Today is a good day because I get to post another addition of the Weekend Sermon. Thank you to all of you who read this blog.
This last week was very eventful. As I have mentioned before, I haven't been feeling well for awhile. I had an incident at work the week, and I was very sick. I went to the doctor, and they discovered that I have a kidney problem. I am now on medication to help with that, and I am on a special diet. I am feeling quite a bit better. Please pray that I will continue to recover and do better now that we know what has been going on.
In prayer this week, please pray for those affected by the heavy rainfall and flooding in North and South Carolina. Also, let us pray for peace in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. In prayer, let us also remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who face persecution. Please continue to pray that the message of Jesus' love might reach those in Malaysia, Singapore, Maldives and other nations where Christians are in the minority.
For the past few weeks now, we have been in a series of messages studying how John presents the divinity of Christ is his Gospel. John presents seven signs to Jesus' divinity. We have looked at Jesus' miracle of changing the water into wine and Jesus' healing of the nobleman's son so far. Today, we will turn our attention to another sign and miracle of the Lord Jesus.
One day, Jesus was in the city of Jerusalem and passed by the pool of Bethesda. This pool was surrounded by five covered porches where sick people used to come in order to be healed. The reason they came to be healed was because at certain times, the water in the pool was stirred and the first person in the pool would be healed.
Some versions of the Bible state that an angel came and stirred the waters. Most of the older manuscripts don't contain these verses, so many newer Bible versions leave them out. I think it is possible that an angel came and stirred the waters, I don't really know.
Whatever was happening, Jesus came by one day and saw a man who was there trying to get healed. This man had been paralyzed for 38 years.
When Jesus was informed about this man's situation, He asked the man if he wanted to get well. Now let me focus on this for just a moment. Some ministers make a lot out of this statement by Jesus. They make it out as if the man did not want to get well, so Jesus had to ask him. They speak as if the man was sick so long because somehow he wanted to be that way.
The text does not really support that. It seems to me that Jesus just asked the man that question as a way to start a conversation with the man. Jesus was full of compassion and mercy. He felt bad for this man who had tried to get well but was in such a bad way for so long. Jesus in His mercy and love told the man to pick up his mat and walk, and the man immediately arose completely cured.
Now the day that Jesus healed the man was on a Sabbath, and the religious leaders were so bound by their rules that they couldn't rejoice and give God glory that a man who was in misery was made well. They saw the man carrying his mat and inquired who had healed him.
The man did not know that it was Jesus who had healed him. However, Jesus later saw this man in the the Temple. Jesus said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."
Once again, I think the wrong application is made from this verse. I don't think that Jesus is saying here that the man was sick all those years because he was a sinner or had committed a sin. Some ministers like to say that people are sick because they have sin in their lives. Jesus actually says the opposite in another miracle that we will examine in a few weeks.
What Jesus is saying to the man is that as bad as it was that he had been paralyzed for 38 years, that is not the worst thing that could befall him. If a person, this man included, continued in sin without coming to trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord, that individual would be eternally separated from the Lord. That is worse than any disease or affliction that might beset us in this world.
Someone may have the best health possible, and they might have all of the success and wealth the world can provide. However, without the life, forgiveness and love of Jesus, all that is worthless. As Jesus said, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul." Eternity is a long time. Each person needs to make sure that their heart is right with God.
Later, when the religious leaders found out that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, they began to persecute Jesus intensely. Jesus told them that His Father was always working and He was working as well. The religious leaders then wanted to kill Jesus because they recognized that Jesus was stating clearly in word and deed that He was God come in the flesh.
This sign that John records demonstrates the divinity of Jesus in three ways. First of all, Jesus was able to heal a man with a long standing physical problem. Having been paralyzed for so long, this man's muscles would have atrophied. However, when Jesus told him to get up, the man was perfectly restored. It was as if all of his muscles were recreated. Only God can do something like this.
The second way that this sign demonstrates Jesus' divinity is by the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. God was the one who had instituted the Sabbath. By healing on the Sabbath, Jesus was showing that He was Lord over the Sabbath. Since He is the one who made the Sabbath, He was the one who had the authority to say what could and could not be done on that day. Jesus showed us that it is always right to do good on the Sabbath day.
The third way that this sign demonstrates Jesus' divinity is by His words to the religious leaders. Jesus clearly said that God was His Father. This was saying that He was equal with God. The religious leaders clearly comprehended Jesus statement. In the remainder of chapter 5, Jesus and the leaders will debate the fact of who Jesus is. In chapter 5, Jesus makes it very clear that He is God. One day He will return to judge the living and the dead. Only those who look to Jesus for redemption will have eternal life with Him forever and forever.
It is my hope and prayer that if you have not come to Jesus and made Him your Savior and Lord that you will do so today. Jesus loves you, and He wants to welcome you into His kingdom which has no end.
Next week, I will post the verse on Monday. On Wednesday, I plan to post a review. The sermon will appear next Friday as usual. May God bless you all. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment