knows John 3:16, which says: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. What does it mean? [Jesus said:] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus makes an enigmatic statement when he says that as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. What could he mean? “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
Being born again is an opportunity for a personal, life-changing encounter with God that brings joy, purpose, and a deeper connection to him. It is a radical experience that enables us to enter God's kingdom. Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
In today's passage, Jesus confronts our tendency to rely solely on the miraculous and invites us to a faith that transcends the temporary and touches the depths of our souls. Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
When Jesus says, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," what did he mean? The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
Jesus cleansing the temple challenges us to align our worship practices with God's heart and to be catalysts for transformation both within the church and in the world around us. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
The miracle at Cana serves as a powerful testimony to Jesus' ability to satisfy our deepest needs while giving us an abundance of his goodness and grace. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
The miracle at Cana encourages us to trust in God's timing, seek his will, and extend grace and compassion to others as we navigate our own lives and relationships. On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth. We have access to the heavenly realm, divine revelation, and an intimate relationship with the Father through faith in him. Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus knows us, warts and all, but when he looks at us, he doesn't see us just as we are; he sees us as the people he created us to be. If we trust him, he will help us become these people. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
Thousands of people have found Jesus because somebody told them to come and see. You can do the same and change their lives forever. The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
God invites all of us to experience him personally so that we can satisfy our spiritual thirst and find fulfillment in his presence. Let us accept the invitation gratefully. The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
In his humanity, Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit for guidance, empowerment, and ministry. This reminds us of our need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and depend on his guidance and power in our own lives. Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
By undergoing baptism, Jesus set an example for his followers, showing the importance of humility, obedience, and identification with the human condition. Let us follow in his footsteps. Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
When John recognized Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, he didn't hesitate to testify to the fact. Do we recognize Jesus as the Savior? If we do, do we testify to those who might not know him? Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
The phrase "Lamb of God" encapsulates the heart of the gospel message—Jesus' sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection—which brings hope, transformation, and reconciliation to all who embrace him as their Savior and Lord. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
