John Part 12
Notes
Transcript
Ok, last week we finished the narrative about the Samaritan woman at the well.
And after she went and brought a crowd to Jesus
They asked Jesus to stay with them 2 days.
Recall, that most Jews would not go through this land period
Let alone, go through and stay 2 days.
But Jesus said, I have to go through Samaria.
And, so, he did just that.
He stayed 2 days in Samaria
on his way to his hometown of Galilee
And then…
43 After the two days he departed for Galilee.
44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)
45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
So, here we see that Jesus says,
A prophet has no honor in his own hometown
And, what does this mean?
Well, we can see evidence of this theme in the OT
Jeremiah specifically comes to mind.
His own family plotted against him in his hometown of Anathoth.
So, Jesus might merely be pointing out that theme
To indicate why he could not do many miracles in his hometown.
However, I think John might also be illustrating another point here, too
Recall in chapter 1
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
So, the placement here, by John
When he says…
44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)
The placement is right after Jesus went to Samaria
A place Jews never went
And spent 2 days there
being Received by people who were not his own.
And why did they receive Jesus in Samaria?
Was it because he rasied the dead?
Healed the lame?
Made the blind to see
the mute to speak
or the deaf to hear?
Did he cast out devils?
No… He simply spoke to the Samaritans
and they believed his WORDs
41 And many more believed because of his word.
The Samaritans took Jesus at his WORD
But what about the Jews in his own hometown a few verses later?
45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
They didn’t accept him at his word
They accepted him at his deeds
They had seen all the signs, miracles and wonders
And only because of the signs, did the Jews believe in Jesus
John is painting this kind of belief as a bad
We think it is just so simple
If God would just do miracles
People would belief
But He did many miracles for the Jews
And they believed temporarily
But eventually those same Jews were crying crucify
So, miracles caught their interest for a moment
but what happens when the miracles cease?
Does God need to do a miracle every day to keep us interested in him?
Or will we learn to follow him simply because of his words?
And not becomes of what he has done
but because of who he IS?
And, I think this is the point John is trying to make here
In fact, I know it is
Because watch the very next story…
Pay close attention to the words of Jesus
46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
You see that?
He head heard about the miracles of Jesus in Judea
and now that Jesus was back home in Galilee
He wanted Jesus to do those miracles in his hometown
But Jesus calls him out on it…
Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe
Do you see the stark contrast now with the Samaritans?
They had 0 miracles
0 Signs
0 Wonders
and only His WORD
but the Jews wanted more than his word
They wanted God to do more than just speak
They wanted God to do miracles before they would believe.
True faith, is following Jesus even when he doesn’t do miracles
True faith is:
staying in church when the storm is raging
keeping his word when you are in the greatest need for a miracle
The story goes on…
49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.
52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.
54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
So, even though Jesus called him out for not believing unless he saw a sign.
He still did the miracle for him
but, vs 50 is important.
50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
Jesus didn’t go lay hands on the child
He didn’t pack up and leave Cana
and go to Capernaum
and pray of the boy.
Instead, he spoke a word of faith
and the bible says, the man believed that word
He believed in before it happened
And I think that is why Jesus healed the boy
to Show us.. that even before we see the miracle
We need to believe the word of God
You can’t do it the other way around
and say, Lord if you do the miracle
THEN I will believe
He wants us to believe his word FIRST
and then we will see the miracle second.
54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
So, this final verse shows us that this is the second miracle Jesus did in his hometown of Galilee.
The first one was turning the water into wine.
And both of them happening in the city of Cana.
And both of them required faith in the word of Jesus.
John is trying to get the reader to trust the words of Jesus
Even though they may not be able to see the miracles
This theme runs through the book
all the way to Doubting Thomas at the end
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Ok, now on to John Chapter 5
There is so much in this chapter
And I want to make sure we see it all
More than you might see if you have read it 100 times
because it is so easy to miss the connections being made
if you just read the words
without taking the time to study it throughly
to see the connections John is making.
