[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Expound, our
verse-by-verse study of God's word. Our goal is to expand your
knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the word of God
in a way that is interactive, enjoyable, and congregational. So let's pray. Father, we open up our
hearts along with the Bibles that we brought with us. We are interested,
Lord, in the life of Jesus-- the
words that he spoke, the works that he performed. We're interested in
knowing about them, knowing more about you. But not just understanding
the scripture. We really want to know,
personally, experientially the author-- to walk with you. Not only to be
conformed to truth, be conformed to two
principles, but to walk with in real relationship and
intimacy the creator-- you. Lord, you know those
things in our lives that are hindering
that-- the sins, the thoughts the attitudes
or the misinformation. Maybe it's ignorance
of certain truths. Maybe it's a
preoccupation with others. But Lord, give us a balance--
speak to us further. Using John, chapter five,
Lord so that our lives would be enriched
so that we would walk in relationship to you
and honor you with our lives. Lord, I pray for
every broken heart who's either a part
of this congregation or listening by
internet or by radio. Those are struggling
with certain things, dealing with certain issues that
have come up in their lives. They're weighed
down because of it. As you reveal to us-- as you
remind us of who Jesus is and what he can
do-- Lord, I pray that we would walk away
different than we came in. I pray we'd walk away rejoicing
and our faith would be intact. We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. Back in 1611, a
version of the Bible was produced under the
authority of the British King, King James of England. It has become the
King James version-- the authorized
version of the Bible. Of course, people spoke
differently back and 1611 then they speak today. Language is dynamic,
language changes, but there is an interesting word
found in the King James 1611 version of the Bible that
is translated differently in the translation I'm using,
the new King James version. And so verse three of
chapter five, it says, "In these lay a great
multitude of sick people." That's not how the 1611
King James version puts it. It says, "In these lay a great
number of impotent folk." Now, that word has
changed meaning. Impotent in 1611 did not mean
what it has come to mean today. Originally, the idea
of an impotent person was a person without
strength; a person unable to better himself; a
person unable to do something for himself. So playing off that word
in the original 1611 translation-- a great
number of impotent folk-- we have the story here of
an impotent man meeting an omnipotent man-- one
who is all powerful. A man who is powerless
meeting the all powerful one. A man without strength
meeting the one who has all strength
at his disposal-- all power and authority
at his disposal. A man who is totally helpless
meeting the ultimate helper. Now, I remember
as a boy my father quoting what he believed
to be a verse of scripture. And he would say, "You
know son, the Bible says God helps those
who help themselves." I believe do was in there. When I became a
believer I searched for it and I couldn't
find it, so I thought it must be in an
alternate translation. My dad must be so
well-versed in the Bible that he knows different
translations of the scripture. So I searched in
various translations. And I found not only in
the King James version, but in all the
variants thereof-- whether it's the Codex
Sinaiticus or Vaticanus, whatever sets of text
you want to rely on-- I couldn't find that verse. But I kept reading the Bible. Not only did I not
find God helps those who help themselves,
I discovered the greatest truth--
God helps those who can't help themselves. He helps the helpless people. Then I discovered that where
that versus of scripture came from was not the scripture,
it was from Ben Franklin. He's the guy who said God helps
those who help themselves, not the Bible. It was Ben Franklin, first
noted and first quoted in Poor Richard's
Almanac, printed in 1757. So the scene is in Jerusalem. A special area known as the Pool
of Bethesda, as we will read. The Pool of Bethesda--
the word Bethesda means mercy-- house of
mercy, place of mercy. It's beautiful name, Bethesda. The Pool of Bethesda-- the place
of mercy, the house of mercy-- was anything but
a house of mercy. Rather, by the time Jesus
enters the scene is not a house of mercy, it's
a hangout of misery. There's a great
multitude of people who are unable to
better themselves-- unable to help themselves. And we find Jesus coming
on that scene here. Now, here's what's important
for you to put in your mind as we go through John. What happens here is the turning
point in Jesus' ministry. When I say turning point I
don't I mean for the better, but I mean for the worse. It is the point at which
the nation of Juda-- the Jewish nation--
formally sets themselves in opposition against Christ. And the opposition against
him from this point onward mounts and continues to mount
and rises higher and higher until finally they succeed
