You may be seated.
Kids, you are excused to your King's Kids class.
And if you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 5,
! It's on page 1057 of your Pew Bible.
I'll read that in a little bit, but let me just pose a question.
Who gave you the right?
Have you ever been asked that question?
Have you ever asked that question?
Who gave you the right to tell me what I can and can't do with my body?
Who gave you the right to say that your beliefs are right and my beliefs are wrong,
or your beliefs are better than mine?
Who gave you the right to tell me how to parent my children?
Who gave you the right?
When we ask someone, who gave you the right?
We are questioning their authority.
Authority is the right to impose your will on another and require obedience.
And biblically speaking, we see authority exercised in two ways throughout the Scriptures.
We see authority exercised with wisdom and with health in a way that's God-honoring,
that builds people up.
We also see authority that's exercised foolishly,
that is hurtful, abusive, self-serving, and does others harm.
We see it all in the Scriptures.
For the next three Sundays, we're going to be in John chapter 5.
And John chapter 5 is all about the authority of Jesus Christ.
And it is good news.
So this morning, we're going to look at John 5, 1 through 18,
where Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath.
And you may be thinking, how does healing a man on the Sabbath have anything to do with Jesus' authority?
Why does that matter to me?
Well, if you've come into the building with any kind of physical ailment in which you are hoping to be healed from,
this is for you.
The authority of Jesus over our bodies is good.
What happens with the healing of this man on the Sabbath
was actually Jesus taking issue,
challenging the authority of the Jewish religious leaders of the day,
and they didn't like it.
In fact, they respond in a way that goes something like this.
Who gave you the right to heal on the Sabbath?
And in fact, in this passage, we'll see that Jesus tells them what gives him the right
to heal on the Sabbath and challenge their authority.
So let me read John chapter 5, 1 through 18.
Hear the word of God.
After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool in Aramaic or Hebrew called Bethesda,
which has five roofed colonnades.
In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, and paralyzed.
One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time,
he said to him, Do you want to be healed?
The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water stirred up,
and while I am going, another steps down before me.
Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your bed, and walk.
And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who had been healed,
It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.
But he answered them, The man who healed me, that man said to me, Take up your bed and walk.
They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, Take up your bed and walk?
Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
After Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, See, you are well.
Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus,
because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working.
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.
Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
May God bless the hearing of his word.
So here's how we're going to proceed this morning.
I'm just going to get our bearings, and then we're going to look at three scenes.
Scene one, healing poolside.
Scene two, holiness police.
I'm going to have some helpful noises at that point.
Scene three, a heated provocation, and then I'll bring it all together.
What gives Jesus the right to heal on the Sabbath?
Let's get our bearings.
In verses one through three, we get a sense of this whole situation.
So it's setting up this whole situation.
In 5.1, we are told that after this, there was a feast.
What's the this?
Well, Jesus, remember, was down in Jerusalem.
He goes up to Galilee, but he goes through Samaria to get to Galilee.
Plants the first church of Sychar, remember that?
And then he goes to Galilee, and there he heals the son of an official who is on the brink of death.
It's after this, Jesus is like, time to go back to Jerusalem.
And he went back for a feast.
But what I want you to notice is in chapter 5, verse 9, a very important when.
And it would be this kind of when.
It would be dun, dun, dun.
Now that day was the Sabbath.
It's the Sabbath which Jesus heals.
It is the weekly holy day of the Jews in which they are commanded to rest from their labor.
It's Exodus 20, verse 8.
It's the fourth of the Ten Commandments.
And just to let you know, it was no accident that Jesus was healing on the Sabbath.
Where this takes place, it's in Jerusalem.
It's the religious epicenter of Judaism.
It's where all the major feasts took place.
And so you would have this swelling of the city when people would come to observe these feasts.
And surrounding the city, there was this wall.
And in the wall, there were multiple gates for people to go in and to come out of.
And in close to one of the gates was this pool, the Pool of Bethesda.
Archaeology has discovered it.
They found the colonnades and everything.
Colonnades are a column or a row of columns.
And it was roofed.
So the idea is these columns with the roof provided shade for whoever was there to be at the pool of Bethesda.
And that's what's going on here in verse 3.
We have a multitude of invalids gathered together at the pool of Bethesda.
They are all image bearers, but they have various problems.
Blindness, lameness, paralyzed.
And though they're all image bearers, they have something else in common.
