Scripture reading:
31"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. 32There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
33"You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36"I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
Observations:
(1) Why Jesus needed external testimony.
At first, the idea about Jesus needing external testimony seems puzzling. If Jesus is so powerful and great, why can’t he speak for himself? Surely anyone claiming to be the son of god could testify on their own behalf – could they not?
But this line of thought is misleading. Jesus is not saying that his own words are untrue or invalid. Rather, he is saying that by itself, his testimony in this regard would not be complete – at least not according to the standards of god as specified in Old Testament law.
Under Old Testament Law, one witness alone did not constitute a sufficient basis to convict anyone of a criminal offence (Deuteronomy 19:15). Instead, at least two were needed.
Jesus appears to be taking a similar concept and applying it to his own testimony about himself. A singular testimony was not, in itself, enough to establish a fact. Jesus needed additional proof from external sources.
(2) Multi-layered testimony.
This he has – from several different sources:
· John the Baptist (human testimony)
First, there is John, through whom Jesus has human testimony.
Upon being approached by Jesus on the banks of the river Jordan, John clearly identifies him as ‘The lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). John went on further to testify that he had seen the (holy) spirit descend upon Jesus from heaven, and that God himself had told him that Jesus was his (God’s) own son (John 1:32-34).
Jesus did not need testimony from John. As the son of god, he didn’t exactly need testimony from a mortal human being.
But the existence of John’s declaration did provide incontrovertible confirmation about the validity of Jesus’ words according to the requirements of OT law. With John’s testimony, he now had two witnesses (John and himself) – enough to satisfy the requirements for valid testimony under God’s law.
· The miracles (the testimony of works)
But Jesus had more. Much more.
Actions speak louder than words, and Jesus by this stage had some pretty amazing feats to put on his resume. The turning of water into wine (John 2:1-11), the healing of the royal official’s son (John 4:43-54), and the healing of the invalid at the pool (John 5:1-15) provide just a few examples.
And better was yet to come. Jesus would go on to heal the blind (Mark 8:22-26), cleanse people of leprosy (otherwise incurable in those days), cure paralytics with only his words (Mathew 9:1-8), exercise demons (Mark 1:21-28), feed five thousand people with only a few loaves of bread and a small number of fish (Luke 9:10-17), walk on water (John 6:16-21) and raise dead people (John 11:1-44). And this is not even to mention the miracle of the transconfiguration on Mt. Tabor (Luke 9:28-36).
No ordinary man could do things like these. Actions of this nature are the sole preserve of those with nothing short of divine authority - authority that can be given only by god the father, the creator and master of the universe.
· The scriptures:
The next post will deal in more depth with the question of how the scriptures pointed to Jesus.
For now, I simply note that multiple writers from the Old Testament did talk about Jesus, and that Jesus did fulfill everything that was said about him. In this way, the scriptures act as a further witness to Jesus and the claims which he made about himself.
· The biggest testimony – god the father himself.
But Jesus had even more testimony still.
And it came from the highest possible level – God the father himself.
The bible records two separate occasions upon which God the father provides specific testimony about Jesus being his son. First, there was his baptism, during which the gospel of Mathew (3:17) records that a voice came down from heaven, saying “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Then, there was the transfiguration, whereby Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, James and John (Mathew 17:1-13), appearing together with Moses and Elijah. When this happened, God, through a voice from the cloud, repeated what had been said at the baptism.
In short, Jesus had: human testimony, through John; evidence-based testimony, through his works; scripture based testimony; and divine testimony from God the father himself.
Prayer:
Lord, you don’t have to prove yourself to us.
But you show your integrity and character through how you keep your word, and how your son, Christ Jesus, did not ignore the Old Testament but rather satisfied each and every one of the OT requirements in full.
Lord, in this, we can see character, we can see integrity, and we can see a lord that follows through on your word completely. We can know that your word has integrity, and that you are the one and only true god.
Help us lord, to never, for one moment, forget the wonder and beauty of your character.
These things I pray,
In the name of Jesus Christ our lord,
Amen.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Crossing from life to death (John 5:24-26)
Scripture Reading:
(24) I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (25) I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who hear will live.
Observations:
(1) The significance of the crossing.
The first point which I would like to make with regard to the above passage relates to the importance of what Jesus is talking about - particularly his reference to crossing ‘over from death to life’ in verse 24
In life, some crossings are not overly consequential. Crossing a creek or river, for example, does not does not usually have much of an impact on anything – all that happens is that you get to the other side.
Others, however, involve life changing consequences. Crossing over the DMZ, the heavily fortified border zone separating North and South Korea – were it possible without being arrested or shot - would be one such example.
But the kind of crossing Jesus is talking about is on anther scale altogether. Consider how he describes this: from death to life. Pretty significant, isn’t it? Pure black and absolute darkness on one side, pure white and absolute purity on the other. You could not get two more polarised positions.
The contrast is mind-boggling. So too are the consequences: this is nothing less than our eternal destiny that we are talking about.
2) The meaning of the crossing.
What does it mean – to cross from death to life as Jesus puts it?
From my understanding, the implications of this crossing fall into two categories: those which relate to our current life here on earth; and those relating to our destination when we depart:
· Implications on earth.
First, let’s deal with the first category.
Obviously, anyone who is reading this is alive in a physical sense. But that does not necessarily mean we are alive spiritually. When god made us, I believe that he interwove into each and every one of us was a deep seated need. A need for meaningful and intimate relationships: first and foremost with him; and secondly with each other.
As our maker, he is our father. We belong to him and with him and his family. Whenever we live outside of this, we are not living the way we were meant to. It’s as if we are cut off from our family and our birthplace. Something is missing.
Conversely, when we accept god’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and salvation, our relationship with him is restored. Now we are living as we were meant to, and deep down, we hold a sense of wholeness and satisfaction. Now we are complete.
· Eternal implications.
