Sunday School Lesson: Ultimate Fairness

Purpose: To probe the connection between faith, judgement, and eternal life.



Scripture: John 5:19-29



Background:



Joh 5:1-18 ESV
(1) After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.

(3) In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed.

(4) (OMITTED TEXT)

(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

(7) The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."

(8) Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk."

(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

(10) So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed."

(11) But he answered them, "The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.'"

(12) They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"

(13) Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

(14) Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."

(15) The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

(16) And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

(17) But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."

(18) This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.






Today’s lesson begin’s with the account of Jesus healing an invalid on the Sabbath. The miracle occurred at a pool called Bethesda in Jerusalem. This act of love and kindness, yet again, brought Jesus into conflict with the religious leaders over the “proper” observance of the Sabbath.



We do not know exactly when the Hebrews began observing the Sabbath, however we do know that they did so before God commanded the observance. By the time of Christ, the Jewish religious leaders had spent hundreds of years debating at length exactly what could and could not be done on a Sabbath. Under the influence of rigid Pharisaic oral law, a system of minute and burdensome regulations was formed. The higher purpose of the Sabbath was lost.



The Sabbath was given to the Hebrews as a reminder of two things. First, observance of the Sabbath served to remind them that they had been enslaved but were now free. Second, observance of the Sabbath served as a reminder that it was God who freed them. Sabbath was to be a day of rest, relaxation, and joy.



The Jewish Mishna came to have 39 articles, each with sub-articles, dealing with prohibitions on the Sabbath. The prohibitions included all kinds of agricultural, industrial, and domestic work. Among the articles are such items as sewing two stitches, weaving two threads, and writing two letters. Plucking two heads of wheat was considered harvest and rubbing the two together was considered threshing. To carry an object the weight of a fig was considered a burden, so naturally when the formerly lame man carried his bed away from the pool, he was in a gross violation of the Sabbath. It was unlawful to practice medicine on the Sabbath unless life was in danger. The Mishna even went as far as to not allow medication to be given on the day before the Sabbath if the effects of it lasted into the Sabbath. This man had been ill for 38 years, certainly one more day would not be too much to ask. Since the Jewish day began at sundown, Jesus could have just waited a few more hours and not risked offending the Pharisees.



The Jewish teachers of the law did find way to get around their own rules. The oral law prohibited travel on the Sabbath so they decided that it a person were to place some food at whatever place they wished to travel to prior to the Sabbath, then they could declare that spot a temporary residence and it was not considered travel to move between residences. By the time of Jesus the oral law had come to have as much force and authority as the written law. Jesus, however, with some scorn and contempt, called these man-made doctrines “traditions”:



Mar 7:6-9 ESV
(6) And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

(7) in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

(8) You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

(9) And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!





It is no wonder that much of the conflict between Jesus and the teachers of the Law concerned the Sabbath. We know that Jesus observed the Sabbath:



Luk 4:16 ESV
(16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.



Jesus observed and loved the Sabbath, yet it seems that He felt that one part of His mission was to put the Sabbath back into perspective. This incident of Jesus healing on the Sabbath was not a one-time thing. Because He healed on the Sabbath over and over, He obviously placed a challenge to the religious authorities, who responded by spying and harassing. Notice that the Jews did not chastise the man for being healed on the Sabbath and even seemed to forget about him carrying his bed when they turned their attention to the one who had practiced healing on the Sabbath.



So when the Jews find Jesus and begin their persecutions, how does he respond?



Joh 5:17 MSG
(17) But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I."



Joh 5:17 GNB
(17) Jesus answered them, "My Father is always working, and I too must work."



Does God stop His loving and healing mercies just because man is observing a Sabbath?



What would happen if God stopped His work on the Sabbath? If God ever, at any time, even for a short time just stopped all that He does?



Our world would likely fall into chaos. We are told that God rested on the seventh day of creation, but surely He didn’t stop doing good. Jesus was teaching here that when the opportunity to good presents itself, it should never be ignored, even on the Sabbath, maybe even especially on the Sabbath, since that was the Jewish day to honor God. What greater way is there to honor God than by showing love and compassion to those who are broken and beaten down around us? What greater worship can we offer God than by doing what his Son showed and taught us to do even when it is inconvenient for us to do so?



The Jewish leaders saw both a mighty miracle and a broken rule. Which was more important to them?



Do we sometimes miss God’s work in our world because the way He works does not always follow our “rules”?



How often do we fail to do the right thing because it would not fit into our schedule, or because “we’ve never done it that way before”?

If God “is always working” shouldn’t we also always be at work doing His will?



The Jews envied the popularity of Jesus, resented His challenges to their traditions, and hated His exposure of their hypocrisy. Don’t we sometimes feel the same way?



