Day 281 – John 5

Talking Points

• In a very telling episode, the religious elite aren’t glad about God working. Instead, they are offended when it doesn’t fit their self-serving agenda. In fact, they are so upset they are willing to kill the One responsible.
• Maybe you’ve heard certain false teachings promote the idea that Jesus never claimed to be God. In John chapter 5, this is thoroughly discredited. Jesus not only makes the clear case that He is God, but the Jewish leaders are so sure this is His claim, they plan to kill Him. “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18).
• Under the Jewish legal system, a statement had to be confirmed or testified to by two witnesses in order to be accepted as truth. This idea of testifying to the truth of Jesus being the Messiah is one of the key aspects of John’s writing of this gospel. As he writes, he uses the word “testimony” or “testifying” 47 different times. Jesus, making abundantly sure His claims can be accepted as truth, provides twice the legal requirement and gives four impeccable witnesses. He truly desires all to believe.

Thoughts

What is the goal of Christ’s mission? Why did He come to Earth? Why take on flesh? In Luke 19:10, we learn that “the Son of Man [came] to seek and to save that which was lost.” In order for the lost to stand redeemed, they have to know who Jesus is and be given an opportunity to place saving faith in Him and His work on the cross of Calvary.

So, when Jesus chooses the Sabbath to heal the man at the Pool of Bethesda, it was a deliberate part of that mission. Every miracle revealed who He is. In this act on this day, and in the subsequent conversation that takes place, Jesus provides testimony to multiple facets of His nature.

He proves His equality with God the Father, able to do the same works in the same manner. He displays His omniscience, knowing the Father’s will. Jesus reveals that He has power over life and death, and He’s able to give life Himself. He has the power and authority and righteousness as the Judge. He’s worthy of all honor, and to honor Him is to honor the Father. His words are truth; they are the Father’s words, and in them, we find the testimony about Jesus who gives eternal life. He is the resurrection. He is the Messiah, the sent One, the Son of God. He is the One of whom the forerunner, John the Baptist, spoke. In Jesus, alone, is salvation. He is the Miracle-Worker, the omnipotent One. Jesus is the One about whom the Father testified, the One who comes in the name of the Father. He is Jesus, the One who makes men whole.

“Do you wish to get well?” (John 5:6)