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January 19
Lesson 8 (KJV)
Solomon Seeks God’s Blessing
Devotional Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1–6
Background Scripture: 1 Kings 8:22–53; 2 Chronicles 6:12–42
1 Kings 8:22–30, 52, 53
22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
23. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
24. Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25. Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
26. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
28. Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
29. That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
30. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
52. That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.
53. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
Key Verse
Hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.—1 Kings 8:30
Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Identify two fulfilled promises of the Lord.
2. Relate the key verse to leading ideas in the lesson text.
3. Suggest ways in which Solomon’s prayer provides models for the Christian’s prayers.
HOW TO SAY IT
| Deuteronomy | Due-ter-ahn-uh-me. |
| Egypt | Ee-jipt. |
| exilic | eg-zil-ik. |
| Leviticus | Leh-vit-ih-kus. |
| Moses | Mo-zes or Mo-zez. |
| Shema (Hebrew) | She-muh. |
| Solomon | Sol-o-mun. |
Introduction
A. Gateway to the West
Where is the Gateway to the West in the United States? While the young country was still struggling to spread westward, the Cumberland Gap was one of the easiest land crossings through the Appalachian Mountains into the wild frontier of Tennessee. On the other hand, Pittsburgh’s location at the meeting of three rivers made it a great place to begin a westward journey down the mighty Ohio River. Fort Wayne, Indiana along with St. Louis and Kansas City have also been acclaimed as the Gateway to the West. None of these today is the nationally recognized Gateway to the West.
In a similar way, Israel lacked one place that was the gateway to God. Where could they go to connect with Him?
B. Lesson Context
First Kings 8:1–21 narrates the initial stages of the dedication ceremony Solomon orchestrated for the temple he had built in Jerusalem for the God of Israel (see commentary lessons 6, 7). The priests carried the ark of the covenant to the temple and placed it within the temple’s innermost chamber, the most holy place. The Lord’s glory then filled the temple, signaling God’s approval of Solomon and the temple.
Solomon related to the congregation of Israel the story of the Lord’s covenant faithfulness to David. The evidence for this was Solomon’s coming to the throne in the place of his father and in the completion of the temple.
I. God in Israel
(1 Kings 8:22–26)
A. Past Faithfulness (vv. 22–24)
22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.
The altar that Solomon stands in front of is most likely the brasen altar of burnt offering in the temple courts (1 Kings 8:64). If it were a different altar, he would be standing in the temple, out of sight from the congregation.
Solomon’s posture is one of prayer. Whereas we traditionally pray with folded hands and closed eyes, the ancient Israelites typically look up toward heaven or toward the temple, God’s house on earth (1 Kings 8:29, 30). Their lifted, empty hands express petition and supplication (Exodus 9:29, 33; Psalm 143:6). This stance demonstrates both their need and their confidence that they will receive from God (1 Kings 8:38, 54; Psalms 63:4; 88:9; 143:6). Though the temple was built as God’s home on earth, Solomon recognizes that the Lord’s true home is in Heaven rather than in any one location on the earth (see on 1 Kings 8:27, below).
| What Do You Think? What level of attention should Christians in general give to the issue of physical posture(s), if any, in prayer? Why? Digging Deeper |
23a. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath.
Solomon continues to address God as the Lord God of Israel (1 Kings 8:15, 17, 20, 25; see commentary lesson 7). He calls on the powerful, transcendent deity who is also near to Israel and keeps covenant with the nation. Solomon’s affirmation of the Lord’s uniqueness in heaven and on earth echoes Moses’ words: “The Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else” (Deuteronomy 4:39; compare Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 7:9, 12; Nehemiah 1:5).
23b. Who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart.