More important still are the implications with regard to our eternal destination.
The kind of transformation that Jesus is talking about means going from a position whereby we were destined for eternal separation from god – cut off and living in complete darkness and coldness to one in which we are destined for a perfect relationship with god our father in heaven. It means literally going from being destined for a place of eternal punishment to being destined for one eternal glory.
Friend, I urge you. Come out of the cold. Come in to the warm, dry, fire of god’s family and his love.
Accept the sacrifice of his son on the cross as payment for your sins in the past, present and future.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, how can we put words on this kind of life-transforming event? Only you, lord, have such incredible powers, and we can only marvel in awe at who you are and what you give.
Lord, I pray now for any readers who are not in relationship with you: that they be led to you, and that they experience the same kind of amazing transformation which I myself have undergone according to your grace. Let them come out of the darkness and into the warmth of your never-ending love.
These things I pray.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our lord,
Amen.
(24) I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (25) I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who hear will live.
Observations:
(1) The significance of the crossing.
The first point which I would like to make with regard to the above passage relates to the importance of what Jesus is talking about - particularly his reference to crossing ‘over from death to life’ in verse 24
In life, some crossings are not overly consequential. Crossing a creek or river, for example, does not does not usually have much of an impact on anything – all that happens is that you get to the other side.
Others, however, involve life changing consequences. Crossing over the DMZ, the heavily fortified border zone separating North and South Korea – were it possible without being arrested or shot - would be one such example.
But the kind of crossing Jesus is talking about is on anther scale altogether. Consider how he describes this: from death to life. Pretty significant, isn’t it? Pure black and absolute darkness on one side, pure white and absolute purity on the other. You could not get two more polarised positions.
The contrast is mind-boggling. So too are the consequences: this is nothing less than our eternal destiny that we are talking about.
2) The meaning of the crossing.
What does it mean – to cross from death to life as Jesus puts it?
From my understanding, the implications of this crossing fall into two categories: those which relate to our current life here on earth; and those relating to our destination when we depart:
· Implications on earth.
First, let’s deal with the first category.
Obviously, anyone who is reading this is alive in a physical sense. But that does not necessarily mean we are alive spiritually. When god made us, I believe that he interwove into each and every one of us was a deep seated need. A need for meaningful and intimate relationships: first and foremost with him; and secondly with each other.
As our maker, he is our father. We belong to him and with him and his family. Whenever we live outside of this, we are not living the way we were meant to. It’s as if we are cut off from our family and our birthplace. Something is missing.
Conversely, when we accept god’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and salvation, our relationship with him is restored. Now we are living as we were meant to, and deep down, we hold a sense of wholeness and satisfaction. Now we are complete.
· Eternal implications.
More important still are the implications with regard to our eternal destination.
The kind of transformation that Jesus is talking about means going from a position whereby we were destined for eternal separation from god – cut off and living in complete darkness and coldness to one in which we are destined for a perfect relationship with god our father in heaven. It means literally going from being destined for a place of eternal punishment to being destined for one eternal glory.
Friend, I urge you. Come out of the cold. Come in to the warm, dry, fire of god’s family and his love.
Accept the sacrifice of his son on the cross as payment for your sins in the past, present and future.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, how can we put words on this kind of life-transforming event? Only you, lord, have such incredible powers, and we can only marvel in awe at who you are and what you give.
Lord, I pray now for any readers who are not in relationship with you: that they be led to you, and that they experience the same kind of amazing transformation which I myself have undergone according to your grace. Let them come out of the darkness and into the warmth of your never-ending love.
These things I pray.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our lord,
Amen.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The father-son relationship (John 5:19-23)
Scripture reading:
19Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
Observations:
What we can see here are three key points about: (a) the relationship between Jesus and God; and (b) two practical implications of this relationship for us in terms of our desire for a right relationship with god the father.
The observations which we can make in this regard boil down to three key points:
· Jesus’ authority comes solely from god.
In our world today, many of us are heavily influenced by our parents, especially when we are young.
But whilst we learn from them, we are not limited to or bound by the extent of their knowledge, achievements and experiences. Indeed, it is hoped that each generation will go further than those before them, that they will go above and beyond and discover new horizons. This is a natural process – one which we cannot stop, nor should we want to.
But with Jesus, things are different. Unlike our parents, who are human and therefore fallible, the father of Jesus (God) is literally the creator and author of life itself. You can’t go one better than god. His power and authority are infinite, and it is not possible to go higher than infinity.
Because of this, Jesus cannot exceed God the father. More to the point, Jesus depends on the father. Jesus is not a self-made man in this sense. By himself, he would have absolutely no power or authority at all. None whatsoever. By himself, he could have healed the blind man in the pool (see John 5:1-6), nor could he have turned water into wine, healed the official’s son or raised Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus could do these things solely and only because of God the father, on whom he is completely dependent and by whom the power and authority to accomplish these things is vested upon his shoulders.
· God has entrusted all judgment to Jesus.
One flow on consequence of this relationship is shown through versus 22&23, which show clearly show who our judge will be when the time comes for each of us to account for our time on this earth.
The thought of going before a ruler or judge to provide is not always an overly pleasant one, particularly when we ourselves are the ones who are being held to account with regard to whatever matters the confrontation in question relates.
But even where we face judgment, it is quite possible that this may not involve confrontation with the great big ruler in question. Rulers can delegate, and when this happens, the individual to whom we have to answer is not indeed the ruler himself, but rather his delegate, who is entrusted to make a decision on the big boss’s behalf. When this happens, the thought of the confrontation with the delegate himself can be a little unnerving. But this is not because of the individual delegate. Rather, it’s because of who the delegate in question works for and has been entrusted by – the great big boss.
It is the same with Jesus. Each and every one of us is accountable to the father when we die. But god the father has entrusted his son, Jesus Christ, in this regard, and for this reason, our destinies after death are in the hands of Christ Jesus.