in putting him on a cross and executing him. What causes such hatred? What causes such persecution? What causes such opposition? Initially, it is
this event that John will follow all
the way to the end when Jesus is put on the cross. So that's important
for you and I to remember as we go
through this chapter and the next chapter and
the rest of the chapters. As you'll see, all of the rumors
they spread and all of the lies that they perpetrate and all
of the backstreet conspiracies, it all stems from
this incredible event. So let's get into it. In verse one-- and you
know our style is we begin and we end when
it's time to end. We pick it up next
time when we gather. After this there was
a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, after this refers to the
events in the previous chapter. We don't know how long
after this this occurred. It could be up to
a year or more. We also don't know what
feast this is in Jerusalem. We are not told, which is
interesting, at least to me. It's interesting
to me because one of the things I've
noted in John's writings is that he is typically
careful in telling us which festival Jesus
is celebrating, whether it's Passover or
the feast of dedication in the wintertime-- Hanukkah--
or the Feast of Tabernacles in chapter seven. It's just a feast. Most scholars believe it is
indeed the Feast of Tabernacles is it takes place in the
fall-- the autumn of the year. But we're not told. John just says, "After this,
there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." Why did Jesus go
up to Jerusalem? Well, it's interesting. According to the law--
you know this now, because you've been
with us in our studies of the Old Testament--
that Jewish males in Judah were required to attend
three festivals every year-- Passover, Pentecost,
and Tabernacles. Now, if you lived in Galilee,
you weren't necessarily required to make them all,
but Jesus made this one because he wants to show
mercy in a place that was filled with misery. Now, something that is
also interesting to me is that Jesus-- though
the Jewish leaders hate him and come to
vehemently hate him-- Jesus works through the
system that he was born into. He was born Jewish. He was circumcised as
a child on eighth day according to Judaism. He went up to Jerusalem
as a child of 12 turning 13 to be bar
mitzhahed in Jerusalem. He was in the synagogue for
worship service on the Sabbath days. He wore the tassels that
Jewish males wore-- the robe with the colored
tassels that marked them as men under the
covenant of Judaism-- a relationship with God
so that the woman who touch the hem of Jesus' garment
was touching the tassels that hung from that hem
of his garment. And he, himself,
said do not think that I've come to destroy
the law and the profits. I didn't come to destroy
them, but to fulfill them. So he goes up and
he keeps the feast, he goes through the ritual. He uses this feast to
touch a man in great need, as we will see. "Now there is, in
Jerusalem--" verse two-- "by this sheep gate, a pool--"
which is called, in Hebrew, beth esda--
Bethesda, in English. The house of or
the place of mercy. Whenever you see those
letters B-E-T-H, beth or beth, it means house or place of. So beth lehem-- Bethlehem--
same thing-- House of or place of lehem-- bread. It's the breadbasket of Israel. Beth esda-- Bethesda-- house
of, the place of mercy. Now, it says this
by the sheep gate. Most of us don't know where
the sheep gate is and the only other reference that we find to
it is in the book of Nehemiah-- I believe chapter three--
when the sheep gate is also mentioned. But the sheep gate was
a place by the wall of the city of Jerusalem
where sheep were kept outside. And why sheep? For the sacrifices
in the temple. They would be taken to
this pool of Bethesda which is believed to be about
two to three feet deep, or it was at the time. Animals were washed in
that pool-- these sheep-- and then taken to the
temple for sacrifice. There were many pools
in and around Jerusalem. And this is an interesting pool
because for years skeptics-- unbelievers-- said,
you can't rely on the documents of
the New Testament. They are totally unreliable. There are stories they cannot
be collaborated or corroborated by archeology or history. For example, there's no record
in Roman history of a guy named Pontius Pilate, and then
they found an inscription in Caesarea that
said Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judah. And all they could
say then was, oops. And another one that
they loved to wave around was this Pool of Bethesda. They said, there's never been
any archaeological evidence or records of a pool
called the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, especially
of this magnitude, until several years ago. They were digging around
by this sheep gate, an area called
Saint Anne's Church and they discovered
this five porched-- to five colonnaded pool--
that matches this description. And they said they discovered
the Pool of Bethesda. Again, all the skeptic
could say is, oops. Well, we'll look for
something else, then, and they do until that
is then thrown out. But this is one
of those sticking points with many