The Hebrew word translated mercy further highlights God’s fidelity as it denotes loyalty and faithfulness to covenant obligations. The same word is translated “kindness” (Joshua 2:12; 2 Chronicles 24:22; etc.) and even “lovingkindness” (example: Jeremiah 31:3). The Lord is loyal to His servants who demonstrate fidelity to Him by walking before Him with all their heart (Daniel 9:4). The frequent biblical metaphor of walking designates one’s conduct or process of living (Deuteronomy 8:6; Micah 6:8; etc.). The metaphor of the heart speaks to what is in the core of one’s being: it designates one’s intellect, emotion, or will (1 Samuel 2:1; 1 Chronicles 16:10; Psalm 9:1).
The command to love the Lord with all one’s heart is part of the ancient prayer called the Shema (Hebrew for “hear”) passage of Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. It constitutes Israel’s central obligation to the Lord within the covenant (Deuteronomy 10:12; 26:16; Joshua 22:5; 1 Samuel 7:3). Solomon had been specifically charged by his father, David, to love the Lord with all his heart so that David would never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel (1 Kings 2:1–4). Jesus later will declare the Shema to be the greatest commandment. Together with Leviticus 19:18, these two summarize the Law and Prophets (Matthew 22:34–40).
| What Do You Think? What are some ways to demonstrate more respect to God when praying? Digging Deeper |
Faithful Year After Year
Tabloid headlines scream the latest gossip about which celebrity is having an affair this week or whose marriage is crumbling due to unfaithfulness. While sad examples like these abound, we occasionally read wonderful stories of couples whose marriages have lasted. For five years, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher held the Guinness World Record for the longest marriage of a living couple: 86 years! When she was 103 years old, Zelmyra was asked the secret for their long marriage. She replied that only God could have kept them together.
What a wonderful example of human faithfulness! But it pales in significance to the eternal faithfulness of God. As Solomon noted, God remains true to His people, generation after generation. What a blessing and an example to us!
—C. R. B.
24. Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
Three references to thy servant David my father punctuate 1 Kings 8:24–26. Referring to King David as a servant contrasts David’s role in Israel with the Lord’s. Though David was the earthly leader of Israel, he was always subordinate to God. Earlier, the Lord had used the phrase “my servant” to refer to Moses (Numbers 12:7, 8; Joshua 1:2, 7) and Caleb (Numbers 14:24) while Joshua was designated as the Lord’s servant (Joshua 24:29). Solomon also will speak of himself as the Lord’s servant (1 Kings 8:28, 29, 52). This further ties Solomon to his father not just by blood but by acceptance of his role under God.
Solomon celebrates the Lord’s covenant faithfulness to David. Solomon’s place on the throne and the temple’s completion represent the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to David found in 2 Samuel 7:13. The king had earlier praised God for establishing with His hand what He had promised (1 Kings 8:15). Hand is an image of God’s power and authority (Exodus 13:3; 2 Chronicles 30:12; Isaiah 41:10; etc.). That God had spoken the promise to David by means of His own mouth testified to God’s intimate involvement in the promise and to its reliability. Solomon praises the Lord as the one who had committed himself to David and who had been able to perform what He had promised in establishing Solomon on David’s throne. God has empowered Solomon to complete the temple.
B. Future Faithfulness (vv. 25, 26)
25. Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
The phrase therefore now signals a transition in Solomon’s prayer: he is seeks God’s present and future faithfulness (compare 1 Chronicles 17:10–14, 23; 2 Chronicles 1:9). The Lord had promised David that He would establish David’s dynasty and throne forever (2 Samuel 7:15, 16). Solomon echoes the words David used as recorded in 1 Kings 2:1–4 to recount to his son that covenant promise. In that recollection, David had highlighted a conditional element within the Lord’s covenant. In order to enjoy its benefits, David’s descendants must walk in God’s ways (1 Kings 2:3). If David’s descendants follow the Lord fully, then David will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel (2:4).
The phrase so that does not imply effect as we might expect; instead it indicates the cause. When David’s descendants take heed to their way, they will be established on his throne. When they do not, they will face God’s judgments.
| What Do You Think? What is one of God’s fulfilled promises that you can help your church celebrate to better effect? How will you do so? Digging Deeper |
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And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
Solomon anticipates God’s future faithfulness to the word He had spoken to David (2 Samuel 7:25). The ultimate fulfillment of the Lord’s gracious promise will come in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who will be born from the house of David (Luke 1:27, 69; Acts 2:29, 30) and be given “the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32).