· There is one way to god – Jesus.
Appealing though ideas about there being ‘many ways to god’ may be, they are not supported in the bible. The bible makes it clear that there is one way and one way only to god – through faith in Jesus Christ.
Personally, I am not a parent, but I could certainly imagine that almost all parents feel fairly strongly about the type of treatment which their children receive from others. Treatment given to children shows a great deal about how the individual in question feels about his or her parents. Why – because children are part of their parents. Children are part of their flesh and blood of their parents, and parents by nature have a very significant part of themselves invested in their children.
Likewise, how we respond to Jesus says a great deal about how we really feel about God. Jesus is his son, and we cannot claim to be in full relationship with god the father unless we have accepted his sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Thank you so much that you sent your son Jesus Christ into the world.
Through him, we saw your glory on full display. Through him, we saw all your power, might and wisdom, and a perfect demonstration of your unfailing love.
Lord, when we think about Jesus, let us never forget just who he is. Let us not forget for one second that you have not only made him our savior, but also entrusted him with our judgment, whether that be at the time of his return or at the time of our death.
19Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
Observations:
What we can see here are three key points about: (a) the relationship between Jesus and God; and (b) two practical implications of this relationship for us in terms of our desire for a right relationship with god the father.
The observations which we can make in this regard boil down to three key points:
· Jesus’ authority comes solely from god.
In our world today, many of us are heavily influenced by our parents, especially when we are young.
But whilst we learn from them, we are not limited to or bound by the extent of their knowledge, achievements and experiences. Indeed, it is hoped that each generation will go further than those before them, that they will go above and beyond and discover new horizons. This is a natural process – one which we cannot stop, nor should we want to.
But with Jesus, things are different. Unlike our parents, who are human and therefore fallible, the father of Jesus (God) is literally the creator and author of life itself. You can’t go one better than god. His power and authority are infinite, and it is not possible to go higher than infinity.
Because of this, Jesus cannot exceed God the father. More to the point, Jesus depends on the father. Jesus is not a self-made man in this sense. By himself, he would have absolutely no power or authority at all. None whatsoever. By himself, he could have healed the blind man in the pool (see John 5:1-6), nor could he have turned water into wine, healed the official’s son or raised Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus could do these things solely and only because of God the father, on whom he is completely dependent and by whom the power and authority to accomplish these things is vested upon his shoulders.
· God has entrusted all judgment to Jesus.
One flow on consequence of this relationship is shown through versus 22&23, which show clearly show who our judge will be when the time comes for each of us to account for our time on this earth.
The thought of going before a ruler or judge to provide is not always an overly pleasant one, particularly when we ourselves are the ones who are being held to account with regard to whatever matters the confrontation in question relates.
But even where we face judgment, it is quite possible that this may not involve confrontation with the great big ruler in question. Rulers can delegate, and when this happens, the individual to whom we have to answer is not indeed the ruler himself, but rather his delegate, who is entrusted to make a decision on the big boss’s behalf. When this happens, the thought of the confrontation with the delegate himself can be a little unnerving. But this is not because of the individual delegate. Rather, it’s because of who the delegate in question works for and has been entrusted by – the great big boss.
It is the same with Jesus. Each and every one of us is accountable to the father when we die. But god the father has entrusted his son, Jesus Christ, in this regard, and for this reason, our destinies after death are in the hands of Christ Jesus.
· There is one way to god – Jesus.
Appealing though ideas about there being ‘many ways to god’ may be, they are not supported in the bible. The bible makes it clear that there is one way and one way only to god – through faith in Jesus Christ.
Personally, I am not a parent, but I could certainly imagine that almost all parents feel fairly strongly about the type of treatment which their children receive from others. Treatment given to children shows a great deal about how the individual in question feels about his or her parents. Why – because children are part of their parents. Children are part of their flesh and blood of their parents, and parents by nature have a very significant part of themselves invested in their children.
Likewise, how we respond to Jesus says a great deal about how we really feel about God. Jesus is his son, and we cannot claim to be in full relationship with god the father unless we have accepted his sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Thank you so much that you sent your son Jesus Christ into the world.
Through him, we saw your glory on full display. Through him, we saw all your power, might and wisdom, and a perfect demonstration of your unfailing love.
Lord, when we think about Jesus, let us never forget just who he is. Let us not forget for one second that you have not only made him our savior, but also entrusted him with our judgment, whether that be at the time of his return or at the time of our death.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Scripture Reading
16So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Observations:
(1) God is always at work.
Given the apparent contradiction with Genesis (where the scripture indicates that God ‘rested’ on the seventh day), I have to admit that I find the statement of Jesus in verse 17 about god always being at work a little difficult to understand.
Nevertheless, what we can see from this passage is that god never stops. He is always active, every second of every hour, of every day of every year. He is always watching over his creation. He doesn’t stop.
Although this passage is primarily about demonstrating god’s character, it also has some practical implications for us – especially for those of us who observe the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is intended for rest and worship. In general, those who observe it should abstain from traditional forms of work in the worldly sense. But there are limits to this, and the requirements should be observed with common sense. If your neighbour is sick, you do whatever you need to in order to look after them. Or if someone you know needs help, you do whatever it takes to provide the help that he or she needs. The Sabbath law does not prohibit kindness and love, nor should any follower of the lord lay aside these virtues simply because it happens to be a certain day of the week.
(2) Jesus refers to god as his father.
Although this was not actually the first time that Jesus had referred to god as being his father (that first happened in John Chapter 2, when Jesus referred to the temple (the house of god) as ‘my father’s house’ when driving out money-changers) the significance of these claims cannot be understated.
Up until now, many who have come across Jesus may have thought of him as a good and wise man – perhaps even a magician or a prophet. Even those who wouldn’t have considered him to be divine might have thought that he was pretty damn impressive.
