John 5 – 6

Verse 5:9 is the result of a man who Jesus commanded to walk:

 At the moment Jesus uttered these words, a healing energy coursed through the man and returned life to his limbs—he stood and walked for the first time in 38 years. But this was the Sabbath Day; and any work, including carrying a mat, was prohibited on this day.

Here a man walks after being lame for 38 years and the Pharisees focus on him carrying a mat. I mean really, that someone can take their “theology” to that extreme. Think about it, God gave Israel a standard through the Law. But the leaders added to it and kept making up things to their beliefs. Do they really think God is upset at this lame man carrying a mat or is joyous that people see His power through this man?

I think this is a perfect example of why nations collapse and why ours is on the verge of having some major problems. Everyone takes the law and tries to improve it since many try to game the system. Instead of enforcing the laws with logic, they need to make things like zero tolerance where a first grader gets suspended and interrogated by police for pointing his finger and going bang. Logic and common sense are lost today as it was then.

Verse 5:39 speaks to me often:

 Here you are scouring through the Scriptures, hoping that you will find eternal life among a pile of scrolls. What you don’t seem to understand is that the Scriptures point to Me.

There are two things here that are critical to understand. First is we tend to get so wrapped up in our studies we miss God. There is a fine line between learning about God and following Him. Often we go to sermons, small groups, church functions, volunteer at the church and maybe lead a team only to ignore God. There is a funny story from our men’s group where a guy kept getting a “God prompt” to stand on his head in a QT by the drink section. He finally submitted and went to do it, before doing so he explained what he was about to do to the attendant. To which his reply was “I was just praying if you are real God have someone stand on their head now.”

While study sharpens our understanding of God, don’t let it overtake your life so you don’t submit to God. Second revelation is from study and that is the scriptures point to Jesus. When you dig into the Bible with the Jesus “goggles” on you see everything in the OT points to HIM. From righteous man and God in paradise to redeemed man and God in paradise, it all points to Jesus. I can pull references out the “wazoo” but best thing I can say is read it, but don’t think that is the only thing you need to do.

Verse 6:13 is the clean-up from feeding the 5000 with 5 loaves and a few fish:

They filled 12 baskets with fragments of the five barley loaves.

Just a quick comment from Robert Morris that God gave each of the disciples a “doggie bag” for their service. How cool and funny is that!!

Verse 6:53 freaked a few people out:

I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life.

Many of his disciples left him, outside the 12, based on this comment. When you think about it, without explanation this is gross. This often makes me wonder about the importance of rituals like baptism and communion since they both seem important in Jesus’ words. I know it’s not required, but to me it should be honored.