Book of John,  Discipleship

#26 John 7:14-24

October 10, 2021 /

Before we dive into scripture this week, I would like to give you a word of encouragement.  I would not be surprised if many adults leading their young disciples through this study, have never personally gone through a book so slowly!  Do not lose heart!  We do not want to miss out on what Jesus is trying to teach us.  We want to glean every delicious morsel and then chew slowly to savor it.  Jesus is not in a hurry, so neither am I!  (Remember, I have 13 of these studies waiting in the wings, that we have led our children through.) My Good Lookin’ and I decided that we have 10 school years (3rd -12th grade) to walk slowly and deeply through scripture, with the intention that roots grow deep and infuse our children with love for Jesus.  

Yes, we are walking 10-12 verses at a time through a long book, but the life transformation that Jesus offers is worth a slow stroll. Our goal is not to study the most, but to to better understand who Jesus is and love Jesus well.

My Good Lookin’ just finished studying Mark with a 50 year old friend, who had never been discipled before. This friend has dug deeply and reaped the transformative power of discovering Jesus. Scripture changes lives of all ages. Jesus loves each of us and desires to spend time with us!  This is time well spent!

Embrace the pace.  Dig deep.  Breathe in Jesus.  Breathe out love.  

Let’s get started…

Leader:  Have your Student write down the Passage and the Questions. Then, give them a week to prepare.

Passage: John 7:14-24

Questions: 

  • 1) What is the source of Jesus’ teaching?
  • 2) What does that mean to us?
  • 3) What questions do you have?

Then, this week the Student will:  

  • Read the Passage every day!
  • Handwrite the Passage
  • Answer the questions 

When you do meet again, you will go over this… 

John 7:14-24

14 Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Notes for Leader:

Open your time together with prayer. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation and teach what needs to be learned and heard during your discussion. He will give you the words that you need! May you grow closer together and closer to Jesus.

Briefly review what you learned last week. Now, let’s see what else we can discover about who Jesus is…

1) What is the source of Jesus’ teaching?

v16 my teaching… comes from him who sent me

v17 comes from God 

2) What does that mean to us?

If we believe that Jesus’ teaching is from God:

Shouldn’t we take it seriously?

Shouldn’t we pursue understanding it?

v17 God will reveal himself to the person who is genuinely seeking to know him. But, the person who comes to the Word with no intention to understand or a hard heart, that person will leave the Scriptures in the same condition.  

He asks the Jews… v19 don’t you believe the law of Moses is from God?  And, yet, you do not obey it!??

Then given the example – 

v22 Moses commands rest on the Sabbath…

But, Moses commands circumcision on the 8th day, even if that day is the Sabbath. It is okay to purify the body on the Sabbath for that reason… but when Jesus purifies the whole body of a man on Sabbath, the Jews want to kill him!

v23-24 judge rightly!

Back to v17, if you choose to obey God, you will discover that His Word is true!  So, if we believe that Jesus’ teaching is from God, we will obey it!

3) What questions do you have?

Don’t be nervous about this one… the Holy Spirit will help you answer. If you are discipling a young child (and most others!), remember that they are not expecting a doctoral dissertation when you answer, so keep it simple and true. And, it is ok to say, “I am not sure, let’s look into that together.” And then add that question to your study for next week. 

Allow the Spirit to lead a great conversation!

***Here is the passage and questions for next week’s study. Give your student the week to write out the passage and prepare for your discussion.

Passage: John 7:25-52

Questions: 

  • 1) What is Jesus teaching in verses 28-30?
  • 2) What is Jesus teaching in verses 37-39?
  • 3) What questions do you have?