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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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GOSPEL OF JOHN Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert B. The Controversy
5:1–12:50 [07-(Jn Ch. 5:1-47)1/13/10] 1. Third
Sign: Healing the Paralytic 5:1–15 a) Jesus’
Third Sign (5:1-9) (1) There was
a beautiful pool with five porticoes, near the Sheep Gate (Ne 3:1, 2; 12:3)
which the sick and ill laid there (3). (2) Verse 3b and 4 are believed to have been
added in later manuscripts. Few textual scholars today would accept the
authenticity of any portion of vv. 3b-4, for they are not found in the
earliest and best witnesses, they
include un-Johannine vocabulary and syntax, several
of the MSS that include the verses mark them as spurious (with an asterisk or
obelisk), and because there is a great amount of textual diversity among the
witnesses that do include the verses (NET footnote). The reality of an actual angel stirring the
water to heal the lame is not founded or biblical. At best, it may have been
a mineral spring with general medicinal qualities. (3) Jesus came up to a lame man and had already
known that he had been ill thirty eight years, quite possibly through
omniscience. Jesus’ question revealed that man’s only hope was in mineral
water. (4) However, the Son of God, spoke this man’s
health into existence even as spoke the worlds into existence (2Pe 3:5). He
commanded the man and the lame man’s body to pick up his pallet and walk.
John records, “immediately the man
became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.” (5) Jesus showed that He was the Master over
Life when He changed the water into wine. He showed that He was the Master
over Distance when He healed the nobleman’s son. Here He showed that He is
the Master over time in that He healed a man who had been lame for 38 years.
Even when He created Adam and Eve, they were created as adults with time and
maturity. When He turned the water into wine, time and maturity was not an
obstacle to Him because He is Master over Time. (6) Jesus is also the Restorer of Lost Powers.
Because man possesses a sin nature, he has lost the ability to be righteous
(Ro 3:10) and merit favor with God. But the one who
comes to Christ who died on the cross for man’s redemption, is restored in
his relationship with God and made new to live from a holy nature. b) The
Sabbath (5:10-15) (1) In
vs. 9, it states that Jesus healed the paralytic on the Sabbath. This not
only brings about a controversy on the Sabbath but it leads to the rejection
of Jesus by the religious leaders. (2) The Jews rebuked the man who was healed for
carrying his pallet on the Sabbath. They were not referring to the OT, which
simply states not to do work on the Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11). Rather they were
referring to their own traditions which banned some 39 activities on the
Sabbath (Mishnah Shabbath
7:2; 10:5). Their man-made traditions went so far
as to say that the offender could be stoned to death. How absurd were their
man-made traditions, for the Sabbath was designed for man’s physical and
spiritual helaing. (3) The healed man did not know who it was that
healed him and could not answer the Jews. (4) Later, Jesus found the healed man and told
him literally to “no longer keep on sinning” (mękéti
hamartane – present active imperative). What
exactly did Jesus have in mind? One view, though illness is not always the
direct result of sin (Jn 9:2-3), is that the man’s illness was a result of
his sin (1Co 11:29-30; Ja 5:15). Another view is that if the healed man did
not believe on Christ, he would remain in his sins and face eternal
punishment. However, all we know from John’s account is that the man went
away and merely confessed Jesus as his healer (15). 2. Rejection
by the Jews 5:16–47 a) Rejection
of Jesus (5:16-18) (1) There was
indication that Jesus was becoming unpopular by the fact that Nicodemus came
to Jesus by night (Jn 3:2). (2) However, by this time, and driven by the
fact that He healed on the Sabbath, Jesus was not only being “persecuted”
(5:16), but his life was being threatened. Thomas and Gundry in their
“Harmony of the Gospels” state Jesus was halfway through his 3 yr ministry and the Jews were already seeking to kill
Him. (3) Jesus obviously answered their question as
to why He healed, i.e. worked, on the Sabbath. His response was that He and
His Father are always working to reveal their salvation to man (17). The Jews
therefore sought to kill Him, not only because He broke their man-made
traditions, but also because He was claiming His own deity. The Jews rightly
understood that if Jesus claimed that God was His Father, He was at the same
time claiming that He was the Son of God, “making Himself equal with God”
(5:18) This proves that Jesus title as the Son of God is a divine title. b) Divine
Cooperation of the Father and Son (5:19-39) (1) From this
point on, Jesus’ discourse centers on the divine cooperation between the
Father and the Son. (2) The Divine cooperation could be described
as: (a) Divine
Collaboration (5:19-20) – The Father and the Son are not independent of
each other, have divine love for the Godhead, and reveal their great work of
redemption. (b) Divine Life-Giving (5:21) – The
Father and Son both have sovereign prerogative over resurrection and eternal
life. (c) Divine Judgment (5:22) – The Father
and the Son both have the authority to judge those who violate their
righteousness. (d) Divine Honor (5:23) – The Father and
the Son are equally honored as deity and honor each other. (e) Divine Salvation (5:24) – The Father
and the Son are equally instrumental in bringing salvation (eternal life, no
condemnation, and new spiritual life) to the believing sinner. (f) Divine Resurrection (5:25-29) – The
Father and the Son have equal authority to judge and raise both the good and the
evil from the dead and reward them accordingly. (g) Divine Testimony (5:30-39) – The
Father and the Son give divine testimony concerning the other members of the
Trinity. Their testimony is realized through: (i) Prophets (John the Baptist) (32-35) (ii) The Son’s Works (35-36) (iii) The Father (37) (iv) Scriptures (38-39) c) Divine
Judgment Against the Religious Leaders (39-47) (1) Judgment
by Scriptures (39) (2) Judgment of Son (40-44) (3) Judgment by Moses (45-47) |
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