LEARNING DAILY

John 5:16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.

Jesus had healed the man who had been by the Pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. He happened to heal him on the Sabbath. In healing the man Jesus demonstrates His authority over sickness; this continues to demonstrate His relationship with the Father in heaven. Continue reading in the verses to follow and you will see the Jewish leaders are becoming more and more threatened by Jesus. Jesus is “becoming a greater threat to their position in the community and their ability to lead, influence, and control the Jewish people” (Dr Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg). Lizorkin-Eyzenberg continues, “With His growing threat the Jewish leaders decide they need to do something that will discredit Jesus before He becomes too strong, too dangerous”. Healing on the Sabbath is one excuse they use to discredit Jesus as a legitimate Rabbi because everything He does, does not follow the many rules and traditions the Jewish spiritual leaders have established.

The online Bible reference I like to use, Bible Ref.com, suggests that Jesus has a reason for doing miracles of healing on the Sabbath. He seems to be provoking the Pharisees into examining the hypocrisy of their rules and teachings. When he healed the man on the Sabbath, He broke their rules. Jesus told them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” He is stating that God is working even on the Sabbath and He is doing so as well. Verse 18 states that they sought to kill Jesus because He was implying God was His Father, making Him equal to God. Break the rules and it caused the religious leaders to want to kill Him.

This brings up a question in my mind. How much evidence or proof does a person need to see before they believe something? In this case, how much evidence did these religious leaders need to see before they believed Jesus to be the Son of God? How much evidence do people today need to have when they can visibly see the changes in the life of one who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. The religious leaders show that no matter what proof God provides for them, all they see is someone who does not follow the rules. What was meant to bless someone only caused further blindness in those who did not want to see or accept the knowledge of a blessing.

It is so important that people see the changes the Lord makes in us as we walk with Him. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that His followers are the “light of the world”. He told every follower of His to, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”. Let them glorify your Father not you! As Christians, you are to allow God’s light in you so others may see the reality of Christ in you. Why? The answer seems to me to draw others away from darkness and to the light of Jesus – to be saved and changed. You can’t open the eyes of the blind, like the religious leaders. That is the task of the Holy Spirit who draws people to the Father. Your task is to show the love of Jesus and be ready to give the reason for the hope you have within you. I believe the days are coming when the light in you will draw people to you wanting to know about the light.” Be ready, stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready!’ (Dr. Ed Newton)