Do you know what it is?
They all wanted to be healed.
They're there because they believe that the pool of Bethesda has healing properties.
Now, for those of you who are very careful in your reading of your Bible,
did you notice anything odd between verse 3 and verse 5?
There's no verse 4.
What's going on?
Can we trust our Bibles?
Yes, we can trust our Bibles.
Here's what's going on.
Verse 4 was included in a lot of the early manuscripts of this passage,
but not the earliest and most reliable.
So most likely, verse 4 is some kind of scribal note describing why people are gathering at this pool.
And I've got it for you, so let me read it to you.
It says,
For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred the water.
Whoever stepped in first, well, that person was healed of whatever disease they had.
And so how confident we can be and that that is accurate, you know, I'm not sure.
But let's just say there's enough here to say, okay, there's something going on.
And there's a competition among all those people who are at the pool of Bethesda to get into the pool first.
This is a competitive healing.
First come, first healed.
Now, before you start judging these first century invalids,
oh, these poor, uneducated, hurting people.
Let me just remind you.
We live in the 21st century among a host of invalids.
We have people of all kinds seeking, longing for healing, to be made complete, to experience peace, to be made full.
They may not be waiting for the stirring of the water in the pool of Bethesda,
but they're waiting for another kind of stirring.
You know what I'm talking about.
My wife, Jenny, has rheumatoid arthritis.
And for the last three months, we've been hoping and praying for some kind of stirring when it comes to her medication.
So maybe you're hoping for a stirring of medication for what's ailing you.
Or maybe you're hoping for a stirring of a new doctor with the hope of a new diagnosis,
with the hope of a new treatment.
Maybe you're hoping for a stirring that there would be some kind of organ donation.
Maybe it's not you, but it's someone you know who needs a new liver or a new heart.
And you're just waiting for hope to stir.
As we get our bearings here, I just want to make sure that you understand
what this multitude of invalids were experiencing at the pool of Bethesda in the first century,
we know firsthand in the 21st century.
So now that we've got our bearings, let's move to scene one.
Healing poolside.
In verse 5, we're introduced to a man who's been paralyzed for 38 years.
We're not told he's paralyzed in this verse, but we learn that later on.
And it really begs the question,
has this man been going to the pool of Bethesda for 38 years?
Has he been going there hoping to be healed somehow to get into the water first and then walk out?
38 years?
Maybe just 30 years.
20 years?
10?
3?
1 year.
It's a long time.
It's a long time to be going somewhere, wanting to be healed, hoping for something, but not getting it.
Jesus comes on the scene in verse 6.
And he has come to the pool of Bethesda, not because he needs healing, but to heal.
Of all these multitudes of invalids, Jesus looks on this man lying there.
And he knows he's been lying there, hoping to be healed for a long time.
And just a sidebar.
Isn't it good to know that Jesus, who is sitting at the right hand of God,
on the throne of grace, he has a direct line of sight on you?
Well, Jesus sees him lying there and he says,
do you want to be healed?
Now, some people have understood this to be Jesus questioning the man's motives.
It would go something like this.
If you've been here for so long, but haven't found a way into the pool,
I mean, do you really want to be healed?
Is this some kind of hustle?
That's how some people would understand what Jesus is saying.
And of course, there's definitely people who play the system.
But I don't think that's what Jesus is going after.
I think he's going after something else.
What is clear is that this paralytic believes his only hope for healing
is to be the first in the pool.
He has set his hope for healing in a pool.
In the ability to get there.
And so when Jesus says, do you want to be healed?
He answers in verse 7, very politely, sir.
He's a very polite man.
But as we go on, we're going to see some things
that are not too flattering about this paralytic.
So he says, sir.
And he answers him in verse 7.
He says, sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water stirred up
and while I'm going another steps down before me.
This paralytic has no idea who he's talking to.
No idea.
We know who he's talking to.
We know that this paralytic is talking to God incarnate.
Remember John 1?
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
The Word was God.
He is God.
All things were brought into creation through the Word.
Nothing that was created,
everything was created by him.
This Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we've beheld his glory.
His name is Jesus,
and he has made known,
revealed in his incarnate body,
the unseen God.
We know who this is.
Sir, that guy does have no clue.
What we know is that this is the same God incarnate
who just turned this water into wine in Cana.
We know that this is the God incarnate
who went to Samaria and told a Samaritan woman
all of her most guarded secrets.
