Jesus Gave Four Well-Reasoned Responses

1) First, He referred to Israel’s history, when king David and his men were hungry. The priest had mercy on David’s men and allowed them to eat the consecrated bread meant only for priests.

--> Jesus was far greater than David, He was the Son of God. Didn’t it make sense to show mercy to Jesus’ disciples?

2) Next, the Lord referred to Israel’s levitical laws. It was necessary for the priests to perform their regular duties especially on the Sabbath in order for the people to be able to worship and serve God. They were guiltless before God since they were obeying Him, though they did back-breaking labor all day long on the Sabbath.

--> Jesus was God’s Son, greater than even the service of the temple.

--> Jesus was also greater than the temple itself, since the temple was just a shadow, a precursor, to the Great High Priest Who would sacrifice Himself, the Lamb of God, once and for all, for the sins of the world.

The day Jesus died the great curtain in the temple that divided the Holy of Holies from everyone else would be torn in two, so that all could freely come to God through Christ. The Lord Jesus had the authority to allow His disciples to pluck and eat grain on the Sabbath as they were serving Him, following Him and doing His will.

3) After that Jesus referred to the prophets, quoting from Hosea

"I'd rather for you to be faithful and to know me than to offer sacrifices." And "Israel, you enjoy cheating and taking advantage of others." [Hosea 6:6 and 12:7]

and the Pharisees would have remembered the second half of that verse, “I desire the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

Mercy is better than rituals, don’t condemn mercy; and knowing God is better than going through religious motions. Any religious law that is
* Contrary to mercy,
* Contrary to taking care of people,
* Contrary to bringing us closer to God, into a more intimate knowledge of God...
Should give us pause.

God wants love, not legalism

4) Finally, Jesus declared Himself Lord of the Sabbath.
--> His interpretation of what was lawful carried infinitely more weight than the scribes and Pharisees.

* What is your approach to the Sabbath, and other "religious" customs?
* In what ways might you need to honor God above customs and rules?

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Scribes and Pharisees Rebuke Jesus for Shucking Wheat

The Hebrew word “Sabbath” means “repose or rest,” which helps to explain why Matthew put Jesus’ teaching about the Sabbath at this point in his gospel – it comes right after Jesus’ statement at the end of Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

[Remember that a rabbi's "yoke" was his teaching]

True spiritual rest comes from delighting in God and in His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not from observing religious rituals, no matter how uplifting they might seem, or purifying.

So on this Sabbath day, Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grainfield and they were hungry. It was lawful to satisfy your hunger from your neighbor’s field

If you go into a vineyard that belongs to someone else, you are allowed to eat as many grapes as you want while you are there. But don't take any with you when you leave. In the same way, if you are in a grain field that belongs to someone else, you can pick heads of grain and eat the kernels. But don't cut down the stalks of grain and take them with you.(Deuteronomy 23:24-25)

God instructed farmers to leave the corners of their fields unharvested to allow those who were poor glean the grain there, so Jesus and His disciples gatheres some kernels of wheat, into their hands, as they walked through the field. They shucked the husks, and began to snack on the raw kernels.

Israel didn’t always have scribes, or Pharisees. Before Judah and Israel had been deported, God’s law was protected and kept by the Levites. But when Nehemiah led the tribes of Judah and Benjamin back to rebuild Jerusalem, Ezra the scribe went with him to help, you can read all about this in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The Jews must have learned about scribes from the people who deported them. Nehemiah eventually gave Ezra the scribe full authority to teach God’s law and rule over religious affairs so that never again would Israel allow idols, neglect the temple and its sacrifices or dishonor the Sabbath.

Over the next few hundred years scribes took on more and more honor. The scribe was considered to have ultimate authority on all questions of faith and practice.
* It was said a scribe’s dignity and importance were unlimited.
* It was believed that scribes would be first in heaven, that even God Himself paid honor to scribes, and the angels would praise them.
* They were to be absolutely believed and obeyed, even if they said that from now on your right hand was your left hand and vice versa.

In their own writings they claimed that their words were even more binding than God’s, and had more weight than the prophets. What rules in your own home have taken on that kind of aura? Do you say, “Because I said so,” or do your children know that your rules harmonize with biblical principles?

