John 5:10-20

10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” 11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ” 12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” 15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” 18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

“See, You Have Been Made Well. Sin No More…..”

”Houston, we have a problem”! It is the Sabbath! When the Jews saw the man carrying his mat, they noticed him and addressed him. They were so happy for him that he was well after 38 years of suffering…..NOT! Instead of being happy for this man who was now well and healthy after being sick for 38 years, they accused him of transgressing the Law of Moses by carrying his bed. No congratulations…..no rejoicing for the man…..only arrogant judgment. It is a known fact that the Jews added many traditions to the Law of Moses and tried to bind them on others. In Matthew 15:1-14, Jesus calls them out for this very thing over a tradition of washing hands before eating bread. In verse 3 of that passage, he answers their question with a question, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” He called them hypocrites and quoted Isaiah’s prophecy saying, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of Men.” The treatment of this man who had been healed shows the hearts of these Jews. Their hearts were definitely far from Jesus. Leviticus 23:3 is the scripture that says no work should be done on the Sabbath. But what is considered as work? Carrying a mat? An activity would have been considered work if it was going to profit a person monetarily, not what this man was doing. In Mark 3:1-6, Jesus healed the man with the withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He knew the Jewish leaders were just waiting on Him to heal the man so they could call Him out. But Jesus beat them to the punch by saying, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” It says that Jesus looked at them with anger, and was “grieved by the hardness of their hearts.” How sad that these people who were supposed to be God’s chosen were so cold-hearted! 

Sidenote…..in the margin of my Thompson Chain Reference Bible, the word legalism is written beside John 5:10 to describe the Jews behavior towards the man. I believe this should be called “knit-pickingism” (my new made up word) instead of legalism. We could also call the Jews traditionalists, because they tried to make traditions into laws. Legalism is defined as a strict adherence to laws. Isn’t this the same as obeying God’s Word without adding or taking away from it? Knit-picking and adhering strictly to God’s commands (called legalism to some) are not the same thing. The church of Christ gets accused all the time of being legalistic for many reasons, simply because we obey God’s Word. I’ve heard it said that we are legalistic in our beliefs, because we won’t compromise the truth within the scriptures. We get accused of this even though we use scripture to back up everything that we believe. If that is being a legalist, then I guess I am. Legal means right. Illegal means wrong. I certainly don’t want to be an illegalist! We are just told to do all things in love, and tell people the truth in love which is what we do. I love the Lord’s church for being “legalistic”, as some call it, about speaking where the bible speaks and being silent where the bible is silent. I love the Lord’s church for not adding to or taking away from God’s Word. I love the Lord’s church for speaking the truth in love. It is our love for the lost that also drives us to follow God’s Word as closely as we possibly can. We don’t want to lead people to believe that they are “ok spiritually” when they might not be saved according to scripture, living according to scripture, or worshipping according to scripture. Maybe that is legalistic. If so, then so be it.  Like Paul said in Galatians 4:16, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” People call us Pharisees because they don’t understand us. The Pharisees and Jewish rulers were making up their own traditions and binding them as laws. We are not making up anything. We are just trying to follow God’s Word, and God’s Word is not open to a thousand interpretations. We are not taking any chances or trying to guess what God wants. Why take a chance? Now, can we in the Lord’s church be guilty of knit-picking? Absolutely, anyone can, and this might be why we have gotten a reputation for this in the past. We have to be careful how we come across. Everything that we do and say must be done with love. Doing all things according to God’s Word is legal and right. Looking for a person’s flaws and calling them out is nit-picking and wrong. There is a huge difference. I have plenty of flaws that could be nit-picked. I wouldn’t do that to anyone. But, I will tell anyone who will listen, the truth straight from God’s Word, because I love that person’s soul. 

