Last session we saw a Samaritan woman encounter Jesus, come to a pretty good understanding of who He was, and evangelize her town to hear Jesus. Jesus worked through this woman to spark a great revival – no miracles required!

This session, Jesus returns to Israel and performs the next two signs (miracles) recorded to help readers believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We will read the second sign with minimal comment, then focus on sign #3 and the aftermath.

Encounter Jesus – John Week 6

Signs 2 & 3 – The Authority of Jesus

John 4: 46 – 5: 29

AUDIO

Lecture Handout

John Week 6 – Signs 2 and 3 the Authority of Jesus Handout

Lesson Notes

Sign #2 – Distance Healing (John 4: 46-54)

  • A “royal official” likely working for Herod Antipas
  • He believes Jesus is a typical miracle worker and needs to be present to heal his son
  • Jesus’ power transcends space, because He is God – a key point of these next 2 signs
  • Verse 50 – the man’s faith is tested – with his son dying, will he go? Yes – he believed!
  • Verse 53 – he and his household believed in Jesus  Christ
  • Sign #1 cemented the belief of the disciples; sign #2 is for this man and his family

Sign #3 – Healing the Invalid on the Sabbath (John 5: 1-18)

  • Verse 1 – Jesus returns to Jerusalem for a feast – we don’t know which one
  • Verse 2 – Pool of Bethesda, by the Sheep Gate – pretty good archaeological remains of this
  • Verse 3 – The blind, lame, and paralyzed gather here – seemingly because the pool is periodically stirred and they believe it’s supernatural and the first person in the water afterward gets healed
  • Verse 5 – A man was there who’d been an invalid for 38 YEARS!!!
  • Verse 6 – Jesus saw him and knew (supernaturally – remember John 2: 24 “Jesus knew all people”) his situation
  • Verse 7 – the man has no  hope, because he can’t move fast enough to get in the water first to be healed and nobody will help him
  • Verses 8-9 – Jesus just says get up and the man was immediately healed
    • This is a microcosm of the gospel!
    • This guy’s been in misery for decades
    • He couldn’t fix  himself, he wasn’t capable
    • Jesus fixed him instantly – he was strong enough to carry his mat away!
    • This is how Jesus works for those who believe in Him
      • We’ve been in sin our whole lives
      • No matter how hard we try, we can’t get rid of it
      • Jesus takes it away immediately when we believe in Him!
  • Verse 9 – It was the Sabbath
    • Carrying something from one domain to another was not allowed by the Pharisees
      • not prohibited by Scripture, but by traditions of man
    • Healing was also forbidden by men, though not prohibited by Scripture
    • Jesus doesn’t argue the issue on Scriptural grounds as He does elsewhere; He argues on the grounds of His identity!
  • Verses 10-11 – Jewish leaders confront the man and he shifts the blame to Jesus
  • Verses 12-13 – They want to know who told him to get up, but the man doesn’t know
  • Verse 14 – Jesus sought  him out – to follow up on the significance of the healing
    • Live a life commensurate with the gifts you’ve received – sin no more
    • There’s an implication that this man’s disability was tied to some sort of sin – but that isn’t presented as a general statement about disabilities
  • Verses 15-18
    • He tells the Jewish leaders it was Jesus who healed him
    • Verse 16 – The Jews persecuted Jesus for healing on the Sabbath
    • Verse 17 – But God still works on the Sabbath, holding creation together – He is above the Law and the whole universe belongs to Him
    • Verse 17 – Jesus says God is His father, and since God is working, He’s working
      • Either Jesus is above the Law; or
      • The whole universe belongs to Jesus, just like God
    • Verse 18 – So they want to kill Jesus for blasphemy
    • Jesus affirms equality with God and distinctiveness from the Father in terms of role – these are key elements of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity

The Son’s Authority (John 5: 19-29)

  • Verse 19 – the Son doesn’t do His own will, but what He sees the Father do
    • Rightly understood, Jesus, though equal to God, is fully subordinated to the Father’s will
    • Jesus is fully, completely in God’s will at all moments – Philippians 2: 5-8
  • Verse 20 – Jesus can see God’s providential hand at work in the world
  • Verse 20 – Greater works than these will be revealed because of the Father’s love for the Son
    • The people marvel – Raising the Dead (Lazarus), Resurrection of Jesus, Final Judgment
  • Verse 21 – The Son gives life to whom He will, as the Father does – the deity of Jesus
  • Verse 21 – Looks ahead to the ultimate signs of John’s gospel – Lazarus and Easter
  • Verse 22 – All judgment is given to the Son (again a divine claim, because  God is the judge per Scripture)
    • Jesus didn’t come the first time to condemn the world, but He has been given authority to judge and He will do so upon His return – Matthew 25: 31-34
    • That all will honor the Son, as they honor the Father – worship + obedience
      • You can’t love God and not love Jesus, or vice versa
      • You can’t hate or disrespect one without hating or disrespecting the other
      • You can’t view God as God, if you don’t view Jesus as God
      • Philippians 2: 9-11
  • Verse 24 – the invitation to believe and receive eternal life and begin to experience it NOW as new creations in Christ
  • Verse 25 – Hour is coming & now here – when the dead hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live
    • Acted out in the raising of Lazarus, where Jesus calls him out
    • But we’re all spiritually dead in our sins from birth; it’s the voice of Jesus directing us to believe and follow that raises us to life (Ephesians 2: 1-5)
  • Verse 26 – Jesus has life in Himself – He is the source and giver of life
  • Verse 27 – Delegated authority to judge
  • Verses 28-29 – The last judgment – those already dead will rise to life and judgment
    • We all live forever – but there’s one path to life with God; every other path leads to condemnation and separation from God
    • On the other paths, we’re judged based on our actions, which is a guaranteed fail
    • If we’ve put our faith in Christ, we’ll be judged based on His righteousness credited to us, because of His actions

Afterward in Chapter 5

  • Jesus describes the witnesses to His identity – John the Baptist, the Works (Signs) of Jesus, God, the Old Testament

Prayer – For our rightful understanding of Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and God incarnate. For others to come to understand this.

Next Week: Sign #4 – Bread in the Wilderness (John 6: 1-15)