John 5:1-15
Today's Passage: John 5:1-15
In this passage Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath. The man had been living with this debilitating disease for nearly four decades, so many people would have witnessed his sickness. When he was completely cured, everyone knew the genuineness of the healing. This miracle highlights the beginning of open hostility from Jewish authorities.
The Old Testament prohibited work on the Sabbath but did not specify what kind of “work”. It is implied that it consisted of one’s regular employment, but the Jewish leaders had developed an oral tradition that prohibited 39 activities which included moving an item from one area to another. Therefore, by picking up his mat and walking with it, the healed man was breaking oral tradition, which I am sure Jesus knew when He told him to take up his bed! Jesus most likely deliberately did this on the Sabbath to provoke the Jews. The Jewish leaders were being hypocrites, blinded by legalism to the true worship of God. The purpose of the Sabbath wasn’t to have a ton of rules that made you feel good about your obedience; the purpose of the Sabbath was to remember to trust God with your life and what He has given you.
Jesus did not break God’s law by healing on the Sabbath. Jesus highlights the true purpose of the Law through this miracle. Through the confrontation with the Jewish authorities, as you will see in the rest of this passage tomorrow, Jesus gets a clear opportunity to declare who He was, a personal statement of His deity.
Have you added anything to the Gospel? What is the purpose of your obedience?
Written By: Kaitlin White
In this passage Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath. The man had been living with this debilitating disease for nearly four decades, so many people would have witnessed his sickness. When he was completely cured, everyone knew the genuineness of the healing. This miracle highlights the beginning of open hostility from Jewish authorities.
The Old Testament prohibited work on the Sabbath but did not specify what kind of “work”. It is implied that it consisted of one’s regular employment, but the Jewish leaders had developed an oral tradition that prohibited 39 activities which included moving an item from one area to another. Therefore, by picking up his mat and walking with it, the healed man was breaking oral tradition, which I am sure Jesus knew when He told him to take up his bed! Jesus most likely deliberately did this on the Sabbath to provoke the Jews. The Jewish leaders were being hypocrites, blinded by legalism to the true worship of God. The purpose of the Sabbath wasn’t to have a ton of rules that made you feel good about your obedience; the purpose of the Sabbath was to remember to trust God with your life and what He has given you.
Jesus did not break God’s law by healing on the Sabbath. Jesus highlights the true purpose of the Law through this miracle. Through the confrontation with the Jewish authorities, as you will see in the rest of this passage tomorrow, Jesus gets a clear opportunity to declare who He was, a personal statement of His deity.
Have you added anything to the Gospel? What is the purpose of your obedience?
Written By: Kaitlin White
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