Daily Bible Reading (Wednesday, April 11th)

8

John 5 (ESV)

 

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic[a] called Bethesda,[b] which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.[c] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 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?” 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.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews[d] 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said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well!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.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

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.

The Authority of the Son

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[e]does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Footnotes:

  1. John 5:2 Or Hebrew
  2. John 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida
  3. John 5:3 Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had
  4. John 5:10 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed Jesus in that time; also verses 151618
  5. John 5:19 Greek he

8 Comments

'an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.' v 28-29
These verse speak of the eternal state of all souls, something that many lost people deny. It is important to bring this truth to those that deny eternity as a warning - they WILL be part of it, one way or the other. My mindset needs to be one of a Rescue Mission!!

A few passages stand out today: 5:25-29, where Jesus bears the titles of both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Because Jesus is the Son of God [and it is the Father who has life in himself and has granted the son of God to have life in himself(v.26)] the dead can hear the voice of the Son of God and live. Because Jesus is the Son of Man, he is given the authority to execute judgment. Its my guess that this is partly in reference to the title Son of Man, which is a title God uses with Ezekiel frequently when he was to announce judgment, and so the Son of Man would also execute judgment, and supremely in reference to Daniel 7:13-14, where the Son of Man is presented before the Ancient of Days and is given dominion and glory and a kingdom. It is glorious to see both titles in the same passage.

A second passage that stands out is 5:36-40, where Jesus speaks of the testimony that he has which is even better than the testimony from John. The works of Jesus that the Father gave him to accomplish bear evidential proof that the Father sent him. Likewise, the Father has borne witness to Jesus in the Scriptures. If we search the Scriptures for life, but do not follow them to Jesus who has life, our efforts are wasted. The works of Jesus, as proof of being sent from God, should have been seen by the Jews as proof that their system of interpretation was wrong since it wasn't leading them to the one sent by God (as even Nicodemus admitted they knew).

v 25-29 The ultimate fate for man is either Eternal life or Eternal Judgement in Hell.
John 17:3 Eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. Knowing Him, means intimate, heart-felt knowledge resulting in obedience to His Word. I don't want to gamble with my eternal state, by settling for a passive knowledge. I need to become His disciple and know Him through the Word, prayer and obedience. I pray that the we, the Church, helps each other to really get to know Christ, as a bride knows her husband.

Verse 25 says Jesus gives life to the dead. There are so many who are dead in their sin. We can easily be discouraged and frustrated but our Savior can give them life. May we all be encouraged today and be faithful to offer the message of life to dead souls.

“...whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life.” Wow! Jesus is speaking of us who are living today! Our names may not literally be in the Bible, but in this verse we are mentioned, and it brings me great joy!

"He [John the Baptist] was a burning and shining lamp." Oh that I would be a faithful servant of God like that! Father, help me be a bright light for you in this dark world. Give me boldness and strength to do what is right and to stand up for truth... No matter what. Help me to have my eyes fixed on you and you alone. Amen

God in you, through your Son we have life! Thank you for sending Jesus to the cross for me. I am praying for the dead to hear the voice of the Son of God so that they too may receive eternal life.

v1-9: This sick man was laying there waiting on a superstitious miracle. Without even verbally addressing this superstition, Jesus addressed it by immediately doing what superstition hadn’t done for 38 years; He healed him. v18: Jesus wasn’t just a good man; He claimed to be God. v25: So many today seek miracles and claim they happen. What they neglect to recognize is the true miracle that happens when the dead in Christ are raised to life at the preaching of the gospel.

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