II. God in Heaven
(1 Kings 8:27–30)A. Praise of Sovereignty (v. 27)
27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
Having restated highlights from God’s covenant with David, Solomon proclaims the wonder of the God who has established that covenant. Solomon contrasts the limits of the house he built with the limitless God for whom it has been built (compare Psalm 139:7–16; Jeremiah 23:24). There is no God like the Lord in the heavens above or on the earth beneath (1 Kings 8:23), and both Heaven and earth belong to Him (Deuteronomy 10:14). Not even the heaven of heavens can contain the Lord.
In Israelite thought, there exist three layers of heavens above the earth (compare 2 Corinthians 12:2). Beneath the earth can be found the abode of the dead. All of these tiers belong to the Lord, and not even the most magnificent of them can be said to contain God. Consequently, the newly constructed temple certainly cannot confine Him (2 Chronicles 2:6; Isaiah 66:1; Acts 17:24).
The Israelites will err if they think they can confine God within a temple and use it to manipulate Him the way neighboring nations seek to manipulate their gods (compare 1 Kings 18:26–29). Indeed, Stephen will quote both Solomon and Isaiah when he condemns the Jewish leaders for their reliance on the law and the rebuilt temple in their rejection of Jesus (Acts 7:47–53). This building represents the dwelling of the Lord among His people, but it will be a blessing for them only if they humbly obey the God who dwells among them (compare Jeremiah 7:1–15).B. Prayer for Attention (vv. 28–30)
28. Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day.
Solomon now begins to apply the title servant to himself as he links himself to God’s promise and faithfulness (see commentary on 1 Kings 8:24, above). The king realizes he has no claim on the God of Heaven. Solomon cannot force the almighty Lord to do anything. Yet God has made promises to David and to Israel, and Solomon can depend on the Lord’s own word.
The nouns prayer, supplication, and cry overlap greatly in meaning, each offering a different emphasis. The first is the most generic, referring to any kind of praying. This word occurs over 70 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Supplication refers to prayers for God’s intervention and assistance; it occurs only 25 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Cry can refer to a ringing, emotional calling out to God either in joy or in pain, occurring 33 times in the Hebrew Old Testament.
| What Do You Think? Without giving advice, how would you counsel discouraged people who believe their sins are so serious that God will not forgive? Digging Deeper |
That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.Solomon has clarified that the transcendent God cannot be confined within the temple. The king nevertheless prays that God will honor the newly constructed house as a place where the Lord can be approached. The sensory metaphors of the Lord’s seeing and hearing emphasize the receptivity that Solomon hopes and expects God will have toward his prayers (compare 2 Kings 19:16; Nehemiah 1:6; Psalms 34:15; 101:6). Solomon does not just want God to see and hear; rather, Solomon wants God to act on behalf of His praying people on the basis of seeing and hearing (102:17). God promises that He will do so (2 Chronicles 7:15).
Solomon asks for God’s attention night and day to the appeals of His people (compare Psalm 138:2; Daniel 6:10). God does not sleep; He is able to hear prayers always (Psalms 34:17, 18; 121:3–8). Furthermore, the Lord has provided His name to Israel so that the people can know Him (Exodus 3:13–15). They are to call on His name in praise, prayer, and trust (1 Kings 8:33, 35; 1 Chronicles 16:8; Psalm 9:10; etc.). God’s name being associated with the temple conveys the idea of His possession of that space. Israel belongs to God as the nation called by God’s name (Deuteronomy 28:10; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 43:1; see lesson 7).
