John 5.1-18
"Most Christians believe that non-Christians are going to eternal torture. Those that don't are in denial about their beliefs...If they simply choose to not believe that anyone goes to Hell or a place like it, then the core of the religion crumbles as there is no need for anyone to die for humanity's sins."
These are words that you and I would expect to hear in a Sunday School class, a sermon, or a seminary lecture. They hit the nail on the head about the truth of the Gospel as understood from the earliest days of Christianity in the writings of the Apostles. However, you might be surprised to know that I found these words on an atheist thread as I was searching the internet last week. His thread was titled "Does anyone else find Christianity to be necessarily offensive?" He goes on to describe the vulgarity of believing that those who choose to turn from God, refuse to believe in God, or find fault in the Christian faith will go to hell. It is something he describes as being "necessarily offensive." I think it is time for the church to wake up and embrace the necessary offense of the Gospel in our darkened and sinful world. What might surprise you is that Jesus does, too.
We come to John 5 and think we are simply reading about Jesus' awesome ability to heal a paraplegic. And that is one element of the narrative. The man has been in his condition at the pools of Bethesda for thirty-eight years(v. 5) and Jesus commands that he get up, pick up his pallet, and walk (v.8), which he does immediately (v. 9). The physiological implications of the word immediately are staggering. If you have ever been on bedrest or confined without the use of your legs for more than three days, the muscle begins to atrophy and within one week balance is affected. That is for us normies who have been able to use our legs and have strength build from our daily walking and traveling. Imagine that you have never been able to use your legs. There is no muscle tissue whatsoever. Muscle tissue is not just for strength, it is also for balance. If you don't believe me, try a core training exercise routine...it's not until you have been in the program for weeks and developed muscle tone that the balance comes. So, Jesus commands this man who has never walked, never balanced, never even stood to get up. Not just get up, get up and take on more weight than the body itself (pick up the pallet) and then propel that weight forward, backward, up and down by walking. It would be like me telling you to pick up a 500 lb weight and balance it on your head. Can't do it. But, when Jesus entered and spoke these words immediately it happened.
This did not sit well with the Jews, who were more concerned with rigid Sabbath laws (Ex. 31; Jer. 17.21) than they were the fact that this man was walking. He was a paraplegic in a society that would banish you for a head cold. He was forced to beg, most presumably from these men who were now chastising him for carrying his pallet (v.10). When he defers to Jesus, he raises a question among the Jews of authority. You and I can call this a question of lordship. Who has the authority to command wellness? Who has the authority to authorize the breaking of a law of God? Jesus. This authority offended the Jews, who held so closely to their own perception of righteousness. But, Jesus is not done with the now well man. He offers him the true remedy of life. While the exact word for "faith" is not mentioned here, the concept of repentance is. Jesus tells him to cease and desist from his sin so that nothing worse would happen to him (v.14). What Jesus is not saying - don't sin and you won't get zapped. What Jesus is saying - you think you had it bad when you could not use your legs, eternal condemnation is much worse. Therefore, repent of your sin, follow me, and know true life. Of course this man did not understand because he went to the Jews to confirm the identity of this healer.
This leads us to the decision on the part of the Jews to prosecute Jesus. This is a legal matter now. Verse 16 says that they were pursuing Jesus because He had not only healed on the Sabbath, but He had usurped their authority in delineating what actions are acceptable on the Sabbath and what actions are not. But Jesus goes one step further. He informs these would be prosecutors that His Father had been at work, but now He was working. This infuriates and offends the Jews and ushers in a capital offense. John informs us in v. 18 that they were now seeking to kill Jesus because He claimed God status. This is all wrapped up in His resposne. To say "My Father" is not particularly wrong for the Jew as they attribute God as the father of Abraham, who was their patriarch. It was the statement that the NAS renders "I Myself am". This is a reflexive term wrapped up in the covenant name of God. Literally was Jesus has just to them is this, "God has been working, but I am God myself and I am working now." "I am" is the Hebrew "YHWH" (Yahweh...not Jehovah), the name that God gave Moses in the burning bush.
Jesus has just done one of two things. For the Jew, He has committed blasphemy and must be put to death. But in reality, He has drawn a strong black line and identified Himself as the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, the Saving One, the Redeemer. This is offensive. Light had entered the darkness. The Word of God had become flesh and declared that the new covenant of God was in order. We understand from this text of Scripture, not that Jesus has the ability to heal the lame (which He does), but that the identity of Jesus as the Son of God is necessarily offensive in a dark and sinful world. What this means for you and for me is that we have to consider one question and one question only. Now, before I give you the question, let me tell you what I mean by "consider". I do not mean a light thought, or a second thought. I mean reckon, wrestle, give tumultuous thought to, allow to penetrate to the deepest core of your mind, heart, and soul. Get it? This question is not to be taken lightly: What do you do with Jesus?