unbelievers for awhile. So there is in Jerusalem
by the sheep gate a pool which is called
in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great
multitude of impotent folk-- sick people-- blind,
lame, paralyzed. Here's an interesting
footnote-- waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a
certain time into the pool and stirred up the water. Then, whoever stepped in first
after the stirring of the water was made well of
whatever disease he had. If you are not reading
the translation that I'm reading
to you-- you may have the new international
version or the ESV or a number of other
newer translations-- you will notice that either
that one verse is not in there or it's hyphenated on both sides
to indicate that the oldest manuscripts that have been found
do not have this verse in it. All of that to say-- to
make it really simple-- it was believed--
it became a legend because a subterranean spring
fed this pool, evidently. And the subterranean
spring the fed this pool would let in water every now
and then and it would bubble up. And so when it would
bubble up-- keep in mind, we're dealing with
an ancient people, and in antiquity people
believed all sorts of crazy superstitious things. So a legend developed that
the bubbling of the water was due to an angel
who would stir it up and whoever got there
first would be healed. Which presents a problem
if you're an impotent folk. Because you can't sometimes
get anywhere, let alone get somewhere first. So you have lots of people who
can't help themselves-- now, what a cruel way to
view God's power. Can you imagine God saying,
I'm going to do this miracle but I'm going to have an
angel stir up the water. But whoever gets there first
is only one that can be healed. Ooh, you got there second--
milliseconds after, but you didn't get there first
so go away till next time. It became a legend
developed that it was an angel that stirred it up. They had to have some
explanation for this stirring up of the water. Now, a certain man was there who
added infirmity for 38 years. Let me tell you just a
little bit about this pool. If you can picture--
well, picture-- I'll use my Bible, even
though it's falling apart so I'll hold it really tight. It's rectangular, right? How many sides are there? Four sides. Now, can you imagine a porch--
a covered porch around all four sides of that Bible--
that rectangle? So that's four porches,
one, two, three, four. And then another porch
dividing it in half. So you have two pools,
essentially, seen as one pool, right? But it's divided in two
by a colonnaded porch, so you have five porches. And that is what they discovered
by Saint Anne's Church in Jerusalem-- the
Pools of Bethesda, the archaeological dig. So imagine these large
two to three feet deep pools of water
seen as one area-- the Pool of Bethesda--
five covered porches. Covered would keep people out
of the heat, would protect them from the elements. And it was used for a
congregation of all sorts of diseased people. One scholar believes that there
were about 300 people that would congregate under
those covered porches around the pool of
Bethesda on normal times-- during normal hours,
normal parts of the year. But during festivals
like this, there were upwards of 3,000
people-- it grew to 10 times the normal population
of sick people. So I'm telling you this
because I want you just to imagine the site and the
smell people who are diseased, who can't move, who
have bed sores gathered in this humid area, the kind
of disease that could spread. And you can understand that
most people-- especially the aristocratic people--
nobody would come to that area unless you were
really miserable. First time I visited
a third-world hospital I was shocked. You think of a hospital in the
United States, it's sterile and there are certain
criteria that you have follow. You got to wash your
hands before you get in, you wash your hands
during the day. But if you go to a
third-world hospital-- I've been in Africa where I've
seen two patients to one bed. They didn't know each
other, they were unrelated, they had different
diseases but they were in because they
ran out of beds. So two patients to
a single little cot. Families gathered around
the bed on the floor with cooking stoves, cooking
meals for the patient because the hospital
didn't provide that. And I've tasted
hospital food, probably the food they're cooking is
better than most hospitals anyway. In that environment
it was a shocking. I thought, this is a hospital? This is where you come to die. And no doubt, many
people who gathered there thought the same thing. So there was a certain
man who was there who had an infirmity for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there,
and he knew that he had already been in that condition a
long time he said to him, do you want to be made well? So Jesus comes in--
he's a stranger to all those people gathered. He's surveying the crowd--
all of these sick people. They've had diseases
of different kinds for several years. He surveys the pile--
the heap of humanity-- but his eyes land on one person. A man who worked for
almost four decades had been in a very
miserable condition. Now, there's a principle here. I just don't want you to
