Monday, October 21, 2024
Jews
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. John 5:1
Please read John 5:1-29 today. There is a shift in John’s Gospel at this point. Jesus makes his way back to Jerusalem for another feats. We are not told which feast this is, but we are told it is a feast of the Jews. The Jews are being introduced at this time and it will be developed in John’s gospel that the Jews are the ones opposed to Jesus and to his teaching and are the ones who are plotting the death of Jesus. As we continue to read the gospel it will become clear that John is not referring to all Jews. He is referring to the Jewish elite—the religious rulers headquartered in Jerusalem. This is important to understand, especially in a day of growing antisemitism. All Jews were not and certainly are not opposed to Jesus. When you read John refer to the Jews you will notice that unless it is used in a general sense such as “Salvation is from the Jews” it refers to the religious leaders who are in opposition to Jesus and to his teachings. The next section and the setting for this sign make it clear that this opposition is what will eventually lead to the crucifixion. These Jews had lost touch with God. They had replaced truth with their interpretation of the law and bound the nation into their understanding. They gained status and wealth in the process as they distorted the message of God and his love for his people. Jesus came to set the captives free, and these rulers were among those who held people captive. That placed them in opposition. Today, take some time to consider your relationship with God. Are there any ways that you have replaced or added to the truth of his message in your life? Are there any ways that you are opposed to God?
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Invalids
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. John 5:2-3
Please read John 5:1-29 again today. The third sign involves the healing of a lame man. John gives great details about the events of this moment. He tells us exactly where it took place. Many times, I tried to imagine what this setting looked like. At first, it seems to be a beautiful place with pools and colonnades. My mind’s eye always imagined it to be a luxurious setting. But then, I read further and the scene shifts. It is a place that is filled with invalids. Another translation refers to the people as disabled. This setting is quite different from what I had imagined. As John reveals who is there he speaks to the physical situation of the people, but as always for John there is a spiritual situation as well. Those who are there are blind, lame, and paralyzed. Of course, this is where Jesus will go! This is why he came. He came to bring sight to the blind, to make the lame to walk, and to help those who were paralyzed—unable to move. This will be an actually physical healing of a lame man, but it will represent the healing that Jesus truly came to bring. We are harassed and helpless without Jesus. We are invalids spiritually. We have been blind, lame, and paralyzed to do anything about it on our own. But Jesus came and walked among us, bringing the hope we need. Consider your situation today. Are there any ways that you feel blind or lame or paralyzed? But even more, if you know Jesus, celebrate the amazing healing you have been given.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Healed
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?” John 5:6
Please read John 5:1-17 today. Imagine laying by a pool waiting to be healed. Imagine that near you there are all sorts of people waiting for the same thing. Imagine that you have been an invalid for 38 years. Waiting. Waiting for the waters to stir. Watching the waters. Seeing the first ripple and then trying to make your way to the water first. Day after day, year after year. Waiting for a supposed solution to your situation. One that never brings a healing. Then a man walks up to you and asks you if you want to be healed. What do you suppose your response would be? I would like to think that I would immediately say, “YES!” This man did not. He said that his situation was hopeless. There was no possible way for him to be healed in the way that he had sought for healing. He had become so focused on his solution to the problem that he lost hope for any other solution to come. How often is this the case for us. We have a situation that comes into our lives and we design a solution that really is not even possible and then we wait for that solution to come. It never does. And hopelessness can grow. But Jesus comes and makes the offer. The man does not see Jesus is the solution until Jesus leads him to see. He then finds the healing that only Jesus can bring. He takes up his mat and he walks. Something stirred in him as Jesus looked into his eyes and spoke to him. He believed that he could stand and so he did. Is there a situation in your life that you have formed a solution for? What if Jesus has a different healing for you? What if he is the source of your healing instead of whatever it is you think is the source? Maybe you never met Jesus in the way that would allow you to know him and his healing touch. Maybe you feel lost and blind and paralyzed wondering what life is all about. Maybe you have some thoughts that are falling short in helping you find the meaning your life truly has. Jesus is asking if you want to be healed. Give your life to him today. Pick up your mat and walk!
