The
gospel of John follows an interesting Pattern
A)A Miracle
that is met by a protest – Jesus
follows it up with a response or teaching.
B) We see that pattern
clearly here in Ch.5 – Cover the whole Chapter tonight – Big picture.
C)The 5th chapter
also marks a major division in the Gospel of John.
1)
In Chapters 1-4 In the prologue, John presents Jesus as the promised Messiah.
The Word made flesh
D)But now, in
Chapter 5, John begins to trace a growing
rejection of the claims of Jesus,
1)
And a growing against the ministry of the Lord
This rejection
will gather around three remarkable acts of healing by Jesus:
A)In Ch 5, the healing of
the impotent man at the pool of
B)In Chapter 9, the
amazing account of the opening of the eyes of the man born blind;
C) and in Chapter 11,
the greatest of our Lord's miracles, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
D)Each one of these miracles
increases the hostility against Jesus until it culminates at last in his death.
Tonight
we will look at the first of these miracles, the healing of the impotent man,
RD
A)The
B)The Pool Called
C) Located Just outside of St. Anne’s church(acoustics).
1)
Yes still going to
D) Rediscovered in 1960. 2
adjacent pools(1,55’ long; 1, 65’).
RD V.3-6
V.6
Interesting Question: “Do you want to be made well?”
A)Seems like a ridiculous question to ask a man of an ailment of
38 years?
B) But I know people today who do not want to be made well.
– not really
1)
You see they like to use their problem as an excuse for wrong behavior
C) I
am an addict: addicted to sex I can’t help myself
1)
They use their problem as an excuse for Sinful behavior
D) Others – Don’t want to be
made whole because it gets them some much wanted
attention.
So
this wasn’t such a weird question: Do you really want to be made whole. – NOT
HEALED
A)Jesus is always interested
in the WHOLE MAN
B) Not just the Physical
problem – but the spiritual problem – we see this clearly as the story unfolds
7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I
have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I
am coming, another steps down before me."
C)I can’t tell you how many
people I have talked to who have answered in a similar way:
1) I have no man/ I haven’t found the right
person / right program / right mentor / right Church.
D) I want help for my … marriage / addiction / bitterness/ Phobias
1) I have tried to change –
tried to get help – but I lack the ability – haven’t found the answer!
Hopeless:
A)Maybe that is you tonight: I do not
know what your problem is. Maybe you have tried to stop drinking.
B)You know that alcohol is
ruining your life, your family, your home.
C)You thought you had it
under control. You tried to stop but you discovered you could not.
Perhaps
you do not see any hope for your marriage. A)You have tried to correct things.
B)
Doesn’t seem to Change – I have no man – Husband is a Bum – no one seems to
Help!
“There are no
hopeless situations. There are only people who have grown hopeless about them.”
Some men only
see a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope!
C) This brings us to the
critical moment of this story. 1) What did Jesus say to a man who had lost all
hope, a man who had given up on himself?
D) Did he say, "Oh, come on, I'll help you get into the pool the
next time the water is stirred "?
1)
No, he did not say that. He did not offer that kind of help. He could have, but
he did not.
Did he
say, "Hang in there baby: Positive pep talk
A)I know one day you will
make it into the water - You just need
to resurrect the Giant with in you
B) No, he did not say that
either.
C) Did he say, "Let's at least make you comfortable. 1)Let's get you a new
mattress to lie on, put a few flowers around you and bring you two meals a
day"?
D)No, he did not. Jesus does
not say any of those things to people who want to hear from him.
What
does Jesus say, then? Notice carefully his method:
A)First,
he asks an impossible thing; second, he removes all possibility of a relapse;
B)and
third, he expects a continued success. All these are involved in the words,
8 Jesus said to
him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."
C) He begins with an
impossible command: the first thing Jesus says to do is what the man could not
do,
1)
It was what he had tried for 38 years to do.
D)On what basis does Jesus
say these words to him?
1)It
is important to see this. There has to
be a shift in focus here from the man’s ability to Jesus ability!
Now
this is a critical clue that many miss in looking for help from God.
A)Lord just show me the
right program and I will follow up.
B) Show me the right duty to perform and I will do it.
1) Problem is the focus is
on our ability.
C) Jesus wants us to get to
the end of ourselves!