The scribes and Pharisees laid the most stress on the observance of the Sabbath. No other subject in the rabbinical teaching got as much space, or as many detailed regulations.
The four rules the disciples broke were:
1) Plucking the wheat kernels = reaping
2) Rubbing them in their hands to loosen the husk = threshing
3) Shaking the kernels so the chaff would fall away = winnowing
4) And doing the whole thing = preparing a meal.

Jesus’ disciples were Jewish. They knew quite well that they were breaking the rabbinical Sabbath laws, so they would never have dared to do it without Jesus’ permission, even though they were hungry.

According to the Mishnah, Sabbath desecration was one of the most grossly wicked crimes a person could commit, and the penalty was stoning to death. By accusing Jesus’ disciples of transgressing the Sabbath laws, the Pharisees were implicating Jesus as well – that He was also sinning by allowing them and not stopping them.

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Healed!!

Just a short note to let you know that The Way is back up and running and I will start posting again a little later today.

Shalom

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Blended Gospels: Jesus and His Disciples Harvest Grain on the Sabbath

One Sabbath [Jesus] was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."

And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?"

"Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless."

And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

[Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5]

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Court Witnesses That Testify To Jesus' Deity (The Weightiest Witness)

5) Moses was the weightiest witness of all, to the scribes and teachers of the law

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me." [John 5:45b-46]

The Pharisees considered themselves the disciples of Moses and were extremely proud of their connection with him. The Pharisees claimed that they were the direct descendants of the elders to whom they said Moses gave the Oral Law. They said that when God gave the written law to Moses, He also gave a secret oral law that no one could know except for Jews, to protect Jewishness. And it was this oral law that had ended up in the Mishnah.

Every book in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses, has images of Messiah in them. But Moses also prophesied specifically about Messiah:

“[God] will raise up for [His people] a prophet like [Moses] from among their brothers.’And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.’” [Deuteronomy 18:17-19]

Now look at Jesus’ final remarks to the Jewish religious rulers.

"But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" [John 5:47]

They thought they honored God, but God said that whoever did not listen to the Messiah, God Himself would deal with.

People often think that if someone does not believe something, what they need is more proof, more information. But Jesus said this was not the problem. Jesus said that if these scribes and Pharisees didn’t believe the truth they already had in their hands, God’s word in scripture, then they would not believe the greater truths Jesus had to give them.

The primary purpose of scripture is to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ

Studying the Bible will not save you, but the Bible points you to the One Who can save you. It’s not enough to memorize loads of verses, read the Bible every day, study it and carry it around. What is the Bible to you? The benefit of the Bible is believing what it says and applying these words of God to your life.

Living it.

Have these words become real in your every day real life.

It is Jesus Who has the power to bring us from death to life. His power profoundly changes life from earthly to eternal. The equation is so simple, hear His words and believe, and you will have life.

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Court Witnesses That Testify To Jesus' Deity (Next Three Witnesses)

2) The works Jesus had a much greater witness than John the Baptist

"But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me." [John 5:36]

The works the Father gave to Jesus would include not only the healings He had done so far, but feeding thousands of people, raising the dead, then Himself rising from the dead. These amazing displays of God’s power authenticated Jesus.

Nevertheless, other prophets had performed miracles, Moses, Elijah, Daniel, which though it proved they were sent from God, none of them were God; Jesus pressed on.

3) The Father Next Jesus brought in the mystery witness He had referred to earlier,

"And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen," [John 5:37]

This goes back to John chapter 1,

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. [John 1:18]

AND

And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but(BF) he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'" [John 1:32-33]

4) Scripture You would think that would have been enough, but everything that is must be aligned with God’s word. Jesus brought in the most powerful witness yet, God’s written word

"...and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me," [John 5:38-39]

This is a problem. The Lord was saying that in spite of all the scripture memorizing these men had done, all the commentaries they had written, all the rules that they had scrupulously followed, all the lectures they had delivered, and on and on...after all that, God’s word was not in them. They searched the scriptures, but they did not find the meaning of life.

What went wrong?
* What would protect you and me from missing great truths in scripture?
* What would keep Bible study from being just an interesting intellectual exercise?

Jesus gives the answer:

"...yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." [John 5:40]

Their wills. They were set against accepting Jesus.

