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You have free will. Previous Next Table of Contents You Can Choose You have free will. Tom Faletti You have free will. Every day, all the time, you have the awesome privilege of making choices. For the most part, you can choose what you will do, who you will spend time with, and what you will think about. God has free will. He can do what He chooses to do. One of the ways in which you are made in the image of God is that you have free will. God made you that way. You are like Him in that way. What you do with that awesome freedom may show how much you are living in the image of God. You may choose to do what God would do, or you may choose other things. As you make those choices, you may present to the world an accurate image of God or a warped image of God. The choice is yours. But it isn’t that simple. As St Paul says in Romans 7:19, sometimes I don’t do the good that I want to do…. TO BE CONTINUED If God knows what I am going to do, how can I have free will? TO BE CONTINUED Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Table of Contents Next

The fields are ripe for harvest. What can we learn from the Samaritan woman and Jesus about how to tell others about Jesus? Previous Next John List John 4:27-42 (Continuation of John 4:1-42) The fields are ripe for harvest. What can we learn from the Samaritan woman and Jesus about how to tell others about Jesus? Sébastien Bourdon and workshop (1616–1671). Christ and the Samaritan Woman . 1664-1669. Cropped. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%C3%A9bastien_Bourdon_-_Christ_and_the_Samaritan_Woman_-_68.23_-_Museum_of_Fine_Arts.jpg . Tom Faletti January 13, 2026 John 4:47-42: In this session, we are exploring John 4:27-42. Chapter 4 begins with a long discussion between Jesus and a Samaritan woman that leads her to the edge of faith. Now, we consider some of the things Jesus said about evangelization – the process of telling people about the good news of believing in Jesus – before John takes us back to what happened next in the Samaritan woman’s town. Re-read John 4:1-42 to recall what is happening in the Samaritan woman’s interaction with Jesus at the well. Verses 27-34 When the disciples return from town, what is their reaction when they see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman? Why do you think the disciples don’t question Jesus about the fact that he is talking to a Samaritan woman? Perhaps they don’t really want to hear his answer. Perhaps he has shown his inclusiveness previously and they don’t want to appear to be questioning his values. What might be some other reasons? Jesus ignores the Jewish rules against talking with a Samaritan woman. He clearly doesn’t think that these restrictions are important. Are there any social restrictions in your culture that you think should be ignored if they get in the way of telling other people about Jesus or living out your faith? What does the woman do now, in verse 28? Why do you think she reacts to her conversation with Jesus in this way? How would you describe the status of the woman’s spiritual growth at this point? Look at what she says, and doesn’t say, in verse 29. How much does she understand about Jesus and how much does she still need to figure out? When the disciples want Jesus to eat (verses 31-34), what does Jesus say his food is? He says his food is to do the Father’s will and finish his work. This idea of finishing his work comes up again later in John’s Gospel. Just before he dies, Jesus says, “It is finished” (John 19:30). What is the importance of “finishing”? Would it be good for us to focus more on “finishing” what God has sent us to do? The disciples don’t understand what Jesus is saying, just as Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman didn’t understand him. He is thinking on a different level than all of them. Do we have similar difficulties “understanding” Jesus? How are we like them? What should we do about the fact that we never fully understand Jesus? Perhaps this might call us to a bit of humility – not thinking we have everything figured out but being more open to listening to other people. It also calls us to study the Bible and the core teachings of our faith, so that we can understand more; to pray, so that we can be more attuned to God’s teaching and guidance; and to trust God more, because there are some things we can’t understand until we trust. Jesus says his “food” is to do God’s will. How can we find sustenance (“food”) from doing God’s will? How might it change your life if you fully embraced the idea that “the food for my soul is to do the will of God and complete the work he has given to me”? How might that view of the Christian calling change your life? Verses 35-38 In verse 35, Jesus turns to a bigger issue that builds on what is happening in this Samaritan woman’s town. He uses two mini-parables: one about fields that are ripe for the harvest and one about sowers and reapers. As with all parables, our task is to interpret what the various elements of the parable stand for or represent symbolically. What does the field ready for harvest stand for? Who do the sowers and reapers represent? The field ready for harvest is any people who have heard the word of God – the good news about believing in Jesus – and are ready to take a step of faith. The sowers are the people who have shared the good news – who have told people about Jesus and encouraged them to believe in him. The reapers are the believers who are making the gospel real to those people now, when they are ready to take that step of faith. What does the phrase, “One sows and another reaps,” mean? Note: The sower is not better than the reaper, nor vice versa. The difference is only in who happens to be there when a person is ready to put their faith and trust in Jesus. In what ways are you a “sower”? In what ways are you a “reaper”? What are some ways that you might participate more in God’s harvest, where he is bringing people to faith in himself? Verses 39-42 John now returns to the story of the Samaritan woman. What happens in the end? Why do the people begin to believe in verse 39, and why do they have a stronger faith in verse 42? Notice the two stages of the people’s faith. In verse 39, the people have a certain level of faith because the woman told them about Jesus, but they don’t ultimately believe because of her word – they believe because they have a direct experience of him (verse 42). What does that suggest to us about our attempts to tell other people about Jesus? What are some ways that we can help bring people into a direct experience of Jesus, and not just tell them our knowledge about him? Sometimes, people are touched by God when they hear Christians praying, so it can be helpful to ask someone if they would like you to pray for them. If they say yes, pray from your heart out loud so that they can hear your conversation with God. Sometimes, people are ready to pray a prayer of their own and just need to be invited to do so. Sometimes, people need to be invited to a service or event at your church where they can experience God at work in the people of God. Some scholars think that later, a group of Samaritans who believed in Jesus moved out of Samaria (perhaps after being persecuted or ostracized by some of their fellow Samaritans in the same way that the early Jewish Christians were rejected by their fellow Jews) and joined John’s community in Ephesus before he wrote this Gospel. These scholars see John’s positive treatment of Samaritans and the preservation of this story as possible clues that Samaritans were part of John’s community. What this passage tells us about the process of evangelization Because Jesus focuses on the harvest at the end of this passage, this passage is clearly meant to encourage us to tell people about Jesus. So let’s explore the story further to see what it tells us about the evangelization process and our role in helping others come to know Jesus and put their faith and trust in him. In verse 11, the woman calls Jesus “Sir,” a respectful word that means “master” or “lord,” but often in a purely human sense. In verse 19, she calls him “a prophet.” By verse 25, she is suggesting that he might be the Messiah (a Hebrew word that means the “Anointed One”; in Greek, the “Christ”). And by the end of the story, the whole town is calling him “the savior of the world.” What is the significance of this gradual shift in how they talk about Jesus? How does this shift in how the people see Jesus gives us a model for understanding the shifts that people in our time go through as they move from skeptic to new believer to mature Christian? Think about people in your world who are not believers, and how they talk about Jesus. How are some people at the early stage of just seeing Jesus as an important human while others recognize him as more than that? Are there some people who see Jesus