Father Mike Schmitz hosts day 102 of the Bible in a Year podcast, reading from The Great Adventure Bible using the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. The podcast follows The Great Adventure Bible timeline from Ascension Press, taking listeners through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Today's reading covers John chapters 10-12 and Proverbs 6:1-5, encompassing Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the death and raising of Lazarus, Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and practical wisdom about financial guarantees. Father Mike emphasizes how these passages reveal Jesus's identity as both vulnerable to human suffering and powerful over death itself.

The episodes demonstrate the central choice every person faces regarding Jesus Christ - either accepting him as God or rejecting him entirely, with no middle ground for considering him merely a good teacher or prophet.

Jesus the Good Shepherd: Protection and Abundant Life

Jesus declares "I am the door" and "I am the good shepherd," contrasting himself with thieves who "come only to steal and kill and destroy" while he came "that they may have life and have it abundantly."

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" - Jesus establishes the intimate relationship between shepherd and sheep based on recognition and trust.

Jesus reveals his mission extends beyond Israel: "I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also...So there shall be one flock, one shepherd."

The Jews attempt to stone Jesus for blasphemy when he declares "I and the Father are one," showing the divisive nature of his identity claims.

The Death and Raising of Lazarus: Jesus's Power Over Death

Jesus deliberately delays coming to Lazarus, telling his disciples "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."

"Jesus wept" - the shortest verse in the Bible occurs when Jesus sees Mary and the Jews weeping, showing he "allows himself to be woundable" and "lets his heart be broken by what breaks our hearts" - Father Mike.

Lazarus had been dead for four days, which Father Mike explains signifies "dead dead" - beyond the three-day period when the soul was thought to remain connected to the body in Jewish understanding.

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live" - Jesus's declaration to Martha before raising Lazarus demonstrates his power over death itself.

The miracle creates division: "Many of the Jews therefore who had come with Mary and had seen what he did believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees" to report Jesus.

The Plot Against Jesus and Triumphal Entry

Caiaphas prophesies unknowingly: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."

The chief priests plot to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus "because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus."

Mary anoints Jesus with "a pound of costly ointment of pure nard" worth three hundred denarii, prompting Jesus to say "Let her keep it for the day of my burial."

Jesus enters Jerusalem to crowds crying "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel," fulfilling Old Testament prophecy.

Jesus Speaks of His Death and the Light

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" - Jesus uses agricultural imagery to explain his coming death.

A voice from heaven declares "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again" when Jesus prays "Father, glorify your name."

"When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself" - Jesus predicts his crucifixion and its universal impact.

Despite performing many signs, "they did not believe in him" fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about spiritual blindness and hardened hearts.

Proverbs on Financial Wisdom and Father Mike's Reflection

Proverbs 6:1-5 warns against becoming surety for others: "If you have become surety for your neighbor...save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter."

"Either Jesus is God or he's a bad man" - Father Mike explains there's no middle ground, as Jesus "can't be a good prophet who wasn't God" or "a holy person who wasn't God."

Father Mike emphasizes Jesus "fights for you, his heart breaks for you, he calls you back to life" as the central message of these chapters.