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
So, back to verse 1…
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
So, if you have been keeping up
Jesus turned water into wine in Cana near his hometown
And then he went to Jerusalem for a feast
Did many miracles there
then came through Samaria
Didn’t do any miracles there
Then came back to the area of Galilee
To do another miracle in Cana near his hometown
And then went back to Jerusalem for the next feast.
And right when he gets there
He does another miracle.
Do you see how John is painting this picture
Of how Jesus did all these miracles for his own people
The Jews
And yet, they are the ones who will crucify him at the end of this story.
Ok, So, he sees this man who apparently cannot walk.
I don’t know if he was just lame
or fully paralyzed
But either way,
It seems he is not able to get into this pool or water
without the help of someone else
So, it is actually possible that he might just be blind
And needed help to see when the water was troubled
And help to be guided into the water
It doesn’t actually say he couldn’t walk
But the assumption is that he could not walk.
Because When Jesus heals him
He doesn’t say, open you eyes
He says, get up and walk.
However, it doesn’t actually tell us what is wrong with him.
And it doesn’t matter, really, I just thought it was interesting
That is says in verse 7…
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
So, the man has the ability to “go” toward the pool
He just gets beaten to it
So, either, he is lame and not fully paralyzed
and could possibly be crawling there
OR
and I know this is a stretch
It could be that he is blind
and gets a slow start since he can’t see the water moving
and also moves slower since he can’t see where he is going
and needs someone to help him see the water moving
and to help guide him into the pool
I know that is somewhat improbable
but the words “while I am going”
in verse 5 tells me that he was at lest not fully paralyzed
he was either partially lame, or he was blind
Since we have 3 things to pick from in verse 3.
3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
Of those 3, it seems most likely he was lame
But I think it is hard to prove that he wasn’t blind
based on the text alone
If you take out every message you’ve heard about this story
which almost always assumes the man is paralyzed
You will see he was either lame or blind
because he did have the ability to move
it just wasn’t fast enough.
And, so my question is this…
if he COULD move
then why didn’t he get as close as he could to that pool
and throw himself in as soon as the water was stirred up?
I think this is why jesus asked him…
6 …“Do you want to be healed?”
I think he was saying more like this…
Do you even want to be healed?
I see you are hear near the place of healing
but you have been here a long time
and you have not gotten your healing
so… How bad do you want it?
Do you even want to be healed at all?
Or do you want to look like you want to be healed
but at the same time
You want to keep the benefits of not being healed
and if you think there are no benefits to not being healed
think again
Now, you might not choose them
but there are many people who have the ABILITY to pull themselves out of their current situation
but they do not have the DESIRE to do so
and they will milk the system for all it has.
A blind or lame man in Jerusalem during the 1st century
did not have to work
did not have to provide for a family
he was not expected to help in town
he just sat there and collected food and money from passersby
That was their form of welfare back then
And just like today
There are many people who need welfare
and don’t get it
and there are many people who don’t need welfare
but they do get it
And Jesus asks this man… do you even want to be healed?
Because the miracle is about 5 feet away
and it hasn’t moved
and it looks like you haven’t moved either
do you even want to be healed?
Believe it or not
that are many people who would rather get a check
that to get a miracle
Not me
Maybe I’m just built different
but this man has been sitting here missing healing after healing after healing
for 38 years.
You would think that one day he’d get tired of missing it
and he’d roll over to the edge of the pool
and as soon as that water moved a little
he’d roll right in
but maybe he didn’t want to come off the welfare
or maybe he was scared that if he rolled in
someone might get a toe in before him
and if he was lame
he’d be at the bottom of the pool
unable to stand back up
because he was beaten to the water
So, perhaps is was fear that kept him from throwing himself into the pool
Or perhaps it was laziness
But either way
he’d been there for so long
Jesus had to ask him
Do you even want to be healed?