God Answers Prayer
When Mary was a month old, she had her first checkup. Everything seemed fine until the next day, when she appeared to be getting a cold. Pat and I took turns tending to our baby to keep her comfortable. About midnight, I turned Mary’s care over to my wife. I tossed in the bed before praying, “God, if Mary will be all right, let me go to sleep so I will be alert for church.” About 2:00 a.m., I heard my wife scream. I reached her in time to hear Mary take her last breath.
God didn’t answer prayer for Mary’s recovery the way we wanted. Instead, He gave us a gift of ministry. Many times, Pat and I had the privilege of sharing our story and God’s comfort with other parents in similar circumstances.
In the years following Solomon’s prayer, Israel walked far away from God. God’s answer to Solomon’s prayer was not always what the king would have expected. But God’s answer was always intended to bless Israel, calling the people back to their mission.
—C. R. B.30. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
Solomon’s requests recognize God’s openness and receptivity to prayers. Solomon previously had asked the Lord to hear his own prayer; now Solomon explicitly includes the people of Israel among those to whom the Lord should listen. Israel will pray toward the temple, but God will hear from Heaven (1 Kings 8:32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 45, 49).
Solomon’s specific requests that follow imply that Israel will pray in repentance (1 Kings 8:39, 47; compare Exodus 34:9; Leviticus 26:40–42). Solomon pleads that the Lord not only will hear Israel, but that He also will forgive Israel (1 Kings 8:34, 36, 39, 50). Elsewhere, God promises that He hears the prayers of His repentant people (Exodus 34:7; Jeremiah 29:12).
It is significant that Solomon links forgiveness to the Israelites’ prayers rather than to their sacrifices—acts normally associated with temples. The temple is certainly the place for sacrifices (Deuteronomy 12:1–18), but sacrifices are offered in the context of prayer (Psalm 141:2; Isaiah 56:7). This distinction will be important for the future exilic and post-exilic communities that will experience disruptions in their ability to offer sacrifices after the temple is destroyed. While the nation might worry that God will not hear their prayers without sacrifice, Solomon’s words serve as reassurance that the prayers behind the sacrifice are pleasing to God.
| What Do You Think? What causes you to think that at times the Lord does not hear your prayers? Why? Digging Deeper |
III. God in All the Earth
(1 Kings 8:52, 53)
A. Summary of Requests (v. 52)
52. That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.
In 1 Kings 8:31–51 (not in today’s text), Solomon offers seven petitions to God concerning various circumstances His people may experience. These specific petitions will be very reassuring to the generations that will live during and after the Babylonian exile. Despite the judgments to come, Solomon expectantly prays that God will continue to care for His people.
First Kings 8:52 picks up key elements from previous portions of Solomon’s prayer. Just as Solomon has prayed that God’s eyes will be open toward the temple (8:27, 28), the king now prays that God’s eyes will be open to his supplication and to that of Israel, and that God will hear them (8:28, 29).
B. Reason for Requests (v. 53)
53. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
Solomon confidently expects that the Lord will be attentive because the Israelites are His people whom He has rescued from Egyptian slavery (8:51; compare Psalm 3:4; contrast Job 30:20; Psalm 22:2).
Solomon began his prayer in 1 Kings 8:23 by addressing the Lord God of Israel. He now ends by appealing to the Lord God who had brought Israel out of Egypt. As he has done in the first part of his prayer (1 Kings 8:15, 16), Solomon connects the fulfillment of God’s promises to David with the story of Moses and the exodus. Calling Moses a servant connects both David and Solomon to the earlier leader of Israel (8:28, 29, 30, 52; see commentary on 8:24).
God had chosen Israel from among all the people of the earth to be His inheritance and special possession (Exodus 19:5, 6; 34:9; Deuteronomy 4:20; 7:7, 8; Psalm 33:12). He had delivered Israel in order for that nation to be a blessing in and to the world (Genesis 12:2; 22:17, 18; Exodus 19:5, 6). God has been faithful to His people, and He will fulfill His purposes for them. Those purposes are ultimately fulfilled in His Son, Jesus, and in the ministry and message of reconciliation He commits to Christ’s church (2 Corinthians 5:14–19).