We know that this is God incarnate
who brought an official's son back from the brink of dead
with words 22 miles away instantaneously.
We know who this is,
but this guy doesn't.
He says,
there's no one to help me
as he speaks to God incarnate.
He's going to catch 22.
He needs to be healed of his paralysis,
but his paralysis keeps him from being healed.
And if you've been around the world,
if you've been on this planet long enough,
either you or you know someone
who's been in a similar catch 22
where what they need,
they can't get because of the problem they have.
It's a difficult place to be.
One can get helpless in those situations.
This guy is thinking that
when the water stirs,
he just needs to get himself into the water.
First come, first healed.
In their minds,
all of these invalids
have bought into the same kind of thinking
that somehow their healing
is dependent on their ability
to get them into the pool first.
You know what that kind of mindset is?
This mindset is a mindset that is common to man.
It permeates people's thinking.
When we think about in terms of getting to heaven,
the greatest pool of all,
when we think about getting to heaven,
many people think it's about what I can do
to get myself to heaven
and then I'll be healed of everything.
It's a common mindset.
I need to work to get God's grace.
But the thing is,
just as this paralytics paralysis
kept him from getting into the pool,
our sinfulness cripples us
from getting into heaven.
That's the effect of sin in us.
We do not have the ability
to make ourselves holy.
Well, Jesus takes his answer of saying,
yeah, there's nobody that put me in,
you know, I try to get in,
somebody jumps in front of me.
Somehow Jesus takes this as a yes
to his question.
So Jesus,
because he's wearing a tank top,
his muscles are blasting,
veins popping in his biceps,
grabs the invalid,
tosses his hair back
because there's a slight wind blowing,
walks him down into the pool of Bethesda
just as it starts to stir.
And as he puts him in,
this man's eyes go wide.
That's not what happens.
No, what happens
is Jesus speaks.
God incarnate speaks.
He says in verse,
he says in verse eight,
get up,
take up your bed and walk.
And those words have immediate effect.
Immediate effect.
Just think about him healing the official son.
Immediate.
At once,
the paralyzed man
is made whole.
His paralysis is gone.
He takes up his mat.
Verse nine,
he walks away.
He's like,
see ya,
I'm out of here.
Let's go get some Chick-fil-A.
Wait, it's a Sabbath.
Let's go get some stuff.
See what Jesus does
is he skips the pool.
He is our healing.
Now typically,
we think of healing
as the climax of a story.
We think of a healing like this
as the focus of a story.
But that's not what's going on here.
Because this healing actually raises tension.
And here's the noise.
Dun, dun, dun.
The rest of verse nine says,
now that day was the Sabbath.
And we're asking the question,
uh-oh.
What does that mean?
And what that means is scene three.
Holiness police.
In verses 10 through 15,
the holiness police come on the scene.
Now before I get into this,
remember,
this passage is about authority.
Who gave you the right?
Verse 10.
The man who's been healed
is walking along.
I mean,
he's stretching his legs.
He's like,
man,
this feels good.
And he happens to be carrying his mat.
And let's just say
he gets pulled over
by the holiness police.
Whip, whip.
Whip, whoop.
Whip, whoop, whoop, whoop.
At least two Jews.
And it's kind of like,
what are they doing?
Are they just kind of like
hanging out,
waiting for someone to break the Sabbath?
It kind of sounds like that.
They see him walking with his mat
and they go to him.
Whip, whoop, whoop.
It's the Sabbath
and it is not lawful
for you to take up your bed.
You are breaking the Sabbath.
He gets pulled over.
They walk up.
Sir,
we couldn't help but notice
that you're carrying your mat.
Did you know
that's a Sabbath day violation?
According to the tradition of the elders.
The tradition of the elders
was a collection
of explanations
of God's law
and how to apply it.
And it was developed
over a long period of time.
And just to let you know
how it worked,
how elaborate it was,
it's an elaborate scaffolding
around God's word.
So in regard to
Exodus 20 verse 8,
the command
that you should keep your,
keep the Sabbath holy.
the tradition of the elders
had 39 categories.
Categories
of how you could not
work on the Sabbath.
Not five.
39.
And one of them
was carrying something
on the Sabbath
from one domain
to another.
So according to the tradition
of the elders,
these Jews
that pulled over
the man that was just healed,
whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop,
whoop,
they were well
within their rights.
