A Study of John's Gospel. Pt. 23 Jesus Declares His Deity & Jews Seek to Kill Him!
Good morning to all our Readers....
Our loving Father has granted us some truly beautiful weather during the last two weeks here in Ohio. I hope that it has been beautiful where you live, too. No matter what comes our way, as believers we know that God is in control and that we can trust His word.
Jesus healed on the Sabbath, angering the Jews.
John 5:9-15 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10) The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11) He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12) Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13) And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14) Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15) The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
John gave us a key detail. Jesus healed this man on the sabbath. This issue was going to crop up more times during the ministry of Jesus. The religious leaders had rigorous man made rules that actually superseded the authority of scripture (See Matthew 15 & Mark 7). Now, Jesus was going to come into conflict with the Jews.
They saw the certain man carrying his bed on the sabbath and told him it was unlawful for him to do that. The man replied that he was obeying the man who healed him although He did not know who Jesus was.
Later in the day Jesus finds this man near the temple and instructed him to sin no more. He realized that Jesus was the one who healed him and he conveyed that information to the Jews.
The self righteous religious leaders turned murderous.
John 5:16-17 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17) But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
When the Jews learned that it was Jesus who healed the man on the sabbath they immediately became hostile toward Christ. I remind you that these were predominantly the Pharisees and Sanhedrin members who should have been looking for the coming of their Messiah. Instead, they prescribed many onerous rules and regulations and sought to hold on to their power over the people.
The word "persecute" means to drive someone away by harassment, to mistreat or spy on someone. They sought to murder Christ because He healed on the sabbath. Thus, as they imposed man made rules on the people they were willing to violate the holy commandments of God.
Jesus declares His deity and the Jews plot His demise.
John 5:16-18 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17) But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18) Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
John's gospel was written with the unique perspective of presenting Jesus Christ as the Son of God. John tells us why the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. He healed on the sabbath and he said that God was His Father, which made Him equal with God.
Now, the Jews who had ready access to all the Old Testament writings should have been waiting for their Messiah and should have known what He would do and say. Instead, their hearts were hardened by worldly ambition.
John's gospel focuses on the relationship between God the Father and God the Son more than the other gospels combined. The subject of "my Father" or "The Father" comes up 109 times in John's gospel.
John 14:8-9 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
What do we learn about this relationship? Jesus and the Father are One. What the Father does, Jesus does. What the Father says, Jesus says. Later in John's gospel, Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus replied that when you see Christ, you are seeing the Father. This gives us insight into what Paul meant when he spoke of "God manifest in the flesh."
We will save the next paragraph for our next post because Jesus is going to assert His Divine authority in such a way to help us see the intimacy of the Father/Son relationship.
Thoughts to Ponder...
Isn't it a curious thing that the so called religious men are so quick to seek to kill Christ in violation of God's holy law? It is sad but true that many of the religious leaders in the history of the church were guilty of mistreating the people of God even as they,themselves lived in sin.
Jesus is going to teach the Jews that He is Lord over the Sabbath day and that it is lawful to do good on the sabbath. However, they were infuriated that someone would dare to question the authority of their traditions. Yet, Jesus maintained the authority of scripture over man's traditions.
Jesus made it very clear that He was (and is) one with the Father in heaven. This relationship is special, unique and is specifically oriented toward bringing salvation to mankind.
May our hearts be filled with praise to the Father for the gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. May we be encouraged to stand on the truth of the scriptures as Jesus did and not flinch when people become hostile to it's truth.
Bob
Jesus healed on the Sabbath, angering the Jews.
John 5:9-15 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10) The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11) He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12) Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13) And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14) Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15) The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
John gave us a key detail. Jesus healed this man on the sabbath. This issue was going to crop up more times during the ministry of Jesus. The religious leaders had rigorous man made rules that actually superseded the authority of scripture (See Matthew 15 & Mark 7). Now, Jesus was going to come into conflict with the Jews.
They saw the certain man carrying his bed on the sabbath and told him it was unlawful for him to do that. The man replied that he was obeying the man who healed him although He did not know who Jesus was.
Later in the day Jesus finds this man near the temple and instructed him to sin no more. He realized that Jesus was the one who healed him and he conveyed that information to the Jews.
The self righteous religious leaders turned murderous.
John 5:16-17 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17) But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
When the Jews learned that it was Jesus who healed the man on the sabbath they immediately became hostile toward Christ. I remind you that these were predominantly the Pharisees and Sanhedrin members who should have been looking for the coming of their Messiah. Instead, they prescribed many onerous rules and regulations and sought to hold on to their power over the people.
The word "persecute" means to drive someone away by harassment, to mistreat or spy on someone. They sought to murder Christ because He healed on the sabbath. Thus, as they imposed man made rules on the people they were willing to violate the holy commandments of God.
Jesus declares His deity and the Jews plot His demise.
John 5:16-18 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. 17) But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18) Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
John's gospel was written with the unique perspective of presenting Jesus Christ as the Son of God. John tells us why the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. He healed on the sabbath and he said that God was His Father, which made Him equal with God.
Now, the Jews who had ready access to all the Old Testament writings should have been waiting for their Messiah and should have known what He would do and say. Instead, their hearts were hardened by worldly ambition.
John's gospel focuses on the relationship between God the Father and God the Son more than the other gospels combined. The subject of "my Father" or "The Father" comes up 109 times in John's gospel.
John 14:8-9 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
What do we learn about this relationship? Jesus and the Father are One. What the Father does, Jesus does. What the Father says, Jesus says. Later in John's gospel, Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus replied that when you see Christ, you are seeing the Father. This gives us insight into what Paul meant when he spoke of "God manifest in the flesh."
We will save the next paragraph for our next post because Jesus is going to assert His Divine authority in such a way to help us see the intimacy of the Father/Son relationship.
Thoughts to Ponder...
Isn't it a curious thing that the so called religious men are so quick to seek to kill Christ in violation of God's holy law? It is sad but true that many of the religious leaders in the history of the church were guilty of mistreating the people of God even as they,themselves lived in sin.
Jesus is going to teach the Jews that He is Lord over the Sabbath day and that it is lawful to do good on the sabbath. However, they were infuriated that someone would dare to question the authority of their traditions. Yet, Jesus maintained the authority of scripture over man's traditions.
Jesus made it very clear that He was (and is) one with the Father in heaven. This relationship is special, unique and is specifically oriented toward bringing salvation to mankind.
May our hearts be filled with praise to the Father for the gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. May we be encouraged to stand on the truth of the scriptures as Jesus did and not flinch when people become hostile to it's truth.
Bob
Comments
Post a Comment