Chapter five of John's gospel opens with another miracle pointing to Jesus as the Savior. Again this miracle is followed by a pointed Jewish response and Jesus setting the record straight for the established religious leaders.
Jesus entered Jerusalem for a feast and was passing by the Pool of Bethesda when he saw a man with some type of handicap. The pool had several handicapped and sick people around it because they believed an angel would come down and stir the water. The first one in would be healed. The man Jesus saw had been "38 years in his sickness" and when asked if he wanted to get well the man explained how he was unable to get into the water. Jesus said, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." The man did just that and he was healed. Jesus again demonstrates His divine power by healing the man.
The rub in this chapter is how the the establishment reacts to the healed man and Jesus. They weren't the least bit interested in the healing. They were only interested in why the man was carrying his "pallet" on the Sabbath. Then they wanted to know who healed him and why he did that on the Sabbath. All of this points to a show down between Jesus and the religious leaders. I'll let you read those for yourself starting at verse 19 and finishing the chapter. These verses contrast Jesus as Savior against what the establishment believed.
Verse 24 shows me what the Bible wants me to believe about Jesus. He say, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes He who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgement, but has passed out of death into life." I believe this but the leaders in Jerusalem did not want to hear that and it only added fuel to the fire as to why they wanted Him dead. There's another verse Jesus blasts them with and hit me as well. In verse 38 He says, "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him who sent Me." I don't have a belief problem, I have an "abiding" problem. "Abiding" means to live in, to pitch a tent and stay a while. I've read the Bible, some parts several times, and I believe every word in it but there are times in my life when my actions would say I "abide' somewhere else. I need to change nieghborhoods and quit visiting.
The wow factor in this chapter has got to be the faith of the handicapped man. He was in his condition for several years and the Bible doesn't say how long he was poolside. But his belief or faith, although it be misguided, was incredible. Day in and day out he tried to get in the pool but couldn't. How easy it would have been to give up but he didn't. His faith is inspiring and I hope you are moved by it too. Until chapter six, God bless.
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