escape from seeing it. Mercy toward others begins
by how you see them. Jesus saw him and he knew
something about him-- he knew his medical history,
knew his physical history. But Jesus looked him-- and
it all begins with a look. In Matthew, chapter nine,
Jesus saw the crowd. It says he had compassion
when he saw the multitudes. They were like sheep without
a shepherd-- they were weary, they were scattered. And when Jesus saw them
he had compassion on them. Mercy toward others begins
by how you view them. I don't always view a
crowd with compassion. I sometimes am guilty by
viewing a crowd of people as a nuisance. What are they doing here? I hate lines. I want to get here first before
all the selfish people do. That's my human nature. But if I just take
a step back and go, but how would Jesus view them? These are like scattered, weary
sheep-- they have no shepherd. And I could, by
God's grace, decide to see people differently and
have a heart of compassion. Jesus saw him. He knew we had been
this condition. And then listen to the
question Jesus asked. Hey, do you want to get better? It's an unusual question. It sounds like a verse. In fact, if you were there
maybe visiting somebody and you heard Jesus walk up to a
man who had been in a condition like this for 38 years
and ask them question, hey, do you want to get better? You might immediately
think how cruel to ask a question like that. Can you imagine
walking up to somebody who any kind of
disease-- cancer, couldn't walk, some kind
of handicapped person and, say hey, you
want to get better? Well, you might say, of course
somebody would say, yeah. So it sounds like
a cruel question, but it actually
is a fair question Jesus-- I believe--
is getting this man to focus on his issue, his
problem, his helplessness, how bad the condition really is. The man says-- well, I'm giving
it away so let's just read it. I get a little caught in and
then I forget to read it. Said, "Do you want
to be made well?" The sick man
answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put
me into the pool when the water is stirred up. But while I am coming,
another steps down before me." And Jesus said to him, "Rise,
take up your bed and walk." Now, let me make
another suggestion. Not only is Jesus
getting the man to focus on how impossible
his situation is before he heals him-- to show him mercy. But to ask him, do you really
want to change your condition? I mean, think of how radical
that change would be. This man for 38 years
has been an invalid. He has been living
off whatever gratitude he could get-- the free will
offerings of anybody who had some kind of mercy. Up on the street there were
people who were working, carrying heavy
burdens for pennies. If you get better, your whole
life is going to change. You are going to take on a
whole level of responsibility you have never known before. Do you really want to change? Do you really want that
kind of responsibility? On television a
while back, there was a special on people
who are panhandlers who are asking for
money on freeways in downtown, et cetera. And I'm not saying--
and neither did this show say-- that
all people do this, but the researchers
discovered there are a fair amount of people who
understand that if you hold up a sign and you look a
certain way that you will incur the guilt response
of people who drive by. And they showed that one
guy was getting $300 a day. And he knew it was
easy money and he knew how to put on the show. And the Seattle
newspaper even said-- and I read it today-- there's
a couple in Seattle who are pulling down
$800 a day holding up a sign asking for money. So if you were to ask
one of those folks, do you really want to change? Well, I don't know. I'm not doing much here, and
I'm living off of the free will offerings of people. Jesus is highlighting
the impossibility of asking the man to search
his own heart if he really wants to see a change in that. But he says-- focused
on his problem-- "I have no man to
put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. But while I am coming,
another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise,
take up your bed and walk." Again picture
yourself-- you're there, you're that person
visiting a friend who's in a miserable condition,
you're helping that person out and you're overhearing
this conversation. Hey, you want to get better? Well, man, I don't have
anybody to help me. Well, just pick up your
bed to get out of here. Now, at this point
you're tempted to reel around completely and
lock eyes with the stranger and go, I don't
know who you think you are but the cruelest
thing you could ever do is to give an impossible command
to a person in this condition. You want to see what it's like? Going to the hospital tomorrow. Walk down the hallway
to somebody who just got of surgery and say, get up. And watch how long
you last in that ward. There'll be a nurse in
there lickety split, you'll be kicked out. But here's the deal. When she's this gives you
a command to do something he always gives you the
power-- the strength-- to do that command. Well, it sounds impossible. It is impossible, but
when Jesus gives you the command it's no longer
