Jesus goes to the pool of Bethesda which the people thought had healing powers. Jesus sees a man who had never been able to walk and asks him: “Do you want to get well?”
The man makes excuses and blames others including Jesus after he was healed.
The religious leaders are more concerned that he is carrying his mat on the Sabbath than amazed that he can walk!
Sometimes we don’t get well because we prefer remaining as we are. Our identity may be wrapped up in blaming others and we prefer being a victim.
Jesus shares that his authority comes from his Father in heaven.
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Message Notes:
Jesus goes to the pool of Bethesda which the people thought had healing powers. Jesus sees a man who had never been able to walk his entire life of 38 years and Jesus asks Him: “Do you want to get well?”
The man makes excuses and blames others explaining that when the water begins to stir he cannot get there in time. More than likely the people believed an angel was stirring the waters which is why so many people came there for healing.
Jesus heals him instantaneously! He’s able to walk!
The religious leaders are more concerned that he is carrying his mat on the sabbath than amazed that he can walk!
The man doesn’t even know Jesus’ name. Once again he blames others rather than taking personal responsibility.
Sometimes we don’t get well because we prefer remaining as we are. Our identity may be wrapped up in blaming others and we prefer being a victim.
Jesus warns him that living that way will lead to bad consequences.
Instead of listening to Jesus, the man goes to the religious leaders to reveal Jesus’ identity to them.
The religious leaders begin persecuting Jesus because he did not abide by their man made rules concerning the Sabbath.
“In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:17-18 NIV)
Jesus shares a great deal on how interconnected He is with the Father.
Understanding how God is three persons in one is very difficult for our human minds to comprehend.
A 7 year old in our church was having trouble with the idea of the Trinity or the Triune God which is what we call the God of the Bible who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit yet one God.
So I gave him this description which seemed to help:
God the Father is in heaven. Jesus was the name of God when on earth, and the Spirit of God is in our hearts.
Father, Son, and Spirit created the universe and you can see each expression of the One True God from the beginning to the end of the Bible. There is love, unity, and community within the One True God and each expression of this One True God plays a different role in His interaction with His creation.
One God seen in three different ways.
Perhaps like how water, ice, and steam are all made up of h2o (2 parts hydrogen, 1 part oxygen) or how the sun is a star and it’s also our source for light and our source of warmth. One entity experienced in 3 different ways.
When reading this passage what stood out to you?
How do you sense God may want you to apply what you discovered?