A. Access in Christ’s Name
Solomon’s temple-dedication prayer highlights the Lord’s faithfulness to His covenant with David. The establishment of Solomon as king and the completion of the temple bore witness to God’s faithfulness to David and to Israel. That past faithfulness formed the basis for Solomon’s expectation of and his petition for the Lord’s continued covenant loyalty. He prayed that the Lord would hear His people when they prayed toward the house Solomon had built for the Lord’s name (1 Kings 8:29). God agreed to use the temple as a gateway to Him.
Jesus, the ultimate fulfillment of the covenant promises to David, spoke of himself as a temple (John 2:19, 21). Believers have access to God through Christ (Ephesians 2:18), and in His name we are able to approach God boldly and to pray in confidence that God will hear (John 14:13, 14; 15:16; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16).
B. Prayer
Our Father, we praise You for Your faithfulness to Your people throughout all generations and to us in our time. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
God is faithful to hear us when we pray.
KID’S CORNER
Continuing to Sin & Refusing to Believe
Sunday 19, 2020
John 5:10-18
John 5:10-18
(John 5:10) So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”
In John chapter 5, John did not record everything that we would like to know about the man that Jesus healed. Because we will soon study the sharp contrast between the man Jesus healed in John chapter 9, and this man in John chapter 5, let’s ask some questions about what did not happen or what John may or may not have omitted regarding the man’s healing and its aftermath. Did the man thank Jesus and glorify God for healing him? Probably not. If he had, it seems likely that John would have said so, since he told us about the man in chapter 9 who gave thanks and glorified God. In Luke 17, we learn that only one of the ten lepers that Jesus healed thanked Him. So, like some others, it is likely that the man Jesus healed at the pool did not express his appreciation to Jesus. Did Jesus rush off before the man would have had time to thank Jesus? Probably not, because Jesus was more concerned about someone’s spiritual life and relationship with God than their physical healing, and Jesus would have taken the time to help this man spiritually if the man had been open to changing his life spiritually as well as physically. Jesus’ miraculous healings usually led to spiritual belief in Jesus by those He healed and their families, but this is not indicated here or later in the life of this man. After healing the man, it seems unlikely that Jesus would have rushed off and disappeared so no one would see Him, but as He intended in this situation, somehow Jesus left the crowd without drawing attention to himself. Jesus’ healing of the man and then disappearing was highly unusual, because Jesus was usually known for healing crowds of people who came to Him, not rushing off unseen after healing just one person. The reason Jesus disappeared probably relates to the response of the man He healed. John may be showing us the truth that not every physical healing by Jesus led the healed person to believe in Jesus as Messiah and Savior. Similarly, many of the Jews, especially the Pharisees, were more concerned about Jesus healing someone on the Sabbath than praising and thanking God whenever Jesus healed someone. In the Gospel of John, with the healing of this man, opposition to Jesus becomes increasingly pronounced; especially when Jesus healed on the Sabbath contrary to the laws and traditions of the Pharisees.
(John 5:11) But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’”
What do we know about the man? We know the man blamed others for his current problems. He blamed those around him for not getting into the pool first in order to be healed when the waters were troubled. Maybe that was the fact, or maybe he did not want to admit that he preferred begging to getting well and needing to work to live. When the Pharisees accused the man of breaking the Sabbath law against carrying a burden of the Sabbath, he blamed the man who had made him well and who had told him to carry his mat and break the Sabbath law. Why had Jesus told the man this? At least to show the man that he had been made physically whole: strong enough to walk and strong enough to carry a burden. Strong enough to carry his bed home rather than leave it at the pool. If the man had profusely thanked Jesus and joyfully glorified God, he might have drawn the attention of all the sick to Jesus and He would have healed them too. In any event, for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, the man could have been driven out of the synagogue or even stoned to death for breaking the Sabbath law. So, knowing the penalty for breaking the Sabbath law, he may have felt compelled to answer as he did. He told the truth. He had been healed, and the man who healed him told him to carry his mat on the Sabbath. Unhappily, the religious leaders thought nothing of the good that Jesus had done, but everything about the law that had been broken by the man and by Jesus who told him to disobey their laws and traditions.