impossible-- it's possible. He wouldn't give you a command
unless he would give you the strength to
obey that command. So the Lord might
be telling you, love that person in your life
that you're having difficulty with. Oh, I can't-- it's impossible. I don't feel any
love toward them. Jesus didn't say feel
love toward them. He said love them, and love
is an action-- it's a verb. Demonstrate love to them. It's not about how you feel. And you will discover
something when you decide I'm going to will
bay that seemingly impossible command it becomes possible. The Lord gives you a love you
never knew existed in you-- your feelings start changing. Or I want you to serve me. Oh, I can't do that--
remember, the Lord told Moses, Moses, I'm
going to call you to be a spokesman before Pharaoh. I-I- I-I- I- I-I- I
st- st- st- stutter. It's effectively what he said. I'm a man of uncircumcised
lips, I can't speak. Da-da da-da da-da
that's all, folks. Do member that cartoon? Some of you. I'm dating you if you do. The most unlikely person to
be the spokesperson did it. Jesus said, Peter, get out of
that boat and come and walk. Well, it's impossible for
a man to walk on the water but Peter started to do it. He found that in obeying the
command he found the capacity. What is the Lord telling
you that's impossible? Go for it. Do it. Take a step, watch what happens. Immediately, the man was
made well and he took his bed and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews, therefore,
said to him who was cured it is the Sabbath. It's not lawful for
you to carry your bad. I'm amazed by this, honestly. I think if I was
there and there's a guy that's been there
38 years and suddenly he's walking around, the first
words out of my mouth are, wow! How is that possible? Crazy! I'd be like, going
nuts, wouldn't you? But it's the Sabbath. In the Old Testament,
there is the Sabbath law. The only problem
with the Sabbath law in the Old Testament--
it's not specified as to what work you
can't do on the Sabbath. Is just says this,
on the Sabbath, keep it holy to the Lord. Don't do any customary work. Well, I think most
people can figure out what customary work is. But it's nonspecific,
so as years went on the Jewish
rabbis-- the leaders-- began to add it to the
written commandments what is called the oral law. And they decided there were
39 different activities that a person could
not do on the Sabbath, because if they did it was under
the category of customary work. For example, you couldn't look
in the mirror on the Sabbath. You say what does that have
to do with customary work? Well, their reasoning--
if you look in the mirror and you see a gray
hair you're going to be tempted to pull it out. So you're going to be
exerting energy to do that. That's customary work. That's forbidden on the Sabbath. It's forbidden on
the Sabbath-- I'm not making this stuff
up-- on the Sabbath, you couldn't wear false teeth. Yes, they had them back then. Because if you wore false
teeth on the Sabbath, they might fall out on the
floor and you would then stoop down to pick them up. Thus, you are now bearing a
burden on the Sabbath day. Is that crazy? What is a burden? I am glad you asked. A burden, according
to the oral law, was anything that weighed
equal to 2 figs-- dried figs. Anything that weighed equal
or more than the weight of two dried figs was a burden. I don't know, I think I
could carry five dried figs and it wouldn't be
burdensome to me. Oh, but no. So it became hard rest. Oh, it's so hard to
remember how to rest. So here you have
a group of people who can't rejoice that a
guy who's been sick 38 years can walk because they're worried
that it breaks the oral law. And here are the
point I want to make. The most vicious people I've
met are religious legalists. They're the most vicious
people in the body of Christ. They don't rejoice-- they
have no joy in the betterment of another life as much
did it violate the law that I have imposed over
the written word of God? It's no fun to be around them. This is the turning point
for Jesus' whole ministry. He did it on the
Sabbath which brought the ire of these enemies. Verse 12, then
they asked him, who is the man who said you
take up your bed and walk? But the one who was
healed did not know. Jesus didn't hand him a business
card or here's my cellphone. I'm Jesus. If you haven't heard me yet
you will soon, I'm the Messiah. He healed him and that was it. For Jesus had withdrawn a
multitude being in that place. Afterward, Jesus found
him in the where? Temple. So he's in the Pool of Bethesda
adjacent to the temple. He gets healed, he
picks up his little mat, he walks to the temple. I love that-- goes to church. He wants to thank God. He wants to make
up for lost time. He hadn't been able
go to the temple ever. Almost four decades he's
been in that condition. That I could have been his age. It could have just put
a lifelong illness. He picks his bed up,
he's in the sample. Jesus finds him there. And he said to him-- verse 14--
see, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worst
thing come upon you. The man departed
and told the Jews it was Jesus who made him well. For this reason, the