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Sabbath
The man was healed right away. He picked up his mat and walked. This happened on a Sabbath day. So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath day. The law does not allow you to carry your mat.” John 5:9-10
Please read John 5:1-29 today. The Sabbath is a sacred day for the Jewish people for many reasons. In Leviticus 23 it is set out as the first of the feasts to be observed each week. It has been said that it is not so much that the Jewish people have kept the Sabbath as it is that the Sabbath has held them. At the time of Christ, this amazing gift of the Sabbath had been distorted to a list of rules and regulations that became virtually unbearable and certainly robbed the joy the Sabbath was intended to bring (Isaiah 58:13-14). As God, Jesus knew the beauty of the giving of the Sabbath. It was first established by God himself at creation and then as a gift from God to slaves freed from Egypt. They had been working 24/7. God gave them rest—the gift of the Sabbath (Exodus 16:23). As you read the gospel accounts you will find that Jesus loved to heal on the Sabbath. The religious rulers hated that he did. They did not understand the beauty of the Sabbath and all that God designed for it to be. What do you think about Sabbath? The religious rulers made it about rules and obligations that robbed it of its beauty. Today, we have largely dismissed it and in so doing have left the gift unopened. I have not heard any convincing arguments as to why opening the gift of regular sabbath time with the Lord should not be embraced. And I have noticed the detriment we experience because we don’t. Consider what a regular time set aside each week might look like for you. Read Isaiah 58:13-14 and consider Sabbath is where you will find your joy in the Lord! Don’t turn it into rules—open it as a gift.
Friday, October 25, 2024
Father
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.” John 5:16-17
Please read John 5:1-29 again today. Try reading it in another translation. Already the Jews are persecuting Jesus because of the things he was doing on the Sabbath. This implies there were other things that Jesus was doing besides healing the lame man on the Sabbath and encouraging him to carry his mat—breaking the Sabbath. Jesus was not concerned about breaking the laws that the religious rulers had added to the Sabbath. That frustrated them and increased the hostility. Jesus answers their unspoken question. In the answer, two things are clear. God is always working. Jesus is always working. Jesus refers to God as his Father. While the Jews would occasionally refer to God as their Father, they would not individualize that the way Jesus did. In so doing, he was making it clear that he was making himself equal to God (5:18) which fueled their hostility even more! It is interesting and must be observed that in the midst of Jesus healing the religious rulers miss the sign. They are so wrapped up in their religion that they miss God in their midst. In some ways it is the same way the lame man missed that it was God asking him if he wanted to be healed. They are blind invalids. They cannot see God before them. They refuse to allow their eyes to be opened. He has brought life to the Sabbath; they prefer to keep it locked in pain and death. They are not interested in the healing that God can bring. It is sad. Very sad. It is the same today. So many have designed a god that they will worship and miss the one true God who is reaching out to them. Please take time today to pray for those who do not know Jesus. Pray God would open their eyes to his beauty so that they may see.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Life
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
Please read John 5:19-29 today. As with the previous signs, this sign also leads to life. John is using these signs to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that y believing you may have life in his name (20:31). Jesus makes it clear in this verse that you can have eternal life by believing in him. Hearing his words and believing in him. When you do that, you already enter eternal life. You have passed from death to life. Death can be thought of as separation from God, eternal life can be thought of as a gift of intimacy with God (Romans 6:23). In John 17:3, Jesus defines eternal life as knowing “you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Eternal life is knowing God—not just knowing about him but knowing him. It is not about knowing the god you have created or designed, it is about knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. This is the move from being disabled to being enabled by the power of God. This is how the blind see and the lame walk. This is how the captive is set free. This is life in abundance. This is Jesus. Do you know him? Praise God if you do and pray for those who don’t—go make Jesus known today!
Tomorrow we will be looking at the fourth sign—John 6:1-15. Feeding the multitude.