TUESDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT- YEAR-A

I Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-9.12: I saw a stream of water coming from the Temple, bringing life to all wherever it flowed.

Gospel: John 5:1-3.5-16: The man was cured at once.

The Essential Authority:

Power to Meet the World’s Desperate Needs, 5:1-16

Chapter five reveals Jesus to be the authority over all of life. Jesus is equal with God (Jn 5:17-18). As God possesses life within Himself, so Jesus possesses life within Himself (Jn 5:26). As God has authority over all life, so Jesus has authority over all of life. The healing of the thirty eight years man showed His authority over the physical world, and the breaking of the Jewish Sabbath law showed His authority to determine the rules of worship.

Through this healing miracle, Jesus was claiming to have supreme authority over the Sabbath (Mt 12:1 f; Jn 5:9-10,16,18).

1.     Jesus attended a Jewish feast in Jerusalem (v.1)

2.     Scene 1: The diseased and the ill-a picture of the world’s desperate need (v.2-3)

a.     Man’s desperate hope: lying in a pool of water

b.    Man’s desperate faith: seeking for healing power in a worldly source, in a pool of water

3.     Scene 2: Jesus & the man-a picture of Jesus’ power to meet the world’s need (v.5-9)

a.     The man’s plight

b.    The Lord’s compassion

i.       Saw his state

ii.     Initiated a relationship

c.      The man’s helplessness: he had no family and no friends to help him

d.    The Lord’s power

e.      The sinister problem: Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath

4.     Scene 3: The religionists and the man-a picture of dead religion trying to meet the world’s need (v.10-12)

a.     A religion of legalism

b.    A religion ignorant of true authority

c.      A religion blind to love and good

5.     Scene 4: Jesus and man after his healing-a picture of the believer’s responsibility (v.13-14)

a.     To worship in the temple

b.    To remember his healing

c.      To stop sinning

d.    To fear the judgement

6.     Scene 5: The religionists and Jesus: A picture of the world rejecting God’s Saviour (v. 15-16)

Thought: All persons should be faithful in their worship of God.

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