Jews persecuted Jesus. Now, you see the
word persecuted? It's in the present imperfect
tense in the Greek language, which means they persecuted
and continued to persecute and kept persecuting him. It was something
that was ongoing and it mounted as
the chapters move on. They persecuted Jesus
and sought to kill him because he had done these
things on the Sabbath. Now, go back to
that odd statement the Jesus made to the man. Sin no more lest a worst
thing come upon you. What could be worse than
what he's been through? What could be worse than four
decades of being an invalid? What could be worse than this
disease stealing the best years of his physical life? I'll tell you what
could be worse. An eternity in hell. An eternity in the
hell could be far worse than the best years of your
physical life being torn away from you by a disease. Suffering a lifetime
physically is nothing compared to suffering eternity. Continue to sin--
no, don't practice sinning any longer lest a
worse thing come upon you. Now, I think I'm right when
I say probably no one ever spoke to this man like this. No one spoke that candidly. And I've discovered most people
don't speak candidly anyway to most people. It's all niceties
and politeness. Jesus said, don't sin any
more lest something worse come upon you. No one spoke so clearly,
so candidly, so eternally like Jesus. Why did he do it? Because he loved him. This is showing mercy, man. Do you not know that? How unmerciful it
would be to just heal a person, better
a person's life, and not give them any
information about eternity. Well, I don't want
to rock the boat, I don't want to
hurt their feelings. Hurt their feelings. Not on purpose. Don't go out of your way
and be like a Pharisee, but love someone enough
to tell them the truth. One of the most merciful
things you can do is to be honest with scriptural
truth-- it's merciful. If it's going to shock and
jolt a person into the reality of life and death in
heaven and hell than that's love-- that's pure love. That is pure mercy. Sin no more lest a worst
thing come upon you. So preach the gospel-- that's
the most merciful thing you could ever do. Verse 17, but Jesus
answered them, my Father has been working until
now and I have been working. Now, this next section-- do
you have a red letter Bible by any chance, any of you? OK, so just look at how
much red is coming up. OK so that just
means Jesus is going to launch into a
speech-- a discourse. Now, this is a discourse
about his identity. If this was a seminary and
this was a course on theology-- you know theology
means the study of God. Theology is divided
into other ologies. There is numetology, which is
the study of the Holy Spirit. There is Christology, which
is the study about Christ-- the doctrine of Christ. Here, you are
getting a Christology from the lips of
Christ, himself. What does Jesus
say about himself? How does he introduced himself? What does he say
to that leaders-- even the antagonistic
leaders-- about himself? What is Jesus' Christology? Does it match yours? Are you one of those
people say, oh, I believe that Jesus lived
as a historical figure and I believe is
a wonderful guy-- a nice guy, a wonderful
teacher, a model of humanity but he was not God
in human flesh. He was not the
incarnate Son of God, like some Christians beginning
with Paul the Apostle, who made him into
something he wasn't. Because you have problems with
what Jesus said about himself. What Jesus said about himself
makes him a nut basket, a liar, deceiver, or he reveals
his true identity as God. D.A. Carson put it
this way, nobody can make these statements
unless he's God or he's insane. So Jesus now launches into a
discourse about his equality with God the Father. And he does it by saying
there are five ways he is equal with the Father. I want you to notice them. Verse 17, my Father has
been working until now and I have been working. I am equal with a
Father in purpose. My Father in heaven
doesn't take a vacation-- doesn't take a rest. I know it's the Sabbath,
but he's exempt. He's got to keep the
universe running. He didn't hit the Sabbath and
go, I'm not doing anything. Just let whatever
happens, happens. I'm just, like, out of here. My Father's been working
and I have been working. So he is equal with
God in purpose. It's a great thought. While you're resting
God is working. Now one of the Psalms-- I can't
remember exactly which one-- but it says he that
keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He works 24/7, man. So you can be resting
well God is working, which means-- listen
to what this means-- why should you be worrying? If God is always working,
why are you always worrying? Man, you should be resting. He's the one that's at work. He never takes a day off. My Father works until
now-- has been working-- and I have been working
is with God in purpose. Therefore, the Jews
sought the more to kill him-- listen to this--
because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also said
that God was his Father, making himself what? Equal with God. Listen, Jesus' enemies knew
exactly what he was saying. So when somebody comes
along, be they're Jehovah Witness or a Mormon or