But thoughts along those lines just don’t cut it now. By declaring himself to be equal with god, Jesus has raised the stakes no end. Now, we are only left with three possible conclusions:
a) He was not the son of god, and never believed he was.
In such a case, he was nothing but a rotten liar;
b) He was not the son of god, but honestly believed he was.
If this is the case, then he is a complete lunatic (fancy believing you were the son of god unless you really were), albeit an honest one; or
c) His claims were completely true and he is indeed the son of god.
There is no middle ground. Claims about being the son of god eliminate the safe, comfortable option. Anyone making claims like this are either liars or lunatics, or they are the son of god (as I believe) as per their claim.
(3) The Jews persecute Jesus.
Before we go being too hard on the Jews, it is important to remember one important fact - they may simply have been doing what they thought was right.
Had he not have been speaking the truth, Jesus would have been blaspheming against god – a sin punishable by death under Old Testament law, and the Jews (who genuinely believed this to be the case), would have been doing right by god in trying to kill him.
But this does not excuse them, nor are their actions forgivable. Jesus was telling the truth and the man which the Jews were trying to kill was none less than god’s only son. Sure, they most likely blind (figuratively speaking) rather than ill-intentioned, but this does not change the fact that they persecuted the son of god.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Thank you lord, that we are able to know that you never sit down and forget about the world. Nowhere do you stop and say “I’ll just sit down and rest for awhile – who cares if things go wrong in their world.” No. You watch over us all the time. Day and Night. Twenty-four seven.
Lord, forgive us whenever we fail to appreciate who you are. When we fail to appreciate just what you accomplished whilst here on this earth. You – the trinity, father, son and Holy Spirit, are nothing short of being our perfect creator. Let us not get conceited and offended when you show or talk about your greatness. Rather, let us bow down to you in submission and awe.
Father, whilst we should not judge anyone too harshly (we ourselves are sinners and not in any position to go passing out judgment), let us remember that those who were supposedly from your family did try to kill you (and, in a worldly sense, succeeded in doing so).
But let us also remember, lord, that this was done according to your design to demonstrate your greatness, which can be so clearly and explicitly seen through your unbelievable triumph over our sin on the cross.
In these things I pray.
In the name of Jesus Christ our lord,
Amen.
16So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Observations:
(1) God is always at work.
Given the apparent contradiction with Genesis (where the scripture indicates that God ‘rested’ on the seventh day), I have to admit that I find the statement of Jesus in verse 17 about god always being at work a little difficult to understand.
Nevertheless, what we can see from this passage is that god never stops. He is always active, every second of every hour, of every day of every year. He is always watching over his creation. He doesn’t stop.
Although this passage is primarily about demonstrating god’s character, it also has some practical implications for us – especially for those of us who observe the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is intended for rest and worship. In general, those who observe it should abstain from traditional forms of work in the worldly sense. But there are limits to this, and the requirements should be observed with common sense. If your neighbour is sick, you do whatever you need to in order to look after them. Or if someone you know needs help, you do whatever it takes to provide the help that he or she needs. The Sabbath law does not prohibit kindness and love, nor should any follower of the lord lay aside these virtues simply because it happens to be a certain day of the week.
(2) Jesus refers to god as his father.
Although this was not actually the first time that Jesus had referred to god as being his father (that first happened in John Chapter 2, when Jesus referred to the temple (the house of god) as ‘my father’s house’ when driving out money-changers) the significance of these claims cannot be understated.
Up until now, many who have come across Jesus may have thought of him as a good and wise man – perhaps even a magician or a prophet. Even those who wouldn’t have considered him to be divine might have thought that he was pretty damn impressive.
But thoughts along those lines just don’t cut it now. By declaring himself to be equal with god, Jesus has raised the stakes no end. Now, we are only left with three possible conclusions:
a) He was not the son of god, and never believed he was.
In such a case, he was nothing but a rotten liar;
b) He was not the son of god, but honestly believed he was.
If this is the case, then he is a complete lunatic (fancy believing you were the son of god unless you really were), albeit an honest one; or
c) His claims were completely true and he is indeed the son of god.
There is no middle ground. Claims about being the son of god eliminate the safe, comfortable option. Anyone making claims like this are either liars or lunatics, or they are the son of god (as I believe) as per their claim.
(3) The Jews persecute Jesus.
Before we go being too hard on the Jews, it is important to remember one important fact - they may simply have been doing what they thought was right.
Had he not have been speaking the truth, Jesus would have been blaspheming against god – a sin punishable by death under Old Testament law, and the Jews (who genuinely believed this to be the case), would have been doing right by god in trying to kill him.
But this does not excuse them, nor are their actions forgivable. Jesus was telling the truth and the man which the Jews were trying to kill was none less than god’s only son. Sure, they most likely blind (figuratively speaking) rather than ill-intentioned, but this does not change the fact that they persecuted the son of god.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Thank you lord, that we are able to know that you never sit down and forget about the world. Nowhere do you stop and say “I’ll just sit down and rest for awhile – who cares if things go wrong in their world.” No. You watch over us all the time. Day and Night. Twenty-four seven.
Lord, forgive us whenever we fail to appreciate who you are. When we fail to appreciate just what you accomplished whilst here on this earth. You – the trinity, father, son and Holy Spirit, are nothing short of being our perfect creator. Let us not get conceited and offended when you show or talk about your greatness. Rather, let us bow down to you in submission and awe.
Father, whilst we should not judge anyone too harshly (we ourselves are sinners and not in any position to go passing out judgment), let us remember that those who were supposedly from your family did try to kill you (and, in a worldly sense, succeeded in doing so).
But let us also remember, lord, that this was done according to your design to demonstrate your greatness, which can be so clearly and explicitly seen through your unbelievable triumph over our sin on the cross.
In these things I pray.
In the name of Jesus Christ our lord,
Amen.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Who is this fellow? The son of God - that's who
Scripture reading:
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Observations:
(1) Who does Jesus think he is? (Only the son of god).