So….in the previous verses the Jews were questioning the recently healed man about who had healed him. The man could not tell them who had healed him, because Jesus withdrew Himself right after the healing. As you could imagine, a crowd probably formed quickly around the healed man. I can see why Jesus withdrew Himself. It could have become quite the scene if He hadn’t. Desperate people can get a bit out of control and unreasonable. We can assume that the man had never seen Jesus before, and did not know who He was. Later, Jesus goes to the temple, and finds the man there. I’m sure that he was praising and thanking God for his healing. Also, it was a feast day. I wonder how long it had been since this man had gotten to be a part of a Passover feast. Unless someone assisted him in getting there, it had probably been a really long time since he had gotten to enjoy a Passover feast, or anything else in his life for that matter. Jesus then says some highly significant words to the man that we should all take to heart. First, He says, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more….”. Jesus healed this man physically for a higher purpose than for him to just go on his own way living any way that he wanted. Jesus healed this man for him to be a witness for Him, to glorify God, and tell people what Jesus had done for Him. He can’t do any of those things if he continues to live a sinful life. What about us? Jesus has healed each one of us spiritually. When we were baptized into Him, Jesus healed us of sin by washing that sin away, and making all things new within us. But…..He didn’t heal us so that we could go back to our old life. He healed us for a new purpose…..to be a witness for Him, to glorify God, and tell others about Him, and what He has done in our lives. We can’t do any of those things if we continue to live a sinful life. Now….does this mean that we will never sin, and that Jesus expects perfection from us? No, because that is impossible and Jesus knows that. Or else, why would He have needed to come and die for us in the first place? Jesus’ words of “sin no more” means that we are to strive to “sin no more”. We are expected to strive to break our bad habits. We are expected to strive to stay away from people and places that could lead us back into our old sinful ways. We are expected to stand up for Him to the world, and never be ashamed of our relationship with Him. We are expected to turn our lives over to Him. We are expected to give our best effort to be like Jesus. We will not be perfect, but that is why we have Jesus as our advocate. Second, after Jesus tells the man to “sin no more”, He says, “so that nothing worse happens to you.” This is big! What is the worst thing that could happen to us? Think about all the things that could happen. But…..is Jesus referring to physical/earthly suffering here? We hear people say, “well it could always be worse”. And I suppose it could. I always check myself when I’m feeling sorry for myself with the thought that so many others have it so much worse than I do. But Jesus is talking about the worst of the worst thing that could happen to anyone…..eternal punishment. He is saying to the man, paraphrasing in my own words, “stop your sinful lifestyle or your 38 years of suffering will seem like a picnic compared to an eternity of suffering”. How can this apply to us? Once we are healed spiritually in the waters of baptism, we cannot go back to our old lifestyle, and expect to gain our eternal reward. We are not “once saved, always saved” as many denominations believe. 2 Peter 2:20-22 completely annihilates this doctrine: “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” Using the dog and the pig as analogies to illustrate a Christian going back into sin shows us how disgusting this is in the eyes of God. Jesus healed the man by the pool so that He could lead a holy life for Him. This is exactly what He does for us when we repent, confess, and are baptized for the remission of our sins. He heals us from sin so that we can “walk in newness of life”…..with Him. (Romans 6:4) I like to assume that the man went, and lived his life the way that Jesus told him to. We know that he went and confessed who Christ was to the Jews who had questioned him. And then in verse 16, we see the sad state of the hearts of these Jews. They began persecuting Jesus, and plotting to take His life, all because He had broken their law, by giving this man a new life. Now mind you…..this was not God’s law , but THEIR law. They had added their own amendments/traditions to God’s law, and were binding those added amendments/traditions on other people. They were only looking at the negative, and not the positive. They did not even acknowledge the wonderful thing that Jesus had done for this man. These Jews lived to find fault in people. Let’s not be guilty of this ourselves. When we look at people, whether they are Christians or not, let’s find the positive things about them, and build on those things to help them see the truth. We won’t win anyone to Christ or back into the fold of Christ, by picking them apart, and focusing on the negative. The word of God will convict. Our words don’t have to. 