a Muslim who say Jesus never a claimed to be God. Even the enemies of Jesus
who did not believe or nor were they predisposed to
believe that he was deity knew then he claimed to be God. He's making himself equal. And again, this is in the
present imperfect tense. Not only does he break a
Sabbath but he continually, repetitive makes
himself equal with God. And he did over and
over and over again. He assumed prerogatives they
can only be assigned to God. He said, I am the bread of life. Whoever takes of me
will never hunger. I am the living water. Drink of this water,
you'll thirst again. Whoever drinks of the water that
I give will never thirst again. I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. Philip, if you have seen me
you have seen the Father. I and the Father are one. He claimed they
could forgive sins. He said, son, your
sins are forgiven, the man who was led down
the paralytic by his friends in that house up in Galilee. And the religious
leader said, no one can forgive sins except God. Exactly. You got it. You put two and two together. That was the whole point of
saying your sins are forgiven out loud in front of them. So he had the power to
heal, he had the power to know everything--
he knew the man was in a condition like
that for 38 years, he knew his medical
history, he knew what people were about to say. He had all power, all authority. He was continually making
himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and
said to them, most assuredly I say to you the Son can
do nothing of himself but what he sees the Father do. For whatever he does, the
Son also does in like manner. First of all, Jesus said, I'm
equal with God in purpose. Now, he says, I'm equal with
God the Father in performance. Whatever the Father
does the Son does. For the Father-- verse
20-- loves the Son and shows him all things
that he himself does. And he will show
him greater works than these that you may marvel,
for as the Father raises the dead and gives life to
them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. Now, Jesus says, I am equal
with the Father in power. God the Father has
life in himself and he can raise dead people,
so can I. And he does. In fact, he says no one
takes my life from me. I have the power to
lay my own life down and the power to
take it up again. Verse 22, for the
Father judges no one but is committed all
judgment to the Son-- this is the fourth
way Jesus says he is equal with the Father. He's equal with God in the
proclamation of judgment. That all-- verse 23--
should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor
the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. It's the fifth way he
says he's equal with God. He's equal with God in praise. If he is working
harmoniously sharing the purposes, prerogatives,
the performance, the power with the Father, then
he deserves the same praise that the Father is given. that all men should
honor the Son even as they honor the Father. Folks, how can you ever say
Jesus didn't say he was God? His enemies said he's
always saying he's God. He's continually making
himself equal with God. Most assuredly, I say to
you, here here's my word and believes in him who
sent me has everlasting life and shall not come
into judgment but is passed from death into life. Basically, all people
will be judged. All people will be judged. Believers will be judged and
unbelievers will be judged. Believers will be judge-- second
Corinthians, five-- for we must all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ to receive those things
done in our bodies, whether good or bad. This is the judgment
for believers. Believers will stand
before Christ one day to be rewarded for
being faithful to do what he's called us to do. Or we will not get the reward
because of the motivation that we used to do what
we did, or we didn't do what we were called to do. So our rewards in Heaven
are based upon what we do after we're saved. You'll get a reward--
it has nothing to do with your eternal
salvation, that happen at the crossed-- you passed
from death into life. But you'll stand before the
judgment seat of Christ-- the Bema Seat of Christ, it
was called by the Greeks. A raised platform where rewards
we're given and edicts we're given. So we'll stand before Christ
to be evaluated on our works that we did after
we came to Christ. Unbelievers-- the second
judgment is for unbelievers. Unbelievers will be
judged 1,000 years after the Resurrection
spoken about in Revelation, chapter 20. It's called the Great
White Throne Judgment. It's where all of
those unbelieving dead are raised to live forever
and be punished by God forever and ever. That's the Great White
Throne Judgment that is spoken of for unbelievers. Most assuredly--
verse 25-- let me just touch on something
before we get to that and finish this section up. What Jesus is saying-- nutshell,
bottom line-- if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. If you want to know what God
is like, all you got to do is look at Jesus. All you got to do
is watch Jesus. All you have to do
is listen to Jesus. When you see Jesus being
compassionate over a crowd, you're seeing the heart of