He
will do that by asking us to do the impossible.
A)Faith is an active word –
involves action. –
B)There
is always something God tells them to believe, and do, and act on.
1)
Jesus does not say, "Try to build up faith in your mind. Try to fasten
your thoughts on this or that."
C)He tells them to do
something: "Rise! Stand up!"
1)The
only way that happens for a man who has been lame for 38yrs – Shift in Focus
D) Not my ability
– but His – There is power in His command
1)He would not ask me to do
something that He wouldn’t give me the power to do.
E) True in every facet of life
– God’s commandments are His enablements
I
have to tell you I am so tired of Christian literature that ignores that –
Makes excuses for disobedience
A)Listen whatever God calls
us to in His word is within our grasp to do – thru Christ power ! Period
B) Love
/ Forgive/ Walk pure/ Quit drugs / ….
1)
Answer is Trust Jesus / Obey Jesus / Abide in Jesus
C) So the first thing Jesus does is He asks
this man to do the Impossible.
Then what? The Lord did not merely say, "Rise," he said,
"take up your pallet."
A)Why
did he say that? I like the way G. Campbell Morgan has put it, "In
order to make no provision for a relapse."
B)The man might have said to
himself, "I'm healed, but I had better leave my bed here;
1)I
may need it tomorrow."
C) If he had said that he
would have been back in it the next day.
1)
But he did not. Jesus said, "Take up your bed. Get rid of it; don't leave
it there."
D) Bartimaeus
E) Make no provision for the
flesh
1) Delete the Phone # / Burn
Video
I
will never forget the night my Dad quick drinking
A)Poured hundreds of dollars
of booze down the sink and filled up a couple of big trash cans w/ the bottles
B) Don’t leave stuff around
– Stash of drugs / bottles of booze / Videos or DVD’s
1)
Get rid of anything – everything that will tempt your flesh in that area.
C) Tired /
depressed / stressed – your flesh is going to seek – relief in those
things –
1) Make
no Provision for the flesh –
D)
Friends a bad influence – Burn those bridges
1) 4
things say to New Believers
a) Word
b) Pray talk to God
c) Fellowship – Coals
d) Tell someone – go on record -
E)Let somebody know the new
stand you have taken so that he will help hold you to it.
1) Our
Lord knows what he is talking about -- "take up your bed."
The
third thing: "walk." Do not expect to be carried -- walk. Keep going – moving
A)Many
people want to be carried after they are healed.
B)They expect everybody to
gather around them and keep them going -- a common area of failure.
C) Discipleship is important but the goal of
Discipleship is to direct focus to Jesus.
1) Not following me –
Following Him
D)"Looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith," {Heb 12:2 KJV}.
John
now traces the immediate reaction of others to this event: V.9-14
A)That is a wonderful word,
"Jesus found him."
B)
Law required healed person go temple offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving – Jesus
found him there
Notice
the order of what Jesus said to him;
A)He did not say to the man,
shaking his finger, "Sin no more. If you do you will lose your
healing."
B) No, he said, "See, you are made whole." Jesus never
says, "Sin no more," unless he first says, "You are made
whole."
C) Woman
D) He calls the man's
attention to the fact that not only had he been physically healed,
1)he
had been spiritually healed. His sins had been forgiven; he had been washed, he
had been cleansed;
E) Walk in that newness of Life! Sin no more!
That
revealing word indicates what had been the trouble all along.
A)His
lameness was connected to some sin – often the case but not always.
B) Do you want to be made whole tonight –
1) What is Jesus asking you
to do. – Do it –
C) Make no provision to go
back to it – Burn the files the notes – the pictures
D) Walk -
RD V.15-16
So here we see the religious
leaders begin to plot his death – Because he broke the Sabbath.
In
the following verses 17-23 Jesus
proceeds to make 6 statements expressing his equality with the father: - Looked
at in detail on Sunday.
A)Quickly
review – See Bible notes
B) From Here Jesus begins to
expound on His ability to impart life and His authority to Judge
V.24"Most assuredly,
I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death
into life.25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will
live.
Now
what Jesus says here is interesting – It is a passage that flies in the face of
Calvinism
A) the Bible tells us that a
person who doesn’t know Christ is dead in their trespasses and sins !
