John 5:1–16 Sermon
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1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 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.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well!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.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 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.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 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. 14 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.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we looked into
In it we saw that there was an official who may have been someone who was a member of the royal family of Herod or it was a Roman official who was serving as a ruler over the region.
But most likely it was a Roman official who was serving as a ruler over the region.
He made a request of Jesus to come down to where his son was who was ill. His son was at the point of death.
Jesus responded in verse 48.
48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
We found that when Jesus said “you” that it was plural and that He was speaking to everyone there not just the official.
The problem we see here is that the official, along with others there, only had a belief in Jesus being able to do miracles.
Question: So how did Jesus deal with this issue?
Answer: He revealed a belief that happened without seeing the sign and wonder. Namely, the healing of the official’s son.
Jesus spoke in verse 50,
50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
By the word of Christ the official believed and he left believing Jesus.
The result was that his son was healed and his household believed.
Which is always the main point of every passage in the gospel of John.
Today, we will look again at a miracle Jesus does where He encounters a man who had been sick for 38 years.
Outline
Outline
1. The Setting (v.1-3)
Verse 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Verse 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
Verse 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
2. Jesus questions and heals the sick man (v.5-9)
Verse 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
Verse 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
Verse 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Verse 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
Verse 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
3. The Critics (v.10-13)
Verse 10 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.”
Verse 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ”
Verse 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
Verse 13 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.
Here are some observations from their responses to what Jesus did.
1. There was a knowledge of the law but it was tainted with tradition.
2. They didn’t ask about the man being healed, instead they said it was unlawful. Showing that they were not convinced of what took place.
4. Jesus revealed (v.14-16)
The Setting (v.1-3)
The Setting (v.1-3)
Verse 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Verse 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Verse 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
Verse 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
Verse 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
Verse 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
2. Jesus questions the sick man (v.5-6)
2. Jesus questions the sick man (v.5-6)
We see Jesus here again traveling south to Jerusalem.
The feast spoken of in verse 1 is not known but in other events recorded in John, he did mention which feast it was at the time of an event.
As in example in the very next chapter he says in ,
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
John in other passages however did mention which feast it was at the time of an event.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
We are not sure which feast it was but what we do know is that Jesus again travels there.
In verse 2 John writes of a Sheep Gate.
The Sheep Gate would have been a small opening probably located in the north city wall of Jerusalem, on the north side of the temple area.
John MacArthur Jr., ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1586.
This gate was built after the return from exile by Eliashib and his brothers ().
Sheep Gate, a gate probably located in the north city wall of Jerusalem, on the north side of the temple area. This gate was built after the return from exile by Eliashib and his brothers () as part of Nehemiah’s reconstruction of the Jerusalem walls (12:39). Because of its proximity to the temple area and pool of Beth-zatha (), it has been surmised that sheep to be sacrificed were brought into the city through this gate.
It was part of Nehemiah’s reconstruction of the Jerusalem walls.
Because of where it was located it has been said that sheep were brought into the city through this gate. Thus calling it the Sheep Gate
John Calvin’s noted that the Sheep Gate was the place where sheep were brought into the temple to be sacrificed.
Mark Allan Powell, ed., “Sheep Gate,” The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (New York: HarperCollins, 2011), 948.
By it there was a pool that in Aramaic was called Bethesda.
Bethesda meant:
house of kindness
house of kindness, grace, gentleness, house of mercy.
John Peter Lange and Philip Schaff, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 181.
grace
gentleness
house of mercy
And Bethesda was a pool in Jerusalem which is only mentioned here in .
This pool had five colonnades and colonnades were covered porches.
D. J. Wieand, “Bethesda,” ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 467.
In these covered porches were many who were sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed.
One of the things you’ll notice is that verse 4 is not in the ESV.
One of the things you’ll notice is that verse 4 is not in the ESV.
1. The oldest Greek manuscripts didn’t contain the verse.
1. The oldest Greek manuscripts didn’t contain the verse.
2. The oldest Syriac and Coptic translations didn’t have it either.
2. The oldest Syriac and Coptic translations didn’t have it either.
3. In earlier centuries, the Scriptures were exclusively read in Latin. And even in the Latin, some of the manuscripts lacked the verse and none of the early copies contained the particular form of the verse found in the KJV and the NASB.
3. In earlier centuries, the Scriptures were exclusively read in Latin. And even in the Latin, some of the manuscripts lacked the verse and none of the early copies contained the particular form of the verse found in the KJV and the NASB.
4. Some have suggested that this came from needing to explain the text because of verse 7 where the sick man talked about the water being stirred up.
4. Some have suggested that this came from needing to explain the text because of verse 7 where the sick man talked about the water being stirred up.
That is was a scribe’s notes that had the tradition of the pool added in to clarify a text.
5. Some have found that it may have been a scribe’s notes that had been added to clarify the text which happened much, much later after the earliest translations have been made.