The problem was
that the tradition
of the elders
was not God's word.
It's not God speaking.
It is the creation
of well-intended
men and women.
men,
but it didn't have
the authority
of God speaking.
Which means
it's not altogether clear
that this man
was actually
breaking the Sabbath.
I would say
he was not
breaking the Sabbath
because he wasn't
carrying his mat
for his employment,
for his work.
One could actually say
that this man
was carrying his mat
because Jesus
just brought
Sabbath to him,
giving him
fullness of rest
with his body.
Peace,
goodness.
But these Jews,
they had elevated
the tradition
of the elders,
the tradition of men
on par
with the Scriptures,
which means
they were appealing
to a false authority.
they were binding
this man's
conscience
without biblical
warrant.
And this false
authority is
oftentimes what's
at the heart
of legalism.
When you're
insisting on
something that
God is not
insisting on
of other people,
even yourself.
You know what's
most striking
is that these
Jews who
pulled over
this man
make no reference,
they have no idea
that this man
was just healed
of being paralyzed
for 38 years.
It's no mention.
You see,
one of the things
that legalism does
is it makes you
focus on little rules
and blinds you
to God's glories.
You know,
we can be just
like these Jews,
these holiness
police.
We have a tendency
for calling things
unlawful,
sinful,
when in God's eyes
they're not.
So for example,
drinking alcohol
is in and of itself
not sinful.
Getting drunk
is.
Eating certain foods.
Jesus declared
all foods clean.
It might not be
wise to eat
three bags of
twizzlers.
Listening to
certain music.
We can be
quick to judgment.
Where you send
your children
to school.
There can be
quickness to
judgment,
holiness police,
when some
parents choose
to send their
kids to public
school or
home school
or private
school.
The reality is
God calls all
parents to raise
their children in
the fear and
admonition of
the Lord.
Think about it
this way.
Think of God's
law represented
by the Ten
Commandments as
this God-given
granite foundation
to live.
granite foundation
and what the Jews
had done is
they had built
this elaborate
scaffolding system
around this
granite foundational
way of living
and they built it
around it to
explain it,
to support it,
though it didn't
need it.
But you know what
happened over time?
people started to
confuse the
scaffolding with
the granite.
They started
thinking that the
scaffolding is just
as authoritative as
the granite.
They're treating the
scaffolding like the
granite, but it's
not.
In verse 10,
you see,
so the Jews said to
this man,
it is the Sabbath,
it's not lawful for
you to take up your
bed.
They are making
that claim under a
false pretense of a
false authority.
In verse 11,
we start seeing more
about this man's
character.
He says,
but he answered
them,
the man who healed
me,
that man said to
me,
take up your bed
and walk.
The healer made
me do it.
This brings up
another way of
dealing with sin.
Pass the buck,
the blame game.
We are inclined to
that as well,
aren't we?
What he's saying,
it's not my fault.
It's his fault.
He told me to do it.
And then in verse
12,
what we see,
these Jews asked
him,
who is the man who
said to you,
take up your bed
and walk?
Give us a name.
Give him up.
Who gave you the
right to take up
your mat?
These Jews were
questioning the
authority of this
healer.
They considered him
having committed a
greater wrong for
having told this man
to take up his mat.
In verse 13,
again,
telling of this man's
character,
he doesn't know.
Now,
the man who had
been healed did
not know who it
was,
for Jesus had
withdrawn as there
was a crowd in
the place.
But,
you know,
Jesus withdrew,
yeah?
But don't you
think that you
would pause for
a second after
you've been healed
of a paralysis
for 38 years and
just kind of say,
by the way,
what's your name?
No reference.
And apparently,
this man gets
off with just a
warning,
because in verse
14,
Jesus finds him
in the temple,
which means Jesus
was looking for
him,
which helps us
understand Jesus
had something else
going on here all
along.
Jesus,
in verse 14,
finds him in the
temple and says,
see?
Hey,
look at that.
You're walking
great.
Let me see you
take some steps.
And then Jesus
says something a
little dark.
He says,
sin no more
that nothing
worse may happen
to you.
Let me just
explain that.
Not all
physical ailments
that we experience
are the direct
result of our
personal sin.
Because you get
the flu doesn't
mean you've just
sinned.
And it's God
punishing you
somehow.
Or you get
cancer and this
is God bringing
that back on
your head.
