Alright!
Welcome to the next portion of my Online Bible Study.
Each month, I work through a section of Scripture and share the process publicly. The goal isn’t to present finished conclusions, but to study the text carefully together—asking questions, making observations, and following where the Scriptures lead.
In our previous study of John 6–10, we watched the divide between belief and unbelief become increasingly clear. Jesus revealed more about His identity through His teachings and miracles, forcing those around Him to wrestle with an unavoidable question: Will you believe Him? Some embraced Him. Others turned away. The opposition against Him continued to grow.
This month, we enter John 11–15, where the pace of the Gospel begins to change.
The raising of Lazarus becomes the final public sign before Jesus’ crucifixion and sets in motion the events that will ultimately lead to the cross. From there, John’s attention shifts away from the crowds and toward Jesus’ closest followers. During His final hours with the disciples, Jesus prepares them for what lies ahead, teaching them about love, obedience, the coming of the Holy Spirit, abiding in Him, and the cost of following Him.
If the first half of John’s Gospel asks, Who is Jesus?, these chapters begin asking a different question:
What does it mean to follow Him?
As we read through John 11–15 this month, I’ll be looking closely at both the historical events and the theological themes that John weaves together. My hope is that this study not only helps us understand the text more clearly but also challenges us to consider what genuine discipleship looks like today.
– First Post –
!! ISAAC HUNTER’s BIBLE STUDY !!
John 11–15 marks a significant turning point in John’s Gospel.
The question is no longer simply:
Who is Jesus?
John has spent the first half of the Gospel answering that question through signs, miracles, and public teaching. Now the focus begins to shift toward another question:
What does it mean to follow Him?
These chapters begin with the raising of Lazarus, the final and greatest public sign recorded by John before Jesus’ crucifixion. Rather than leading everyone to believe, the miracle hardens the resolve of many religious leaders and accelerates the events that will lead to His death.
From that point forward, the Gospel becomes increasingly personal.
The crowds begin to fade into the background as Jesus spends His remaining time preparing His disciples. Around the dinner table and on the road to Gethsemane, He teaches them about humility, sacrificial love, obedience, abiding in Him, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the reality that following Him will bring both joy and opposition.
Several themes emerge throughout these chapters:
- life and resurrection
- love and service
- belief and obedience
- abiding and fruitfulness
- peace in the midst of suffering
- friendship with Christ
- preparing for His departure
One of the things I appreciate most about this section of John’s Gospel is how intimate it feels. Much of Jesus’ public ministry is behind Him. His attention now turns almost entirely to the men who will soon carry His message into the world. These chapters invite us to listen in on some of His final conversations before the cross and to consider what genuine discipleship looks like for those who call Him Lord.
Our Approach
- Read the text every day for 10 days. During this time, write down every question that comes to mind.
- For the next 10 days, continue reading the text each day, but shift your focus to creating a hierarchical outline of it.
- Last 10 days, answer the questions by researching online, in commentaries, and other resources.
John 11-15
The Gospel of John opens not by addressing a drifting people, but by revealing a person—Jesus as the Word, the light, and the source of life—and then immediately moves into how individuals respond when they encounter Him; rather than building slowly, John establishes His identity upfront and shows that while clarity is given, responses vary—some recognize Him, some misunderstand, some hesitate, and some begin to oppose—making the central point clear: exposure to truth does not guarantee acceptance of it.
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Check out this excerpt from my novel, Our Daughter:
“Okay, mom,” Randy said.
“You behave yourself and be nice. You’re lucky to have company while you wait for the doctors.”
The woman turned and started back the way she came.
“The nurse said it would be twenty or thirty more minutes, so we’ll eat quick and be back up here before they take you in, okay?”
“Okay, mom.”
“Sorry for him,” the woman said to Katie as she walked by.
“He’s funny.”
Katie grinned.
As the woman left, Katie noticed the boy moving around again on the bed. Before she realized what was happening, the tiny lump disappeared and she could hear the faint sound of bare hands and feet on the tile floor.
He was low crawling under the beds toward her.
A moment later, Randy popped his head out from under the nearest hospital bed, craning his neck around to look up at her.
“Hello, there,” Katie said.
Randy disappeared back under the bed, the bed sheet draping down almost to the floor. Katie could still see three little fingers pressed to the tile.
“What are you here for?” Katie asked, readjusting her seat in the chair, trying to get the ache in her chest to lessen.
For whatever reason, the wheelchair was really uncomfortable.
“Why are – “
Randy’s voice trailed off for a moment as he looked around.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m getting my leg fixed,” Katie said. “See?”
Randy poked his head back out from under the bed and looked at the leg she was pointing to.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“The doctor said it’s broken,” Katie said. “Shattered.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. Ouch.”
“Can you feel it?” Randy asked, able to stay out from his hiding place.
“I can feel it, but it’s not too bad,” Katie said, then tapped the IV in her arm. “This thing is giving me medicine of some kind for the pain. At least that’s what the nurses said.”
“Why are you – “
Randy stopped mid-sentence.
He scooted out from under the bed entirely and slowly crept over to er on all fours.
“What are you, some kind of spider?” Katie asked, giggling a little.
“What are you?” Randy echoed.
He was now only about a foot away from her chair and sat there, his legs folded up under him, gawking up at her.
“What are you staring at me for?”
“I’ve never – “
Randy put out a hesitant hand and ever so gently touched her arm.
“Are you some kind of ghost?”
He looked around again.
“Are you – ”
He leaned in, talking in a whisper.
“Are you dead?”
A nurse came around the corner and stopped abruptly, spotting the empty bed in the far corner where Randy should have been.
“Randy Andrews,” the nurse said, her hands now on her hips. “You get right back into the bed and you stop playing around, please. They are ready for you in surgery.”
Katie watched as Randy scrambled on all fours under the beds and back up onto his, pulling the sheet back over top of himself again.
She started to ask him about his question, but couldn’t get the words out before his parents appeared at the door.
Katie sat there quietly, watching Randy stare back at her from under his sheet. She glanced over at his parents and the nurse, noticed Randy’s dad had no hair on the top of his head.
Are you dead?
What kind of question was that?
The snap of the wheel locks being disengaged on Randy’s hospital bed jarred Katie out of the confusion she was in.
The doctor she’d first seen was now at the door, waiting for Randy.
He was his surgeon.
They wheeled Randy out of the room, his parents following right behind, disappearing to the left, heading for his operating room.
The pre-op room was empty again.
Dead.
Are you dead?
What kind of crazy question was that?
The nurse came back through the double doors.
“It won’t be long now,” she said.
“Okay.”
Katie tried not to think about the dull ache growing just behind her sternum.
The nurse disappeared around the corner as Katie watched the double doors to the operating rooms slowly shut.
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