February 17, 2003
March 30
___John 5:1-24, 31-40
Why do you believe in Jesus?
___By Paul Kenley
___What distinguishes one religion, sect or denomination from another in determining truth?
___The biblical test for distinguishing truth from false doctrine is cited by John in his first letter--"By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God ..." (1 John 4:2-3).
___In other words, what we believe about Jesus--who he is, what he has done, and his claims for himself as well as other scriptural claims regarding him--determines the accuracy of our belief system.
___The focus of this lesson asks the question, "Why do you believe in Jesus?" and the text verses from John 5 comprise some of the most remarkable statements of our Lord concerning his own identity. The background for these claims is based in one of Jesus' many acts of physical healing; but because this one occurred on the Sabbath, his contradiction to established religion is highlighted.
___By way of background, our attention is first directed to another healing in 4:46-54. The healing of the son of a royal official is the first miracle recorded in John's Gospel and offers a particularly pointed insight into Jesus' perspective on physical healing. His comment in verse 48 reveals his disdain for those who will not believe without a sign.
___Jesus never healed for the sake of healing itself. His acts of healing always were performed in the context of kingdom work. This point of reference is vital to the proper interpretation of the healing of the paralytic in chapter 5.
___A dip in the pool
___The setting is the pool of Bethesda, or Bethsaida, in Jerusalem. Because its waters were believed to impart healing qualities, the pool was continually surrounded by the afflicted.
___An interpretive problem arises, however, in the latter part of verse 3 and verse 4. These controversial words describing the angelic stirring of the waters and the subsequent healing of the first to enter them afterward do not appear in the earliest manuscripts, apparently more a product of legend than fact. Some suggest they were added later to clarify the statement of the paralytic in verse 7.
___Were these verses authentic, the statement would portray divine intervention in a most cruel way. Indeed, the lame and paralyzed struggling to beat each other into the water paints a morbid picture inconsistent with the nature and character of God. In addition, that Jesus exercised his authority over both the paralytic and the Jewish leaders negates the need for any such troubling of the waters. This man was healed, not by the water but the power of God.
___'Work' on the Sabbath
___The actual healing of the paralytic, in this context, is not nearly as significant as when the event took place. As is so frequently the case during Jesus' ministry, this healing took place on the Sabbath; and this particular occurrence serves to demonstrate just how far down the path of abject legalism the Jews had traveled.
___For this man to pick up his pallet and carry it was considered labor and therefore against the law--never mind that he was walking after 38 years of lameness!
___Herein lies one of the greatest lessons to be learned from the example of Jesus in dealing with people. He never let custom or tradition supercede the needs of people or his own relationship with them.
___This lesson must surely be one of the most needful in the church today. How easy it is to run roughshod over hurting people in the rush to make certain proper procedure is followed. Those who were criticizing the compassion that motivated Jesus' act demonstrated their own woeful lack of it. How many times do we sacrifice such compassion on the altar of policies and bylaws?
___'My Father is working'
___Jesus' answer to the Jews when questioned about the deed forges a teaching that has been lost on many of us--"My Father is working until now, and I myself am working" (v. 17). Missing the thrust of Jesus' statement, the Jews heard only what they wanted to hear. Their criticism of Jesus claiming God as his Father was immediate.
___Nevertheless, Jesus elaborated in verse 19. His statement may seem quite mysterious until we recognize that he was speaking of himself by way of example, a view that is supported by the fact that he referred to himself in the third person.
___Henry Blackaby, in his popular study "Experiencing God," concurs and sees this verse as foundational to any person's walk with God. Blackaby contends that because Jesus saw the work of the Father as the pattern for his own activity, so should we.
___Jesus' statement sets an example for all of us to follow. In verse 20, he declares this pattern for daily living is possible because of the great love with which the Father loves us, a love demonstrated by the fact that God is continually showing us what to do through his own activity. So Blackaby concludes that to "experience God" we must observe the work the Father is doing and join him in that work.
___One very pointed example of this pattern of work is seen in the resurrection. The Father raised the Son from the dead. His resurrection made possible our own. We then participate in the resurrection of new life by both communicating and living out the gospel as his followers (v. 21). Every time we give witness or minister to others in his name, we are joining the Father in his great work.
___Jesus modeled this pattern in both the acts of healing in this passage--the son of the royal official and the paralytic. The one was near death. The other had never known any quality of life. So in both cases, Jesus was the giver and restorer of life. While verse 22 is clear that the Father has handed over the authority of judgment to the Son, equally clear is that the focus of these verses is not on meting out judgment, but on the giving of life.
___Many kinds of witness
___In verses 31-40, John enumerates four kinds of witness, each of which is vital to the full testimony concerning the Son of God--the witness of John (vv. 33-35); the witness of works (v. 36); the witness of the Father (v. 37-38); and the witness of Scripture (vv. 39-40).
___John the Apostle presents John the Baptist as a light pointing toward the coming Messiah and points out that for awhile the people were willing to walk in that light. In other words, they temporarily tolerated his message until the messiah was identified specifically as Jesus.
___Jesus then contrasts the theme of John's message, repentance, with that of his own, eternal life. Concerning works, Jesus points out that his own are greater, because they testify of himself. According to Jesus, the witness of the Father is harder to receive, because we have neither seen him nor heard his voice. We do, however, have his word, but it benefits us only if we heed it. If possible, his description of the witness of Scripture is even more intense.
___Jesus' warning to the Jews about the Scriptures serves to warn us as well, particularly in a day when the Scriptures form the flashpoint of theological debate. Jesus cautioned the Jews against looking to the Scriptures as the source of eternal life (verse 39). The Scriptures are instrumental in gaining eternal life only in that they point us to the giver of all life--Jesus Christ. Here Jesus clearly condemns bibliolatry, the practice of worshipping the Scriptures rather than the One the Scriptures reveal.
___Reason vs. faith
___The act of trusting in Jesus Christ as God in the flesh is critical to entering into an eternal relationship with him. Our initial impulse may be to attempt to sort out this very difficult passage of Scripture with our own powers of reason, under the assumption that reason will eventually lead us to faith.
___Ultimately, however, we know such thinking is one of Satan's greatest distractions to impede our journey. Faith never has been, nor ever will be a product of reason. This is not to say reason cannot be used to construct a premise upon which we arrive at faith. Jesus often reasoned with the Jews, but always from the perspective that their continual refusal to lay aside their well-ensconced prejudices blocked the road to both repentance and faith.
___We must make certain we do not fall into the same trap. While all forms of intellectual input are helpful, what our Lord requires first and foremost is simple, child-like trust. We need to continually ask ourselves why we believe in Jesus, but with the full acknowledgment that in this life not all questions will be resolved.
___How much better to obey willingly than by compulsion!
___Questions for discussion
___ Discuss why the person of Christ is at the heart of determining truth. Is it harder to discern truth today than in the past?
___ Why are we so fascinated with accounts of physical healing? Would such fascination draw the same response from Jesus about signs that he gave in this passage?
___ How might we relate the waters of the Pool of Bethesda to our understanding of baptism? Is it a "dip in the pool" or the shed blood of Christ that saves?
___ Discuss ways the exaggerated legalism of the Jews is alive today, even in the midst of our strong message of grace. Do we not still make legalistic demands on people entering into relationship with the Lord?
___ Consider how the example of Jesus in emulating the work of the Father sets a pattern for our approach to Christian living.
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