John chapter 5

vs 13

Ok, so perhaps the sheeps gate wasn't deserted except for the sick people, but I assume the crowd was either something to do with sheep, or something to do with the gate and lots of human traffic.

vs 14

Jesus finds the guy again, and his message to him is a strong one. It's hard to think of some people as sinners - religious leaders, children, the disabled and so on - we often think that they have a special dispensation because of their situation(soldiers fit in here too a little, because although we expect them to sin, we also know they've got a tought job and we forgive them a little faster). But Jesus makes a link between sin and wellbeing.

It is not a causal link, although from these words it could easily seem that way. The OT is very strong on the fact that bad things don't only happen when you sin. In fact, Ecclesiastes has a very much "nice guys finish last" attitude. But there is a link between sin and its consequences. Jesus may even be talking about eternal consequences - hell is worse than disability.

vs 15

Now how do we judge this man? The religious leaders asked him who healed him, and he didn't know. Now that he does know (obviously there was more to the conversation) he goes and tells them. Is he dobbing Jesus in? Or is he simply telling the leaders what they asked him? It's not easy to tell, just from these verses.

vs 16

The result is obvious though - Jesus because regarded as a Sabbath-breaker, and so they persecute him. I think there are a lot of Christian groups (liberal, conservative and charismatic) who think they they've got the only right way of doing things, and get on their high horse and persecute other Christians who do things in other, still valid ways. That's bad. Don't be like that.

vs 17

Jesus' defense is that God works on the Sabbath, and because he's doing God's work, then he will work too. But, as we find out from the next verse, by calling God his father, Jesus is putting himself as equal with God - and therefore, if God works, he can work.

vs 18

No one likes to be told they are wrong, I guess, but killing someone is a big step. I know I get frustrated with people that seem to just spout heresy all the time, and it's like they are doing it on purpose to frustrate you. Don't know if I'd go so far as to kill them. What I'm saying is that if you weren't prepared to believe that Jesus was telling the truth, then you would think of him as a terribly frustrating heretic. Understandable, but not condonable.

I just want to make the point that in the culture of the time, the son and the father were the same thing when it came to authority and position - so we shouldn't see Jesus as being under the Father because he is the Son. That makes him equal with God. It is his humanity which humbles him, not his Sonship.

vs 19

So Jesus is doing not just God's work planned for him - he is doing the very work of God himself. If that is true, then really his actions are unquestionable.

vs 20

So how does it work exactly? Does God show Jesus what sort of things are going to happen, and Jesus goes and does the things? I don't know. The fact is, though, that God loves Jesus as his Son, and so Jesus does God's own work. And Jesus says it's only going to get more hardcore.

vs 21

I assume that Jesus is referring to the end times raising of the dead, although he might be referring to those few miracles in the OT where this happens too. Jesus will do this stuff too - he will raise people from their spiritual death into an eternal life. I also think he will raise people on the last day and give them life, but that's not what this verse is about, because he is talking about giving life to who he chooses.

vs 22

This is a bold step to take if you're not the Son of God. Jesus is claiming that all judgement will be done by him. We often think of God as the big judge and Jesus as some sort of lawyer for us. But Jesus is judge. That might screw up an analogy for a talk at kids camp or something, but it's the truth.

vs 23

The reason, or at least one reason, that Jesus is judge is so that he will receive honour along with the father. Because father and son are equal, Jesus and God deserve equal honour, and therefore if you don't honour the Son of God, you are not honouring God. Jesus lays it down for these religious leaders - if they choose to harass and persecute Jesus, then they are taking the risk that if he's the Son of God, they're in deep crap.

vs 24

But it's not all bad. If people do believe in Jesus, and God, and in the message that Jesus is teaching, they will have eternal life. Jesus has the power to give people life, just as he said. So Jesus is offering these religious leaders both sides of the coin - they can accept God which means accepting him, and they get eternal life. Or they can deny Jesus, which means denying God, and that's not going to go so well for them.