5. Some have found that it may have been a scribe’s notes that had been added to clarify the text which happened much, much later after the earliest translations have been made.
That is was a scribe’s notes that had the tradition of the pool added in to clarify a text.
6. The manuscript tradition seemed to point to this being an interpretive tradition that developed when the translations of the Scriptures were copied in the Latin.
6. The manuscript tradition seemed to point to this being an interpretive tradition that developed when the translations of the Scriptures were copied in the Latin.
7. Thankfully, we still had early copies to compare what was not originally a part of John's gospel.
7. Thankfully, we still had early copies to compare what was not originally a part of John's gospel.
The KJV 1900 and the NASB includes it because of the manuscripts they used.
Verse 4 reads from the NASB,
“for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.”
From what we know, the earliest copies we have did not contain this so we will not be using this today.
What we do know is that there were many who were sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed there by the pool and there was a man who was asked by Jesus a question.
It is important to focus on this rather than speculate about verse 4. We can talk afterwards and
2. Jesus questions and heals the sick man (v.5-9)
2. Jesus questions and heals the sick man (v.5-9)
Verse 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
Verse 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
Verse 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
Verse 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
To be invalid meant to be limited and incapacitated. Weak and frail. Unable to move. Which was the case for this man for 38 years.
a state of incapacity to do or experience something—‘incapacity, weakness, limitation.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 677.
Jesus saw him lying there and He knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
Then the sick man answered Him in verse 7,
Verse 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Verse 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Again, people have noted that this is why there were notes added to help the reader understand the context of what it meant in the water being stirred up.
What we do see is that the man who was invalid, who was weak and unable to get up, he couldn’t get to the pool in enough time.
Verse 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Verse 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Read verses 8 and 9.
John 5:
8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
Verse 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
Verse 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
Verse 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
Verse 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
Things to notice
First, how Jesus simply told the man “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
Remember what we had just read before?
How Jesus spoke and the official’s son was healed?
This is a display of His power
It also reveals that He is the Messiah
Remember
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John is writing this to us to remind us who Jesus is.
In , he points back to Genesis where God by the word of His power, spoke the world into existence.
Here, Jesus speaks and this man gets up from 38 years of being sick and at once (meaning immediately) he took his bed and and walked.
What this also points to is His Messianic role.
A Messianic text like , shows us what we are seeing here.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
Again, by the very word from Christ, this man who was sick for thirty eight years got up, took his bed with him and he walked.
Isiaiah 35:5-6
Question: What is the purpose for John to write this?
Answer:
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The setting has us at a pool where a man who could not walk or move for thirty eight years and by Jesus’ word, he gets healed.
There can only be two responses from us today from reading this.
There are those who believe this actually happened
And there are those who do not
Question: DO YOU BELIEVE?
The point of this is to show that Jesus is the Christ. DO YOU BELIEVE?
He is the Messiah who was promised and He had fulfilled His Messianic role. DO YOU BELIEVE?
What we are also seeing here is what unbelief looks like.
John goes on, as he has done before, to point to a denial of Jesus as the Messiah.
It shows us who truly is sick. Which happens to be the critics of Jesus even after performing this miracle with only a command!
3. The Critics (v.10-13)
3. The Critics (v.10-13)
Verse 10 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.”
Verse 10 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.”
Verse 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ”
Verse 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ”
Verse 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
Verse 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
Verse 13 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.
Verse 13 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.
This shows us the condition of one without saving faith.
The Jews here weren’t just the people or the crowds.
The Greek word referred to Jewish religious leaders, and other influential leaders who opposed Jesus in that time.
We see here a display of what unbelief looks like.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
Here are some observations from their responses to what Jesus did.
Here are some observations from their responses to what Jesus did.
1. There was a knowledge of the law but it was tainted with tradition.
1. There was a knowledge of the law but it was tainted with tradition.
Question: Was it unlawful for the man to take up his bed?
Answer: No. The law referred to work that was someone’s employment. They were referencing .
Their added traditions created an abuse of the law that was never meant to be what they claimed it to be!
[What had happened was] that they made tradition more important than the law.
It’s what Jesus dealt with in .
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Their knowledge of the law was tainted. This is what happens when one is preoccupied with tradition over the word of God.
They were wrong about the law. And even more they lost what the law had been about. Namely, to reveal the character of God which by the way was fully revealed in the incarnation.
They showed unbelief in that they did not see the Messianic office before them. And they misinterpreted the law because of their traditions.
This can easily happen today!
2. They didn’t ask about the man being healed, instead they said it was unlawful. Showing that they were not convinced of what took place.
2. They didn’t ask about the man being healed, instead they said it was unlawful. Showing that they were not convinced of what took place.
A denial of who Jesus is proves a stony heart. One that would deny and even overlook an actual miracle like healing a man who had been ill for 38 years.
