False Religion
Notes
Transcript
False Religion
John 5:1-18
July 30, 2023
Skunk Story:
Walk through of the text:
Key stops:
a. “After this”- Review where we were and then the gap vs “after these things”
b. “a feast of the Jews”- conjecture as to what feast could be any of them, not the point
c. Bethesda- Like “Wiley learning center”, it was a building or landmark. “Bethesda” in Greek means “house of grace”. Will see it was anything but that.
d. Aramaic vs Hebrew – not the point to split hairs, it means the same thing may be spelled different.
e. Vs (4) vs no (4). Traditional manuscripts do not have (4) but it is valuable for setting context and confirmed in vs 7.
f. There were “multitude of invalids”- imagine the scene.
g. He was 38 years old- He was an old guy for this time period
h. Jesus asks “Do you want to be healed”- why ask this? It will be obvious later.
i. Historians have found underground artesian openings that may have been the reason for stirring of the water. The pegan belief was linked to Roman mixed with Jewish superstition. Jesus obviously does not validate it.
j. “Get up” another divine imperative and “take your bed”- this is our Lord starting the fight.
k. Notice, he did NOT even worship, thank or appreciate what just happened. But we chalk that up to excitement I guess?
l. “Now that day was the Sabbath”-
m. “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed”-we will come back to that. No excitement for the healing? No, we have rules…
n. He did not know who Jesus was.
o. Jesus had withdrawn- we see our Lord doing this before His time- “woman it is not yet my time”’
p. And “this is was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus.- LORD why wouldn’t you have waited just 12 hours?
There are so many key principles we could drill down on in this passage of God’s Word. But there is a key theme that our Lord is pointing us to. John, the author is writing this passage to show us that our Lord is starting to poke the skunk. If Christ’s ministry was a set of stairs leading to the cross of Calvary, this passage is the first step up. You see, in the book of John, what had Jesus really done that would cause massive waves? Water to wine? That’s cool but to the pharisees? Or, healing the nobleman’s son? That was really cool, but to the establishment? Those miracles did not directly confront what mattered most to them. This one is a different story.
We see Jesus confront head on the root of the problem in both their time and ours. Jesus hit head on the problem of false religion. Jesus’s ministry was a direct challenge and afront to the establishment of man and it started a fight that has lasted for the last 2000 years. We see that this fight between man’s establishment of religion has caused such damage and cost that it actually was a catalyst for the Jews to pin Jesus to a Roman cross. The sad thing is that we are still in that fight today. So, let’s identify the problem and how to fight it.
The establishment that I am referring to has a fancy title with a fancy definition:
Legalism: “is the establishment of standards carefully selected by people for the purpose of celebrating human achievement under the guise pleasing God.” Charles Swindoll
Swindoll goes on to say that legalism is righteousness defined by humans that wheeled God’s Word as their source to justify a standard that God never established. In reality, people that engage in this tool use culture to shape their religion and seek to use this as an opportunity to make others bend to their will. We see the effects of this from the days of our Lord to today. It is the same lie just re packaged by the devil. It is nothing more then false religion.
1. False religion controls to protect itself.
John 5:9,10 “And at once the man was healed, and took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”
Just a couple observations, where is the celebration that a 38 year old paracletic was walking around? Where was the joy of the miracle? Notice, they stepped right over that to, “it’s not lawful.” Where do they possibly get the idea that it was not lawful? We will see how false religion twists what God intended to gain position of authority.
Look at Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work”
That is the “letter of the law”. Do not work on the Sabbath. But, that is not what the Pharisees were really quoting. False religion takes it a step further. Commentators say they were quoting.
Jerimiah 17:21
“Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.”
And again it was addressed in Neh 13:19.
The issue was that they were missing the Spirit of the Law of God and manipulated into, you can’t carry anything not matter the reason all the while missing the fact that the LORD instituted the Sabbath as a gift and wrote it into the “Moral Law”. Kids who have been through caticism, what is the Moral law?