as a prophet but just one prophet among many, while others are wrestling with the truth that he is God? How can we help people at every stage find a fuller understanding of who Jesus is? This Samaritan woman is the first person in John’s Gospel who becomes a missionary: a person who shares the Gospel with a whole group of people. Individual disciples have told individual people about Jesus, but she evangelizes a whole group. Verse 39 tells us that she “testifies” about Jesus. How are we called to testify about Jesus? What does this passage say to you about your own personal role in telling others the good news about God? Go back through the story and look at how Jesus guides the woman to faith: [If you are studying this passage in a group, break into smaller groups of 3 or 4 people to discuss the following questions and then report back to the larger group.] Notice the rhythm of the conversation with the woman. When does Jesus ask questions and when does he give answers? How much of an answer does he give (a lot or a little), and why is that a good idea? How and to what extent does he give her room to share her own beliefs? What do your observations about Jesus suggest to you about how you can be effective in sharing your faith in Jesus with others? Notice how the conversation shifts over time from focusing on everyday concerns, to religious facts, to spiritual insights. How can we build relationships with people that will allow our conversations with them to move naturally to spiritual matters over time? Notice how the woman leads the people of the town from her own testimony to a personal interaction with Jesus himself. What aspects of your testimony – your story of how you came to believe in Jesus – might help others enter into a relationship with Jesus? What is the good news you have found in Jesus that others might be interested in if you told them the story of your faith? Notice how the woman is almost antagonistic at the start, responding to Jesus with challenges and putdowns. Jesus sticks with her and gives her room to open up to his message. What does that tell us? What conclusions can you draw about the evangelization process? What ideas does this passage give you for how to tell people about Jesus when they might be ready to hear it? In chapter 2, John told us about what he called Jesus’s first “sign.” In the passage we will look at next, he starts a new series of stories by telling us about the second sign. That suggests that everything we have seen in chapters 2 through 4 might go together: Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus telling us that we need to be born again of water and the Spirit, Jesus telling us that he is the living water. All these stories referred to water. What conclusions can you draw from these stories, and how can you apply those conclusions to your everyday life? Take a step back and consider this: People are often afraid to talk about Jesus because they don’t want to appear pushy. That fear leads us to say too little. Jesus’s approach was not pushy. With the Samaritan woman he mostly made brief and non-judgmental statements and then answered questions when he was asked. Perhaps we need to get past our fears and just talk about Jesus like he is an everyday part of our lives, without making a big deal about it. How does Jesus’s approach to evangelization differ from that of a pushy preacher? How does Jesus’s approach differ from that of someone who thinks that good actions are enough and we don’t need to say anything? How might we adopt the “Come and see” attitude we saw in John chapter 1 (1:39; 1:46) to help people meet Jesus face-to-face without being pushy? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. 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When John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he is talking about Jesus, the only Son of the Father. Jesus invites us to be sons and daughters of God also. Previous Next John List John 1:10-18 (Continuation of John 1:1-18) When John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he is talking about Jesus, the only Son of the Father. Jesus invites us to be sons and daughters of God also. Annibale Carracci (1560-1609). Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness . Detail. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_John_the_Baptist_Bearing_Witness_MET_LC-2009_252-1_(Bild).jpg . Tom Faletti October 31, 2025 Read John 1:10-13 The world did not know him and his own people did not accept him, but some did In verse 11, John says the world did not “know” him. What do you think he means when he says they did not “know” him? They did not recognize him (they didn’t recognize that God the Word was with them). They did not understand him – in colloquial terms, they didn’t “get it.” Jesus was very real and performed miracles. How can it be that they didn’t recognize him? How do people in our day fail to recognize or understand Jesus? Verse 11 says he came to “what was his own” (probably referring to Israel as a nation), and “his own people” (the Jews). In what sense were they “his own”? Are there ways that people who are “his own” don’t accept or receive Jesus today? We could still consider the Jewish people “his own.” In addition, we could think about people who were baptized, people who grew up in the Church, but don’t accept Jesus today as still being “his own.” Verse 12 says that not everyone rejected him. Some accepted him. What did he give to them? What did John say they need to do, to become children of God? What does it mean, in verse 12, to accept or receive him? Anyone who is a child must have been born somehow. Verse 13 says that when they became children of God they were born of God, not by a biological process or human desire or the will of a man. We will see more in chapter 3 about what it means to be born “of God.” What does it mean to you, that you are a child of God? How do you experience that relationship with God? In what way do you see yourself as having accepted or received Jesus? What difference does it make in your life that you have accepted/received Jesus? Read John 1:14 What did God do? A mini-summary of the gospel What did God the Word do, and what does it mean when we say he did those things? He became flesh: he became a human. He dwelt among us – i.e., he lived with other humans, lived as one of us. The Greek word, variously translated as “dwelt” or “lived” or “made his dwelling” among us, literally means he encamped or pitched his tent with us. (This word might have been chosen to invoke the image of God living in a tent with us as he made himself present to the Israelites in a tabernacle/tent in the desert.) What does John mean when he says, “we saw his glory”? This could be a reference to seeing the resurrected Jesus; or seeing Jesus crucified, which Jesus considered part of entering into his glory; or seeing Jesus transfigured on the mountain; or seeing Jesus’s miraculous signs, which John says revealed his glory (John 2:11). In verse 14, where most translations say he is the Father’s “only son,” the actual Greek word is “only-begotten.” As we know from the “begats” in the Old Testament and the New Testament, when a man is begotten of someone else, it means they have a father-son relationship. The idea of sonship is embedded in having been begotten , and that may be a key point that John is trying to make by using that word. Modern translations mostly say “only son” rather than “only-begotten.” Doing so brings out the relationship that is embedded in the Greek word: John is telling us that Jesus is God’s only Son. We express this truth in the Nicene Creed. We say that Jesus Christ is the “Only Begotten Son of God,” echoing John’s reference to the Father’s only-begotten Son (verse 14). We also say he was “begotten, not made.” He cannot have been made or created because he was present in the beginning (verse 1) and nothing was created except through him (verse 3). John gives us the pieces that were fleshed out in the words of the Creed. In terms of your own faith, what stands out to you in verse 14, and what difference does it make in your life? Read John 1:15-18 Jesus brought grace and truth and revealed the Father John now makes it clear that when he says the Word is God and became human, the human he is talking about is Jesus Christ, who is the only Son of God. Looking at verse 15, what did John the Baptist say about Jesus? What does he mean when he says that Jesus existed before him, given that John was born months earlier that Jesus (Luke 1:36)? Looking at verse 16, when John says that we received from his fullness, what does that mean? What have we received? The last phrase in verse 16 is sometimes translated as “grace upon grace,” which can be interpreted to mean that we keep receiving God’s grace more and more abundantly. However, a translation that may be truer to the Greek is “grace in place of grace.” This makes more