John 5:16-47 illustrates a central concern for discipleship today. No one is focussed on Jesus. The Pharisees are focussed on their own interpretation of the Law. And in particular how Jesus is not abiding by strict Sabbath Law. Those who are seeking Jesus are more concerned about what John the Baptist or Moses say about Jesus.
Here are a few of my preaching notes:
John 5:16-30
- Why are the Pharisees out to get Jesus?
- He works/heals on the Sabbath
- He claims a close relationship with the Lord (Father & Son working in harmony)
- The passage goes on to illustrate the close relationship between the Father & the Son which is blasphemy to the ears of the Pharisees.
John 5:3-47
- Jesus challenges the people to accept himself and his teaching as the Truth which they must follow.
- they want a relationship with the Lord through the Word, he challenges them to accept a relationship with the Person of Christ
- We are convicted of following that which points to Jesus* rather than following Jesus himself *(John the Baptist, Scripture, Moses)
- John the Baptist, Moses & the Word of God (scripture) all point to Jesus as the Christ. We follow them as long as it’s convenient, but as soon as we need to transition to following Jesus himself, we fail.
While being guided by those who “point us toward Jesus” can be a good place to start … we must accept the challenge and make the commitment to be in direct relationship with the Lord. A personal time of devotion including Bible Reading, meditation and prayer will help form that relationship with Jesus which becomes our own. At this moment we begin focussing on Jesus for ourselves rather than focussing on those who are pointing the way to Jesus.
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