Moral Law is the 1st 10 commandments. These laws are how we measure our moral standards to God. We all fall short but these 10 are the measuring tool that shows us our sin. But, the pharsees were mixing the Moral Law with the civil law. Christ came and was realigning the world to the LAW of grace and truth. Did He do away with the Law? No, he fulfilled it to the letter. He did not sin by healing this man and directly started the challenge that He was the LORD of the Law. Just like in Jesus’s day and in ours, people from all walks of life totally miss this important fact that He is in sovereign authority over all. That includes all of creation to include us. Understanding Jesus to that level is key. Unfortunately, most people barely think of Him as an after thought let alone the ruler of the universe.
His actions of healing the man was in line with His authority but, talk about poking the skunk.
Jump down to vs 16:
“And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath”.
The word “persecuting” means: pursue, chase, hunt
We have many hunters in this room. How long would you track an elk? If the tracks are fresh, I have gone miles up and down the darkest ravine to the highest mountains at an opportunity to take a shot. Think that level of peruse. That word is used interchangeable in the Word of God for pursue. They chased, hunted, and pursued Christ from this day on because they saw him as a direct challenge to their false religion.
Have you ever seen a caged wild animal? When false religion is attacked or challenged, we only need to look at human history and see the affect. The reformation, both the Catholics and protestants are guilty of mass murder. The crusades, the holocaust, even today we see persecution in the name of false religion. But, the attacks are not limited there. We see false religion protecting it’s self when people question who are locked in a false religion start to ask questions that rock to boat. We all know people in our lives who have asked tough questions of a false religion and have paid the price.
2. False religion seeks to mislead and bind.
Let’s look at how Jesus starts the conversation with the man.
John 5: 6 “Do you want to be healed”.
This one question has captivated me since last Sunday. Why would Jesus ask this question? Of course he would want to be healed! Would that not be arhetorical question? Maybe a little obvious? Or is it? I am not so sure it is a rhetorical question. When we are locked into a system that we have been conditioned to for our entire lives, being free from that system can be a scary venture.
A FREED CAPTIVE
A false religion maintains its power by deception and binding it’s participants under it’s control to the point that sight of freedom dwindles to the point that the one captive can see no way out. There is no chance of freedom after consitant spiritual abuse. We see that from the man Jesus healed.
John 5:14,15
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had him.”
Notice, was he looking for Jesus? Was he following Jesus after this amazing healing? No, Jesus found him- Was the man looking for Him? No, Jesus went to him and found him IN the temple. Meaning, the man was found knee deep in the system. Jesus knew the man’s heart because he says, “STOP SINNING”. Meaning, see you are healed physically, now stop sinning, meaning recognize you salvation is standing right in front of you. But did he? No, he did not.
“The man went away”-In response to the amazing gift, the man instead of defending or covering for Jesus, actually betrays Jesus. The words “went away” is better translated “went after”. It actually is saying, he followed the Jews like a disciple. This guy actually betrays Jesus for the Jews. We never see a heart of regeneration from him.
For years I read this event wrong. I took away the wrong conclusions. I originally gave the man credit that maybe he was just answering the mean pharisees but really loved Jesus. We don’t’ get that from this passage. Actually, we see the opposite. The man was locked into the bondage of a false religion and could not see salvation literally starring him him in the face. It really messed me up until I read this quote from Swindoll on this passage:
“People only choose bondage when they fear that freedom is unreachable, impossible, unaffordable, or unreal.”
What a hopeless condition. Is there hope for people locked into such deception? Praise be to Jesus, YES!
3. The truth sets you free.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[1]
OR
Galatians 5:1
5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.[2]
Or
2 Cor 3:17
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.[3]
Christ is offering true freedom from the sin that binds. Christ offers such freedom that is the only cure to the exhausting, unattainable, impossible and unaffordable burden of a man made construct that is designed to limit the access of man to God. The answer to the burden of legalism and false religion is the truth of Christ and His word. In Him is true freedom that seeks the salvation of a man’s soul.
Like me, some of you may have a hard time that such a freedom is possible. That doubt is built off of the fear that you may not measure up to His standard to save you. CH Spurgeon once said, “there is no one in Hell that Christ rejected”. When we come to a knowledge and understanding of Christ, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and redeem (pay our penality) for our salvation. That fear is a lie from false religion manufactured in our minds. Please hear me doubting Christian, you and I MUST understand who we are in Christ. Do you know that when Paul wrote his 13 epistles he mentioned “being IN CHRIST” over 200 times! But being a “Christian” was only mentioned 2 times. I wonder, what is more important, a title or a state of being?