(John 5:12) They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?”
Notice: the religious leaders did not ask the man, “Who healed you?” Perhaps they did not believe he had been healed. Probably the fact of the man’s healing meant nothing to them. They certainly did not encourage the man to praise and thank God that he could carry his bed and walk.
(John 5:13) But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.
Perhaps the man was so startled that Jesus had healed him so completely and unexpectedly that he did not take time to look beyond the fact that he had been healed and for the first time in thirty-eight years he was strong enough to walk and even carry a mat. Perhaps he looked around to find Jesus to thank Jesus, but John does not tell us everything we would like to know. Led by the Holy Spirit, John does not answer all the questions we could think to ask. In any event, Jesus had good reasons to disappear in the crowd. Jesus most probably realized that at that moment in time He could do no more good among the crowd beyond healing the sick man.
(John 5:14) Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
Jesus sought the sick man at the pool to heal him physically and make him whole physically. Then Jesus sought the sick man at the temple to heal him morally and spiritually, to restore the man to total spiritual wellness before God and others. Perhaps around the pool with others watching and wanting to be healed, Jesus did not want to deal with the man’s most important problems—his problems with sin. Jesus always had and still has good reasons for whatever He says and does. In private, Jesus told the man that his most important sickness was moral and spiritual. In John chapter 9, we learn from Jesus that not all diseases and disabilities are caused by sin. In John chapter 5, we learn that some diseases and disabilities are the result of sin. In this case, Jesus told the man not to sin anymore. Whatever the man had done in the past, Jesus told him not to do it in the future. Perhaps the man did not want to work and had merely changed his location from the pool to the temple for begging. The Bible does not tell us the man’s sin; but whatever it was, Jesus warned him that if he continued to sin as he had or turned to new sins, something worse than being unable to walk and too weak to carry his bed would happen to him. Refusing to repent of his sins and refusing to trust in God and the One who saved him would result in everything becoming worse than his previous disease and disability.
(John 5:15) The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Though he may have believed in God, the man refused to repent or believe in Jesus. If he had believed in Jesus, as had the Samaritans and the royal official that John wrote about in chapter 4, John would have surely proclaimed another successful conversion by Jesus. The fact that John did not report the man coming to faith in Jesus is strong evidence that the man refused to believe in Jesus. Making matters worse, knowing full well that those who broke the laws and traditions of the Jews regarding the Sabbath could face the death penalty, the man went out of his way to seek out the Pharisees to report that Jesus had made him well. The man could have waited for the Pharisees to see him again and question him again (he was at the temple), where he could have told them about Jesus. Instead, he immediately went to find the authorities. Notice: the fact that Jesus healed the man physically was never doubted. The man told the Pharisees twice that he had been healed, but the religious leaders ignored this miraculous act of healing love, and apparently his healing did not move the man to repent of his sins and believe in Jesus for salvation. Such is the case today. No matter how much God or Jesus do for some people, they simply will not give thanks to God for His many blessings and they will not repent of their sins and believe in Jesus for salvation to receive the gift of eternal life. This sad fact is a great mystery to those who believe.
(John 5:16) For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
The fact that Jesus healed people and worked miracles and signs is never disputed by the religious authorities. Jesus gave ample evidence that He had the power of God working through Him; otherwise, Jesus would not have been able to do all that He did. Jesus was not persecuted for the good that He did, nor was He persecuted for healing people. The religious leaders began persecuting Jesus for not complying with, defending, and endorsing the policies of the religious leadership. He was helping people, healing the sick, and working His miracles as signs, but these good deeds made no difference in the minds of these leaders.