"I know that you do not have the love of God within you." [John 5:42]

Their hearts were cold towards God, and therefore would not warm to Jesus and

"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" [John 5:44]

Their pride in themselves, and their love of each other’s admiration, and the honor given to them by all the people, filled them so full they had no appetite to seek God’s glory.

They were more ready to accept the words of an impressive big name person, than the simple truths of God.

The Jewish religious authorities had a lot of power and a lot of glory. They considered themselves to be second only to God Himself. They actually had stories in the Mishnah about certain rabbis being consulted by God for big decisions. They taught that they would live right next to God in heaven.

They had no need for Jesus, they already had it all.

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Court Witnesses That Testify To Jesus' Deity (First Witness)

In our day and age of science, we ask: where’s the proof? Why take someone’s word for it? Jesus put forward five proofs, five witnesses to His claims.

Of course Jesus was His own witness, but He knew the religious leaders would not accept His word. They were sitting in judgment over the Lord, and would require at least two witnesses. So He mentioned a mystery witness

There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true." John 5:32]

which He would return to in a little bit, then moved on to

1) John the Baptist

"You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light." [John 5:33-35]

John the Baptist testified to four things about Jesus:
• He announced Jesus as the predicted Messiah, the one the prophets had written about

• He announced Jesus as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for all humankind’s sin

• He announced Jesus as the One Who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, and with fire

• He announced Jesus as the Son of God

At first the Pharisees and scribes were interested in John. They regarded him as a local celebrity. But they did not want to accept John’s message of repentance --> remember he called them a brood of vipers. They didn’t try to help him when he was arrested.

Jesus would not have brought John up, since the witnesses He was going to bring in had far greater weight than a human being, but He was giving the Jews as many chances as possible to be saved.

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Jesus Plans To Raise Many To Life

God the Father’s plan was to have many more sons and daughters, to be like His Son

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." [John 5:24]

The Father makes Himself to be the Father of all who believe in the Lord Jesus. Belief gives evidence to the presence of the Father's word in that person, and the Father's love in that person, just as the Father's word and love are in Jesus.

If you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus then you have this life now God’s purpose is to change you and me, to enable us to learn to live by His living power, to mold us into people who will bring His love and healing to all those around us.

You and I who have put our faith in Jesus don’t have to be afraid of death. Everybody dies. We don’t like to think about it. Most of us secretly hope there’ll be an exception in our case! But death is not the end of existence for us. For every believer: we do not see death, we see the Lord, standing ready to welcome us with open arms, to bring us into our full inheritance of life.

In the following verses, the Lord described two resurrections. Here’s the first:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." [John 5:25]

Jesus had already begun to give life to people,
* to His disciples,
* offering it to Nicodemus in new birth,
* offering living water to the woman at the well.

The time was coming when Jesus would pour out His Spirit on the 120 believers gathered in Jerusalem during the feast of Pentecost. You and I live in this time right now. This is a spiritual resurrection

Jesus can do this because He is God. But the real kicker was His next claim:

"And [the Son, Jesus Himself] has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man." [John 5:27]

He has the authority to execute judgement. He is the Judge of all the world, and will preside over the Day of Judgement. He is the prophesied Son of Man, a technical term that connects with judgment and dominion, and which the prophet Daniel had spoken of. If the Judge is Jehovah God, then Who does that make Jesus?

This stunning jaw dropper must have taken the breath away of every scribe, every teacher of the law, every Pharisee standing there, and Jesus responded to their expressions of shock

"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." [John 5:28-29]

This will be a physical resurrection. Hang onto this vision of the dead coming out of their tombs, because something kind of amazing happened when Jesus was crucified (You'll have to stay tuned for that one).

“Doing good” and “doing evil” in these verses relate back to what the Lord had just said

"That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." [John 5:23-24]

Doing good is to honor the Son and to believe in Him.
To do evil is to not honor the Son, and to not believe in Him.

Jesus is equal to God the Father, the Judge of all the world

One day you and I will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, that day of resurrection, and He will be the judge of all people.

When the Apostle Paul was writing about this day he said what a wonderful thing it is that for those who have put their faith in Jesus there will be no condemnation of any kind. The only person Who can judge us is Jesus, and He loves us! He’s our Savior, He’s on our side! For every believer there will only be welcome and treasure.