God in his love for people. When you see Jesus healing a
man who's been in this condition 38 years, you're saying
that the heart of God being moved by human suffering. When you see and hear Jesus
weeping over Jerusalem, you are seeing
God broken hearted over the unbelief
of his own people. So what this means is when
we are talking to the Lord, our Father in Heaven
in Jesus' name, we're dealing with somebody
who left Heaven, came to Earth. In coming to Earth, he
understands all of the pain that we experience
on this Earth. Hebrews, chapter
four, we do not have a high priest who is
unsympathetic with our weaknesses or problems. But he was in all points tempted
like we are, yet without sin. So we're dealing with somebody
who came to this Earth and understands all of
the pains of the Earth, but has all the
resources of Heaven. He's not aloof, he's not
detached, he's been here, he's walked here, he's
felt, rejection isolation, loneliness, physical
pain, torture. He understands when you talk
to him, when you pray to him. So he understands all
the pains of the Earth but he has all the
resources of Heaven because he is the God man. I love that thought about him. Most assuredly-- verse 25-- I
say to you, the hour is coming and now is when
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God
and those who hear will live. For as the Father
as life in himself, so he has granted the
Son to of life in himself and has exalted him
or has given him authority to execute
judgment also because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at
this for the hour is coming in which all
who are in the graves will hear his voice
and come forth. Those who have been good,
to the Resurrection of life. Those who have done evil, to the
Resurrection of condemnation. So in terms of time, there's
two kinds of Resurrection I said for believers
and unbelievers. But think about
in terms of time. If you're a believer, your
judgment is past tense. You have passed
from death to life because you believe in Jesus. So the judgement was taken
out on Jesus at the cross, so you skip the condemnation
judgment of the future. You will only be
judged-- and I'll only be judged-- and given rewards
based on what we did for Christ or have a reward withheld
because of what we didn't do or our motivations. But the condemnation is
past tense-- it's on Jesus. If you're an unbeliever,
the judgment is yet future, and that's the
condemnation of Revelation, chapter 20-- the Great
White Throne Judgment. But for us, there is,
therefore, now no condemnation-- Romans 8, one to those
who are in Christ, Jesus. Verse 30, I can of
myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge and
my judgment is righteous because I do not seek
my own will but the will of the Father who sent me. If I bear witness of myself,
my witness is not true. There is another who
bears witness of me and I know that the witness
which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John and he
has borne witness to the truth, yet I do not receive
the testimony from man but I say these things
that you may be saved. He was the burning
lamp and shining lamp and you were willing for a
time to rejoice in his life. But have a greater witness
than John's, for the work's which the Father has
given me to finish, the very works that I
do bear witness of me that the Father sent me. Now, what does all that mean? Well, we're going to have
to wait till next time to uncover what all that means,
but I'll give you a hint. If you know a lawyer
it will make sense. And I say that a good way. There's no lawyer
jokes behind here. I've gotten chastised for
my share of lawyer jokes in the past. And there's a lot of great ones. But I'm withholding myself. But it has to do with a
courtroom setting and Jesus acting in a courtroom fashion,
calling witnesses to the bench. We'll get to that next
timee-- it's fascinating. Let's pray. Father, we want to
thank you that we've had the opportunity to gather
in the presence of your people to just watch, to hear, to see
Jesus dealing with somebody who was in such difficult
circumstances as this man who was sick
for 38 years-- debilitated, unable to help himself. And how he loved the fact that
our great Savior helps those who cannot help themselves--
can do for a person, not only physically but
spiritually what is impossible to have done. Thank you for your mighty
work on our behalf. Even though Jesus was completely
misunderstood and completely marginalized by the
religious leadership. Lord, I pray that
you would help us to be able to see better
than we've seen in the past. To look at crowds--
to look at people-- not as an inconvenience, not
a standing in the way, not as a bother. But as an opportunity--
a blessing. A way to extend mercy to them. To see them with eyes of
compassion, eyes of love, the eyes of mercy. And Father, I pray
that whatever it is you are calling us to do--
as impossible as it might sound to us-- we would simply
take a step of obedience where we would be met with
the power and the strength to pull it off. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] If you've missed any
of our Expound studies, all of our services
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