One of the things which we can see clearly in this passage is that the Jews did not like anyone who gave an instruction which contradicted their man-made law, with anyone who did so being seen as rocking the boat.
How dare anyone challenge their religious and moral authority! How dare any man give an instruction which contradicts Jewish law. Who is this man? And what is his place to contradict Jewish tradition? He or she must think they are pretty damn special!
These are some interesting questions, and the answer brings out an important point.
So who is he – he is Jesus, that’s who. Son of god. Our messiah, our savior and our judge. The one who through his death on the cross took away the sin of those who believe. That’s who he is.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And what’s his place to contradict Jewish law? Again plenty.
As son of god, and one part of the holy trinity, Jesus is above laws made by man – way, way above. Neither is he in any way constrained by or bound to follow any form of Jewish tradition.
Don’t get me wrong, at no stage did Jesus contradict the laws as set down in the Old Testament in any way. Jesus was, is and will always be the only man to fully and perfectly obey and fulfill the entire old testament law.
But he was not subject any law or tradition laid down by man. And in no way at all was he shy of rocking man-made tradition in order to demonstrate the full extent of god, as he did not only on this particular occasion but many other occasions as detailed throughout the gospels.
[It is worth noting here that we are referring to law as made by the Jews themselves. We are not referring here to law made by god as given in the old testament (refer observation 1 in the previous discussion)]
(2) Give the credit to Jesus – and call him by name.
At first, the former invalid in this passage was not particularly certain about the exact identity of who it was that had healed him - obviously a deliberate choice on the part of Jesus, for whatever reason, not to reveal his identity on this particular occasion at the particular time.
But he did ascribe credit for his healing as best he could. By his reference to ‘the man who made me well,’ he sought to full recognition with regard to what had been done and who had done it in spite of his inability to name the man responsible.
(I am not particularly certain why Jesus, at first, choose not to reveal his identity to this man)
But after Jesus revealed his identity, the former invalid went back straight away and ascribed him full credit by name.
This is an important point. From time to time, our lord will do something special in our lives – be it a physical healing, new job or whatever. Whenever these things happen, we must not be hesitant in any way to ascribe full credit to our lord – both in the public domain as well as in our own private lives.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never forget who you really are. When you were here in physical flesh, many, such as the Jews in the passage described above, failed to appreciate who you really were. And let us, when talking to you in our prayer, never forget who you really are.
You are our maker and our judge. Nothing more, nothing less. You are all powerful and above all. And you will not be constrained be constrained in any way, shape or form by who we in our feeble minds think that you should be.
Lord, sometimes you choose to bless us with positive and exciting things in our lives, be they new jobs, babies, the overcoming of sickness, or whatever. Whenever these things, by your deliberate and purposeful design, befall on us, let us never forget just who is responsible. Let us respond to good fortune the only that is acceptable - by growing in thankfulness to you for your graciousness and mercy which you have shown to us.
In the name of Christ Jesus I pray,
Amen.
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Observations:
(1) Who does Jesus think he is? (Only the son of god).
One of the things which we can see clearly in this passage is that the Jews did not like anyone who gave an instruction which contradicted their man-made law, with anyone who did so being seen as rocking the boat.
How dare anyone challenge their religious and moral authority! How dare any man give an instruction which contradicts Jewish law. Who is this man? And what is his place to contradict Jewish tradition? He or she must think they are pretty damn special!
These are some interesting questions, and the answer brings out an important point.
So who is he – he is Jesus, that’s who. Son of god. Our messiah, our savior and our judge. The one who through his death on the cross took away the sin of those who believe. That’s who he is.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And what’s his place to contradict Jewish law? Again plenty.
As son of god, and one part of the holy trinity, Jesus is above laws made by man – way, way above. Neither is he in any way constrained by or bound to follow any form of Jewish tradition.
Don’t get me wrong, at no stage did Jesus contradict the laws as set down in the Old Testament in any way. Jesus was, is and will always be the only man to fully and perfectly obey and fulfill the entire old testament law.
But he was not subject any law or tradition laid down by man. And in no way at all was he shy of rocking man-made tradition in order to demonstrate the full extent of god, as he did not only on this particular occasion but many other occasions as detailed throughout the gospels.
[It is worth noting here that we are referring to law as made by the Jews themselves. We are not referring here to law made by god as given in the old testament (refer observation 1 in the previous discussion)]
(2) Give the credit to Jesus – and call him by name.
At first, the former invalid in this passage was not particularly certain about the exact identity of who it was that had healed him - obviously a deliberate choice on the part of Jesus, for whatever reason, not to reveal his identity on this particular occasion at the particular time.
But he did ascribe credit for his healing as best he could. By his reference to ‘the man who made me well,’ he sought to full recognition with regard to what had been done and who had done it in spite of his inability to name the man responsible.
(I am not particularly certain why Jesus, at first, choose not to reveal his identity to this man)
But after Jesus revealed his identity, the former invalid went back straight away and ascribed him full credit by name.
This is an important point. From time to time, our lord will do something special in our lives – be it a physical healing, new job or whatever. Whenever these things happen, we must not be hesitant in any way to ascribe full credit to our lord – both in the public domain as well as in our own private lives.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never forget who you really are. When you were here in physical flesh, many, such as the Jews in the passage described above, failed to appreciate who you really were. And let us, when talking to you in our prayer, never forget who you really are.
You are our maker and our judge. Nothing more, nothing less. You are all powerful and above all. And you will not be constrained be constrained in any way, shape or form by who we in our feeble minds think that you should be.
Lord, sometimes you choose to bless us with positive and exciting things in our lives, be they new jobs, babies, the overcoming of sickness, or whatever. Whenever these things, by your deliberate and purposeful design, befall on us, let us never forget just who is responsible. Let us respond to good fortune the only that is acceptable - by growing in thankfulness to you for your graciousness and mercy which you have shown to us.