But for those who rejected Jesus in this earthly life, who refused to accept His gift of eternal life, this will be a dark day.

Who is Jesus to you? Is He your Savior, or your Judge?

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The Unity Of The Father And The Son

GOD THE FATHER
(1) The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything the Father is doing, a carefully planned work that was unfolding just as Father and Son intended.

"For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel" [John 5:20]

The greater things mentioned in this verse would continue to the cross, to the resurrection and Jesus’ going up into heaven, then sending His Holy Spirit.

(2) The Father is the source of life, has the power to raise the dead and gives life

"The Father raises the dead and gives them life."
AND
"The Father has life in himself." [John 5:21a, 26a]

(3) The Father is the judge of all. To the orthodox Jew, Jehovah God was “Judge of all the earth” No one would dare to take that title for themselves.

"The Father judges no one..."[John 5:22a]

(4) The Father rightfully receives honor

"...just as they honor the Father" [John 5:23b]

GOD THE SON
(1) The Father shares all this with the Son; therefore, just as the Father gives life, so also the Son gives life,

"For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will." [John 5:21]

(2) And just as the Father is the source of life, He has granted that the Son would also be the source of life,

"For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself." [John 5:26]

(3) Though the Father is the judge of all, He judges no one, but instead has given all judgement to the Son,

"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son," [John 5:22]

and given Jesus the authority to execute judgement,

"And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man." [John 5:27]

(4) And though the Father receives honor, if the Son is not also honored, then as far as the Father is concerned, He hasn't been honored either. In other words, to honor the Father without also honoring the Son is to actually dishonor the Father,

"That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." [John 5:23]

We begin to see how intertwined the Father and the Son are, two distinct persons, and yet also one Being.

Later in His discourse, Jesus switched from using the word "Father" to using the word "God," the only God, for there is only one God, and to Him should go all the glory.

"I know that you do not have the love of God within you." [John 5:42]

Yet this glimpse into the nature of God reveals the complex concept of Father and Son, completely equal to each other, each giving of themselves to the other.

The Father chose not to judge anyone, but gave all judgment to the Son. the Father shares equally the power of resurrection with the Son, and the Father does not receive honor unless the Son also receives honor.

Yet the Son did not seek His own will, but the will of the Father Who sent Him, and judges only according to the Father's will.

The Son did not do anything on His Own, but did only what He saw the Father doing and showing Him, and heard what the Father said to Him. The powerful works that Jesus performed were given to Him by the Father. Jesus was sent by the Father.

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Jesus Reveals Christianity's "E=MC2"

The most famous mathematical equation in the world today is E=MC2.

Einstein figure that out. Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. This is the formula that transforms matter, like plutonium, or uranium, into energy.

It’s just a simple little equation, but it has profoundly changed all of our lives. It’s what we talk about – who has nuclear power and what will they with it? It’s what won WWII. For many people, this little equation is what brings electricity into their homes.

Today we’re going to see the E=MC2 of Christianity

The first part of Jesus’ response to the Jewish authorities anger had two bookends, Verses 19, 30 which describe a relationship between the Father and the Son that is so close that neither does anything without the other. Their wills are joined, their judgments are the same

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise."
AND
"I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me."[John 5:19,30]

This is of particular interest to you and me who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Him is the same as His relationship with the Father.

In and of ourselves we have no power. I know that flies in the face of all those self help books that tell you to reach deep into yourself and find your power, realize your potential. It’s not there, not this kind of power.

Jesus is our model. As He was one with the Father’s will, He received
* God’s vision,
* God’s works,
* God’s power
to do everything that was given Him.

So you and I, the more we willingly melt our wills with the Lord’s, we too will receive His vision, all the things He has planned for us, and the power to do it all.

This is our spiritual E=MC2.

As God works in you, He also works through you as His witness to others.

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Jesus Re-Casts the Sabbath

At first the religious authorities were persecuting Jesus because He was, “Doing these things” on the Sabbath. Jesus had already healed a demoniac on the Sabbath, recorded in Luke. He was healing people on the Sabbath, and in Matthew’s gospel, defending His disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath. The Lord was honoring the Sabbath according to the heart of God, but He was also deliberately challenging the legalistic scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working." [John 5:17]

This absolutely infuriated the Jewish leaders

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. [John 5:18]

The Lord used the word “work” on purpose. The rabbinic tradition said, “God still does two works on the Sabbath: He creates and He judges.” The Psalm says God never rests but is always watching over and caring for His creation.