Notice the answer…
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
He didn’t say YES
He made an excuse
Listen to me
When Jesus asks you if you want to be healed
the only thing that should come out of your mouth is
YES
YES
YES
Don’t respond with an excuse
Don’t respond with negativity
Don’t speak death on your tongue
Don’t talk about how bad it has been like this man did
Instead, just say YES, LORD
Yes, I want to be healed
Yes, I want you to take over this dire situation I’m in
and make it all better
YES, LORD
YES!
So, Jesus Heals him anyways.
9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
Cue the dramatic music on that last line there…
Now that day was the Sabbath… DUN DUN DUN!
The Jews did not work on the Sabbath
And they had taken a blessing from God
which was to rest one full day a week
and they had turned it into something oppressive and burdensome.
And they are about to give Jesus some trouble for telling this man to carry his bed.
10 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.”
11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ”
12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
14 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.”
15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
18 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.
Ok, so, the main thing here is the man was carrying his bed
He was about to get into trouble for carrying it
So, what do you do when you are about to get into trouble?
You blame someone else.
The man said in vs 11, the man who healed is the one who told me to carry my bed.
But he didn’t know Jesus’s name.
Now, this is interesting to me.
This man was healed by Jesus
And didn’t take the time to get to know Jesus.
What a shame.
To be the recipient of a great miracle
and Not even know the name of the miracle worker
Let alone, get to know him on a personal level.
But, these were the Jews…
His own received him not, John said.
So, not only did he not catch his name
he rats him out as the one breaking the Sabbath
Once he DOES get his name later on.
Oh how quickly he turned on Jesus
the one who healed him
to keep himself out of trouble with the Jewish leaders.
my my my.
Now, in the middle of this drama
We learn two very important things that John is trying to show us
Remember, his goal isn’t just about telling us about the miracles
John doesn’t hardly do that
You gotta go to Matthew and Mark to read about the miracles
John has a purpose in every story he chooses to share
And the purpose here
was the show you that Jesus could work on the sabbath
Now, why is that important to point out?
Because nobody is supposed to work on the Sabbath.
No man anyways…
Bot that rule doesn’t apply to God.
So, Jesus is about to go off on a tangent
And admit that he is God.
You want to know why the Jews killed Jesus
John tells us right here in chapter 5.
Two reason, which are really one reason
first…
16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
So, number 1, they wanted to kill him because he broke the commandment about the Sabbath
But when he tells them why he doesn’t need to abide by that rule
They find a second, and more important reason to kill Jesus.
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Woah, hold on.
We know God the Father is working on the Sabbath
He has to keep working
He keeps the world turning
and the stars burning
But you… you Jesus…
You are not him
You are just a man from Galilee
So, what makes you think you can work on the sabbath?
Well, there’s only one reason why Jesus would say this
and while we might not understand it with our American culture
This verse on the screen here
Can be translated as “I AM GOD THE FATHER”.
I know it doesn’t say that in English
And it doesn’t say that in the Original Greek
But any 1st Century Jew that heard these words
Understood it to mean exactly that.
Which is why John helps us out in the next verse
Because he knows his none jewish readers wouldn’t get the weight of this statement in verse 17
So, John translates it for us in verse 18…
18 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.
They had a hard enough time accepting he was the Messiah
But this was too much for them
They didn’t just want to persecute him
Now, they wanted to kill him.
Because this was downright blasphemous to them
God the Father has no equal according to the OT
So, the only way Jesus could be equal to the Father
is if Jesus is the Father manifested in the flesh.
John has already told the reader about this in chapter 1 verse 14
And here, he tells it again in dramatic fashion.
Now, in verse 19 onward,
Jesus is going to justify this claim about being equal with the Father.
He will do so by providing a series of witnesses
And the witnesses were proof not only the Jews who heard it the first time
but also to John’s later readers of this story.