B) Everyone agrees on that
point. –
1) But the Calvinist will
use that to argue – Dead men can’t Choose { Regeneration
before faith
C) Therefore – they need to
regenerated before they can believe.
1) So God elects them –
breathes life into them.
Then they believe.
That
interpretation is directly contrary to what Jesus says here.
A)Note first their Def. of
death is faulty
B) Spiritual
death = separation from God
1) Not talking about a
corpse- no power or faculties
C) If it were – I would say
to my Calvinist friends – Dead men can’t hear either
Notice the order that Jesus
points out here. V.24
A)They hear / they believe /
they receive life.
B) They
hear: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God Roman 10:17
C) They hear the gospel –
Respond in faith they believe -
1) Result
they receive Everlasting life.
Now
in V.26 Jesus reveals why He has the power to impart life – Life in Himself
For as the
Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, (John 5:26).
A)Jesus has life in Himself – so even though
He died on the cross – third day – He arose.
B) His life was restored –
Taken back The
grave could not hold Him because He is “the Prince of Life” (Acts 2:24; 3:15).
C)Because
He has life in Himself, He can share that life with all who will trust Him.
27 and has
given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of
A) The title "Son of
man" used in
B)It is used twelve times in
John's Gospel and over eighty times in all four Gospels.
1)The Jews would know this
title from their reading of the Book of Daniel; and they would know that, by
using it, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, and the Judge.
28 Do not
marvel at this; [Stop marveling – jaws must have dropped to the ground]for the hour is
coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth those who have done good, to the resurrection
of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Catch
this: He is talking here about 2 Resurrections
A)Categories not events: Rez
unto life one Category
Rez unto death
B) Rez unto life begins with
Jesus – His Rez When He rose from the dead – started
C) The first fruits of the
Rez – Ongoing – first of many
D)
Included in this is what Matthew writes of in Ch.27 –
1) Those who were dead
walking around – that is all we know – mystery
Prior
to the Rez of Christ – those who died – went to Abraham’s bosom – believers
A)Those who didn’t Hades –
separated by a gulf
B)
C) Those in Abraham’s bosom
released – heaven
D) That event was part of
the first Rez
Also the Rapture of the
Church – part of the first Rez – talk more next week –
A)All the Martyrs during
trib
B)Rev. 11 – Two prophets
streets 3days – rise
1) That is part of this rez
C) Ends
at the 2nd coming -
Then
the Bible says there is going to be 1,000 year millennium – Peace on earth
A)Satan loosed – final
Judgment – all those who rejected Christ
B) Great white thrown
Judgment – this is the 2nd death
C)
Judged for rejecting Christ
D) Choice right now – then
two late!
30 I can of Myself
do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not
seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
A) Jesus was satisfied doing
the Fathers will.
B)After
a good meal we’ve all said…“I’m full”! –
1)But
it is 1 thing to be full &
another to be satisfied! {junk food
will fill you but not satisfy you}
C)
Same is true in Life: We can fill
our life with busyness & activities, but we’re not satisfied.
“When doing God’s will
is your aim, your life is not only full
but satisfied because that’s why you
were created!”
"If I bear witness of
Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There
is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He
witnesses of Me is true.
A)Vs.31 – “not true” = meaning not valid as testimony! “witness”
– a legal term (used 47 times in John)
B)
Here is the reason why – not Valid.
1)O.T.
law required 2 or 3 witnesses to establish a verdict in a case.
Deut.19:15 “One witness shall not rise against a
man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall
be established.”.
S0
now Jesus will summon 4 witnesses to the stand to testify on His behalf!(31-39)
John
the Baptist
The
Father
His
Works
The
Scriptures
THE BAPTIST! (JOHN) (33-35)
A)Vs.33 - God uses this unlikely advance man for his work(hope for us!)
B)Johns message
was clear “The kingdom is at hand”, “The King is coming!”
C)Many
respond, accept his baptism of repentance, & look forward to the imminent
appearance of the messiah.
D)Then
John announces Him as “"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world! (1:29) &
In
Vs.35 Jesus says “For awhile you liked John’s lamp – then it was extinguished
by Herod!”
A)Good lesson for us. Get on
fire for God & people will come watch you burn.