The authorities didn’t seem to even notice God’s power at work, the amazing healing. They were angry because Jesus claimed to be Who He truly was: God the Son, co-equal with God the Father.

God the Father is considered to be the first Person of the Trinity. That doesn't mean the Father existed first. God is eternal, with no beginning of any kind. There is no such thing as God having partly existed as the Father, and then later more fully existing as the Son and the Spirit. God, the triune God, fully existed as we know Him now, from always, from before the beginning.

As Jesus told the religious rulers, God the Father has been working all this time. The Father is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. After Adam and Eve sinned, bringing corruption and death into the world, God has been working towards the restoration of His creation.

The scribes’ traditions were a burden for the people, but God is reaching down to liberate people. Since God was working on the Sabbath, of course Jesus, visible God, fully man and fully God, would also be at work doing what God is doing.

Merciful and compassionate God had found this man and healed him.

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Blended Gospels: Jesus Reveals His Identity

[This is a pretty incredible passage, so even though it's a bit longish, please try to read through the whole thing]

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."

Jesus Is Equal with God
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

"For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

"For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

"For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."

Witnesses to Jesus
"I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

"If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

"But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

"And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

"I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me.

"If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

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By The Bethesda Pool: Keeping The Sabbath

The apostle John gave an important detail to this story,

...Now that day was the Sabbath. [John 5:9b]

All this happened on the Sabbath. Jesus must have gone to the temple to worship, and as He walked out, He saw that great colonnaded Pool of Bethesda and was drawn to all those in need there. What He did was completely in keeping with what God said pleases Him in keeping the Sabbath, as you can see in how the prophet Isaiah described God's idea of the perfect Sabbath.

But keeping the Sabbath had undergone a huge overhaul since the days Isaiah had written those words. Here's how it all began:

(1)After creating all that is, God rested, back in Genesis chapter 2, which is where the law of the Sabbath was established, the oldest law in human history.

(2) In Exodus God explained that the Sabbath was to be set aside as a holy day, for worship, not for work. But the Israelites had ignored God’s Sabbath laws, and were sent into exile because of it, so the land could have all the Sabbath years the people had robbed it of.

(3) Seventy years later, the Jews returned to Jerusalem and fell into their old habits almost right away, doing commerce on the Sabbath with the surrounding pagans. The people were carrying loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day in preparation for their work on the next day.

Nehemiah, the leader at that time, said they were not to carry loads on the Sabbath. They were stop thinking that the Sabbath day was prep day for another work day. Nehemiah appointed the priest Ezra to teach the people all of God’s law on a regular basis, and help them to keep all the law.

(4) Their legacy, four hundred years later, were the scribes and teachers of the law in Jesus’ day. But they had since added on 39 exhaustive, complicated chapters to the Mishnah on how to keep the Sabbath.

Here’s one example. If you spit on the ground and it hit the dirt, that was work. A furrow would form, so it was called plowing. But if the spit hit a rock, then no furrow, so you were safe. They had made the Sabbath a burden for the people.

The religious rulers were busy making sure people were keeping the rules, instead of ministering to the ailing people at the pool, within view of the temple mount. Instead of asking where they could meet this man who could heal people, they wanted to know who was the man who had broken one of their Sabbath rules. What “rules” do you and I allow to get in the way of compassion?

Shortly thereafter Jesus found the man at the temple, probably giving his thank offering to God, according to the Law, for being healed, and Jesus explained to him that he had to stop sinning so nothing worse would happen. Somehow the man knew this was Jesus Messiah, and for whatever reason, went back to the Jewish authorities to tell them

Jesus has the power to restore

* What is weakening your emotional life, or enfeebling your spiritual life?

* How willing are you to get well?

* Willing enough to turn to Jesus, Who knows your whole story, and obey what He tells you to do?

You won’t know what Jesus can do for you until you obey His commands.

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By The Bethesda Pool: Get Up And Walk

Jesus didn’t offer to help the man get more comfortable!
--> He didn’t encourage him to hang in there, maybe he could get to the pool next time.

--> Jesus didn’t even offer to help the man get to the pool.

--> Instead Jesus told him, “Get up.”

I think the man must have been a little startled, right? He'd been lying down for 38 years, unable to do much of anything.

But Jesus’ voice had such compelling power the man got up, and lo and behold, those atrophied legs could hold him!

Before he could say a word, Jesus told him to pick up his mat, and then as he bent down to roll up the mat, Jesus said, “Walk,” and then melted away.

Get up: At the moment the man’s will agreed with the Lord’s will, the power was there and he got up.

You won’t know what Jesus can do for you until you obey His commands. What will you have to actually do this week to obey what Jesus is telling you to do? Do it. Go call that person, write that note, pay that debt, forgive that offense, stop that habit, refuse that temptation. Get up.

Pick up your mat: Make no provision for a relapse.

This man was healed, he didn’t need to save a place for himself at the pool anymore. There was no back door exit. He was committed now to a life of health, and he was taking responsibility for himself.

What mat will you have to roll up, tuck under your arm and walk away with? Whatever it is, get rid of it all, leave no safety hatch for yourself. Cut off any possibility of going back. Be public, tell someone about the new you and ask them to help you stay on course. Lose your spot at the Pool of Bethesda, because you’re not going to need it anymore.

Walk: Weak, feeble people are used to being carried.

We all need that sometimes, in fact scripture tells us to carry each other’s burdens. But this man had been healed of his particular weakness. It was time for him to walk on his own, and maybe one day be the strong one who could help carry others. Move forward, don’t stay in that place anymore.

In what way are you going to need to walk, this week, as part of your taking responsibility for yourself in this particular area of weakness, and not count on someone else to carry you in something the Lord has shown you, you need to do?

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By The Bethesda Pool....Sick For A Loooooooong Time

John doesn’t name the feast Jesus went to. Based on the sequence of events, this feast probably was in the early fall (Others surmise that it might have been a little earlier, the Passover Festival in the spring of A.D. 28).

As Jesus was in town, He came to a famous pool, the Pool of Bethesda, that was fed by a subterranean spring which caused the pool to rise and fall - to move - at certain times of the year. It was believed that an angel stirred up the pool, and then the first person who was touched by the water would be healed.

There were other pools like this, dotted around the ancient middle east Jerusalem’s was very well-known and built up with five covered porches to accommodate all the ailing pilgrims.

As He looked around, the Lord was drawn to this particularly helpless and hopeless man. The man had been ill for 38 years, and he was so weak and feeble he was unable to walk or even stand. We can deduce from what Jesus later told this man that this illness was all the result of some sin that he continued to be involved in.

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 5:14]

Maybe you can identify with this man.
* Maybe there is some emotional pain in your life that lingers and aches, and won’t go away. It saps your strength.

* Maybe you are dealing with a constant sense of failure.

* Maybe you’re dealing with a physical illness that has no cure.

* Maybe you are held in the grip of a sinful habit or an addiction, and instead of getting stronger, you’re getting all the time weaker as you try to deal with it.

As Jesus looked at this man, He knew the whole story. But then He asked this strange question, “Would you like to be healed?”

Huh? The man’s answer was full of sadness....yes, but...I have no one. I am helpless and I have lost hope of ever being well.

When do you and I go to self-pity instead of going to Jesus? Sometimes that happens to people, they become resigned to their pain, or their addiction, or their weakness.

It’s an important question. Jesus knows your story and mine, too. He knows about the struggle, the suffering, the loneliness. But sometimes people don’t want to get well. Being weak, feeble, unwell either physically or emotionally might be the most familiar place. Some people stay there because it’s what they know, and they’re afraid of what change would mean in their lives. You’ve gotten so used to being in the pit, you’re starting to call it home.

Sometimes people want to be dependant and not take responsibility. If you resonate with this man, who has been weak like this for such a long time, then this question is for you:

Would you like to be healed?

Before saying yes, it’s important to acknowledge that healing will mean a willingness to change, a commitment to change, and plain hard work.

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Blended Gospels: Jesus Heals A Man By The Bethesda Pool

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

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?"

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."

Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 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."

But he answered them, "The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.'"

They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"

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. 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."

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

[John 5:1-5 ESV]

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