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| CONVERSATIONS WITH JESUS |
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| recorded in Mark, most of the long public speeches of Matthew, and all of the parables of Luke. Its teaching emerges mainly through Jesus' intimate encounters with diverse people. Listening in on Private Conversations Jesus uttered some of his most memorable sayings in the midst of very ordinary conversations. The book of John rarely shows him speaking to large crowds. Instead, we see Jesus meeting secretly with a nervous religious leader (3:1-21), or talking with a promiscuous woman (4:5-26) beside a well. Both visitors carried away simple-yet-profound images (a second birth, living water), and today we recall those words as among the most familiar in all the Bible. John paints close-ups of individuals who responded to Jesus on earth. Some followed him courageously, others remained skeptical, and still others reacted with hostility. Often, John reports, people simply "did not understand," despite Jesus' use of visual images. In short, response to the Son of God on earth 2,000 years ago bears a striking resemblance to the world's response to him now. Life Questions: Imagine yourself in a private conversation with Jesus, much like the Samaritan woman's. What would you want to talk about? |