Revelations 1:5-8 forms part of the Introductory section (Rev. 1:1-3:22) of the Revelations of John of which the following is an outline

• Rev 1:1-3 Title and Prologue
• Rev 1:4-20 Cover letter for the Seven Churches of Asia
  • 4-8 Opening Words
  • 9-20 The Circumstances that gave rise to the Book
  • Rev 2:1-3:22 Letters to each of the Seven Churches of Asia
    • 2:1-7 To Ephesus
    • 2:8-11 To Smyrna
    • 2:12-17 To Pergamum
    • 2:18-29 To Thyatira
    • 3:1-6 To Sardis
    • 3:7-13 To Philadelphia
    • 3:14-22 To Laodicea

John 6:22-35 begins the the Johanine discourse on the Bread of Life. This section which goes on till the end of chapter 6 explains the meaning of the sign of the feeding of the multitudes (John 6:1-15). What has been called "the Johanine discourse on the Bread of Life" is actually a dialogue between Jesus and the crowd that follows him to Capharnaum. It is a dialogue that occurs the day after the feeding of the multitudes.

The Last Supper Discourse is Jesus' last will and testament to his disciples. He leaves them but he will not leave them orphans since he will send them another Advocate. He wants however that his disciples love one another; by this love, people will know that they are his friends. Within the context of this "Farewell" theme, Jesus also tells his disciples how their life will be. It will be characterized by a continuing vital relationship with Jesus based on his word (John 15:1-17). It is at this point that Jesus tells his disciples how they will be treated by the world.

The author of 1 John explains 3:23 in 1 John 4:7-5:4 in terms of filiation. Within this context, 4:7-10 is the first part of an argument where he shows that the reality of God's love shown in the Christ is the basis of a Christian life that is lived within a communion of faith, hope and love.

4:7-5:4 is a literary unity that is delimited by discourses beginning with the address "Beloved" (agapetoi, vv. 7.11), where the theme of filiation is marked by words built from the verb genaw genaw , "to be father of" (4:7-9;5:1-4a) and two correlative ideas about filiation: that whoever loves and whoever believes in Jesus is born of God (4:7;5:1). Within this complex, the author develops his argument:

1 John 3:18-24 is part of the sub-section which begins in 1 John 3:11. After the author of the epistle emphasizes that love is an element of the gospel received (3:11) and hate is tantamount to murder (3:12-15), and that the new life of the Christian community must be expressed in a loving relationship with the brothers that is "in deed and in truth" (3:16-17), the discourse turns towards the question of conscience: How do we know that we are in the right? (Or in the language employed, How do we know we are in the Truth?). The answer given is three: (a) by the quality of our love (b) by the communion that we have, and (c) by the Spirit we have received.

The selection 1 John 3:1-3 is found within the context of 1 John 2:28 to 3:10. Within this context it appears as an aside in the form of an exclamation by the author. The author urges his community "to remain" in Christ so that in the day of judgment they can stand before Him in confidence. And to remain in Him is to act in righteousness (2:28-29). Righteousness and sin are mutually exclusive, for in Christ there is no sin (3:5). Those who are begotten of God and those who are begotten of the Devil are distinguished by this (3:10): those who sin and do not love the brothers, are of the Devil; those who act in righteousness are of God.

The liturgical selection from 1 John 2:1-5 is one example where the first verse of a chapter does not necessarily coincide with the beginning of a literary unit. In fact, modern exegetes would point out that 1 John 2:1-2 goes with the unit that begins in 1 John 1:5 while 1 John 2:3-6 goes on until the end of 1 John 2:11. In this latter, the series of "I write you ... I have written to you.." introduces a break. Thus, what we have in this selection is the end of one unit and the beginning of another one. However, there are modern translations that present 1 John 2:1-6 under one sub-section 1 In addition, the lectionary for the Third Sunday of Easter (Year B) includes only vv. 1-5 leaving out v. 6. This I think is more due to the soteriological emphasis given in vv. 1-5; verse 6 is ethical.

1. 1. e.g. NRSV. The NIV puts it under 1 John 1:5-2:14 thus treating 2:1-6 as if having its own literary consistency.

1 John 5:1-6 is part of the summary of the topics which the author of the epistle introduces in 2:22-28. This summary actually ends in v. 12, verse 13 being the start of the concluding part of the letter1

1 John 5:1-12 can be divided as follows:

• vv. 1-5 Those who are children of God obey His commands, that is, believe in Jesus Christ and love one another
• vv. 6-8 Jesus Christ, the Son of God is testified to by the Spirit, water and blood
• vv. 9-12 Those who believe in Jesus Christ have God's testimony in their hearts and therefore have eternal life

1. 1. Note how "I write this ..." in verse 13 recalls those in 2:1ff

The selection from John 12:20-33 read on the fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B is found in a pivotal chapter in the Gospel of John. John 12 brings together many of the elements contained in the Book of Signs and at the same time prepares the reader for the Book of Glory. We will first describe the contents of John 12 and then zero in on vv. 20-36, the immediate context of the liturgical selection. The Sunday Thoughts for Sunday V, Lent B is found here.

The episode of the cleansing of the Temple -- as found in the Synoptics -- appears as one of the first things Jesus does upon his entrance into Jerusalem. Matthew and Luke, following Mark present the cleansing as the beginning of the end of the Jerusalem which in 70 AD will be utterly destroyed by the Romans (click on the image above for the Synoptic version of the episode). Jesus, the Son of Man, has come to bring judgment upon the leaders of Judaism and the Temple, symbol of a religious piety that has been emptied of its true meaning. In John's gospel, the evangelist transposes the episode at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, in the Book of Signs. Here, the disciples' mention of the resurrection (v. 22) connects the episode to Jesus' Hour and his glorification.