sense in the context of the next verse. People received a kind of grace through the revelation of the Mosaic Law, but we receive a fuller grace through Jesus. This happens as the New Covenant in Jesus Christ transcends the Old Covenant that was based on the Mosaic Law. In verse 17, John contrasts what we received previously from the Mosaic Law with the “grace and truth” we receive through Jesus. How is what we receive from Jesus greater than what the Mosaic Law offered? In what ways do you receive “grace” through Jesus? In what ways do you receive “truth” through Jesus? Verse 18 says that no one has seen God. Why is that, and how does Jesus change that? Now that Jesus has come, people have seen God in the flesh. What does Jesus’s presence as God-in-the-flesh (Emmanuel, “God with us”) teach us that we might otherwise not be able to understand about God? In verse 18, John refers to Jesus as God the only Son. He has now stated that Jesus Christ is the Word; that he was with God in the beginning; that he is God; that all things were created through him; that he became human and lived among us; that he is the Father’s only Son; and that he is God the Son. Contrary to the claims of skeptics, these are not ideas that were manufactured by the Church centuries later. It took time for the Church to settle on the exact words of the Creed, but John expressed all of these ideas here. In what ways has Jesus revealed the Father to you? Take a step back and consider this: For Christians, we hear so often the idea that God became human that we can easily forget how amazing this claim is. People who have never heard of Jesus have no concept that God would become one of us. The oldest religions in the world (Hinduism, etc.) don’t have this concept. When people create new religions, they might think that people can become gods, but they don’t envision the Creator of the universe coming to Earth and living as one of us. What kind of God is infinite, eternal, and transcendent, but chooses to come and live the life of a finite, mortal, limited creature so that they could become like him? What does this tell us about how much God cares about us? How can you recapture more of the awe and appreciation that might come with first learning that God cares so much about us that he came to live as one of us to bring us to himself? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

If God doesn't care about us, we are in a pretty precarious position. Previous Next Table of Contents Does God Care? If God doesn't care about us, we are in a pretty precarious position. Tom Faletti (to be continued) Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Table of Contents Next

Does a high school coach prevent all suffering their players might endure? Why not, and what might that tell us about God? Previous Next Table of Contents God is Like a High School Coach Does a high school coach prevent all suffering their players might endure? Why not, and what might that tell us about God? Tom Faletti (to be continued) Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Table of Contents Next

The apostle Paul undermined the Roman system of slavery by seeking to transform the relationship between masters and slaves. Could he have done more? Could we be doing more to challenge the injustices of our time? Previous Philemon List Next Philemon: Broader Questions About Slavery The apostle Paul undermined the Roman system of slavery by seeking to transform the relationship between masters and slaves. Could he have done more? Could we be doing more to challenge the injustices of our time? Kiwi the Green Wing Macaw, in a cage. Quality Inn Oceanfront, Ocean City, MD. Photo by Tom Faletti, 28 Sept. 2024. Tom Faletti October 6, 2025 Broader Questions About Slavery We have carefully explored Paul’s letter to Philemon. Now let’s look at the broader issue of slavery in the Roman Empire as it affected the early church. First, some background facts: When the New Testament was being written, 20% or more of all the people in the Roman Empire were slaves, and the percentage was higher in the Empire’s home province of Italy ( Welch and Hall ; The British Museum ). Slavery was embedded in the entire fabric of the Roman Empire. It was central to the social structure and economic system, and it was a central feature of Rome’s military expansion. The Empire routinely captured thousands of enemy soldiers and civilians when they won military victories and brought them to Rome or other parts of Italy as slaves. Slaves performed a wide range of jobs, both professional and menial, so they often moved freely around their city and could show up everywhere – sometimes working side by side with freed people. A master didn’t have to be wealthy to own a slave. Slaves were allowed to earn money, which served as an incentive for good performance. They could buy their freedom, if their master was willing. Masters also sometimes freed slaves by their own choice. In the early centuries of the Roman Empire, slave owners were allowed to treat their slaves any way they wanted, and abuses were common. Almost any kind of punishment was permitted. A slave could be beaten, forced to wear irons, branded on the forehead, or even killed by a master. In addition, if the government got involved – for example, when there were slave rebellions – the penalty could be crucifixion. And being a fugitive slave in the Roman Empire was a major crime. Later, restrictions were placed on how masters treated their slaves. Both slaves and masters, like other people, were often attracted to the new religion of Christianity. Therefore, the early church included both slaves and masters, and the church had to figure out how to deal with the constant presence of slaves and masters in their midst. People sometimes ask why Paul didn’t denounce slavery or call for its abolition. How might his approach have been affected by his expectation that Christ would be coming back soon? Considering the structure of the Roman Empire, what do you think would have happened if he or other Christians had worked to abolish slavery in the Roman Empire? Why might he have chosen not to challenge the slave-based social structure? In the Gospels, Jesus never calls for the abolition of slavery. He tells stories about slaves and masters. He says that the truth will set you free (John 8:31-36), but he is talking about spiritual freedom from sin, not slavery as an institution. Why do you think Jesus never called for the abolition of slavery? While Paul does not explicitly call for an end to slavery, he says things that could be seen as undermining the system. For example, what are the implications of saying that a slave is a beloved brother in the Lord (Philemon 16)? Paul talks about slaves, masters, and free people in several of his letters. Let’s look at what Paul says when he brings up the topic: 1 Corinthians 7:20-24 Stay in the state you’re in Why does Paul encourage people to avoid slavery and to become free if they can? What attitude does he say people should have if they are slaves? How is Paul’s teaching here supportive of the existing social structure of slavery? How does Paul’s teaching here undermine the existing system? In what ways might saying that slaves are free in the Lord lay the groundwork for an end to slavery? 1 Corinthians 12:13 the Spirit is given to slaves and free people Consider the social and political distinctions that come with being a slave or a free person. How is Paul’s teaching here subversive of the existing social structure of slavery? Galatians 3:26-28 In Christ there is neither slave nor free How does the principle Paul establishes here undermine the slavery system and lay the groundwork for enslaved people to eventually be freed and treated as equals? Colossians 3:11 there is no slave nor free; Christ is in all How does saying that “Christ is in all” add to what Paul said in Galatians 3? Ephesians 6:5-9 how slaves and masters should treat each other How do Paul’s instructions to slaves suggest an entirely different way of thinking about their work? How do Paul’s instructions to masters suggest an entirely different way of thinking about their relationship to their slaves? Considering what we know about how masters could abuse their slaves with impunity in the Roman Empire, how is Paul fostering a new way of thinking about slaves? Colossians 3:22–4:1 how slaves and masters should treat each other These instructions are very similar to the instructions in Ephesians 6. What words does Paul uses in 4:1 that introduce a new way of thinking about how masters should treat slaves? Paul says masters should treat their slaves “justly” – a word that raises a question: what is justice for slaves? And when he says masters should treat their slaves “fairly,” the root of the Greek word he uses is the word for equality (Liddell and Scott; Vine; and the Interlinear Bible ). In other words, Paul is telling masters to treat