But there are
some physical
ailments that
are the direct
result of sin.
STDs.
Alcoholism.
But you know
what?
That's not the
real big,
that's not the
question here.
You know what the
real question is?
What is worse
than being
paralyzed for 38
years?
Sin no more.
Lest something
worse may happen
to you.
What's worse
than being
paralyzed for 38
years?
I'll tell you
what's worse
than being
paralyzed for 38
years.
Being tormented
by God's wrath
because of your
sin for eternity.
That's worse.
So what Jesus
is doing here
is he's bringing
up a bigger
issue for this
paralyzed man that
just been healed.
And so the
paralyzed man is,
yeah please tell
me more.
How do I deal
with my sin
problem?
No.
In verse 15,
again this man's
character is on
display.
The man went
away and told
the Jews that
it was Jesus
who had healed
him.
He's healed
by Jesus but
goes and gives
Jesus up.
You know guys,
you know you
asked me about
who it was that
healed me.
Well I just met
him in the
temple area.
It's Jesus.
And they're like,
oh yeah, we know
who that is.
He's on our
radar.
The holiness
police have come
on the scene.
Now what's
going to happen?
And we see
what happens in
scene 3,
verses 16
through 18,
a heated
provocation.
This is where
this passage,
it reaches
its climax.
climaxes in a
conflict between
Jesus and
these Jews
over the
authority to
heal on the
Sabbath.
This is a
passage about
authority.
Verse 16,
we're given a
reason why
these Jews had
begun to
persecute Jesus.
In verse 16
we read,
this is why,
because he was
doing these
things on the
Sabbath.
They were
seeing this
as undermining
the Jews'
authority,
like pushing
the envelope.
They're seeing
this as some
kind of big
no-no threat.
He is
challenging.
Think about it
like this.
Jesus has just
gone up to
the tradition
of the elders,
put his hands
on the scaffolding,
and just shook
it.
This isn't
solid.
There's no
life here.
And apparently
there's this
dialogue,
because in
verse 17
we read,
but Jesus
answered them.
Look what he
says.
My father's
working until
now, and I
am working?
Let me help
you understand
what he's
saying.
What Jesus
is saying in
verse 17
is this.
Who gives
me the right
to heal
on the
Sabbath?
And then
he says,
my father
has been
working on
every
Sabbath,
and I
am working
on the
Sabbath
too.
You know
what he's
saying?
I'm
exempt
because I'm
God,
because I'm
the Lord
of the
Sabbath.
I'm the
giver of
the
Sabbath.
It's a
huge claim
of authority.
What he's
saying is he
has the
right to
do whatever
he determines
best on the
Sabbath because
he's the
Lord of the
Sabbath.
He's the
giver of
the Sabbath.
Just as the
father is
exempt from
working on
the Sabbath,
so God the
son is
exempt from
working on
the Sabbath.
God has
been on
every Sabbath
since creation,
been holding up
the universe,
just making
sure all the
stars are in
place and all
the galaxies
are working
just fine.
God the
father has
been making
sure on
every Sabbath
that all of
the inhabitants
of the
earth,
human and
non-human,
make sure
they get
water and
are fed.
God has
been working
on every
Sabbath for
all 8
billion people
on the
planet to
make sure
they get
their next
breath.
Of course
God is
working on
the Sabbath.
Both God
the father
and God
the son
are fully
God.
It's not
breaking the
Sabbath for
the Lord of
the Sabbath
to heal
on the
Sabbath,
to bring
Sabbath
fullness
to an
invalid.
Here's how
to think
about these
miraculous,
healings Jesus
performs
throughout the
Gospels.
Think about
it as
advances
of the
glory to
come.
The
healings that
Jesus
performed,
the authority
had over
sickness.
It's just a
little down
payment of
what's going
to happen
when he
comes back.
When Jesus
comes back,
he's going
to bring
full,
final,
and forever
healing to
our bodies.
Full,
final,
and forever.
And the
our bodies,
the our
are those,
all those who
believe in the
name of Jesus
Christ.
We will be
given sinless
and pain-free
resurrection
bodies,
and we will
exercise them
in a sinless
and pain-free
new creation.
Are you
wanting to be
healed?
Christian,
it's not a
question of
if,
it's a question
of when.
and it's
coming.
In verse
18,
we're given
another reason.
This was why
the Jews were
seeking all the
more to kill
him.
