My 2nd Passover in Jerusalem - I Broke the Sabbath Tradition

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

August 28, 2019

My 2nd Passover in Jerusalem - I Broke the Sabbath Tradition

Page 85-86

John 5:1-47

Our passage for today illustrates that Jesus was operating in a different theological time zone from the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Jesus knew it was the Sabbath when he healed the man. Jesus knew that for the Jews it was a day of rest, as commanded by God. However, Jesus says he was working because his Father was working. Isn’t God resting on the Sabbath?

I think Jesus wants us to see that God is working again. This time, He is doing a new work to birth His New Creation through the life of the Messiah. God’s New Creation fulfills His promise of eternal life, which is life uninterrupted by death. This is the promise Jesus offers the world in today’s passage.

It was commonly accepted in first century Israel that a time was coming when, through the resurrection of the dead, God would make everything right. Those who had sinned against God, those who had oppressed God’s people, and those who chose the path of evil for the pathway of their lives would be judged; and those who had remained faithful to God would be vindicated. (See Daniel 12)

Jesus is announcing to the world that God the Father has sent him into the world to begin the work of birthing God’s New Creation. Those who believe and accept Jesus as God’s Son will enter into life everlasting. This new life begins now, at the moment you believe, and is not diminished by mortal death. In God’s future, your birthing into New Life will be completed by God giving you bodily resurrection that will be like Jesus’ resurrected body. (See 1 Corinthians 15) Since the Prologue, Jesus has been pointing to this: “But to all who believed (me) and accepted (me), (I) gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:12-13).

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians that he came to realize that all the goals of his human striving were worthless compared to knowing Jesus. The people listening to Jesus in John 5 were like Saul the Pharisee before God renamed him Paul. They knew the scriptures inside and out, but they did not, or would not, see that those scriptures were pointing to Jesus. Accordingly, even with the testimony of John the Baptist and the many signs or miracles Jesus performed, they would not receive Jesus as the Messiah.

My Takeaway: God has a very specific purpose for his Word: “I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:11). When I open my heart to be inspired by God’s Word, the Word will then be transformed through my words, actions and good deeds to produce fruit in God’s Kingdom.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.