Last week, in AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA, Part 2, we learned that when we are the recipient of a miracle, we need to let it change our lives permanently for the good. We need to give Him the thanks and the praise, to proclaim His power to others, and to never forget that it happened, that there is a powerful God who loves and cares for us, and that this miracle was given to us to teach us powerful lessons that we must never forget.
We pick up the story just after Jesus has revealed Himself once again to the paralytic. We know that when this man asked who had healed him, he had honestly stated that he didn’t know. But now he DOES know, and what does he do?
He goes directly to the teachers of the day and tells them what they wanted to hear: “it was Jesus who had made him well.” (John 5:15 NIV)
Why would he have done such a thing? Surely he understood from the criticism he had already received about carrying his bed on the Sabbath, that these teachers of the law did not care about him as a person, but only cared about upholding their precious laws!
The Bible doesn’t tell us why he “turned Jesus in”, so to speak. It may have been in innocent sharing of his joy, or it may have been done out of fear of being thrown out of the synagogue. But whatever the reason, Jesus was now in trouble: “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.” (John 5:16 NIV)
Their reaction didn’t faze Jesus, however: “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (John 5:17 NIV)
Naturally, Jesus’ reference to God being His “Father” angered the Jewish leaders. The Bible records that the Jews tried to kill him, not only for breaking the Sabbath, but for “calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:18b NIV)
This, friends, is the setting for Jesus’ famous discourse, one that is so packed with valuable Truth, one designed to help us understand the relationship Jesus has with the Father and to bring us to a new level of comprehension about the trinity, the plurality of God.
And so packed with Truth for us today!
And what is the first lesson for us today?
“Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.'” (John 5:19 NIV)
I would invite you to read these words through a couple of times, friends. They are powerful words. Let them sink in to your spirit: “… the Son can do nothing by Himself…He can do only what He sees His Father doing…Whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
This is one of the most important statements we have in understanding the relationship between God and Jesus: Jesus doesn’t do anything by Himself. He works as One with the Father, whatever One does, the Other does also! God and Jesus are One, two of the parts that make up the whole. They work together in ALL things, and Jesus NEVER works outside of God’s plan!
So what lessons does this teach us today, friends?
1. First of all, God is ALWAYS at His Work, and we, too, are to join Him. Whatever God is doing, whenever He is doing it, trumps everything else!
2. And secondly, how often don’t we try to do things on our own? We have a “great” idea, and we pursue it. “It’s got to be a good idea,” we reason with ourselves, “It will bring glory to God’s kingdom!” But we never stop to ask God if it is His idea! When we strike out like this, friends, we are NOT following Jesus’ example! Jesus can do “nothing by Himself . . . He can do only what He sees His Father doing…”
In other words, if it isn’t God’s will, Jesus doesn’t waste any time on it, and neither should we. We may have great ideas, but if they aren’t “God Ideas”, they are a total waste of time.
Let’s follow Jesus’ example, friends. Let’s stay in tune with the Father, let’s be open to seeing where He is at work, and let’s let His priorities become our own. Let’s be ready, not to lead, but to follow in His steps, for if Jesus, who was 100% God, relinquished 100% control of His actions to the Father, then should we, 100% human, do any less?
Think about it!
But wait. How can we know the will of the Father? I mean, Jesus was, after all, 100% God, and by His own admission, He and the Father are “One”. How can we, mere humans, know God’s will?
Jesus doesn’t leave us in the dark, friends. Join us next week for AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA, Part 4: How to Know the Will of God.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Speech-Language Pathologist, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
* Taken from commentary given in The Archaeological Study Bible, New International Version, Copywright © 2005 by the Zondervan Corporation, pages 1728, 1729.
(To access the entire “At the Pool of Bethesda” mini-series, please click here.)