(John 5:17) But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
After Jesus healed the sick man, He did not disappear because He feared controversy or to avoid persecution. Rather, Jesus directly told the religious leaders who persecuted Him that by doing His good deeds He was doing the Father’s work. Jesus also declared that His Father was still working in the world. Unlike Deism, that teaches God created the world but now is not involved in history or the world, Jesus taught that God the Father is very involved in the world and that God is working seven days a week—even on the Sabbath. God rested on the first Sabbath day after creation, not from exhaustion, but as an example to us who though created in His image need rest. God works in the life of every person and throughout all of creation. Everything God created depends ultimately on the sustaining work of God moment-by-moment, day-by-day. Though the religious leaders might or might not agree with the fact that God is still working, they did object to Jesus calling God, “My Father.” It was one thing to call God, “Our Father,” or to say that Jews are “children of God,” but quite another for someone to get so personal as to say of God, “My Father.” Out of deep reverence for the name of God, the Jews would not say the name of God, “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.” Therefore, to them it was scandalous for Jesus to be so familiar to call God, “My Father.” Of course, since Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, it was not wrong for Him to address God or pray to God as “My Father.” Nor is it wrong for the children of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to pray to their Heavenly Father as “My Father,” for those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior are adopted into the family of God as God’s children. The religious leaders were also offended because Jesus claimed that He and His Father worked together, that His Father and He had the same goals, purposes, and abilities. Increasingly, Jesus showed by word and deed that He and His Father had the same abilities and divine nature, and as Jesus taught and used these same abilities, He demonstrated that His Father and He had the same goals and purposes—that Jesus came into the world as the Savior and to save His people from their sins.
(John 5:18) For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
What Jesus revealed about His Father and himself was and is true. The Gospel of John gives ample reason to believe that what Jesus revealed about God and himself is true. However, the religious leaders viewed the matter differently. They wanted to kill Jesus for three reasons. First, Jesus broke their rules for honoring the Sabbath. Jesus challenged their authoritarianism and their otherwise undisputed leadership of the Jews (given to them by their Roman rulers) by refusing to follow all their rules and traditions. Second, Jesus called God His own Father. Third, Jesus made himself equal to God, which they deemed blasphemy. As the Gospel of John will show us, Jesus was and is not required to obey the traditions that the religious leaders developed over generations. In Matthew 12:7-8, Jesus told the Pharisees, “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus was innocent when He healed on the Sabbath. Jesus was and is the only begotten Son of God; so, Jesus by right could call God “His Father.” Jesus is equal to God and has the same eternal essence as His Father; therefore, Jesus is fully God, while at the same time being fully man, which is beyond our understanding—yet demonstrated by Jesus and taught in the Bible.
Continuing to Sin & Refusing to Believe
Sunday 19, 2020
John 5:10-18
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee (John 5:14—KJV). Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you” (John 5:14—NASB). Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you” (John 5:14—NRSV).
From the gospels we learn that not everyone Jesus healed believed in Him either before or after He healed them. We also learn that many of the religious leaders did not believe in Him even after they saw the results of Jesus healing people suffering from blindness, leprosy, paralysis, and other diseases. Examples of belief and unbelief following the miracles of Jesus give evidence that the writers of the New Testament gave honest reports about Jesus healing people. New Testament writers did not pad Jesus’ resume to make Him look better than He was, and eventually the religious authorities and uninformed crowds cried out for Jesus to be crucified. A case in point relates to the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. He did not know who healed him. He only knew that the man who had healed him got him into trouble with the religious authorities for carrying his bed on the Sabbath. From the Bible, we know that not all diseases are caused by someone’s having sinned, but sin must have been the cause of this man’s sickness, because when Jesus found him in the temple, Jesus warned him not to sin any more. If he continued to sin, Jesus warned, something worse might happen to him. Then, knowing that Jesus would get in trouble for healing him on the Sabbath, as he had gotten into trouble for carrying his bed, he immediately reported Jesus to the religious authorities. Even though Jesus had healed him, the man refused to repent and believe in Jesus as his Savior.
