Applying John 12-17

Recently I did an inductive Bible study on John chapters 12-17 that turned out really well. The professor and some classmates really like the application so I thought I would cut to the chase and share it with you here.


Following Christ requires great amounts of faith. For the disciples, they were there, they were able to walk and talk with Christ. And so their belief and witness of his power, their understanding of his compassion, and his zeal for his Fathers house, were all things they witnessed and yet they still struggled with faith at times. I should not expect it to be easy to follow and trust in a god that I have not seen, spoken face to face with, but only read about. The disciples seem to question Christ directly when he makes a statement that they don’t understand, why shouldn’t we? Being a student of the Bible, I believe that would be expected. Christ answered his interrogators almost every time. Albeit these answers were sometimes cryptic, they received an answer nonetheless. As we ask questions of God about things we may not understand, whether that pertains to our studies or life in general, we need to be aware that we may not always get the answer we are looking for.

Through Christ’s ministry and the onslaught of questions that are directed his way, we can be aware of and expect that we won’t always understand the answers up front. Sometimes we will need to experience something first, and in other circumstances we may not be ready to hear the answer just yet. Regardless, we can know that behind each question we have of what God is doing, or what He has said, there is an answer and a reason. We may not always get it, or understand it, but we must have faith that it is good. God is always working to reconcile his people to himself, how He does that is up to his direction, we must be faithful in following His lead.

The disciples didn’t always understand why Christ said what he said or did what he did, but it was for the good of humanity and creation that these things happened. In hindsight, the disciples were able to understand what he said and what he had to do on the cross. Faith sometimes is blind, but faith is required when you follow Christ.