In the name of Christ Jesus I pray,
Amen.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Enjoy the gifts of god - don't be constrained by legalism (John 5:8-11)
Scripture reading
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
Observations:
(1) Don’t confuse man made law with that made by god.
At first glance, this passage might appear to highlight a situation of conflict between a direct instruction of Jesus (for the man to pick up his mat) and a conflicting instruction under the law as given by god relating to rules about the Sabbath.
If this were the case, then I would have a considerable challenge not only with this passage, but also with the entire gospel. I would certainly have a problem with putting my faith in anyone whose instructions or teachings directly contradicted those given by god in the Old Testament.
Fortunately, however, this is not the case. In no way at all was Jesus instructing the man concerned to break any of god’s laws.
Instead, the legal requirements to which the Jews in question refer related to man-made requirements which were made in addition to the law of god. They do not relate to the law itself. It was this man-made law with which the Jesus were in conflict, not the law of god.
Essentially, in Old Testament times, god commanded the Israelites to set aside one day, the seventh day of the week, as a time to stop what they were doing and cease to perform any form of work or toil. The purpose of this was two-fold: (a) for physical rest and restoration; and (b) to remember, reflect upon and honor god, their creator.
As far as I understand it, the OT does not go into a great deal of specific detail in terms of the precise details as to exactly how the Sabbath was to be performed, and it does not specify a large range of do’s and don’ts with regard to this matter. Because of this, the Pharisees, a sect of the Jews, made their own regulations, was supposedly to help people to follow god’s law in the correct manner. It was these laws with which the man was in breach. At no time at all in the story described above does the man breach any laws as specified by the Old Testament.
The Pharisees, in their claims that the man’s actions in this case were in contravention of the law, had made the critical mistake of confusing their own laws with that of god. Bad mistake. We are nowhere near on the same level as god. He is the creator, we are his creation. Our rules will never, ever equate with his.
(2) Enjoy the grace of god, don’t be constrained by the religious ‘political correctness.’
The first thing that we see here is a direct clash between the political correctness of the day with regard to religious practices and the enjoyment of the amazing grace provided by the lord.
And the second thing that we see is the man making a correct choice between the two.
Granted we actually learn in the passage which follows those quoted in the scripture reading above that the man indeed did not actually see who it was who had healed him, and it is almost certain that his actions did not represent a purposeful decision to accept the magnificent grace of our lord.
All he knew was that somebody had healed him of an extremely serious physical condition, and that this somebody had now told him to walk. Who was he to question such a command? And why on earth should he not do so because of some man-made law about religion? Moreover, had those who were now lecturing him about legal requirements ever healed him? No. Had they ever bothered to about him or his condition? Probably not. And prior to his healing, had they bothered to take any notice of him at all? I doubt it.
My guess - the man was simply paying more attention to the man that had healed him as opposed to those who had done bugger all for him, just as any other sane individual would have done.
But whatever his motives, the point is that he did have a choice. On one hand, he could bask in the sunshine of the amazing grace provided by the lord (as instructed by Jesus) and on the other hand forfeiting the enjoyment of that grace because of legalistic, man-made religious requirements.
He made the right choice, and so should we. Whilst we should make every effort at all times to behave in a manner which is honorable to our heavenly father, under no circumstances should we allow legalistic, man-made requirements to hinder our full enjoyment of the amazing grace which is provided so lavishly by our wonderful heavenly father.
(3) Look at the bigger picture – rejoice for those on whom god shows favor.
One final point – the Jews in this passage had their priorities seriously out of order. Instead of simply being happy for the man, as they should have been, they were more worried about tripping him up on a pathetic small point with regard to legalistic requirements.
The law of god as laid down in the Old Testament lays down two key basic principles which form the fundamental cornerstone of the spirit of his entire law - love the lord god with all of our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. According to these basic principles, our most important concern when dealing with other people has to be their overall level of wellbeing - not the degree to which they comply or otherwise with man-made religious protocol. When the lord god does something wonderful like this, we should simply be glad for the recipient of his favor, not trying to trip them up on insignificant details.
Man-made religious protocol, in such circumstances, should be the last thing on our mind, and the Jews in this passage had plainly lost sight of the bigger picture of the law as laid down by god.
We must learn from this. Our focus, when dealing with other people, and indeed, at literally every moment in our lives, should be not on insignificant details but on living in a manner which is in tune with the basic fundamental spirit of god’s law – loving god with all of our hearts and loving others as ourselves.
Let’s just get these two things right and forget about minor issues relating to religious protocol.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never, ever, replace your great law with our own.
Your law needs no addition - it is absolutely perfect and completely beyond rapproach as it is. It is absolutely sufficient in every way, and it is completely arrogant of us to think that we need to add to it in any way at all.
Moreover, it represents nothing but absolute and complete folly on our part if we try to put our man-made law above that holy one given by you. The day we do this, lord, we are lost.
Lord, let us never over-burden ourselves with political correctness with regard to religious protocol. Instead, let us bask in the glorious sunshine of the amazing grace which you provide so freely, and free our hearts lord to with an attitude of thanksgiving simply marvel and enjoy every good gift which you decide to shower upon us in your glorious mercy and love.
Finally, lord, let us never lose sight of the basic spirit of your law. We seem to have a hard enough time just getting the basics right, so instead of being overly concerned about small details, let our hearts focus on the bigger picture with regard to your great commands – loving you with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
In these things, we pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
Observations:
(1) Don’t confuse man made law with that made by god.
At first glance, this passage might appear to highlight a situation of conflict between a direct instruction of Jesus (for the man to pick up his mat) and a conflicting instruction under the law as given by god relating to rules about the Sabbath.
If this were the case, then I would have a considerable challenge not only with this passage, but also with the entire gospel. I would certainly have a problem with putting my faith in anyone whose instructions or teachings directly contradicted those given by god in the Old Testament.
