Episode #73. Today we’ll read the 5th chapter of John together: Jesus is better than the Pool of Bethesda; Jesus is in trouble again for healing on the Sabbath; and Jesus tells the religious leaders that Moses is their accuser.
Transcript
Joy: You’re listening to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Episode #73. Today we’ll read the 5th chapter of John together: Jesus is better than the Pool of Bethesda; Jesus is in trouble again for healing on the Sabbath; and Jesus tells the religious leaders that Moses is their accuser.
Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast. I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me as we simply read God’s word together. Some things require discipline and sometimes that’s just not easy to muster by yourself, no matter how badly you want to do it or how much you know you should. It’s just easier to do it with a friend. So refill your coffee or tea, get comfortable in your favorite chair and follow along as I read aloud. I’m so glad you’re here!
I think Mitch and I are jonesin’ to travel. You would think that our little excursion to Yosemite the other day would have released the pressure a little, but I think it may have caused a breach in the dam. Mitch just announced to me the number of hours it would take us to drive to Zion National Park. Woohoo! I better get ahead in the podcasts…
John Chapter 5: 1 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. 3 Within these lay a multitude of the sick-blind, lame, and paralyzed [-waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had]. 5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.” 8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your bedroll and walk!” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his bedroll, and started to walk. Now that day was the Sabbath, 10 so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It’s illegal for you to pick up your bedroll.” 11 He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your bedroll and walk.’ ” 12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up [your bedroll] and walk?’ ” they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin any more, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. 21 And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to. 22 The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24 “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. 25 “I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. 27 And He has granted Him the right to pass judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come out-those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing on My own. I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 31 “If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid. 32 There is Another who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony He gives about Me is valid. 33 You have sent [messengers] to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 I don’t receive man’s testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a time you were willing to enjoy his light. 36 “But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish. These very works I am doing testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. 37 The Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have not heard His voice at any time, and you haven’t seen His form. 38 You don’t have His word living in you, because you don’t believe the One He sent. 39 You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. 40 And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 41 “I do not accept glory from men, 42 but I know you-that you have no love for God within you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, yet you don’t accept Me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe? While accepting glory from one another, you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God. 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. 47 But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
You can’t help but feel compassion for this poor disabled man who had been trying to get into the healing waters at the Pool of Bethesda. Thirty-eight years is a long time. Is this story really telling us that no one – NO ONE – in 38 years had ever stopped to help him into the water? Were the people of Jerusalem so blind, so insensitive, so self-absorbed that not one of them could stop to help a non-ambulatory man into the water? I don’t know how often the waters stirred but whenever they did, a person had to be the first one in to receive the benefits of the healing waters. Someone was always quicker; this man was never going to be first in on his own. Until Jesus. He simply told the man to pick up his mat and go…he was healed. Now there is nothing I’d like better than to go on a tirade about how the Pharisees totally ignored this miraculous act of compassion because it was against the law to carry your mat on the Sabbath (imagine here my huge eye roll). But I think there’s an important lesson for you and me here that trumps my rant. The question we must ask ourselves is this: Who am I not noticing as I race thru my day? Does someone need a helping hand? A listening ear? My time? Let’s pray. Oh, Lord, I praise You for Your example of kindness. I confess I fall short so often. Please forgive me for that. Don’t let us be like the Pharisees who would “strain out a gnat and then swallow a camel.” Open our eyes, Lord. Help us to see those in need. Thank You. Amen.
Thank you for joining me here today. I pray God will grow in you what has been planted and watered here. In this time of unprecedented struggle worldwide, we can look to God for guidance and comfort. Be sensitive to those in your circle of influence who need a word of encouragement and invite them to join us. If you like this show, it would be great if you give it a five-star review. Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you right here tomorrow. Be well!
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Show Notes
- Awesome Video of Solomon’s Temple
- These will help! Overview videos of all books of the Bible
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Bible Study Resources
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