Back in verse 16, we see the Jews persecuting and plotting to kill Jesus. Jesus answers them. I find that interesting in itself. I didn’t see a question in verse 16. I assume that Jesus is answering the persecution that they are putting on Him. Of course, He also knows their plans, because He can read their thoughts. The “answer” that Jesus gives them is unexpected, but fantastic at the same time. You would think that Jesus would defend His healing of the man by telling them that healing is not considered work, and that it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. But He doesn’t defend Himself at all, because He doesn’t have to. God doesn’t have to defend Himself to anyone, right? His mind-blowing statement in verse 17 says it all. Paraphrasing, “My Father is working, so I’m working just like My Father. If My Father works, I work.” But didn’t God rest on the seventh day? Well…..He stopped creating new things at that point. But God still had to keep the universe going! Who would keep the earth on its axis? Who would keep all the planets in their orbits around the sun?  Who would keep the sun in its place in the sky giving off its light and heat? I could go on and on with all the things that God has to sustain. God can never rest. What did we learn in John 1:3? All things were made through who? Nothing was made without who? The WORD…..Jesus Christ! So…..if nothing could be made without Jesus, then nothing can be sustained without Him either. So Jesus can never rest either. The universe is sustained by God through Jesus. Who created the Sabbath Day? God created it for humans to worship and glorify Him. In Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28 and Luke 6:5, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” The rules of the Sabbath don’t apply to God who created it, or Jesus who is Lord of it. In verse 18, we see that it says that the Jews wanted to kill Him even more for His statement in verse 17. They saw Him as a mere man who was making Himself equal with God by calling God HIS Father. He didn’t say “our Father”…..but “MY Father”. They either didn’t understand or didn’t want to accept that Jesus was not just a human that was equal with God…..He WAS God. In verse 19, Jesus makes two great points to these Jewish leaders. He says, paraphrasing, “I can only do what I SEE the Father do, and I only DO what the Father does. I don’t do anything on my own.” God and Jesus do everything together. Look back to John 1:3…..”without Him nothing was made that was made.” God does nothing without Jesus, and Jesus does nothing without God. So God created, therefore, Jesus created. It also shows agreement. The Father and the Son are in total agreement on everything. Jesus has been with God every step of the way from before Genesis 1:1 until this very minute. Has any human ever seen God? Humans cannot see God, yet Jesus told these Jews that He did what He SAW the Father do. He also said that He DID everything that the Father did. Can humans do everything that God does? Of course not. God is pure. God is perfection. We are sinners who needed a Savior to die for us. Romans 3:23 says all humans have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. No way could we ever see God or do things that God does. Jesus may have been in a human body, but He was not a mere human. He was THE WORD, and THE WORD was God…..and THE WORD became flesh. (John 1:1, John 1:14) Jesus had just made some outlandish claims in the eyes of these Jews. Everything Jesus said just made them hate Him even more. What they didn’t realize was that by hating Jesus, they were actually hating God. All the rituals or feasts in the world could not change that. Verse 20 is wonderful. Jesus says that His Father loves Him, and shows Him everything that He does. Has God shown us everything? Isaiah 55:10 says that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We can’t know the ways and thoughts of God. We can only trust that He sees the big picture and knows what is best. Deuteronomy 29:29 says that the secret things belong to God. He only reveals what we need to know. But Jesus knows those secret things of God, because Jesus and God are of one mind. The only thing that Jesus doesn’t know is when the judgment day will be. Only God knows when that day will be (Matthew 24:36). Jesus made some fantastic claims in these verses, but that last line of verse 20 gives me chills. Paraphrasing in my words, “You think you’ve seen something awesome, just wait…..something much more awesome is coming, and you will all be amazed.” We know that He was referring to His resurrection that would occur on the third day after His death on the cross. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Glory to God for the amazing gift of Jesus Christ, and glory to God for His Word through which we can study and learn about Him. Glory to God for the gift of salvation provided through His Son. Have you accepted the gift of salvation that God provided through Jesus? Have you accepted the gift according to what Jesus said in Mark 16:16? Please reach out if you would like a Bible study! I would love to help!

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)