their slaves with justice and with equality (although he does not elaborate as to whether he means equality among slaves or equality between slaves and free people). What message about slavery is Paul sending by saying that slaves should be treated justly and fairly? Conclusion Different people reach different conclusions about Paul’s handling of the reality of slavery in the Roman Empire. What do you think about how Paul dealt with this central feature of Roman society? Do you think his focus on transforming attitudes was appropriate, or do you think he should have done more? Could we be doing more to challenge the injustices of our time? Paul Robinson Coleman-Norton is cited as a key source by Joseph A. Fitzmyer, who wrote the commentary on Philemon for The New Jerome Biblical Commentary . Coleman-Norton (1898-1971) was an authority on Roman law at Princeton University for 40 years. Coleman-Norton noted that Paul “does not denounce the system [of slavery] itself as wrong; rather Paul tries to transform the relation of master and slave by referring it to Christian considerations.” He concludes that Paul “enunciates the doctrine which eventually destroyed the system of slavery” (Coleman-Norton, p. 165). In other words, Paul sowed seeds that eventually led Christians to conclude that the institution of slavery could not be defended. Do you agree? When you get to heaven, what would you like to ask Paul about this subject? Epilogue Why do you think this letter about a personal matter was included in the New Testament, when most of the letters in the canon were written for the public instruction of a church or a group of churches? There is an interesting historical footnote to this story. Around 50 years after Paul wrote this letter, sometime between 108 and 117, Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop or “patriarch” of Antioch, was being taken to Rome to be martyred. On the way, he wrote 7 letters (which still survive) to various churches in Asia Minor. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, he praises their bishop, Onesimus. Scholars wonder whether this Onesimus might be the same Onesimus who Paul wrote to Philemon about. (If Philemon was a young man when he ran away, he could have been an old bishop 50 years later.) Some scholars believe that Paul’s letters were assembled into one document at Ephesus. If Onesimus became the bishop there, he could be the reason why the church at Ephesus preserved this seemingly personal letter from Paul. (See Orthodox Church in America for a statement of this belief.) If Onesimus did ultimately become a bishop, that would suggest that Paul was successful in his mission of getting Philemon to allow Onesimus to work in ministry. Take a step back and consider this: Every generation faces new or resurrected issues where the Christian faith has something to say that runs contrary to the norms of a culture or society. If we are trying to influence someone to “do the right thing” in their treatment of a group that might be suffering mistreatment or might be at risk, Paul’s approach to Philemon might offer us some suggestions for how to be effective advocates. Paul’s leadership tips for how to approach a decision maker might include the following: Praise the decision maker for what he or she has already done. Praise the people you are advocating for. Try to persuade but not command. Describe the benefits to the decision maker of following your suggestion. Describe the benefits to yourself and the people you are advocating for. Offer logical, reasoned arguments. Appeal to both the head and the heart. Acknowledge that the decision is ultimately in their hands. What might be an issue today where you feel called to speak up and urge someone to find an appropriate way to put the teachings of Christ into practice? How could you draw wisdom (and courage) from Paul’s example, regarding how to do it? What might your next step be? Bibliography See Philemon - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/philemon/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Philemon List Next

Jesus’s word was enough for the royal official. How much faith do you place in Jesus’s word? Previous Next John List John 4:43-54 Jesus’s word was enough for the royal official. How much faith do you place in Jesus’s word? James Tissot (1836-1902). The Healing of the Officer's Son (La guérison du fils de l'officier) . 1886–1894. Cropped. Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY. Public domain, Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-SA , via Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/13404 . Tom Faletti January 13, 2026 Read John 4:43-54 Jesus returns to Galilee and heals a royal official’s son – the second “sign” The first sign and the stories that followed it helps us think about Jesus’s role as living water . The next set of stories explores how Jesus’s word has the power to give life. The 7 signs John focuses on are not the only miracles Jesus performs. They are not even the only “signs” Jesus performs (John tells us in 2:11 that he performed other signs in Jerusalem). But John gives special attention to these 7 signs that point beyond the miracle to who Jesus is. Here are the Gospel of John’s 7 signs: Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12). Followed by the discussion with the Samaritan woman, Jesus shows he is the living water. Jesus heals the official’s son (John 4:46-54). Jesus shows his power over illness and ability to heal even at a distance. Jesus heals the paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:1-47). Jesus shows he is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus feeds the 5,000 by the multiplication of loaves and fish (John 6:1-14). Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus walks on water (John 6:16-24). Jesus has power over nature and overcomes fear. Jesus heals the man born blind (John 9:1-41). This sign is preceded by Jesus’s declaration that he is the Light of the World (John 8:12). It shows that Jesus offers spiritual insight so that we can see clearly. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Jesus shows his power even over death, after declaring that he is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). What does Jesus say in verse 44, and what does it mean? Some people see a contradiction between verses 44 and 45. In the short run, verse 45 tells us that the Galileans welcomed him because the people who had gone to the feast in Jerusalem reported the good things that Jesus had done. But John cautions us that this did not last in the long run, warning us in verse 44 that the proverb is true that says that a prophet is not honored in his native place. What happens in this story about the royal official in Cana? Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 have a similar but not identical story. In Matthew and Luke, the one asking for help is a centurion – a military officer with 100 soldiers under him, and therefore a Gentile. In John, it is a “royal official,” meaning someone in the court of Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of Galilee, and therefore probably someone who is a Jew. In Matthew and John, the sick person is the centurion’s pais , a Greek word that can mean either one’s boy or girl child or one’s slave. Luke uses the word doulos , which only means slave (although it is often translated as servant). We needn’t be troubled by these minor discrepancies in people’s memory of what Jesus did. However, the television series The Chosen suggests a solution to part of the possible discrepancy: in their storyline, the boy is the illegitimate son of the official and of a servant/slave under him, and the boy was raised as a servant/slave. In all of the versions, the man is from Capernaum, suggesting that there is a common core event, even if there was uncertainty about exactly who Jesus healed from miles away. How is the official feeling in the beginning? Jesus responds in verse 48 by expressing concern that people only believe because of they see his signs and wonders. What is wrong with that? John warns in verses 44-45 that people might not believe in Jesus in the end, when the signs people expected don’t come to pass, even though they might believe for a time. John previously warned in 2:23-24 that there is a difference between initially “believing” because of Jesus’s signs and truly believing in a way that permanently changes your life. Why do you think the official persists when Jesus makes that comment? What can we learn from him? In verse 49, the official asks Jesus to come “down” to Capernaum. Capernaum was a port city on the Sea of Galilee (a lake, actually), which is east of Galilee. Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee are around 700 feet below sea level. Archaeologists have identified 2 possible sites for Cana. Both are up in the hilly part of Galilee, at least 700 feet above sea level, so there is a 1,400-foot difference in elevation between the two towns. Capernaum was perhaps a 20-mile walk down from Cana, which would have taken a whole day. To walk from Capernaum to Cana, as the royal official had done, would have taken longer, because it required a climb of 1,400 feet in elevation. The official asks Jesus to come to Capernaum. Why do you think Jesus chose to heal the man’s son at a distance rather than going to Capernaum? Verse 50 tells us that the man “believed the word that Jesus said to him” and left. Why was Jesus’s word enough for him? The man chose to believe the word of Jesus. Have you had an experience like that, where you needed to believe the word of God before it was clear that he would do something? What happened? What can we learn from this about the power of Jesus’s word? When we are desperate, as this man was, we might be tempted to believe anyone who says they can help us. How do you discern which words are truly from God and which are not, in order to avoid being fooled by false prophets? If you had been that official, would you have needed something more than just a word from Jesus before you left? More generally, what kinds of “signs and wonders” (verse 48) do you need before you are ready to believe a word from Jesus? What is Jesus saying to you in this passage? Take a step back and consider this: Verse 53 says that the man (and his whole household) believed. What sort of belief do you think he had when it says he believed in verse 53 (believed what)? How might this belief have been greater or different than the belief he had in verse 50 where it says he believed when Jesus said his son would live? Initially, the man at least believed that Jesus has the power to heal. In verse 53, he probably believes that Jesus is sent from God and that what he teaches is true, and perhaps even that he is the Messiah. “Belief” can have many levels. One can believe merely that God exists, or also that Jesus has power from God, or that Jesus is God. One can stop with head knowledge, or one can act on it and become a follower and disciple of Jesus. One can make Jesus part of their life, or they can be “all in” and try to let Jesus shape every aspect of who they are. When you say you “believe” in God or in Jesus, what does it mean for you? What do you mean when you say you have put your faith in God? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

The religious authorities want to know who John the Baptist is. John is more interested in identifying who Jesus is. That's the central question for us, too. [John 1:19-28; 1:29-34] Previous Next John List John 1:19-34 The religious authorities want to know who John the Baptist is. John is more interested in identifying who Jesus is. That's the central question for us, too. Giovanni di Paolo (1398–1482). Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God) . Circa 1455-60. Detail. Art Institute of Chicago, Public domain CC0, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16159/ecce-agnus-dei . Tom Faletti October 31, 2025 Read John 1:19-28 What John the Baptist says about himself This man who was baptizing people in the desert is often called John the Baptist. People sometimes call him John the Baptizer, to avoid any confusion between him and the denominations of Christians known as Baptists that arose many centuries later. Who challenges John the Baptizer? Priests and Levites (verse 19), and then Pharisees (verse 24). Priests offered the sacrifices in the Temple. Levites served in the Temple but not as priests. Pharisees were a religious sect within Judaism that emphasized zealous adherence to the Torah and its purity laws. Who does John say he is not? He says he is not the “Christ or “Messiah.” “Messiah” is the word that Jewish people would have used in their own language to refer to the one whose coming they were awaiting, who they expected would bring them liberation. The Hebrew word “Messiah” means “Anointed One.” The Greek word Christos , from which we get our word “Christ,” is the Greek word for “Anointed One.” He says he is not Elijah. In the Old Testament, Elijah does not die; instead, in 2 Kings 2:1-12, he is described as being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. And in a prophecy in Malachi 3:23-24, God says he is sending Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord comes (when the Messiah comes). The scholars in the Jewish tradition interpreted these passages literally and expected Elijah himself to return before the Messiah comes. In Matthew 11:14 and Mark 9:11-13, Jesus indicates that John has played the role that people expected of Elijah. But John knows he is not literally Elijah and says so. He says he is not the prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Moses says that God will raise up a prophet like Moses for the people. Again, this was part of Jewish tradition and the Jews of Jesus’s time waited expectantly for this Prophet. Who does John the Baptist say he is? John is quoting Isaiah 40:3. Read Isaiah 40:1-5 . Why do you think John the Baptist sees himself in this description? How is this a fitting description of John the Baptist? In verse 26, what does John say he does? In verse 27, how does John the Baptizer distinguish himself from “the one who is to come,” which is Jesus? How is this a fitting description for Jesus? Read John 1:29-34 What does John testify about Jesus? Notice that in verse 29, John the evangelist says that this happens “on the next day.” John divides his episodes into days. Day one: If John is not the One, what is his role? Day two: Here is the One. How does John describe Jesus? Let’s look at each of the things John says. Notice that John telescopes into one paragraph here what happens over a longer period of time in the Synoptic Gospels. John is trying to get to the spiritual meaning of what was happening. What is the significance of calling Jesus the Lamb of God? This image probably evokes the Passover or “paschal” lamb whose blood saved the Israelites from the death of the firstborns in Egypt before Pharaoh finally let them go (Ex. 12). It may also evoke the Suffering Servant in Isaiah who is led like a lamb to the slaughter (Is. 53:7) and whose life is an offering for sin (Is. 53:10). What is the significance of saying that he takes away the sin of the world (note that the word “sin” is singular – John is referring to the whole state of sinfulness, not just specific sins)? What is the significance of saying that “he existed before me”? What is the significance of saying that the Spirit descended on him like a dove and remains on him? What is the significance of saying that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit? What is the significance of saying he is the Son of God? John the Baptist was a relative of Jesus (Luke 1:36ff), so scholars have puzzled over the fact that in verse 33 he says that he had not known Jesus (he uses a special form of the past tense). If they were relatives as Luke says, why does he say this? There are two main possibilities: John may merely be saying that he had not “known” in the sense that he had not realized previously that Jesus was the Messiah. John may never have spent much time with Jesus. Jesus’s early years were spent in Egypt and his family settled in the north, in Galilee, a multi-day walk from the territory where John’s family lived. They were “relatives,” but not necessarily close cousins. As an adult, at some point John went off and lived in the desert. So it is possible that they never interacted with each other before Jesus showed up to be baptized. In verses 33-34, how does John explain why he is so confident that what he is saying is true, (even though he had not known previously)? Looking over all the ways that John the Baptist describes Jesus, which description is most important to you and your life, and why? (John says: he is the Lamb of God, he takes away the sin of the world, he existed before me, the Spirit is on him, he will baptize with the Spirit, he is the Son of God.) And can you describe a time when that understanding of Jesus especially mattered for you? Take a step back and consider this: Identities are important. Sometimes, it matters a great deal who you are – or are not. The religious authorities want to know who John is (or who he thinks he is). John the Baptist wants his followers, and everyone listening to him, to know who Jesus is. Sometimes we want to know who someone is so that we can put them in the proper box in our mental assessment of who’s who in the world. That can be helpful (“this teenager is one of my students; I need to help him”) or unhelpful (“I’ve never seen this teenager here; he must be up to no good”). John the Baptist not only identifies Jesus; he testifies (verse 34) that Jesus is the Son of God. This role of testifying or bearing witness is sometimes crucial (“this is one of my most diligent students; he’s here to talk with me about his scholarship essay”). If we have experienced that Jesus takes away sins, is filled with the Spirit, or is the Son of God, we can testify to what we have seen, as John the Baptist did. How would you introduce Jesus to someone who does not know him? How would you describe him – what words would you use to identify him – so that others might be motivated to learn more about him? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