Fortunately, however, this is not the case. In no way at all was Jesus instructing the man concerned to break any of god’s laws.
Instead, the legal requirements to which the Jews in question refer related to man-made requirements which were made in addition to the law of god. They do not relate to the law itself. It was this man-made law with which the Jesus were in conflict, not the law of god.
Essentially, in Old Testament times, god commanded the Israelites to set aside one day, the seventh day of the week, as a time to stop what they were doing and cease to perform any form of work or toil. The purpose of this was two-fold: (a) for physical rest and restoration; and (b) to remember, reflect upon and honor god, their creator.
As far as I understand it, the OT does not go into a great deal of specific detail in terms of the precise details as to exactly how the Sabbath was to be performed, and it does not specify a large range of do’s and don’ts with regard to this matter. Because of this, the Pharisees, a sect of the Jews, made their own regulations, was supposedly to help people to follow god’s law in the correct manner. It was these laws with which the man was in breach. At no time at all in the story described above does the man breach any laws as specified by the Old Testament.
The Pharisees, in their claims that the man’s actions in this case were in contravention of the law, had made the critical mistake of confusing their own laws with that of god. Bad mistake. We are nowhere near on the same level as god. He is the creator, we are his creation. Our rules will never, ever equate with his.
(2) Enjoy the grace of god, don’t be constrained by the religious ‘political correctness.’
The first thing that we see here is a direct clash between the political correctness of the day with regard to religious practices and the enjoyment of the amazing grace provided by the lord.
And the second thing that we see is the man making a correct choice between the two.
Granted we actually learn in the passage which follows those quoted in the scripture reading above that the man indeed did not actually see who it was who had healed him, and it is almost certain that his actions did not represent a purposeful decision to accept the magnificent grace of our lord.
All he knew was that somebody had healed him of an extremely serious physical condition, and that this somebody had now told him to walk. Who was he to question such a command? And why on earth should he not do so because of some man-made law about religion? Moreover, had those who were now lecturing him about legal requirements ever healed him? No. Had they ever bothered to about him or his condition? Probably not. And prior to his healing, had they bothered to take any notice of him at all? I doubt it.
My guess - the man was simply paying more attention to the man that had healed him as opposed to those who had done bugger all for him, just as any other sane individual would have done.
But whatever his motives, the point is that he did have a choice. On one hand, he could bask in the sunshine of the amazing grace provided by the lord (as instructed by Jesus) and on the other hand forfeiting the enjoyment of that grace because of legalistic, man-made religious requirements.
He made the right choice, and so should we. Whilst we should make every effort at all times to behave in a manner which is honorable to our heavenly father, under no circumstances should we allow legalistic, man-made requirements to hinder our full enjoyment of the amazing grace which is provided so lavishly by our wonderful heavenly father.
(3) Look at the bigger picture – rejoice for those on whom god shows favor.
One final point – the Jews in this passage had their priorities seriously out of order. Instead of simply being happy for the man, as they should have been, they were more worried about tripping him up on a pathetic small point with regard to legalistic requirements.
The law of god as laid down in the Old Testament lays down two key basic principles which form the fundamental cornerstone of the spirit of his entire law - love the lord god with all of our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. According to these basic principles, our most important concern when dealing with other people has to be their overall level of wellbeing - not the degree to which they comply or otherwise with man-made religious protocol. When the lord god does something wonderful like this, we should simply be glad for the recipient of his favor, not trying to trip them up on insignificant details.
Man-made religious protocol, in such circumstances, should be the last thing on our mind, and the Jews in this passage had plainly lost sight of the bigger picture of the law as laid down by god.
We must learn from this. Our focus, when dealing with other people, and indeed, at literally every moment in our lives, should be not on insignificant details but on living in a manner which is in tune with the basic fundamental spirit of god’s law – loving god with all of our hearts and loving others as ourselves.
Let’s just get these two things right and forget about minor issues relating to religious protocol.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never, ever, replace your great law with our own.
Your law needs no addition - it is absolutely perfect and completely beyond rapproach as it is. It is absolutely sufficient in every way, and it is completely arrogant of us to think that we need to add to it in any way at all.
Moreover, it represents nothing but absolute and complete folly on our part if we try to put our man-made law above that holy one given by you. The day we do this, lord, we are lost.
Lord, let us never over-burden ourselves with political correctness with regard to religious protocol. Instead, let us bask in the glorious sunshine of the amazing grace which you provide so freely, and free our hearts lord to with an attitude of thanksgiving simply marvel and enjoy every good gift which you decide to shower upon us in your glorious mercy and love.
Finally, lord, let us never lose sight of the basic spirit of your law. We seem to have a hard enough time just getting the basics right, so instead of being overly concerned about small details, let our hearts focus on the bigger picture with regard to your great commands – loving you with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
In these things, we pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Jesus has the real healing power (John 5:1-9)
1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.[b] 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
Observations:
Jesus, not mystical powers, has the power to heal.
In the previous passage (John 4:43-54), we saw a wonderful example of the extent of Jesus’ healing power through his healing of the son of a Royal Official in Galilee from what it appears was a life-threatening illness.
In this passage, we see his healing power again, with the patient concerned this time being an invalid of thirty-eight years.
As with the example in the previous passage, we are not given any information with regards to the specific nature of the illness concerned. Nevertheless, I would think that it would be safe to assume that the illness was of an incurable nature. The man in question suffered for thirty-eight years, and you would have thought that if the illness was indeed of a curable nature, then surely he would have been healed a long time prior to this particular event.
Another similarity which we can see between the above example and that from previous passage is the extent to which Jesus has complete and absolute power and control over sickness. In both cases, the individuals concerned were completely healed from their affliction by Jesus merely speaking it into existence.