Being IN Christ is understanding who we are now that Christ has regenerated our hearts and minds. When this happens, we need to understand who we are.
4. Understand who you are in Christ.
In our passage today, the man did not know the value of what just happened to him. He stepped over eternal salvation to walk in the approval of a man made religion. He looked to a cultural norm over an eternal relationship with the LORD of the universe.
But, today we are blessed with seeing the end of the story. We do not have to do what He did. Instead, we can walk forward into HIS great mercy and see what He has for us. What He has for us is a new creation IN Christ Jesus! Instead of manipulation, bondage, enslavement, we get GRACE, Love, Forgiveness, and adoption into the greatest family!
Let’s finish the passage of 2 Cor 3:17. I strategically did not finish that text. But now:
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. [4]
“WE” does NOT mean the world. These are the called in Christ Jesus. Those who are the regenerated hearted believers who recognize the Biblical Christ as the “way the truth and the life” who are now “transformed into the same image”. Through Christ Jesus, we are transformed into a new creation where we can call God most high “father”. Now in Christ, there is no veil keeping us to the Father. There is only freedom. This text flys in the face of world systems where popes, bishops or even pastors claim they are the mediators. Rather, YOU believer have access to the Him who saves.
Eph 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved[5]
Look closely at these words. You are being called according to HIS great plan. He does not limit his children of the “spiritual blessings” in the heavenly places. He chose us in HIM before the foundations of the world. Those actions scream intestinal calling, planning and perfect execution of HIS great will. It was no accident in any way. Just like our passage today, God’s plan of salvation is not an after thought.
Just to prove my point, did Jesus heal anyone else in Bethesda? Not that we know of and John chose to write about the one guy who trampled on the blessing to activate the perfect will of the Father.
Do you think that Jesus was surprised that the guy went to the Jews? NO! Why not wait just 6 hours and heal him NOT on the Sabbath. No, that was intentionally done.
Do you think that Jesus was surprised by the fact that the healing did nothing for the guy? No, that is why He went and found him. Why would Jesus do that if He didn’t want to be known?
Do you think that Jesus was surprised that His persecution was now started? NO! Look at verse 17-18
“My Father is working until now, and I AM working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”
Church, all of this was according to the sovereign will of God. So too is the plan of salvation for you and me. We must understand God’s sovereign plan for the salvation that ONLY Jesus provides. I have now used that big word twice. Do we fully understand “sovereign”? It means:
“Supreme authority”. The supreme authority to offer salvation rests in God’s perfect intent to save the lost from the burden of man made constructs built on the bedrock of sin.
Sometimes we see sovereignty of this plan, we need to exercise caution that it was a checklist of a pre planned robotic checklist. He can not cease being who He is any more then the sun can stop being hot. He always displays compassion and especially grace in who He is, and what He came to accomplish. Look at His ministry. He selflessly served without rushing conversations to meet agendas.
That plan is wrapped up into the perfect Son. The perfect Son of God who was from creation intended to pay the penalty for the sins of those who would put their faith and trust in Him. Christ Jesus, the perfect representation of God sent to a world filled to the brim with sin, death and shame was to pay the penalty of the rebellion of man. He came so that I, who am the chief among sinners, am redeemed through the shedding of His perfect blood for me. You see, God’s plan of salvation outlines the ONLY perfect answer for a sinner like me to “make it right” with God.
COL 1:15
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
This is what I mean. There is no currency, no payment acceptable for a Holy God. Man attempts to create it all the time in false religions and human effort. But they all fall short and end up enslaving and manipulating the people in the process. But, God’s plan is perfect! God’s plan is the ONLY one that works. The only acceptable payment or currency for the sin of man is the perfect sacrifice of God’s Son Himself. What God requires of us we can not offer. So, In His great love offers it Himself in the persona and work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is why we sing. This is why we gather. This is why we bend the knee to the only way to salvation. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, no man comes except through Him.
Conclusion: