Religion vs Relationship

Terry Cavanaugh

John’s Gospel • Sermon • Submitted a month ago • Presented a month ago

John 5:9–17

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John 5:9 ESV

And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

John 5:10 ESV

So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”

John 5:11 ESV

But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ”

John 5:12 ESV

They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”

John 5:13 ESV

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

John 5:14 ESV

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”

John 5:15 ESV

The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

John 5:16 ESV

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

John 5:17 ESV

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Religion: the third scene was that of the religionists and the man. This is a picture of dead religion trying to meet the world’s desperate need. The action of carrying his mat represented this man’s freedom and became the occasion for others to impose limitations.

The Gospel of John, The Letters of John and Jesus: Commentary Chapter 5

Notice in all that follows, the Pharisaic legalists are more concerned about their strict interpretation of Sabbath-keeping than the work of mercy that Jesus performed. They didn’t care a hoot about the man. Their only concern was that Jesus had violated the Sabbath as they understood it.

The Gospel of John, The Letters of John and Jesus: Commentary Chapter 5

What the Jews objected to was the fact that Jesus told the man He healed, “Take your mat and walk.” It did not occur to them that because a remarkable healing had taken place, they ought to glorify God for it. No, the only thing that troubled them was Jesus’ transgression of the Sabbath (as they had decreed it should be kept). The problem, of course, was that they were so wedded to the traditions with which they had overlaid the law that they could see nothing else. They were infuriated that someone had upset their cozy little empire.

a. Dead religion is a religion of legalism.

The religionists were trying to meet the needs of people through rules and regulations, ceremony and rituals.

John: An Introduction and Commentary iii. ‘The Jews’ and the Man Who Was Healed (5:9b–13)

Jewish scholars, in their attempts to ensure the sabbath law was not broken, defined thirty-nine types of work forbidden on the sabbath, which are recorded in the Mishnah:

The main classes of work are forty save one: sowing, ploughing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, cleansing crops, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, washing or beating or dyeing it, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying [a knot], loosening [a knot], sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, hunting a gazelle, slaughtering or flaying or salting it or curing its skin, scraping it or cutting it up, writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters, building, pulling down, putting out a fire, lighting a fire, striking with a hammer and taking out aught from one domain to another. These are the main classes of work: forty save one. (Šabbat 7:2)

John 1. The Jews Ignore the Miracle and Take Offense (10–13)

This devotion to the rabbis’ interpretation of the Sabbath law still goes on in modern times. An April, 1992 news item: Tenants let three apartments in an Orthodox neighborhood in Israel burn to the ground while they asked a rabbi whether a telephone call to the fire department on the Sabbath would violate Jewish law. Observant Jews are forbidden to use the phone on the Sabbath, because doing so would break an electrical current, which is considered a form of work. In the half-hour it took the rabbi to decide “yes,” the fire spread to two neighboring apartments.

They were more concerned with the man who was violating the ritual of the Sabbath than with the man who was suffering in a pitiful condition.

b. Dead religion is a religion ignorant of true authority.

They should have known that the power of God had healed the man and should have been eager to share with the man Jesus, the man upon whom such power rested. But note: they cared little about the power of God and His messenger. They cared only that the status quo be maintained, that their religious practices continue as they were and not be violated. Their thoughts were upon their own religious position and security. (See DEEPER STUDY # 2—Jn. 5:15–16 for discussion.)

c. Dead religion is a religion blind to love and good.

Note the question of the religionists. It was not, “Who is the man who has healed and helped you so much?” but, “Who is the man that broke the religious law?” They did not see the good that had been done. They saw only that their position and security were threatened, that someone had more power and influence, doing more good than they were.

A Relationship is built on Love not Legalism.

A Relationship Understands Truth Authority comes from Caring.

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