People had seen the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish. Soon afterward, Jesus advised them to work for food that does not perish. He realized that it would take work to believe in Him as the Bread of Life. The Lord promised not to reject anyone who comes to Him, explaining that no one comes without the heavenly Father’s prompting. The Apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit, showed that God calls the faithful to Him but also sends them forth. Philip, for example, explained Scripture in light of the Lord to an inquiring royal court of

Even Jesus’ friends and followers failed to recognize the Resurrected Lord. After an angelic message and the sight of an empty tomb with the stone rolled away, Mary Magdalene mistook Jesus for a gardener until He said her name. The Lord explained Scripture as He walked with two travelers on the Road to Emmaus, but only after He blessed and broke bread did they realize that Jesus had Risen. When the Lord appeared to the Disciples in a locked room, they feared that He was a ghost. Despite prior appearances, it took a miraculous haul of fish for

Much can happen in a week. Jerusalem welcomed travelers arriving for the annual Passover festival. On His way there, the Lord visited his friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, allowing Mary to anoint His feet with costly ointment and dry them with her hair. Riding on a colt through an enthusiastic crowd the next day, Jesus alone knew that He neared Crucifixion. On the evening of the Last Supper with His Disciples, the Lord washed their feet—a task for a servant. When Peter said that He would lay down his life for Jesus, the Lord interjected that

Jesus taught that sin enslaves. He mercifully saved a woman caught in adultery by saying that anyone without sin should cast the first stone to punish her. The Lord revealed Himself as the Son of God but narrowly escaped stoning, even though He spoke the truth. For anyone who could not put faith in His words, the Lord suggested believing in the works that He performed. The Virgin Mary believed that she would miraculously give birth to the Son of God. Years later, after Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead, the chief priests and Pharis

An official believed the Lord’s promise that his gravely ill son would live, and so it happened. Beside a pool called Bethesda, where people came in hope of healing in the water, Jesus told a man denied a turn to pick up his mat and walk. Bystanders accused the man of violating the Sabbath by carrying his mat. Controversy surrounded Jesus, who explained that His works testified to the Father’s sending Him. When chief priests and Pharisees asked guards why they had not arrested Jesus, the guards said that no one had ever spoken like Him. Whi

Knowing the Commandments to love God and neighbor, a scholar of the law asked Jesus to define neighbor. Jesus answered with the parable of a man robbed, severely beaten, and ignored by two passers-by. Listeners would have pegged a Samaritan as no good, but he treated the victim with neighborly compassion. In another parable, Jesus depicted a traveler arriving late at night, prompting his host to knock on a friend’s door to borrow some bread to serve as a midnight snack. The friend who finally got up illustrated God’s responsiveness to the f

When called by the Lord to follow Him, Matthew threw a party. Jesus had close friends on Earth, but He counts anyone who hears and acts on the Word of God as family. Herod the tetrarch (son of King Herod at the time of Jesus’ birth) had John the Baptist beheaded, but he heard rumors that John, Elijah, or one of the other prophets had come back in the person of Jesus. When the Lord asked the Disciples their opinion, Peter called Jesus the Christ—no doubt about it. The Twelve received authority from Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven and