WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.419 To turn with me to John's Gospel, chapter 5. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:06.339 John's Gospel, chapter 5. 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:09.580 If you've got a church Bible, that's on page 890. 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:14.439 John chapter 5 begins a new section. 00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:17.120 In the Gospel of John, chapter 10. 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:23.960 Those first four chapters have all been about newness, haven't they? 00:00:25.400 --> 00:00:28.900 What Jesus brings, you remember, in eternal life. 00:00:29.899 --> 00:00:34.560 That Jesus is not just shuffling things around, the things of our lives. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:39.799 He's not raising what is natural to a new level. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:43.359 Jesus brings an entirely new life. 00:00:44.879 --> 00:00:46.920 Jesus brings a different kind of existence. 00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:49.799 He changes water into wine at a wedding. 00:00:50.899 --> 00:00:54.619 He offers Nicodemus, that religious leader, new life. 00:00:54.619 --> 00:00:59.820 He gives to the woman at the well, living water that satisfies. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:02.699 And that's what Jesus has come to bring. 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:08.620 But from chapter 5, there's a switch from newness to the work of God. 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:12.900 There are signs and miracles throughout this section. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:17.979 And after each miracle, Jesus gives an explanation of what he's doing. 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:20.079 Just in case you miss it. 00:01:21.160 --> 00:01:26.260 And so here as we begin this section in chapter 5, Jesus returns to Jerusalem, the capital city. 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:31.359 Where he performs a remarkable healing on the Sabbath day. 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:36.400 And Jesus walks headlong into a storm of controversy. 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:39.260 He doesn't seek to avoid it, which is very interesting. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.879 He seems to be deliberately provoking a fight. 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:47.500 Deliberately provoking the religious authorities of his day. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:52.780 So much so that by the time you come to the end of our section this morning, 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:55.420 in verse 18, can you see? 00:01:55.960 --> 00:01:57.719 The Jews were seeking to kill him. 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:01.799 There are three moments in this passage. 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:06.519 Three disconcerting but wonderful moments. 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:11.039 Each moment is wonderful and yet deeply uncomfortable. 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:17.599 Each of these three truths are beautiful yet unsettling, comforting and alarming. 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:20.699 The first is a challenging question. 00:02:20.859 --> 00:02:21.799 Can you see it in verse 4? 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:24.899 What's the challenging question there? 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:28.840 Jesus goes to a man who is severely disabled. 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:31.620 And he says to him, 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:34.739 Do you want to be healed? 00:02:36.959 --> 00:02:39.759 Do you want to literally be made whole? 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:47.219 He goes to a disabled man who's been wanting to get well for 38 years. 00:02:47.359 --> 00:02:48.680 And he says, Do you want to be healed? 00:02:51.959 --> 00:02:58.539 I was recently, a few months ago, in that massive DIY place on the A40 B&Q. 00:02:58.719 --> 00:02:59.060 Do you know it? 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:01.340 Other DIY outlets are available. 00:03:02.459 --> 00:03:05.859 But those places, they're like aircraft hangars, aren't they? 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:11.180 And I was looking for some light bulbs, a specific light bulb. 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:19.900 And I walked into the store and I walked round and round, down each aisle, getting quicker, looking on each shelf. 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:25.420 And I just couldn't find the lighting section or any lights. 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:29.879 I went round again, but I couldn't find it. 00:03:31.299 --> 00:03:33.759 So I waited in line at the customer service counter. 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:36.519 And I stepped up to the counter and I asked the young woman, 00:03:37.019 --> 00:03:38.099 Do you sell lights? 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:41.960 She gave me a very strange look. 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:44.519 Her eyebrows lifted. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:50.439 And she pointed behind herself and there were three 20 foot shelves of lights. 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:53.699 With a neon light at the top saying, 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:55.199 Lighting specialists. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:59.819 So obvious, isn't it? 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:04.539 Surely, it's really obvious, isn't it? 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:08.560 This guy who Jesus speaks to, the one thing that the guy wants is to be healed. 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:13.120 Why does Jesus ask him this question? 00:04:13.219 --> 00:04:14.659 It's feast time in Jerusalem. 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:19.060 The city is full and jam-packed. 00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:21.659 And where does Jesus go? 00:04:21.659 --> 00:04:23.259 Jesus goes right to the inner city. 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:27.819 He goes to the place, really, of degradation and desperate need. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.279 It's the kind of place where all tourists are warned on websites, 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:32.099 Don't go there. 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:40.420 You don't need much imagination to imagine that there would be hundreds and hundreds of people there. 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:48.279 History books tell us that this pool was actually a pool of raw sewage and deep suffering. 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:51.259 The disabled were there. 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:52.819 Invalids. 00:04:53.259 --> 00:04:56.060 The poor, the blind, the lame, the paralysed. 00:04:56.159 --> 00:04:57.579 All of them beyond help. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:04:59.500 All of them desperate. 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:02.300 And Jesus chooses one man. 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:05.100 And he goes to this one man. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.420 And just as he saw in chapter 1 into Nathaniel's heart, he knew Nathaniel. 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:12.519 And he knew Nicodemus in chapter 3. 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:16.339 And he knew the heart of the woman at the well in chapter 4. 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:21.620 And just like he knows your heart and my heart, he knows the heart of this man. 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:26.420 He sees that he's been disabled for 38 years. 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:28.740 Which was about the average lifespan. 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:33.240 He knows his life has been reduced to begging. 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:34.560 There's no hope of cure. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.360 He's been there for such a long time. 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:41.160 And Jesus walks up to him in the middle of terrible need. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:43.920 And he says to him, do you want to be healed? 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:46.959 Do you want to be made whole? 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:49.000 I mean, is there anything else that he would have wanted? 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:55.019 And this fellow's answer to the next sentence is not very promising. 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:56.779 It's kind of odd, isn't it? 00:05:56.939 --> 00:06:01.199 He's lying beside the pool because of some kind of superstition. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:05.720 This idea that when the waters rumbled, when they got churned up, 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:07.899 the first one into the water gets healed. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:12.139 And so the man complains to Jesus and he says, I'm all alone. 00:06:13.899 --> 00:06:14.860 I'm all alone here. 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:16.680 I've got no one else to push me into the pool. 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:20.920 And when it gets stirred up every time someone gets in first, 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:23.819 he's completely missed Jesus' question. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.259 He's completely missed Jesus' request. 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:34.019 And he's doing exactly what all of us do. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:38.680 Because Jesus comes to us in our need 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:43.040 and we limit Jesus to the solution that we think we need. 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:48.379 We often don't have any inkling 00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:52.660 that what Jesus is willing and able to do for us 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:55.480 is something utterly impossible for us. 00:06:55.480 --> 00:07:01.160 This guy has been lying by the water for years. 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:03.240 He can't see past the water. 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:07.860 His hope and his focus, they're on the pool, on the pool, on the pool. 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:13.920 And he wants Jesus to help him throw it in next time it gets stirred up. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:23.040 But when Jesus comes to us, the word of Jesus comes to us 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.980 and he is calling us to something far bigger, 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.379 far more almost unimaginable, 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.840 far more challenging that we can imagine. 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:38.240 And we think Jesus' purpose is to help us to get into the water 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:40.220 so that we can get on with life as usual. 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:43.600 Jesus, give me a nudge into the water, will you? 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:47.420 Let me get the thing that I want. 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:50.480 I don't want you to disturb my equilibrium. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.020 But what we'll see in this passage as we go on 00:07:54.020 --> 00:07:59.280 is what Jesus wants and what Jesus gives is beyond belief. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.539 And it's lovely. 00:08:04.239 --> 00:08:06.739 Because at the end of that paragraph, 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.159 in his kindness and goodness, 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:15.459 Jesus completely ignores this self-focused and clueless response. 00:08:16.219 --> 00:08:18.099 And he simply says to the guy, 00:08:18.919 --> 00:08:23.419 get up, take your mat and walk. 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:26.340 And he does so at once. 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:30.199 And I don't want you to miss this. 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:32.420 Jesus says, get up. 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:35.720 Jesus says it. 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:38.100 And the guy does it. 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:42.860 And it is completely, humanly, 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:45.720 impossible and unimaginable. 00:08:46.680 --> 00:08:47.600 And inconceivable. 00:08:49.680 --> 00:08:51.340 38 years he's been lying there. 00:08:51.340 --> 00:08:54.280 Think about it. 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:56.259 What has happened to his muscles? 00:08:58.180 --> 00:08:59.240 His tendons. 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:02.780 They've gone hard, haven't they? 00:09:02.800 --> 00:09:03.480 They've atrophied. 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:06.560 His bones will have gone into different shape. 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:10.120 His lungs, his knees, his ankles. 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:14.180 But the man doesn't need any physiotherapy. 00:09:15.820 --> 00:09:19.720 Just the simple command of God the Creator. 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:24.180 Jesus doesn't invoke the name of God. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:25.700 There's no water involved. 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:27.120 It's a simple command. 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:30.820 And the magnificent, sovereign grace of God. 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:34.720 And Jesus finds him unasked. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:38.800 And he heals him unasked with a single command. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:43.779 And the physical healing is unasked for. 00:09:46.339 --> 00:09:49.879 But if you ask yourself, why did Jesus ask that strange question? 00:09:49.959 --> 00:09:51.299 And we've not got to the bottom of it. 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:52.539 You're right. 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:55.179 So we need to go on to the next section. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:57.539 Because there's a second very challenging thing. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.219 And it's not just a challenging question this time. 00:10:00.339 --> 00:10:01.679 But there's a challenging command. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:03.099 Which is this, isn't it? 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:07.259 Afterwards, Jesus found him in the temple. 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:09.319 And said to him, 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:10.740 See, you are well. 00:10:12.740 --> 00:10:13.679 Sin no more. 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:14.319 There's the command. 00:10:16.319 --> 00:10:17.480 Sin no more. 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:18.439 Stop sinning. 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.500 That nothing worse may happen to you. 00:10:23.660 --> 00:10:26.480 There's no gratitude from this guy towards Jesus. 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:31.160 He doesn't even bother to find out what Jesus' name is. 00:10:31.300 --> 00:10:33.620 He just gets up, picks up his mat and walks off. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.260 And later on in that day, Jesus finds the same guy in the temple. 00:10:39.380 --> 00:10:39.980 And he says to him, 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:40.740 See, you're well. 00:10:42.060 --> 00:10:42.920 Sin no more. 00:10:43.060 --> 00:10:43.640 Stop sinning. 00:10:45.060 --> 00:10:46.940 That nothing worse may happen to you. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.680 Now don't you find that's a very strange thing to say, isn't it? 00:10:54.300 --> 00:10:55.840 Literally, it doesn't come out in our versions. 00:10:56.060 --> 00:10:57.920 But literally, it's very fierce. 00:10:58.920 --> 00:10:59.720 You are sinning. 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:01.660 Stop it now. 00:11:03.020 --> 00:11:04.620 So that nothing worse will happen to you. 00:11:06.780 --> 00:11:08.760 Now we need to take a step back from this and say, 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:10.820 Well, why is Jesus saying this? 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:12.120 Why is this so strange? 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.040 It's strange because the Bible does not teach karma. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.120 You know the cruel doctrine of karma? 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:22.019 That we suffer in this life for sins in the past life. 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:27.599 Nor that we suffer in this life for sins in this life. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.860 Jesus doesn't believe in what goes around comes around. 00:11:31.719 --> 00:11:34.919 Jesus himself breaks that connection in John 9. 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:39.779 There is no direct connection between getting sick and our sin usually. 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:44.899 So why does Jesus command him to stop sinning? 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:47.899 The man is in the temple. 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:49.399 He doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong. 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:53.319 How does Jesus know that he's sinful? 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:59.980 There's no indication that this man is aware that he's particularly sinful. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:01.620 He doesn't seem it. 00:12:02.920 --> 00:12:07.020 For 38 years, he's been absolutely preoccupied with getting through the day. 00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:11.560 He thinks of himself as a victim, as would I. 00:12:12.420 --> 00:12:15.640 But he's no worse than any of the rest of us. 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:25.539 What could possibly be worse than 38 years stuck in a body that put him in a situation with all the humiliation of begging and loneliness? 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:31.879 Jesus is not warning him that if he doesn't stop sinning, he's going to get sicker. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:37.519 Jesus is saying here that there is something worse. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:41.860 There is something worse than any sickness. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:45.860 There is something worse than any loss. 00:12:46.079 --> 00:12:48.039 There is something worse than any deprivation. 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:51.139 It is being separated from God forever. 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:55.899 And you see that in this searching and challenging command. 00:12:56.059 --> 00:12:58.659 Something deeper is going on. 00:12:58.740 --> 00:12:59.340 This healing. 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:05.559 This healing is something that points to something much more comprehensive. 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:11.600 It points to a healing and work of God that Jesus brings. 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:19.299 And so if Jesus heals him physically, this guy will have a perfect body for maybe the next 38 years. 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:26.519 But Jesus is saying there's something deeper in you that's going to keep you from enjoying the full blessings of God. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.120 There's something in him that is going to disqualify him from eternal life. 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:37.620 And it is simply in Jesus' words, sin. 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:44.019 This man has been healed outwardly in his body but in his heart there's no real change. 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:46.639 And that is the point. 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:52.200 That the work of God is more wonderful, more vast than we can imagine. 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:59.720 Imagine God could give you a perfect body for 100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years or 100,000 years. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:05.060 That would be great but your selfishness would not be cured. 00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:12.680 And the sinful rottenness that lives in me and lives in you would not be cured. 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:20.059 And it is that sin that separates us from God in this life and in the life to come. 00:14:21.859 --> 00:14:27.179 And what Jesus is offering and what Jesus' work is not just the restoration of our bodies. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.279 It is the restoration to God from sin. 00:14:33.359 --> 00:14:35.399 It is the receiving of eternal life. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:43.360 And so when Jesus went up to the sky and commanded him to stand up, it was unimaginable and it was impossible. 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:51.159 And when Jesus goes to him in the temple and says, sin no more, it is equally unimaginable and utterly impossible. 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:55.939 And that's what's behind that amazing question. 00:14:57.579 --> 00:14:59.740 Do you want to be made whole? 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:03.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:33.000 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:33.600 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:34.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.019 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:35.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:36.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:37.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:38.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:39.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:40.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:40.019 --> 00:15:41.019 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:42.120 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:42.120 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:43.120 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:45.120 Do you want to be healed? 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.120 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.120 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.120 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.120 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:55.340 want to be free from sin but I also don't want to be free from my sin we love our favorite sins 00:15:55.340 --> 00:16:03.519 even after we've been forgiven and filled with the spirit for years and years and years we still 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:11.560 don't we love our sins too much despite the misery it causes my inner life despite the pain it causes 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:22.119 to my family my city I still love my sin and Jesus comes to us and says sin no more do you want to be 00:16:22.119 --> 00:16:32.239 made whole because we desperately need his ongoing work in our lives I read a preacher this week who 00:16:32.239 --> 00:16:38.979 said this I am driven by my desperation from time to time and I cry out to God to deliver me from all 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:46.779 my sins he says I get up in my room and it's like I drive my sin out of the window and I say to them 00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:55.879 and I say to God go forever sin go forever and then I go back to my chair and think again and quickly 00:16:55.879 --> 00:17:01.039 say before my sin disappears around the corner I call out and say um would you leave me a telephone 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:09.200 number I don't want to be completely out of touch it's too hard for me to think about never again 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:18.079 being untruthful or unfaithful or cruel I want you gone but not forever it's what's called cheap grace 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:26.119 it's thinking I can have the blessing of eternal life thinking I can have what Christ offers but 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:34.099 continuing to live as I want and new life new life means I can't go on as before 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:42.439 if God is saving me and delivering me from evil and sin now that will have an effect 00:17:42.439 --> 00:17:51.919 but if God is not and is not healing me and not delivering me from sin now I've got no confidence 00:17:51.920 --> 00:18:00.039 he will save me in the end so what is the work that we so desperately need that Jesus comes to bring 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:06.200 and we need to move to the third searching question the searching issue we've moved from the searching 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:13.019 question to the searching command and now we've got this challenging and searching claim it's in the 00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:24.299 last line look at verse 17 Jesus answered them my father is working until now and I am working 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:27.779 Jesus actions have been deliberate 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:35.000 did you notice when he chose to heal this man he chose to heal this man on the sabbath day 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:45.539 he didn't have to he could have waited 24 hours no controversy he said to the guy take up your mat 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:52.680 the guy didn't actually need to take up his mat did he could have just broken up could have just walked off 00:18:52.680 --> 00:19:01.559 of course picking up your sick mat is not breaking the old testament law but it was breaking the kind of 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:09.059 presbyterian tradition of the time it was breaking the kind of religious polices interpretation of the law 00:19:09.059 --> 00:19:13.359 now why does Jesus escalate this conflict 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:19.500 and we'll see very quickly that Jesus wants to reveal that he is the son of God 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:23.559 and that he is working the work of God 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:29.279 because when the authorities confront Jesus for what he's doing look what Jesus does 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:36.019 he draws a line between God and humanity and he places himself on the God's side of the line 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:42.220 do you see that phrase that my father is working up until now 00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:44.480 and I am working 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:49.420 what's the response look at verse 18 with me they grasp it don't they 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:55.819 this is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because not only was he breaking the sabbath 00:19:55.819 --> 00:20:02.799 in their view but he was even calling God his own father making himself equal with God 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:07.099 they grasped exactly what he meant 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:12.559 but they refused it as a remote possibility 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:15.619 it was better to kill Jesus than to accept his claim 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:22.959 of course the sabbath day is a big deal for the Jewish people 00:20:22.959 --> 00:20:27.559 the sabbath day goes back to the very creation of the world 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:28.979 it's the Christian view as well 00:20:28.979 --> 00:20:32.959 but the sabbath was built into this very nature of reality 00:20:32.959 --> 00:20:38.619 and the sabbath day is part of our self-identity as the people of God 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:42.479 so you remember the start of the bible God created the world in six days 00:20:42.479 --> 00:20:46.539 and then he took one day and he rested on the sabbath day 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:51.979 he rested from all the work that he'd done in creation 00:20:51.979 --> 00:20:54.939 and the Hebrew word for rest is shabbat 00:20:54.939 --> 00:20:56.819 it is sabbath 00:20:56.819 --> 00:21:00.599 it's not that God was tired after six days 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:03.480 God is not weary 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:08.759 God does not need a break to recharge like you and I do 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:10.819 no it's not like that 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:14.939 God doesn't get to a Saturday evening and think oh it's so hard 00:21:14.939 --> 00:21:23.059 rest in the biblical view is stopping one kind of activity for a different kind 00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:29.039 and so God stops the creating of the world 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:32.399 and he enters into the perfect enjoyment of it 00:21:32.399 --> 00:21:34.480 and the pleasure of it 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:35.919 and the delight of it 00:21:35.919 --> 00:21:40.079 the delight of all that he has created 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.200 that is what the sabbath is for 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:43.679 he stops creating 00:21:43.679 --> 00:21:46.339 and now he starts delighting 00:21:46.339 --> 00:21:49.259 in a world with no defect and no defilement 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:54.579 he walks with men and women in the cool of the day in the garden 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:57.039 and in the greatest disaster in history 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.079 do you remember what takes place in the garden? 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:03.980 the man and the woman they refuse the word of God 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:06.539 they reject the authority of God 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:08.259 and they ruin the garden 00:22:08.259 --> 00:22:13.160 and that is where sin and evil and death and suffering 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:14.640 enter into our world 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:16.920 staining our lives with sin and shame 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:20.440 spoiling the perfection of creation 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:23.440 and opening the door to selfishness and cruelty 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:25.860 and hatred and violence and decay and death 00:22:25.860 --> 00:22:30.019 but right there in the garden 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:35.039 God commits himself to his second great work 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.980 not a work of creation 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:40.460 but a work of recreation 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:45.059 and he commits himself to the work of restoration 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:47.480 and of renewal and redemption 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:51.519 and he promises that he will restore this creation 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.360 and he will redeem men and women and boys and girls 00:22:54.360 --> 00:22:56.980 to share his life 00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:59.400 to share his joy 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.380 to enter into his rest 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:05.960 he will re-establish paradise 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:09.400 where he will live with his people 00:23:09.400 --> 00:23:12.620 but to do that 00:23:12.620 --> 00:23:14.559 God has to deal with the evil 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:18.039 and the sin that has entered into our world 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:21.759 and to deal with all the sin and evil 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:22.980 that is in you and I 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:29.740 which means he not only has to pay for it on the cross 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:33.039 but he then has to begin a work 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:35.460 where he eliminates sin from our hearts 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:40.420 and that is why Jesus not only heals the guy's body 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:42.740 but he addresses his inner life 00:23:42.740 --> 00:23:44.039 he addresses his heart 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:48.019 and that's a far more difficult thing to heal isn't it 00:23:48.019 --> 00:23:52.420 that is why that first question 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:54.880 do you want to be made whole 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:57.799 is so searching 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:01.899 and that is why the command 00:24:01.899 --> 00:24:03.980 sin no more 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:04.680 go together 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:08.139 because Jesus must both 00:24:08.139 --> 00:24:10.000 raise us up to new life 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:11.500 and remove our sin 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:15.899 and he says to us this morning 00:24:15.899 --> 00:24:17.799 as he said to this man 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:20.000 do you want 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.740 to be made whole 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:24.619 sin no more 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:29.239 and you listen to me as I say that 00:24:29.239 --> 00:24:30.899 and as I say it 00:24:30.899 --> 00:24:32.759 we think that is impossible 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.959 and it is impossible 00:24:35.959 --> 00:24:37.219 unless 00:24:37.219 --> 00:24:39.559 God the Father is working 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:43.000 and Jesus you are working still 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:47.439 this is the second great work of God 00:24:47.439 --> 00:24:49.599 this is why Jesus has come 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:52.619 this is why he is the Lamb of God 00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:55.779 it's why he is the Word of God 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:56.799 the Bread of Life 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.899 and this is his work of restoration 00:24:59.899 --> 00:25:04.579 and it has an end date 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.939 it is a temporary work 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:12.380 because we are told later on in the New Testament 00:25:12.380 --> 00:25:14.200 that this world will one day be replaced 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:16.940 with a new heaven and a new earth 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:20.320 in which righteousness will dwell 00:25:20.320 --> 00:25:23.160 and the garden will be transformed 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.680 and the water of the river of life 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:27.740 will flow through that place from the throne 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:31.220 and on both sides of that river 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:33.680 the tree of life will constantly bear fruit 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:36.160 it will be Eden restored and reimagined 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:40.220 and at the heart of that new world 00:25:40.220 --> 00:25:43.720 is face to face fellowship 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.100 between God 00:25:46.100 --> 00:25:47.860 his son 00:25:47.860 --> 00:25:50.360 and the great number of those 00:25:50.360 --> 00:25:51.140 who have been redeemed 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:52.640 from every tribe and tongue and nation 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:56.360 whom God has eradicated 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:58.220 all sin and evil 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:01.400 whose lives have been cleansed 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:03.160 and they have been given new hearts 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:06.460 and so you see 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:08.480 when Jesus says to these authorities 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.779 my father has been working 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:11.200 and I am working still 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:12.540 he's not trying to calm them down 00:26:12.540 --> 00:26:15.540 he's raising the stakes 00:26:15.540 --> 00:26:17.040 it's an astonishing claim 00:26:17.040 --> 00:26:18.140 he's saying 00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:22.660 I'm not breaking your rules about the Sabbath 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:24.560 your do's and your don'ts 00:26:24.560 --> 00:26:25.840 who do you think I am? 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:26.700 I am God 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:29.539 what God does 00:26:29.539 --> 00:26:30.220 I do 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:32.460 what God says 00:26:32.460 --> 00:26:33.080 I say 00:26:33.080 --> 00:26:34.920 what I do 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:35.680 God does 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:36.680 I'm working 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:38.799 in tandem with God 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:39.960 to bring about 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:41.259 this great purpose of redemption 00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:44.220 I am the Lord of the Sabbath 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:47.980 I am the one that the Sabbath was made for 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:50.140 I am the one who gives life to the dead 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:52.160 I'm the one who takes away sin 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:53.940 I'm the one who determines 00:26:53.940 --> 00:26:55.200 how the Sabbath should be used 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:59.299 and it drives the Jewish authorities crazy 00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:02.759 we'll look at it next week 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:04.319 but just look how Jesus ramps it up 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:05.720 let me read to you from verse 21 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:09.680 for as the father raises the dead 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:10.480 and gives them life 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:12.160 so also the son gives life 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.319 to whom he will 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:14.840 the father judges no one 00:27:14.840 --> 00:27:17.100 but has given all judgment to the son 00:27:17.100 --> 00:27:19.539 that all may honour the son 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:21.100 just as they honour the father 00:27:21.100 --> 00:27:23.720 whoever does not honour the son 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:25.620 does not honour the father who sent him 00:27:25.620 --> 00:27:30.299 this is the challenge of Jesus' claim 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:33.620 he is the one who is put forward 00:27:33.620 --> 00:27:35.360 to do the work of redemption 00:27:35.360 --> 00:27:38.279 he raises the dead 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:41.319 he judges the living and the dead 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:43.160 he is the one who gives life and salvation 00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.120 and God has handed all judgment to him 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:50.899 and so the question Jesus asks 00:27:50.899 --> 00:27:53.519 on that day to that man 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:54.879 he still asks to us 00:27:54.879 --> 00:27:58.099 do you want to be made whole? 00:28:00.399 --> 00:28:01.479 do you want it? 00:28:03.699 --> 00:28:06.119 and it's a question that only your heart can answer 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:09.439 and then he commands us 00:28:09.439 --> 00:28:10.779 sin no more 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:14.500 and both of those things are impossible 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:17.240 unless Jesus continues his work with us 00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:17.779 in us 00:28:17.779 --> 00:28:21.379 it's a lifelong process 00:28:21.379 --> 00:28:23.660 with the same sovereign power 00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:25.599 and the same sovereign God 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.420 that Jesus continues to work in us day by day 00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:29.059 through his goodness 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:30.119 and to trust Christ 00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:33.759 so trust Christ 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:38.099 to continue his work in your life 00:28:38.099 --> 00:28:40.299 and in the lives of those around us 00:28:40.299 --> 00:28:42.480 to bring us to that place of rest 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:46.240 as we come 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:48.759 to the Lord's table this morning 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:52.299 Jesus asks us that question 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:54.819 he asks us 00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:58.119 do you want to be made whole? 00:28:59.439 --> 00:29:00.939 and to come to the Lord's table 00:29:00.939 --> 00:29:01.980 and to eat of the bread 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:02.839 and drink of the wine 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:04.839 is to say yes Jesus I do 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:08.000 to receive him 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:09.119 to trust him 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:13.519 to come to him 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:14.639 again and again 00:29:14.639 --> 00:29:16.139 as we receive his word 00:29:16.139 --> 00:29:18.000 and the bread and wine at the table 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.259 it is saying yes to Jesus 00:29:20.259 --> 00:29:24.559 Jesus says sin no more 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:28.159 and we come to the table 00:29:28.159 --> 00:29:29.059 and we say Lord Jesus 00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:30.399 I know I will fail 00:29:30.399 --> 00:29:33.019 and I know I will stumble 00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:35.960 but I know you will continue 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:36.599 to forgive me 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:38.660 but I wish 00:29:38.660 --> 00:29:41.079 I so wish 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:42.799 that I could never sin again 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:46.599 I wish I could never sin again 00:29:46.599 --> 00:29:48.920 and at this table 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:50.599 Jesus meets us 00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:52.740 and he enables us 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.379 to grow in obedience 00:29:54.379 --> 00:29:56.440 and likeness to him 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:58.839 and this table 00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:00.160 this bread and wine 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.240 is a foretaste 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:03.340 it is a taster 00:30:03.340 --> 00:30:06.560 of that desire 00:30:06.560 --> 00:30:07.660 of every believer 00:30:07.660 --> 00:30:08.259 that will come 00:30:08.259 --> 00:30:09.320 in fulfilment 00:30:09.320 --> 00:30:10.800 when we will be saved 00:30:10.800 --> 00:30:12.160 to sin no more 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:15.380 and so as the bread 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:15.940 and the wine 00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:17.180 are passed to you 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:17.640 this morning 00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:18.640 hear the question 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:19.140 of Jesus 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:21.860 do you want to be 00:30:21.860 --> 00:30:23.100 made whole? 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:25.880 go and sin no more 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:28.160 but 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:28.160 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:28.160 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:28.160