A denial of who Jesus is proves a stony heart. One that would deny and even overlook an actual miracle like healing a man who had been ill for 38 years.
focused on what they thought who told the man to take his bed and walk and couldn’t see that he was actually healed.
focused on what they thought who told the man to take his bed and walk and couldn’t see that he was actually healed.
A denial of who Jesus is proves a stony heart. One that would deny and even overlook an actual miracle like healing a man who had been ill for 38 years.
This is again evidence that miracles do not cause someone’s belief in Jesus.
They totally ignored what the man said.
10 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.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
Question: See the problem?
They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
They didn’t asked, who healed you?
Part of His Messianic call was to heal the sick.
But because of their misinterpretation of the law that is caused by holding tradition higher than God’s word, they proved to be without faith in the One who was the Messiah.
concern with tradition that disabled them from seeing the law for what it was meant to be, they proved to be without faith in the One who was the Messiah.
The One of whom the law and the prophets spoke of.
This is exactly what man made traditions do when they are exalted over the word of God.
Life in His name cannot take place when we have a tradition that makes void the word of God.
Legalism
American Evangelicalism
Commercialized Worship
Man Centered Preaching
Emotionally Driven Services
Mishandling God’s Word
Making non-essentials into essentials
Cultural mandates
There are many forms and practices that come from making tradition higher than God’s Word.
Many of the examples I gave are but symptoms of a denial and rejection of Jesus Christ. Which comes from a denial from what God has inspired in His Word.
The most
They denied the obvious. A man was healed from being sick for 38 years but they refused to see it. And they wanted to know who was it that told him take up your bed because He broke the Sabbath law. Which was false.
Steven Furtick preached a sermon at Elevation Church that was based on and titled “It Works Both Ways.” In it he made the claim that “God broke the law for love.”
This is what happens when tradition is exalted over God’s word. An abuse of the Scriptures take place.
By the way Furtick is saying what the leaders were saying about Jesus. Which is not a god thing!
Back to our text Jesus is showing us something.
By doing this miracle, He shows us what an unregenerate heart does when without saving faith in Him.
They are the ones who are actually sick. Those without saving faith in Christ.
What they needed was to believe in Jesus as who He said He was.
They needed to be warned and told of their sin.
In verses 14 to 16, we see Jesus revealed.
4. Jesus revealed (v.14-16)
4. Jesus revealed (v.14-16)
Verse 14 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.”
Verse 14 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.”
16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Verse 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Verse 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Verse 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
Verse 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
Verse 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Verse 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Notice that Jesus found the man in the temple.
At the temple where there was prayer and worship we see that the man was there. This was a good sign.
Jesus notices Him and says, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
Notice that Jesus tells the man,
Notice that Jesus tells the man,
1. “See, you are well!”
1. “See, you are well!”
Jesus affirms what He spoke
He found the man who was sick in the temple and he was healthy and in need of no doctor
Proving the miracle to be real and true
2. Sin no more
2. Sin no more
Question: Does Jesus mean that the man was capable of not falling short?
Answer: No. Jesus is giving a command for the man not to fall into willful disobedience
Jesus says something similar to the woman caught in adultery in
Jesus said to her in , ““Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Again, this was a warning not to fall into sinful disobedience
This reminded me of what Peter said in ,
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
Which leads us to the last of what Jesus warned the man who had been healed,
3. “that nothing worse may happen to you.”
3. “that nothing worse may happen to you.”
This is a real warning
Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
that nothing worse may happen to you.”
Something worse than being unable to walk for 38 years could happen
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
The worse that could happen is not that the man would experience an even more worse physical sickness
The worse is to see Jesus and having a knowledge of Him and turn back to the defilements of the world
We are not talking about a saving knowledge because eventually they will repent and turn to Christ (which by the way doesn’t remove consequences for sin).
We see Jesus giving this warning to this man and the woman in and it is very timely for us today
Especially in a culture where many can easily say they believe
The man experienced a true act to heal him and yet Jesus warned him to sin no more
So for the man there was a warning and for those who criticized Jesus and totally ignored what Jesus had done they were left with a great sin. Namely, the total rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.
We see it in verse 16,
16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
They were persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
Verse 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
“because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
And the reason was because they did not know who He was. We see this in their denial of who He was.
Which was at the heart of their problem in seeing Jesus and believing and celebrating what He had done.
John throughout this gospel John uses “believe” about 98 times.
Belief is the main theme of this gospel. That is why it is important to talk about a lack of belief.
A lack of belief produces denial. But an actual belief comes with seeing who Jesus is and it comes with a warning.
Namely, that we would not fall into sinful disobedience.
And that the gospel which has made us who were crippled spiritually, this gospel that has awaken us from the dead, that this gospel would be proclaimed!
So the Gospel which has made us who were crippled spiritually, this gospel that has awaken us from the dead, this gospel needs not only to be believed in but it needs to be proclaimed!
That is why we are here at Christ Alone Fellowship!
Close in prayer