Now, let me flesh it out for you. If the identity of Jesus is necessarily offensive, what do you do with that? The answer to the question is not simply "I trust in Jesus", but "I completely identify myself with Him." What He says about Himself, I believe. What He did, I follow. The embarrassment and shame of the Cross, I will bear in my life. The answer is not "I go to church on Sunday", but "My life is governed by the Son of God." The one who has the power to heal the lame and exercise a command over the Law that He came to fulfill has the power and authority over my life. It is not "I live life how I want", but "I live under the lordship of Jesus Christ." To live life in your own way is to go wrong 100% of time. Identifying yourself with Jesus and allowing Him to take lordship (mastery) over you is to reject the claim of "personal rights" or "personal license". Licentiousness and antinomianism (the idea that you get to live life how you want, no matter the Word of God) is sin and is Scripturally rejected time and time again in the writings of Paul, Peter, John, and Jude. What that means is that you and I need to think through what is in our shopping cart at the grocery store (or online where it is more "private"). We have to reconsider what we post on facebook or twitter or allowed to be posted about us. We have to think through what we watch when we watch it, where we go, what we eat, what we drink. It must ALL be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Further, the answer to the question is not "My beliefs are private and for me" but "the truth of who Jesus Christ is will be expressed to everyone I meet in how I live, work, play, act, and speak." This is is a missional mindset that follows the lead of a Christ who came to die that all might be reconciled to God. Too often we stand in the way.
At the end of the day you and I must come to the position that the offense of the Gospel is more precious than the praise of man. I refer you to John 3.19, where people did not accept Christ (or surrender to His lordship) because they enjoyed the sin which entangled them. I further direct you to John 12.42-43, which are some of the saddest verses of all Scripture and I think is the state of the church in America. Here we have men who believed in Christ, but refused to confess him for fear of the Pharisees "for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (12.43, NASB). I know you're thinking "If I take the question this seriously, I might lose friends, they will think I am weird, it will be hard." Exactly. Paul addresses this in 1 Cor. 1.21-25. The wisdom of God is folly to those who refuse to follow His way, but His wisdom is higher and deeper than the wisdom of man. Jesus is not looking for good guys and Jesus is not looking for full churches. Jesus is looking for men and women like you and me who are willing to align ourselves with His agenda. Men and women who understand that the reality of Christ, the need for salvation, and the eternal punishment of the lost are our compulsion for being necessarily offensive.
-- The original message derived from the pulpit of the Hopewell Baptist Church in Anderson, SC. Our morning worship service is at 11 AM every Sunday. Please visit us at www.hbc1803.org for more details.
"Most Christians believe that non-Christians are going to eternal torture. Those that don't are in denial about their beliefs...If they simply choose to not believe that anyone goes to Hell or a place like it, then the core of the religion crumbles as there is no need for anyone to die for humanity's sins."
These are words that you and I would expect to hear in a Sunday School class, a sermon, or a seminary lecture. They hit the nail on the head about the truth of the Gospel as understood from the earliest days of Christianity in the writings of the Apostles. However, you might be surprised to know that I found these words on an atheist thread as I was searching the internet last week. His thread was titled "Does anyone else find Christianity to be necessarily offensive?" He goes on to describe the vulgarity of believing that those who choose to turn from God, refuse to believe in God, or find fault in the Christian faith will go to hell. It is something he describes as being "necessarily offensive." I think it is time for the church to wake up and embrace the necessary offense of the Gospel in our darkened and sinful world. What might surprise you is that Jesus does, too.
We come to John 5 and think we are simply reading about Jesus' awesome ability to heal a paraplegic. And that is one element of the narrative. The man has been in his condition at the pools of Bethesda for thirty-eight years(v. 5) and Jesus commands that he get up, pick up his pallet, and walk (v.8), which he does immediately (v. 9). The physiological implications of the word immediately are staggering. If you have ever been on bedrest or confined without the use of your legs for more than three days, the muscle begins to atrophy and within one week balance is affected. That is for us normies who have been able to use our legs and have strength build from our daily walking and traveling. Imagine that you have never been able to use your legs. There is no muscle tissue whatsoever. Muscle tissue is not just for strength, it is also for balance. If you don't believe me, try a core training exercise routine...it's not until you have been in the program for weeks and developed muscle tone that the balance comes. So, Jesus commands this man who has never walked, never balanced, never even stood to get up. Not just get up, get up and take on more weight than the body itself (pick up the pallet) and then propel that weight forward, backward, up and down by walking. It would be like me telling you to pick up a 500 lb weight and balance it on your head. Can't do it. But, when Jesus entered and spoke these words immediately it happened.
This did not sit well with the Jews, who were more concerned with rigid Sabbath laws (Ex. 31; Jer. 17.21) than they were the fact that this man was walking. He was a paraplegic in a society that would banish you for a head cold. He was forced to beg, most presumably from these men who were now chastising him for carrying his pallet (v.10). When he defers to Jesus, he raises a question among the Jews of authority. You and I can call this a question of lordship. Who has the authority to command wellness? Who has the authority to authorize the breaking of a law of God? Jesus. This authority offended the Jews, who held so closely to their own perception of righteousness. But, Jesus is not done with the now well man. He offers him the true remedy of life. While the exact word for "faith" is not mentioned here, the concept of repentance is. Jesus tells him to cease and desist from his sin so that nothing worse would happen to him (v.14). What Jesus is not saying - don't sin and you won't get zapped. What Jesus is saying - you think you had it bad when you could not use your legs, eternal condemnation is much worse. Therefore, repent of your sin, follow me, and know true life. Of course this man did not understand because he went to the Jews to confirm the identity of this healer.
