John 5

Monday,  Jan 24, 2016




I was in Jerusalem a while ago, and stopped by the sheep gate to see the pool of Bethesda.  It's about 30 or 40 feet underground today (because every time they tore down the city they rebuilt on the ruins).  It seems like the real significance of this passage is in the fact that Jesus has to power to heal.  However, we also learn from His response to the injured man.  He said "do you want to get well?"   I wonder why Jesus said that.  Of course the man wanted to get well, right?   But come on...38 years and you haven't had the chance to be the one who gets into the water first?   Maybe the man had become comfortable with his handicap.  That happens sometimes...we become comfortable in our dysfunction and don't care if we get better or not.   After a while, it seems like it takes too much effort to try and heal.  Or maybe we don't think we can handle the disappoint of saying we want to get better, and then it never happens.  Either way, Jesus made him restate his desire...it must be important.


By the way....does your Bible have John 5:4?   some bibles don't.   That's because it was in the earliest texts we had when the Bible was translated, but then in later years we discovered other manuscripts that appear to be earlier, and they don't have it.    The general rule of thumb is: whatever is the earliest publication is considered to be most accurate.    It's verse 4 that tells us the water would move, and people believed that an angel had "stirred the water"....so the first person into the water would be healed.


It's in this story that Jesus tells the man who was healed from lameness to "stop sinning or something even worse may happen to you"     As I have said in church many times, Jesus doesn't ever want us to sin.  In fact, he expects us to stop sinning...just as He told the crippled man.   Of course, that's not possible in our own strength...but Jesus isn't asking us to do it in our own strength.  That's why the Holy Spirit is here..to help us.


A quick word about working on Sunday...  Jesus didn't have any problem doing good deeds on Sunday.  In fact, He said "my Father is ALWAYS working..and so am I."   If that's the case, then why does Genesis say that on the seventh day God rested?   I don't think God rested because He was tired, but rather because He was setting precedent.  He wanted us to take a break.  I think He knew that when He designed us He knew that we would need rest, so He built that right into the covenant agreement.    We weren't created so that we could follow rules and laws....the rules and laws were made to help us.   People are the priority, not the law.     Having said that, we honor the Lord when we observe the law.  Jesus said that He would know we love Him when we obey.   That's why we rest...to obey, and because we need it.     So if there is an occasional good deed that needs to be accomplished and it happens to fall on Sunday, I don't think it violates the spirit of the law to participate...but we shouldn't make a habit of working every Sunday.


Pushing forward,


PR