My Next Steps by Pastor Jack Ward (great books for teens TXT) đ
- Author: Pastor Jack Ward
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Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomonâs Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, âHow long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.â 25 Jesus replied, âI have already told you, and you donât believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Fatherâs name. 26 But you donât believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Fatherâs hand. 30 The Father and I are one.â 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, âAt my Fatherâs direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?â 33 They replied, âWeâre stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.â 34 Jesus replied, âIt is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, âI say, you are gods!â 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received Godâs message were called âgods,â 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, âI am the Son of Godâ? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Donât believe me unless I carry out my Fatherâs work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you donât believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.â 39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. 41 And many followed him. âJohn didnât perform miraculous signs,â they remarked to one another, âbut everything he said about this man has come true.â 42 And many who were there believed in Jesus.
John 11
The Raising of Lazarus
1 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lordâs feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, âLord, your dear friend is very sick.â 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, âLazarusâs sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.â 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, âLetâs go back to Judea.â 8 But his disciples objected. âRabbi,â they said, âonly a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?â 9 Jesus replied, âThere are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.â 11 Then he said, âOur friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.â 12 The disciples said, âLord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!â 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So he told them plainly, âLazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, Iâm glad I wasnât there, for now you will really believe. Come, letâs go see him.â 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, âLetâs go, tooâand die with Jesus.â 17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, âLord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.â 23 Jesus told her, âYour brother will rise again.â 24 âYes,â Martha said, âhe will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.â 25 Jesus told her, âI am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?â 27 âYes, Lord,â she told him. âI have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.â 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, âThe Teacher is here and wants to see you.â 29 So Mary immediately went to him. 30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarusâs grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, âLord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.â 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 âWhere have you put him?â he asked them. They told him, âLord, come and see.â 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, âSee how much he loved him!â 37 But some said, âThis man healed a blind man. Couldnât he have kept Lazarus from dying?â 38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 âRoll the stone aside,â Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead manâs sister, protested, âLord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.â 40 Jesus responded, âDidnât I tell you that you would see Godâs glory if you believe?â 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, âFather, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.â 43 Then Jesus shouted, âLazarus, come out!â 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, âUnwrap him and let him go!â
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. âWhat are we going to do?â they asked each other. âThis man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.â 49 Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, âYou donât know what youâre talking about! 50 You donât realize that itâs better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.â 51 He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. 52 And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world. 53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesusâ death. 54 As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples. 55 It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, âWhat do you think? He wonât come for Passover, will he?â 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.
John 12
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarusâthe man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesusâ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesusâ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 âThat perfume was worth a yearâs wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.â 6 Not that he cared for the poorâhe was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciplesâ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, âLeave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you
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