Thinking Further
Continuing to Sin & Refusing to Believe
Sunday 19, 2020
John 5:10-18
Name ___________________________
- What did the man Jesus healed say after the religious leaders told him that it was unlawful for him to carry his mat on the Sabbath?
- Why did the healed man not know who had healed him?
- Do you think the religious leaders believed that Jesus had healed the man? Why or why not?
- When Jesus found the man He had healed in the temple, what did He say to him? What lessons might His words teach us that we can apply?
- Why did the religious leaders persecute Jesus and want to kill Him
Discussion and Thinking Further
- What did the man Jesus healed say after the religious leaders told him that it was unlawful for him to carry his mat on the Sabbath? He just said he was following orders: “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk’” (John 5:11).
- Why did the healed man not know who had healed him? He had been bedridden for thirty-eight years and had never seen Jesus before Jesus healed him, and after healing him Jesus disappeared in the crowd.
- Do you think the religious leaders believed that Jesus had healed the man? Why or why not? Yes. Their only concern was Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath and had broken their laws and traditions on how to honor the Sabbath. They did not dispute that the man had been made well, and if they asked those at the pool, they would have corroborated the man’s story that he had been sick and now he was well.
- When Jesus found the man He had healed in the temple, what did He say to him? What lessons might His words teach us that we can apply? In John 5: 14, Jesus told him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” We learn that some sicknesses are caused by or the result of sin (but not all). We learn that if someone refuses to repent (turn from) of their sins that something worse might happen to them. We can help people who think or say that a person’s sickness must be the result of their sinning and those who say that sinning never hurts the one who sins.
- Why did the religious leaders persecute Jesus and want to kill Him? 1. Jesus healed on the Sabbath. 2. Jesus called God His own Father. 3. Jesus made himself equal to God.
Word Search
Continuing to Sin & Refusing to Believe
Sunday 19, 2020
John 5:10-18
Name ___________________________
R O I V B S U S E J L E Q F W
E W H T W E L L H A L C Z I O
U L N U R V J T W P T N X M R
W M D I J K A F M F G A G D K
D O N P S B U E A J N V M E I
A E T O B L T G M K I Z D R N
F U R A X P X F Y H T M H E G
N C S A K U H D E R U C E W X
F R Z P E X S Y P N C G A S I
X E A Y T P L I M T E V L N T
C H G L A Y P N R N S Q E A V
E T D O K J K A Z X R P D Q K
U A N J E A V B S L E L C L H
X F B T P D Y D T I P K A E P
I P U K V C Z K X Z D W O N I
Cured
Sabbath
Lawful
Mat
Answered
Well
Take
Walk
Healed
Disappeared
Temple
Sin
Persecuting
Father
Working
True and False Test
Continuing to Sin & Refusing to Believe
Sunday 19, 2020
John 5:10-18
Name ___________________________
Circle the True or False answers. Correct the False statements by restating them.
- The Jews believed that it was unlawful to carry your mat on the Sabbath. True or False
- Jesus was careful to obey all the traditions of the Jewish rabbis and insisted that the Gentiles keep them too. True or False
- The man Jesus healed told those who asked him that he was carrying his mat because he was told to take up his mat and walk. True or False
- The man Jesus healed knelt at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him and praised Him for healing him. True or False
- When Jesus found the man He had healed at the temple, He told him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” True or False
- The man kept Jesus’ secret and never told anyone that Jesus had healed him. True or False
- When some Sadducees learned that Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath, they believed in Jesus and began healing people too. True or False
- The Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was healing people on the Sabbath. True or False
- Jesus told those who were persecuting Him, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” True or False
- The Jews sought all the more to kill Jesus because He was calling God His own Father. True or False
True and False Test Answers
- True
- False
- True
- False
- True
- False
- False
- True
- True
10.True
Prayer
Our Father, we praise You for Your faithfulness to Your people throughout all generations and to us in our time. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.