This week we’ll see Jesus heal a man at the pool of Bethesda who has had an infirmity for 38 years. This will prompt a discussion with some of the religious leaders regarding the Sabbath. In the process Jesus will make some radical claims regarding His deity.
Audio: John05.mp3
Study Notes: John05.pdf
It’s interesting to realize how early in His life here on earth people began to worship Jesus. Long before His death and resurrection, He was worshiped. Before He ever preached a sermon or taught a crowd, He was worshiped. Before He ever worked a miracle, He was worshiped. In fact, before He ever did much of anything, He was worshiped. He was worshiped before Mary and Joseph ever had the chance to leave Bethlehem.
The magi or “wise men” came to the land of Israel with one stated goal: to worship Jesus.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” – Matthew 2:1-2 (NKJV)
When they found Him, they wasted no time. Worshiping Jesus was the first thing they did. We can learn so much from their example!
And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. – Matthew 2:11 (NKJV)
In John 5, Jesus heals a man who “had an infirmity thirty-eight years.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. – John 5:8-9 (NKJV)
The man had to rise, take up his bed and walk. If healing were the only issue, Jesus might just as well have healed him and left him on his bed. This, however, is one of those cases where the Lord asks the healed individual to do something in response to the healing. He did so with good reason. Two things are accomplished by the man acting upon Jesus’ words.
1. The man’s faith is reinforced by his actions.
When we don’t act upon our faith our faith can more easily falter. Action draws faith out of mere theory into reality. A man walking, bed in hand, knows that he is healed. He doesn’t just think that he is. It’s very hard to doubt you can do something while you’re in the very act of doing it successfully.
2. The actions make it harder to go back to his previous condition.
Action puts some distance between us and our previous, weakened condition. It’s important to burn all bridges between where we are now spiritually and anything that once held back our growth. Otherwise we’ll be tempted to look back after putting our hand to the plow. We may begin longing for the delicacies of Egypt and forget that when we lived there we were slaves.
This week we’ll look at Christ’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, which is followed by the healing of a nobleman’s son in Galilee. The notes and audio portion can be accessed by clicking on the links below:
Audio: John04.mp3
Study Notes: John04.pdf
Central Reflections 