What God Gives Before We Respond

Key Scripture Passages: Mark 1:14–15 · John 14:6–9 · John 10:27–30 · 2 Peter 1:3–8 · John 20:19–23

If someone tells us we need to change, our first reaction may be to defend ourselves. But those same words can sound different when they come from someone who has already moved toward us to help, with patience and something good to offer. What comes first can change the way we hear what comes next.

Jesus never treats our response as unimportant. He calls people to turn, believe, trust, and follow. But He does not begin by giving people a list of things they must do. So what is offered first in these passages, and what response follows? After someone begins following Jesus, why do their choices still matter?

These five passages begin with Jesus announcing that God's kingdom has come near. They move through knowing Him, receiving the life He gives, growing in that life, and finally seeing Him alive after death. Together they invite us to notice what God does and how He calls us to respond.

Prayer

Father, help us hear these passages clearly. Show us what You have done, what Jesus gives, and how You invite us to respond. Help us listen with open hearts. Amen. ---

Movement 1 — God Comes Near | Mark 1:14–15

Context: Mark introduces the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. After John the Baptist is imprisoned, Jesus goes into Galilee announcing what He calls good news.

Mark 1:14–15 (NIV)

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

1) What happens first in Jesus' words, God coming near or people changing direction, and why might that matter?

Probe

Notice that Jesus says, “the kingdom of God has come near” before He says, “Repent and believe the good news.” What might that tell us about His invitation to change?

Reflection Jesus announces God's nearness before He calls people to turn.

Consider When you hear the word repentance, what do you usually think it means?

Movement 2 — Knowing God Through Jesus | John 14:6–9

Context: On the night before His death, Jesus is preparing His disciples for what is coming. Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father.

John 14:6–9 (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

2) What do Jesus' words show us about how we can really know what God is like?

Probe

Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Notice where Jesus directs Philip's attention.

Reflection Jesus does not describe God as someone we are left to figure out from a distance. He tells Philip to look at Him.

Consider When you picture what God is like, what has shaped that picture most?

Movement 3 — The Life Jesus Gives | John 10:27–30

Context: Jesus has described Himself as a shepherd who knows His sheep. Here He speaks about people who listen to Him and follow Him, and then about the life He gives them.

John 10:27–30 (NIV)

²⁷ “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

3) According to Jesus, what keeps His people safe with Him?

Probe

Jesus says, “I give them eternal life,” and then speaks about His hand and His Father's hand. What do those words show about where their security rests?

Reflection The security in this passage rests on the character and authority of the One who gives the life and holds His people.

Consider What do people sometimes depend on to feel secure with God, and how does that compare with what Jesus says here?

Movement 4 — Growing From What God Gives | 2 Peter 1:3–8

Context: Peter, one of Jesus' first disciples, writes to believers about growing in the life they have received. Before he speaks about effort, he begins with what God has already given.

2 Peter 1:3–8 (NIV)

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4) What has God already given, and what does Peter then say we should do with what He has given us?

Probe

Peter begins by describing what God has already given. How does that shape the way we hear his call to “make every effort”?

Reflection Peter's call to growth begins with what God has already given. Our response grows from His gift rather than earning it.

Consider How might that change the way we approach something in our lives that still needs to change or grow?

Movement 5 — The Life Death Could Not Take | John 20:19–23

Context: Jesus has been crucified and buried. On Sunday evening His disciples are together behind locked doors because they are afraid. Jesus comes and stands among them, shows them His wounds, and speaks about what comes next.

John 20:19–23 (NIV)

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

5) What does seeing Jesus alive after His death show the disciples about the life He gives?

Probe

Earlier Jesus said, “I give them eternal life.” Now He is standing alive after His own death. What does His resurrection show about death, God's power, and the future He promises?

Reflection Jesus' resurrection gives powerful confirmation that death does not have final authority over the life God gives.

Consider How might that change the way we look toward our own future?

Bringing the Passages Together

6) When you put all five passages together, what do they show about what God does for us and how we respond to Him?

Probe

Look across the five passages. What does God or Jesus do before people are asked to respond?

Reflection Across these passages, what God does and how people respond belong together. What He does comes first and opens the way for a real response.

Consider Which part of that sequence is easiest for us to lose sight of in ordinary life?

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