This leads us to the decision on the part of the Jews to prosecute Jesus. This is a legal matter now. Verse 16 says that they were pursuing Jesus because He had not only healed on the Sabbath, but He had usurped their authority in delineating what actions are acceptable on the Sabbath and what actions are not. But Jesus goes one step further. He informs these would be prosecutors that His Father had been at work, but now He was working. This infuriates and offends the Jews and ushers in a capital offense. John informs us in v. 18 that they were now seeking to kill Jesus because He claimed God status. This is all wrapped up in His resposne. To say "My Father" is not particularly wrong for the Jew as they attribute God as the father of Abraham, who was their patriarch. It was the statement that the NAS renders "I Myself am". This is a reflexive term wrapped up in the covenant name of God. Literally was Jesus has just to them is this, "God has been working, but I am God myself and I am working now." "I am" is the Hebrew "YHWH" (Yahweh...not Jehovah), the name that God gave Moses in the burning bush.
Jesus has just done one of two things. For the Jew, He has committed blasphemy and must be put to death. But in reality, He has drawn a strong black line and identified Himself as the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, the Saving One, the Redeemer. This is offensive. Light had entered the darkness. The Word of God had become flesh and declared that the new covenant of God was in order. We understand from this text of Scripture, not that Jesus has the ability to heal the lame (which He does), but that the identity of Jesus as the Son of God is necessarily offensive in a dark and sinful world. What this means for you and for me is that we have to consider one question and one question only. Now, before I give you the question, let me tell you what I mean by "consider". I do not mean a light thought, or a second thought. I mean reckon, wrestle, give tumultuous thought to, allow to penetrate to the deepest core of your mind, heart, and soul. Get it? This question is not to be taken lightly: What do you do with Jesus?
Now, let me flesh it out for you. If the identity of Jesus is necessarily offensive, what do you do with that? The answer to the question is not simply "I trust in Jesus", but "I completely identify myself with Him." What He says about Himself, I believe. What He did, I follow. The embarrassment and shame of the Cross, I will bear in my life. The answer is not "I go to church on Sunday", but "My life is governed by the Son of God." The one who has the power to heal the lame and exercise a command over the Law that He came to fulfill has the power and authority over my life. It is not "I live life how I want", but "I live under the lordship of Jesus Christ." To live life in your own way is to go wrong 100% of time. Identifying yourself with Jesus and allowing Him to take lordship (mastery) over you is to reject the claim of "personal rights" or "personal license". Licentiousness and antinomianism (the idea that you get to live life how you want, no matter the Word of God) is sin and is Scripturally rejected time and time again in the writings of Paul, Peter, John, and Jude. What that means is that you and I need to think through what is in our shopping cart at the grocery store (or online where it is more "private"). We have to reconsider what we post on facebook or twitter or allowed to be posted about us. We have to think through what we watch when we watch it, where we go, what we eat, what we drink. It must ALL be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Further, the answer to the question is not "My beliefs are private and for me" but "the truth of who Jesus Christ is will be expressed to everyone I meet in how I live, work, play, act, and speak." This is is a missional mindset that follows the lead of a Christ who came to die that all might be reconciled to God. Too often we stand in the way.
At the end of the day you and I must come to the position that the offense of the Gospel is more precious than the praise of man. I refer you to John 3.19, where people did not accept Christ (or surrender to His lordship) because they enjoyed the sin which entangled them. I further direct you to John 12.42-43, which are some of the saddest verses of all Scripture and I think is the state of the church in America. Here we have men who believed in Christ, but refused to confess him for fear of the Pharisees "for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (12.43, NASB). I know you're thinking "If I take the question this seriously, I might lose friends, they will think I am weird, it will be hard." Exactly. Paul addresses this in 1 Cor. 1.21-25. The wisdom of God is folly to those who refuse to follow His way, but His wisdom is higher and deeper than the wisdom of man. Jesus is not looking for good guys and Jesus is not looking for full churches. Jesus is looking for men and women like you and me who are willing to align ourselves with His agenda. Men and women who understand that the reality of Christ, the need for salvation, and the eternal punishment of the lost are our compulsion for being necessarily offensive.
-- The original message derived from the pulpit of the Hopewell Baptist Church in Anderson, SC. Our morning worship service is at 11 AM every Sunday. Please visit us at www.hbc1803.org for more details.
Comments
Post a Comment
Hey! I want to hear from you. Let's bridge dialogue as followers of Christ and not followers of the world. I am eager to see how we can grow together!