It now just
got ramped up
from persecuting
him to wanting
to kill him.
Why do they
want to kill
him?
Because in
their minds,
not only was he
breaking the
Sabbath,
he was claiming
to be equal
with God,
which is
blasphemy.
Sabbath-breaking
and blasphemy,
let's kill
him.
Tragically,
both of
their reasons
for hating
Jesus were
wrong.
Jesus wasn't
breaking the
Sabbath.
He was
exercising his
dominion on
the Sabbath.
And Jesus
wasn't blaspheming
because he's
God in the
flesh,
God's son,
equal to
God.
And the
tragedy of
it is he's
come to his
own,
John 1,
9,
and his
own did
not receive
him.
That's the
tragedy.
But all
who do
receive him,
to those who
believe in
his name,
they're given
the right to
become children
of God,
they're given
eternal life,
and they are
given this
promise,
this hope
of a full,
final,
and forever
resurrection
body.
Because our
trust is in,
not in a
pool in the
person of
Jesus Christ.
Our hope
for our
healing is
Jesus.
Which brings
me to the
point.
The healing
pool side
provoked the
holiness police
and resulted
in a heated
provocation
between Jesus
and the
Jews.
And it's all
over authority.
Who gave
Jesus the
right to
work on the
Sabbath?
He's always
had the
right.
Because he
is fully
and forever
God.
He is our
hope of
healing,
not a
pool.
And he's
at work
today.
So briefly,
let me just
give you three
ways to
respond.
We welcome
his authority.
His authority
is good news,
not bad
news.
In Matthew
28,
Jesus is
raised from
the dead.
He says,
all authority
in heaven and
earth has been
given to me.
authority.
That's good
news.
He's got the
whole world
in his
hands.
That's good
news.
And so our
response is
to gladly
submit to
him.
It's to come
under his
life-giving
authority.
That is what
it means to
receive Jesus
and believe in
his name.
To come
under his
life-giving
authority.
He has the
right to
impose his
will upon
us because
of who
he is and
we are to
welcome it.
When he
exercises his
will, his
authority, it's
always wise.
It's always
healthy.
It's always
God-honoring and
it always results
in our good.
That's the kind
of God our
God is.
Always for
our good.
When he says
to the
paralytic
sin, so
sin no
more so
that nothing
worse may
happen to
you.
If you're
not a
Christian in
the room,
your hope
is to
submit yourself
to the
life-giving
authority of
Jesus so
nothing worse
may happen
to you.
Let's not
resist him.
Let's
welcome him.
Second
is a
warning.
Don't be
part of the
holiness
place.
Let's
just move
on to
the
third.
Are you
hoping for
healing?
For
yourself or
for someone
else?
Our hope
is not in a
pool.
Our ultimate
hope is not
in a
medication or
a new
treatment or
an organ.
Our hope is
in Jesus.
And so
here's what
that means.
Here's what
we do.
When people
in our
lives are
saying,
I am
hopeless
with this
physical
or mental
difficulty,
we don't
say,
man,
there's a
time coming
where everything
will be fine.
Buck up!
Here's what
we do.
we say,
oh,
it's a good
thing that
Jesus is
alive.
And so
let me pray
for you
now that
Jesus would
heal you
on the
spot right
now.
And I'm
going to
pray this
knowing full
well that
the full
final and
forever
healing is
on the
way.
And if he
should not
heal you,
healing's
coming.
We're one
day closer.
welcome,
warning,
healing,
it's all
about hope
in Jesus,
that's how
we respond.
Who gives
Jesus the
right to
tell us
that we
must come
to him
alone for
forgiveness
and eternal
life?
To tell us
to stop our
prideful
judging,
to tell us
what to do.
What gives
Jesus the
right?
We're going
to see this
played out in
the rest of
John 5.
life.
But what
gives him
the right
is that he
has always
had the
right.
Because he's
fully and
forever God.
We pray.
God, I do
pray for the
people in the
room who've
come in here
who are
in pain
physically,
mentally,
emotionally.
God, would
you heal
them?
Would you
bring Sabbath
rest to their
bodies, to
their minds,
to their
emotions?
And if
you should
choose not
to, God,
we're not
going to
blame you.
We're going
to hope
in you.
That knowing
that this
full, final,
and forever
healing is
one day
closer.
In your name
we pray.
Amen.