Outside the timeline. Previous Next Table of Contents Where is God? - Part 1 Outside the timeline. Tom Faletti (to be continued) Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Table of Contents Next

Jesus loves his people like a mother hen who desires to gather her young under her wings. How can we embrace this maternal love of God for us? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 23:37-39 Jesus loves his people like a mother hen who desires to gather her young under her wings. How can we embrace this maternal love of God for us? Ben Austrian (1870-1921). Hen with Baby Chicks . Circa 1915. Cropped. Reading Public Museum, Reading, PA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_Austrian_-_Hen_with_Baby_Chicks_-_2009.3.1_-_Reading_Public_Museum.jpg . Tom Faletti August 22, 2025 Matthew 23:37-39 Jesus yearns for the people of Jerusalem like a mother hen for her chicks We have completed the material Matthew has gathered together regarding the confrontations between Jesus and the leaders of the various factions of Jews in Jerusalem. Matthew ends with a passage that is very different but is connected by the fact that both this passage and the previous passage refer to the killing of prophets sent by God. But the tone in this passage is different. In the previous passage, where Jesus is uttering woes against the scribes and Pharisees, it would be natural to assume that Jesus’s tone was stern and judging. What is his tone in this passage? How does he feel about Jerusalem? What does the image of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings tell you about Jesus? How does a mother’s love portray God’s feelings toward us? This is not the only passage in the Bible that presents God using maternal images. Read Isaiah 49:13-15 As they struggle in exile, how does verse 14 describe how God’s people (the people of Zion) are feeling? They are feeling forsaken or forgotten by God. How does God respond in verse 15? God describes his relationship with them as like that of a woman and her infant, saying: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, / or show no compassion for the child up for womb? / Even these may forget, / yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15, NRSV). God is to his people like a mother to her nursing babe. What does this tell you about God’s relationship with us and love for us? Read Isaiah 66:13 In this portion of Isaiah, the prophet is describing the future restoration of Israel. What does God say in this verse? God says, “As a mother comforts her child, / so I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13, NRSV). How is the image of a mother comforting her child a helpful image of God’s concern for us? Read Psalm 131 How does the psalmist describe his approach to God? The psalmist says, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, / like a weaned child with its mother” (Psalm 131:2, NRSV). The psalmist could have said “father” – the child has been weaned, so this is not a nursing image. But here he pictures the peace and security he finds in the presence of God as being like a child leaning into the embrace of its mother. How does that enhance our image of God’s love for us? Can you picture yourself leaning into God’s embrace like a child to its mother? How does that make you feel? Does this image add anything to your usual image of your relationship with God? Read Hosea 11:1-4 Although the people of Israel have not been faithful to God, how does God describe his relationship with them? This is not an exclusively maternal image of God, but certainly has maternal overtones. When God says he taught his people to walk, “took them in my arms,” cared for them with love like those who “lift an infant to their cheeks,” and “bent down to feed them,” how does that remind us of a mother? Do you feel like God is helping you to grow and develop the way a mother nurtures her child? How is this image helpful? These few verses cannot be used to construct a theology for calling God “Mother,” especially considering the massive counterweight of biblical language that explicitly calls God “Father.” Since God is not a material creature, he is neither male nor female. But he chose to become a member of the human family as a male, and Jesus called God his “Father.” That is not something to be rejected. So it is appropriate to call God “Father.” Nevertheless, Jesus and Old Testament writers occasionally used the metaphor of a loving mother to express God’s love for us, which offers us the opportunity to explore the value of that metaphor in understanding how much God loves us. Go back and re-read Matthew 23:37-39 . Imagine being swept up into Jesus’s arms, or under his wings. How does that make you feel? What does Jesus want you to understand about yourself and him, in these words he spoke? Notice that Jesus’s words imply that he has been in Jerusalem many times previously. Matthew and the other synoptic Gospels tell Jesus’s story as though his public ministry included only one visit to Jerusalem. John’s Gospel shows that he has been there multiple times. Luke 3:41 tells us that Mary and Joseph and the child Jeus went to Jerusalem for Passover every year. It is unlikely that he would have stopped the practice as an adult. So Matthew’s Gospel, despite how much it covers, still only presents part of Jesus’s life in the public eye. Picture Jesus traveling to Jerusalem (like a pilgrimage) every year for the Passover sacrifice. What does that add to your understanding of his life? In verse 38, “your house” means Jerusalem – Jerusalem will be left desolate. This is another instance of Matthew alluding to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, after the time when Jesus spoke but before Matthew wrote his Gospel. Since Jesus has already had his dramatic entrance into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11, where the people cried out, “Blessed is he who come in the name of the Lord,” verse 39 can’ be interpreted as a reference to that day. Therefore, verse 39 is often interpreted as referring to the Second Coming, when Jesus will come in glory for the final judgment. That make sense in the context of what is coming in the next two chapters, which are about the Second Coming and the Final Judgment. Everyone will face a final judgment at the end of their life. Jesus shows patience rather than calling for an immediate punishment upon the people in Jerusalem who oppose him. How has he treated you with similar patience? How might we imitate Jesus’s love for people even when they are rejecting him? How might we imitate Jesus’s love for people even when they are rejecting us? Take a step back and consider this: In Psalm 131, the psalmist says, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, / like a weaned child with its mother” (Psalm 131:2, NRSV). You can imagine him simply being present to God: not trying to direct the conversation, not imploring God to do one thing or another, just being with God, as young child in its mother’s arms. The next time you have a quiet time with God, don’t start with your requests and petitions. Don’t start with your sins. Start by just being with God, like a child with its mother. Jesus wants to bring all of us under his wing, close to himself. Spend some time resting in the peace of knowing that Jesus is near you and wants you near him. Like a child, lean in and enjoy just being with God. What effect does this kind of prayer, just resting in the arms of God like a child with its mother, have on you? How can responding to Jesus’s desire to gather you under his wings change your spiritual life? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