But there would appear to be at least one key area of contrast – the attitude of the recipients. In the previous passage, we see that the boy’s father (a royal official) had demonstrate at least some degree of belief and confidence in the ability of Jesus to cure his son, going of his way specifically to seek Jesus out in a somewhat deliberate fashion. In contrast, the invalid concerned appeared to be placing his only some in some apparent mystical healing power of the water in the pool.
Granted, unlike the royal official, this poor invalid did not have properly functioning legs, and so it was not exactly possible for him to get up and take himself to see Jesus in a similar manner to the royal official in the previous passage. Bear in mind also the likelihood that this poor fellow had not even heard anything about Jesus at all up until this point.
Nevertheless, he was clinging on to a some futile hope about being healed by some mythical powers of the water, a fact which is testament to the to both the magnitude of his desperation and the extent to which his hopes were completely misguided.
My point here is simply this: we must be very, very careful where (and in what) we place our hopes and faith.
Putting our hopes in some form of mystical power or other form of rubbish leads only to disillusionment.
Putting our faith in Jesus, by contrast, does not. Jesus, the creator and author of life, has the power to heal literally any form of disease or disability as he chooses. As lord and ruler over all of the earth, he has complete and utter power, control and mastery over everything – with sickness and disease being no exception.
Don’t get me wrong, no one should expect simply to be healed instantaneously after a simple prayer. Indeed no where in the gospel does it promise that everyone who suffers from any form of sickness and disease will be healed at all, let alone on an instantaneous basis. God does not promise that everyone will be healed, and god will not accept being held to promises which he has never indeed given.
But god certainly has the capacity to heal absolutely any form of sickness and disease, and when we ask for healing in the form of earnest and faithful prayer, then god may (let me stress the word ‘may’) choose to demonstrate the extent of his glory through the healing of sickness.
Faith put in mystical powers is futile.
But faith in the wonder of our glorious heavenly father is truly powerful.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never put our faith in anything except you.
Lord, we can invent all these crazy luck charms, mystical powers, wishing wells, star signs or whatever. But at the end of the day, these are all worthless.
You and only you have the power to heal or to protect. You, our creator, are the only one with any form of authority over our wellbeing, be it in the physical realm or, more importantly, in the spiritual realm.
When we suffer from physical illness, you and only you have the power to heal – not some magical charm. And when we are spiritually lost - when we fall away from you and are spiritually broken – only you can bring us back into the faith and light of your family.
Not some secret magical power lord, you and only you.
So let us set our faith squarely and solely upon you, and let us never look anywhere else.
In your great name,
Amen.
7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
Observations:
Jesus, not mystical powers, has the power to heal.
In the previous passage (John 4:43-54), we saw a wonderful example of the extent of Jesus’ healing power through his healing of the son of a Royal Official in Galilee from what it appears was a life-threatening illness.
In this passage, we see his healing power again, with the patient concerned this time being an invalid of thirty-eight years.
As with the example in the previous passage, we are not given any information with regards to the specific nature of the illness concerned. Nevertheless, I would think that it would be safe to assume that the illness was of an incurable nature. The man in question suffered for thirty-eight years, and you would have thought that if the illness was indeed of a curable nature, then surely he would have been healed a long time prior to this particular event.
Another similarity which we can see between the above example and that from previous passage is the extent to which Jesus has complete and absolute power and control over sickness. In both cases, the individuals concerned were completely healed from their affliction by Jesus merely speaking it into existence.
But there would appear to be at least one key area of contrast – the attitude of the recipients. In the previous passage, we see that the boy’s father (a royal official) had demonstrate at least some degree of belief and confidence in the ability of Jesus to cure his son, going of his way specifically to seek Jesus out in a somewhat deliberate fashion. In contrast, the invalid concerned appeared to be placing his only some in some apparent mystical healing power of the water in the pool.
Granted, unlike the royal official, this poor invalid did not have properly functioning legs, and so it was not exactly possible for him to get up and take himself to see Jesus in a similar manner to the royal official in the previous passage. Bear in mind also the likelihood that this poor fellow had not even heard anything about Jesus at all up until this point.
Nevertheless, he was clinging on to a some futile hope about being healed by some mythical powers of the water, a fact which is testament to the to both the magnitude of his desperation and the extent to which his hopes were completely misguided.
My point here is simply this: we must be very, very careful where (and in what) we place our hopes and faith.
Putting our hopes in some form of mystical power or other form of rubbish leads only to disillusionment.
Putting our faith in Jesus, by contrast, does not. Jesus, the creator and author of life, has the power to heal literally any form of disease or disability as he chooses. As lord and ruler over all of the earth, he has complete and utter power, control and mastery over everything – with sickness and disease being no exception.
Don’t get me wrong, no one should expect simply to be healed instantaneously after a simple prayer. Indeed no where in the gospel does it promise that everyone who suffers from any form of sickness and disease will be healed at all, let alone on an instantaneous basis. God does not promise that everyone will be healed, and god will not accept being held to promises which he has never indeed given.
But god certainly has the capacity to heal absolutely any form of sickness and disease, and when we ask for healing in the form of earnest and faithful prayer, then god may (let me stress the word ‘may’) choose to demonstrate the extent of his glory through the healing of sickness.
Faith put in mystical powers is futile.
But faith in the wonder of our glorious heavenly father is truly powerful.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never put our faith in anything except you.
Lord, we can invent all these crazy luck charms, mystical powers, wishing wells, star signs or whatever. But at the end of the day, these are all worthless.
You and only you have the power to heal or to protect. You, our creator, are the only one with any form of authority over our wellbeing, be it in the physical realm or, more importantly, in the spiritual realm.
When we suffer from physical illness, you and only you have the power to heal – not some magical charm. And when we are spiritually lost - when we fall away from you and are spiritually broken – only you can bring us back into the faith and light of your family.
Not some secret magical power lord, you and only you.
So let us set our faith squarely and solely upon you, and let us never look anywhere else.
In your great name,
Amen.
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