More on That Sabbath Day of Healing

Tom:

We are going through the gospel of John so we can understand the gospel, salvation that’s in Christ by faith in Christ alone and we’ve encouraged people who have not yet read the Bible, but are interested, we think this is the place to start.You could start with John and then it would be good to go to Genesis, if you want to understand why salvation is necessary you have to read the book of Genesis.I mean it’s God’s Word, all 66 books and it’s terrific in every way.We are in John:5:14Afterward 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.
See All..., “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.”So Dave it seems in this particular situation, sin had something to do with his illness.Is that always the case?

Dave:

We don’t know what illness this was.It could have been related to a sin.That I don’t know, but it is not always the case.I mean every time you catch a cold or have some sickness—we’re sinners.We probably deserve to be made sick all the time.

Tom:

Well sickness is in the world because Adam and Eve sinned.The world which was made perfect now is subject to the effects of sin.And sickness is part of it.

Dave:

Right.But if every sickness came from sin, I am afraid we would be sick all the time.And I’m not even talking about gross sins.The Bible in James says you offend on one point of the law, you are guilty of the whole thing because one sin is rebellion, it’s disobedience.I am sure Tom there are sins of pride, self-centeredness, selfishness that I don’t even recognize.I couldn’t possibly confess every sin that I commit because my standards are so much lower than God’s standards and I don’t really even understand all of that.So what the sin was in this particular case, the man had done something that had brought this sickness upon him and Jesus warned him don’t go back to that particular sin or you will have it again.This is not saying that every time you sin you get sick, or that every sickness is because of sin, and I can look at someone who is sick and say wow, they must be a sinner.No, I am a sinner as well, but by God’s grace he is merciful and he does give us new desires and a new nature.Christ lives in us and he does give us the victory.

Tom:

Right, verse 15: “The man departed, and told the Jews (that is the religious Jews, those who are a part of the religious system) that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.”

Dave:

Now Tom, do you think he was just turning him in?I don’t think so.I don’t think (well we don’t know) so we can’t draw any big conclusions.

Tom:

No, but I think the guy is excited.Because at first he didn’t know who did it and then when Jesus came to him, now he was excited.Just as—look Dave, we’re concerned about the whole signs and wonders movement, or healing ministries that that’s their whole deal and so on, on the one hand.On the other hand as you mentioned on last week’s program.God does heal today and we get excited when we see God manifest himself in that way.Blessing us with healing.

Dave:

So, I don’t think the man knows that the rabbis are going to turn on Jesus for doing this, he just, well is he excited?He wants to promote Jesus and say wow, here’s a great healer among us, or is he trying to get in good with the rabbis—I don’t know Tom, it doesn’t tell us.

Tom:

I just think he was excited, but see Dave, now what’s wrong with what I just said?I read the scriptures and it doesn’t spell something out specifically, but I’m not making a doctrine out of this.I am just encouraged by what—not only what I read.You know, I am trying to lean upon the Holy Spirit for understanding, I’m not making a doctrine out of this, but I’m encouraged.I could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s a big issue.But look at the next verse 16, “And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.”Now wait a minute, before you say something.My thinking that this guy was excited about what Jesus did for him may have drawn him to faith in Jesus—the Bible doesn’t say specifically, but these guys are about to put a big time damper on what took place.They are going after Jesus.

Dave:

Yeah, why don’t they go after this guy for carrying his bed on the Sabbath?

Tom:

They’ve got a bigger fish to fry here.

Dave:

That’s right.They have reasons for going after Jesus, because Jesus is showing them up, number one.He’s asking them questions they can’t answer.And every time they ask him a question to try to show him up in front of the crowd, Jesus turns the tables on them.Furthermore, Jesus—it says he speaks with authority, not like the scribes.The people are paying attention to Jesus.These guys go about in their long robes and their ritual and trying to act holy, but in fact, they love the highest seats and at the feasts and at the weddings.They loved to be called rabbi, rabbi.They love the greetings in the marketplace.They’re really proud, but Jesus is humble.He sits down with sinners.He will sit down with a woman on the well, a Samaritan woman no less, and give her his time and his attention.So they’re jealous of Jesus.He’s taking the spotlight away from themselves and they don’t like this.

Tom:

But Dave there’s a problem here.We have the law and you said in other programs hey, we have rules, we have regulations, we’ve got to do things God’s way.

Dave:

Right.

Tom:

Couldn’t these guys just be—look we know the law and the law has been broken, so someone has to pay.

Dave:

Well, I suppose the law had been broken in the case of the man carrying his bed.But to say that Jesus broke the law when he said take up your bed and walk?I mean he encouraged the man to take up his bed, but on other occasions in the synagogue, remember there was a man with a withered arm.Jesus said stretch forth your arm and the man stretched it forth.Now that’s not against the law.And they are so jealous of Jesus they are trying to find some occasion for criticizing, not just criticizing, but killing him!

Tom:

They sought to slay him the scriptures say.

Dave:

Yes, they are going to do away with him.Tom it really is distressing when we think of the evil in our own hearts.The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it (Jeremiah:17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
See All...)?And when the heart—when I can give myself a good rationalization for what I am doing, and when I can put a cloak of good over evil and oh, this is why I am doing it.They really hate him.They want to do away with him, but now they are going to use the law as an excuse and they will claim to really be standing up for righteousness and for God’s laws and of course Jesus has pointed out a little bit of that hypocrisy to them as well.He says you pay your tithe even out of the herbs in your garden, you are so meticulous about this, but you neglect the things that are more important: love, patience, mercy, forgiveness.They didn’t like to hear that.He says you love to pray long prayers, but you will rob the widow of her living because you want it for the treasury of the church and so forth.So they hate him.They want to do away with him.

Tom:

But by Jesus saying that—just what you said, he’s not throwing off the law, he’s not throwing off God’s rules and regulations.They just had perverted it.They added to it.It’s like people sometimes like the law because now they can figure a way to get around it and they add things in terms of their explanation of what the law means and so on.

Dave:

Their customs, their traditions, right.But Jesus is also demonstrating— Well, John begins, we began in chapter one.The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.And Jesus who is God is demonstrating God is gracious.You don’t have to keep the sabbath if that means you couldn’t heal someone.And Jesus even points out to them, but the law gave you the right.If your ox, your animal fell into a ditch on the sabbath day, you don’t have to wait until the next day to pull it out.If there is some need, some distress, you can meet that need.God is not hard like that.So Jesus is demonstrating the grace of God along with the law and they don’t like that either.But it’s just that Tom, it shows the wickedness of our hearts.And our hearts are all the same.

Tom:

Yes and even under the guise of religion.So much has been done down through history in the name of Jesus and in the name of Christianity that’s just an abomination before God.

Dave:

Yes some of the worst things.