B) Allow the flame of Christ
to burn w/in you & people will be drawn to Christ.
C) John was the first
witness – first prophet in 400ys
1) They didn’t listen
NEXT
WITNESS HIS WORKS
A)John lists 7 signs to reveal Jesus Christ in the 1st
½ of John(1-11).
B)Then
1 more(the 8th) “the greatest
of signs”…the Res.(the death & res. take up the last ½ of the book)
1)Remember
his enemies never denied His miracles!
C) Even non-believing
historians refer to His miracle-working power!
1)
Jesus had power over demons, disease, nature, & power over death!
D) Miracles /
Power of Nature / Teachings “ No man teaches like this man. “
1) Ultimate work – Rez!
NEXT
WITNESS HIS FATHER. V.37 -38
A)God the Father directly testified on behalf of Jesus.
B)3 times audibly – {at
baptism; mnt. of Transfiguration; before crucified.}
WITNESS #4 – THE SCRIPTURES! (39)
The
O.T. is filled w/pictures & prophesies of J.C. “It’s
all about him!”
Psalm 40:7 says, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the
book it is written of me.”
{Heb.10:7
gives us the H.S.’s commentary on this passage letting us know it is
Messianic Then I said, 'Behold, I have come; In the
volume of the book it is written of Me; To do Your will, O God.”}
(Spurgeon)This volume contains
Jesus Christ’s letters to us, perfumed by his love. These pages are the
garments of our King, and they all smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. Scripture
is the royal chariot in which Jesus rides, and it is paved with love for the
daughters of
The
Greek word translated ‘search’ means ‘to
track the scent’ — like a lion, or a bloodhound.
That’s
the way to study Scripture: Follow the scent of the blood. Sniff out the scarlet thread of the Cross. Look for Jesus.
“You search” -
not telling them to search but that they have searched.
A)They searched w/such a zeal to count every letter, they weighed every word, scrutinized
every sentence.
B)They
hoped to find eternal life in the scriptures, but they completely missed the
mark!
C) ‘You study the Scripture
doctrinally,’ Jesus said, ‘but you’ve missed the point entirely because you’ve
missed Me.
Jesus tells them to retrace your steps, pick up the proper scent, then
follow the trail to where it really led…TO
HIM!
A)The greatest tragedy is to have access to, & search
the scriptures, & miss Christ! {Millions do it everyday!}
B)We are commanded to search the scriptures BUT they are not an end in itself, but
a means to an end.
Illustration: If you’re lost in a dense forest, & finally stumble onto a trail
that has a marker pointing which way to go.
You don’t stop & measure the signpost, try to figure
out all its dimensions, paint grade, etc. NO! you get its message & do what it says.
C)There are too many people hugging markers!
1)Others trying to repaint
the markers. Still others trying to improve
them.
D) Key to Bible study is Seeing Jesus.
E)They
searched the scriptures – they need to search their souls!
1)
Wrap up – 4 Indictments Jesus brings against them.
THE
PROBLEM! (40-42)
A)This is why people are not
saved – They won’t come to Jesus.
B) V.42 Tells us the problem
with a lot of religious people. – Don’t have the Love of God in them.
1)
Those who know Him Love – because God is love.
C) Legalism: Pharisee mindset
– Person not really hearing from God.
THE
PROPHECY! (43) Antichrist
THE
PRIORITY (44)
A)Looking
for approval in the eyes of men
B)
Blinded to the truth – following rules – missing heart
THE
PROCLAMATION! (45-47)
A)Vs.45 – Next to Ab., Moses was their 2nd brightest star.
Moses
Wrote about me” – Pent was packed w/types that depicted Christ
{the ark of Noah; the offering of Isaac; the ladder of Jacob’s
dream; the story of Joseph,
The Passover Lamb; the manna from heaven; the rock in the
wilderness; the serpent on a pole}
Especially
Deut. 18:15 “"The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet
like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,”
If
Moses in whom they put their trust is going to accuse them…their doom was
sealed!
End
– Who’s really on trial here? Not Jesus! The facts speak for themselves.
Who’s
on trial…all humanity!
vs.24
said Hear; believe; escape judgment; & pass from death to life!
What’s the verdict? He won’t have to be your judge if you let Him Justify
you!