John the Baptist sees from God’s perspective and provides a role model for avoiding jealousy. How can we allow Jesus to increase in our lives? [John 3:22-30; 3:31-36] Previous Next John List John 3:22-36 John the Baptist sees from God’s perspective and provides a role model for avoiding jealousy. How can we allow Jesus to increase in our lives? Image by Susan Q Yin, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti January 13, 2026 Read John 3:22-30 John the Baptist allows Jesus to take preeminence without jealousy John the Evangelist implies in verse 22 that Jesus was baptizing, but he clarifies in chapter 4, verse 2, that it was Jesus’s disciples who were doing the baptizing, not Jesus. The scholars are not sure exactly where Aenon near Salim was, but it was probably either along the Jordan River in the eastern part of Palestine or in Samaria in central Palestine. Verse 25 alludes to disagreements about the importance of following Jewish rites of ritual purification, which Jesus did not require his disciples to follow. Some disciples of John the Baptist make a complaint to John. In verse 26, what are they upset about, and why does this bother them? John does not share their concern. How does he answer in verses 27-30? In verse 27, John is basically saying this: the people who were following me but are now following Jesus don’t belong to us; they were a gift we received from God. In what ways might we adopt John’s attitude in how we think about the people in our lives? How can we also apply John’s attitude to the material possessions we have? In verse 29, John the Baptist makes a comparison where Jesus is a bridegroom and John is the best man or “friend” – the one in Jewish culture who arranges the wedding. In that analogy, who is the bride? Paul expanded on the idea that the Church is the bride of Christ in Ephesians 5:25, where he told husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her. Think about the people of the Church – the people who make up the body of Christ because they have chosen to follow Jesus. How would a bride relate to her husband? In what ways are Christians like a bride? How might your relationship with Jesus be strengthened if you gave more attention to the idea that you are the bride or spouse of Christ? Why does John describe himself as full of joy (verse 29) because of what is happening? Verse 30 offers another pithy statement that can help us think about our relationship with Jesus. How can you use the statement “He must increase; I must decrease” as a guide to your life? Where and how might God be calling you to put this statement into action right now? What does John the Baptist’s attitude tell us about jealousy? John humbly accepted Jesus’s preeminence. How can this be a model for you in your life? Read John 3:31-36 It is not clear whether the words in verses 31-36 are the words of John the Baptist or the explanations of John the Evangelist. Either way, he first says that the one who comes from above – i.e., Jesus – is above all. This is partly an explanation for what was said in verse 30 – that “he must increase; I must decrease.” In verses 31-34, the one who is from above is Jesus. Looking at verses 32 and 34, what does Jesus speak about? In verse 31, what does the person who is from the earth speak about? How are they different? Jesus testifies to what he has seen and heard from heaven (verse 32); he speaks the words of God (verse 34); whereas those who are of the earth focus on earthly things. (Some commentators think that the one who is of the earth is a reference to John the Baptist, but in the context of John’s repeated distinction between those who believe in Jesus and those who don’t, both earlier in the passage and in the verses that follow such as verse 36, it probably makes more sense to interpret the reference to the earthly people as those who do not receive what Jesus has taught but choose to live in the darkness.) Verse 34 tells us that God gives the Spirit “without measure” (NRSV) or that he does not “ration” (NABRE) the Spirit. The wording evokes the image of a person measuring out portions for a recipe or in the serving line at a buffet. God gives the Spirit without limit. Verse 34 could be interpreted as saying that Jesus has the fullness of the Spirit. However, considering Jesus’s statement in John 3:6-8 that everyone must born of the Spirit, it is more likely that verse 34 is talking about God’s gift of the Spirit to us. We might put it this way: God does not measure out the Spirit to us in limited amounts; he gives us the fullness of the Spirit. What does this image of God’s unlimited gift of the Spirit say to you? Verse 36 tells us how to respond and also tells us what happens when we do. What does verse 36 say? Faith is not simply the statement of some special words. It is not just the acceptance of certain ideas with our mind or intellect. It is the commitment of our will to put God first. How does that help us understand why John always links belief with obedience? In verse 36, John uses the word “wrath” in a manner similar to the way he used the word “darkness” to describe the experience of those who do not enter into Jesus’s light and life. The term “wrath” is used frequently in the Old Testament to describe the Jewish people’s experience of God’s judgment when they are disobeying him. God is not subject to human emotions such as anger or vindictiveness, but there are consequences when people are separated from God by their own choices. When John talks about the “wrath” of God in verse 36, he is using an Old Testament concept that described the suffering that God’s people endured when they persisted in disobeying God. God does not have human emotions such as anger or vindictiveness, but choosing the darkness comes with its own consequences. In verse 36, John is trying to make the point that the choices that people make, either for or against Jesus, have eternal consequences. What does this verse say to you? In verse 35, John says explicitly for the first time that the Father loves the Son. Moreover, the Father has handed everything over to the Son (which builds on John 1:3 where John said that all things came to be through him). What difference does it make in your life, knowing that Jesus Christ holds all things in his hands? How might that affect your faith in Jesus? Take a step back and consider this: There are 2 ways to respond to the presence of God in our lives. The way of John the Baptist accepts what God is trying to do and does not fight it. This approach trusts that God is working for good in our lives and does not try to dictate what God should do. The way of darkness rejects what God is trying to do and seeks its own way. At some point in our lives, we experience a moment when we are called to make the biggest decision of our lives: Whose way will we follow? Are we going to follow Jesus and live in his light, or are we going to follow our desires and live in the darkness? Even after we have crossed that divide and chosen to follow Jesus, we still face many moments in our lives when we are tempted to take a small step toward the darkness, toward carrying out our own will in opposition to God’s will. What practices have you adopted or could you adopt in your life that would help you reject the temptation to embrace earthly desires, such as jealousy (which John the Baptist faced) or greed or lust or anger, so that you can keep your focus on abiding every moment in the light of Christ? What practices can help you resist when those temptations come? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

What kind of soil can I be, to allow the seed of God’s word to take root and be fruitful in my life? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 13:1-23 What kind of soil can I be, to allow the seed of God’s word to take root and be fruitful in my life? Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). The Sower . ca. 1865. Cropped. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, https://art.thewalters.org/object/37.905/ . Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal. Tom Faletti June 3, 2025 Preview: In chapter 13, Matthew gathers together some of Jesus’s teachings that are in the form of parables. In chapter 14, Matthew gathers together some of Jesus’s actions that might be thought of as living parables – stories that reveal something bigger than just what happens in the story. Read Matt. 13:1-23 The sower and the seed, and why Jesus speaks in parables Although it is helpful to read the whole passage at once, we will discuss the sower and seed parable first, before discussing verses 10-17 about Jesus’s use of parables more generally. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 The sower, the seed, and the soils Parables are stories in the form of metaphors or similes that use ordinary human experiences to communicate deeper truths about spiritual matters. In v. 19, Jesus says that the parable of the sower and the seed is about the kingdom of heaven, which is everywhere that people follow God’s Word and acknowledge his lordship. In this parable, what is the seed a metaphor for? The seed is “the word of the kingdom” (13:18); so represents the Word of God, the message of good news that Jesus is preaching about the kingdom of God. What are the different soils a metaphor for ? The soils are different types of people with their different responses to the message of Jesus. Or, to personalize it, the soil is the state of your heart as you hear the word of God. Who are the people in whom the seed takes root and produces fruit? Who are the people in whom the seed doesn’t take permanent root? Now let’s look at each type of soil more closely. There are 3 types of soil where the seed does not take lasting root: the path, the rocky ground, and the ground where there are thorns. In each of those cases, what is the reaction of the person who hears the word in that kind of soil? What goes wrong that prevents the word from taking permanent root? The path: They don’t understand the word, so it does not take root in their heart and the evil one snatches it away. The rocky ground: They receive it with joy for a while, but it does not last. Trouble or persecution arises, and they fall away. The thorns: They hear the word, but anxiety about worldly concerns and the desire for wealth choke it off; so the word does not produce fruit. Consider the seed on the path. Verse 19 says the evil one snatches the word from them because they do not understand it. How can the seed be sowed but not understood? How are people in our day vulnerable to hearing the word but not really understanding it, so that it gets snatched away before it can take root and turn into a solid faith? Consider the seed on rocky ground. In verse 20, how do people respond at first? In verse 21, Jesus says that when they encounter troubles or persecution because of the word , they fall away. In the Western world today, Christians may not encounter a lot of direct persecution, but what are some ways that living the faith can cause trouble or become difficult for a person who starts out believing? What does it look like when a person’s faith “withers” (verse 6) because it has no roots. How might we be vulnerable to having our faith wither when living the faith becomes more difficult? How can we build stronger roots for our faith? Consider the seed among thorns. How are people in our day vulnerable to having their faith choked off by worldly concerns and the desire for money? Consider these three risks: that the word of God might be snatched away because we don’t understand it, that it might wither in the face of difficulties, and that it might be choked off by the cares of the world. How are you vulnerable to these risks? Which risk is the greatest danger for you? [If you are studying this passage with a group, break into smaller groups of two or three people and share together.] Now consider the good soil. How does the person in good soil respond to the seed/word? For the people in good soil, what is the result? In our time, what does a person in good soil look like? What can we do to be good soil for God’s Word to take root? Jesus says that the fruitful people produce thirty-, sixty-, even a hundredfold. This means that, even among the people who let the Word of God take root in them, we are not all alike in our output. What do you think affects the fruit produced? Can you produce a lot of “fruit” for God even if your life is difficult and you encounter a lot of troubles? Explain. If the soil is the heart or receptivity of the person, it is not something that is external and just “happens” to us; we have some control over what kind of soil we are. What do we need to do to be the kind of good soil that allows God’s word to take deep and fruitful root in our lives? Matthew 13:10-17 Why Jesus speaks in parables Jesus is asked why he speaks in parables. He describes in vv. 16-17 how his disciples are different than other people. How are they different? What does it mean when Jesus says that the disciples see and hear while others do not? What do they see and hear that others do not? When Jesus says in verse 11 that the disciples have been allowed to know the “mysteries” or “secrets” of the kingdom, he is using a technical term that does not mean something that can never be understood by anyone; rather, it is something that can be understood only by those to whom God has revealed it. God has revealed his divine plan to the disciples through Jesus. For those who do not understand God’s divine plan, it does not make sense. In what ways is Christianity a mystery to those who have not embraced it, even though those who have become part of God’s people understood God’s plans? In what ways is it true that, as Jesus says in verse 12, to those who have some knowledge of God, more will be given? In verse 13, Jesus explains why he speaks in parables. In the typical Jewish thinking of Jesus’s time and in the Old Testament, everything was caused by God – even when people turned away from God and were held responsible for their actions. Following that line of thinking, in Mark 4:11 Jesus says that he speaks in parables “so that” they will not understand – which implies that Jesus’s use of parables is the reason they don’t understand. Matthew says it differently, in a way that make the human responsibility clearer: Jesus speaks in parables because” they hear but do not listen or understand. In verse 13, Jesus says that people hear but do not listen. What is going on when a person hears but doesn’t listen? Whose fault is it that they don’t understand? Does it suggest that they aren’t trying very hard to understand? Matthew then quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10, which can be interpreted either to say that God has prevented the people from understanding or that the people themselves bear some responsibility for not understanding and turning to God. (Matthew quotes the Greek Septuagint translation, which preserves the element of human responsibility more clearly.) What do you see in verse 15 that indicates that the people’s lack of understanding is because of choices on their part? Their hearts are insensitive, they are barely hearing, and they have closed their eyes. What challenge does this present to us? Are there times when we might be at risk of not hearing God because of our own apathetic or halfhearted approach to the Gospel? What do we need to do in order to understand Jesus’s teachings and allow his seeds to bear fruit in our lives? Why might Jesus choose to shift to parables if people aren’t trying very hard to understand him? Perhaps it helps separate out those who want to learn from those who don’t really want to put any effort into his new way of following God. What are some advantages of teaching in parables? Stories are powerful. They capture our imagination. They engage us an motivate us. Illustrations are concrete rather than abstract. They use familiar circumstances to open the door to more abstract points. In Matthew 13:3, Jesus begins the parable by saying, “Behold the sower went out to sow” – not “ a sower went out to sow” (64). He might have been pointing at a specific sower who was at that very moment sowing seed. Parables use familiar, concrete situations from everyday life. Parables make people think. They force listeners to discover truth for themselves. We have to do some work if we want to gain any benefit. Is there a value in that? Parables remain opaque for people who are not willing to be open to the message. William Barclay makes one other point. Parables are especially useful as a speaking technique: “A parable is not an allegory; an allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning; but an allegory has to be read and studied : a parable is heard . We must be very careful not to make allegories of the parables, but to remember that they were designed to make one stabbing truth flash out at a man the moment he heard it” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 , p. 63). We have looked at what this parable means for us from the perspective of our being the one who hears the word. But it can also be looked at from the perspective of the sower, the one who preaches or shares God’s word with others. What lessons are there in this parable for us as we try to share God’s word with others? There are many good answers to this question. One answer is: Don’t be surprised that you will get varying responses when you share the word of God with others. Take courage and don’t be discouraged. Some people will hear and receive the message and produce fruit. You may not know how big the harvest will be – that’s God’s business; but there will be a harvest. Take a step back and consider this: One interpretation of this parable focuses on the fact that only a small proportion of the people who receive the word are actually transformed by it. Just as there are times in the Old Testament where only a remnant survive, Jesus is being very realistic that the Word of God will not be embraced by all. In many areas of our lives, we want to find the pleasant middle ground where we don’t have to work too hard: The house may not be perfectly clean, but it’s clean enough. I didn’t write an A paper, but it was pretty good. I put as much into that event as everyone else did. But does that work with our spiritual life? Is there a middle-ground level of faith, or does trying to settle for a middle ground lead us to situations where the seed withers or is choked off? How can I be part of the remnant or smaller group that gives itself fully to the divine plan for us to be fruitful in this world? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next