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#7 – Knowing God Better – John 5

This study is going to be kind of fun. John 5.

Jesus so infuriates the Pharisees, they begin to plot to kill him. Wait until you see what Jesus did that irritated them to this degree.

Here it is. Jesus healed a guy who had been seriously ill for most of his life. The problem was, Jesus healed him on a Sabbath.

What?!

The Pharisees had taken God’s law — that the Sabbath would be a day of rest — and turned it into an oppressive, legal menace. Absolutely NO work was allowed.

For example, a woman could wear a hair clip, but if she carried it, then it would be considered carrying a burden and forbidden on the Sabbath.

Ok, so here is John 5:5. Jesus sees this guy:

5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said…”
8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

Can you imagine? The guy hasn’t been able to do that for 38 years, and now they tell him it’s not allowed?!

11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.'”
12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.
13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd.

Later, Jesus went to the Temple, found the man he healed. Jesus told him,

14 “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”

Q – Could there be sinful behavior that could make someone really physically sick?
A –

(I can think of all sorts of harmful things we can do to ourselves that have natural, physical consequences.)

Q – What do you think of Jesus’ attitude toward this man? In verse 14, does Jesus sound angry, condemning, or judgmental?
A –

Here’s when things get heated.

15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules.

17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

Q – The end of verse 18, notice that Jesus referred to God in a very unique way. What correct conclusion did the Jewish leaders draw?
A –

One more bit of background.

In the second book of the Bible, in Exodus, God asked Moses to deliver the Jews from their slavery in Egypt. God told Moses to go to Egypt’s ruler and flat out order him to let the Jews go free.

Moses asked God an important question. He wanted to know God’s name. “Who shall I say sent me?” Kind of funny, in a sense. Like asking God for his business card.

God answered Moses, “I am who I am.” (Exodus 3:13-15)

Well, in the gospels you’ll see Jesus refer to himself as “I am” numerous times. Every time is significant. And in John 5, Jesus also refers to God in very intimate terms, as “My Father.” And added that he does what his Father does. Here it is again:

17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”
18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

Have you ever heard someone say that Jesus never actually claimed to be God? The Pharisees certainly thought he did! And it was on this basis that they sought to kill him.

Q – If someone asked you to prove that Jesus thought he was God, what chapter would you bring them to?
A –

Jesus’ identity is central to our faith. He doesn’t ask us to merely believe his teachings. He calls us to believe in himself.

Next lesson, we’ll continue in John 5. And we’ll see how Jesus presses the point even further. He says that to honor the Father, one has to honor the Son.

Feel free to read ahead in John 5.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Adamson
director of EveryStudent.com
and StartingwithGod.com

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