The Long Rebuke
The Long Rebuke
Bible Passage: John 5:19-47
I’d like for you to take the Word of God with me, please, and turn to John 5:19-47. Last week we saw verses 1-18 of this passage and Jesus healed a man who had been lame for 38 years. He sat by a pool hoping to be the first to enter the pool once the waters were stirred. It was an awesome miracle.
The problem with the miracle, at least the problem according to the religious crowd is that the miracle was performed on the Sabbath. This miracle begins the persecution of Jesus by the Pharisees and scribes. This event changed their relationship completely.
Not only are they looking to persecute Jesus, but now they are actively plotting His murder, not because He healed on the Sabbath, but because He claimed God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.