When the words of Jesus expose us don’t we sometimes wish we could just find a different translation?



You know, maybe Jesus really did not mean it when He said “Love your enemy.” Maybe when He said “Turn the other cheek” He really meant something else. One popular interpretation even claims that to “turn the other cheek” instead of an act of nonresistance is actually an open act of defiance. As one person so wisely said: “The Bible will shed a lot of light on those commentaries.” Maybe we should not try to put our own spin on the Word and just let the Word speak. When we try to put our twist on the Word aren’t we really doing the same thing the Jewish teachers of the law were doing?



Jesus , a faithful observer of the Sabbath, many times criticized the Pharisees for their absurd teaching which made the people a slave to the day. He spoke out and told the Pharisees that they placed intolerable burdens on the shoulders of men; burdens that even they could not or would not carry.



Mat 23:1-4 ESV(1) Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

(2) "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,

(3) so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

(4) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.


Jesus proclaimed that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around:



Mar 2:27-28 ESV
(27) And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

(28) So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."


Jesus cured on the Sabbath and defended His disciples for picking grain on that day. This greatly angered the Jews, but what was it that Jesus said at this incident after healing the lame man that angered the Jews even more?



When He said that God was His own Father, He further enraged his antagonists. Not only was He violating the Sabbath law, but he also made Himself to be equal with God. And if you think that angered them, His next speech must have made them furious. The rest of John 5 contains one of the longest discourses in the book of John. A discourse is an extended theological discussion in which Jesus talks personally about His relationship with God. Such extended discussions are found only in the Gospel of John.



Isn’t it amazing though, that these people had witnessed a miracle but chose to nitpick about the when of the miracle instead of the how and the why of the miracle and what ramifications, if any, a miracle worker in their midst could have on their own lives?



We also sometimes choose to look at things in the ways of the Pharisees. Tony Campolo makes this point very clear. Campolo, an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church and the National Baptist Convention and college professor, likes to begin his sermons occasionally with this statement:

"I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."


And he’s right. We are so offended by the thought that an ordained pastor would use profanity in the pulpit that we totally ignore the greater profanity of thousands of children starving to death in a world where most of us are fat and happy. We choose to pounce in judgement for a petty wrong rather than shout out at injustices or actually make an effort to make a difference in the world.



Joh 5:19-29 ESV

(19) So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

(20) For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

(21) For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

(22) The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

(23) that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

(24) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

(25) "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

(26) For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

(27) And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

(28) Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice

(29) and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.





By what authority did Jesus heal, on the Sabbath or at any other time? (Verses 19,20)



He did so by the authority of God, which He shared. What Jesus did was what God was doing. There is no separation between the acts of the Son and the acts of the Father.



In response to the charge that He was making himself equal to God, Jesus lays down three things about His relationship with God:



1. He lays down His identity with God. In Jesus we see God. If we want to see how God feels toward human beings, it we want to see how God reacts to sin, if we want to see what God thinks about the human condition, we must look at Jesus. The mind of Jesus is the mind of God. The words of Jesus are the words of God. The actions of Jesus are the actions of God.



2. The identity of Jesus with God is not based so much on equality as with complete obedience. Jesus did what God wanted Him to do and nothing else. Jesus’ will was so completely submitted to God’s will that we see God in Him. Jesus is to God as we must be to Jesus.



3. This complete and total obedience is not based on submission to a greater power. It is based on love. The unity between Jesus and God is a unity of love.



What was the next claim that Jesus made in this passage? (Verse 21)



He is the giver of life. He and He alone has the power over life and death. How does Jesus give life?



In two ways:



1. He gives life now. We are not fully alive until and unless we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us. People into whose lives Jesus Christ has entered find life totally new. They don’t call it being born again without reason. With Jesus we are changed people. Our relationships are changed. Our attitudes about work and duty and fun are changed. Our relationship with God is changed.



2. He gives life in eternity. When this life is ended, a new life begins. A life that promises to be more full and wonderful than this one ever dreamed of being. Jesus gives life both in this world and in the world to come.



And Jesus’ next claim? (Verse 22)



He is the bringer of judgement. Not only did Jesus have the power of life over death, he also had the power of judgement. God gave all judgement into the hands of the Son. The whole process of judgement has been committed to Jesus Christ. And what does that mean to us?



Our judgement depends totally, 100% on our reaction to Jesus Christ.




We always recite John 3:16:



Joh 3:16 ESV
(16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.


But closely following that verse is this:



Joh 3:19 ESV
(19) And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.


If we find in Jesus the one person to be loved and followed, we are on the way to life. Jesus represents the light of God, the way of truth and love, the way God intends life to be. When the light that is God appears in the midst of our fallen world, we are faced with a dilemma: Follow the light or remain in darkness. That moment of decision is our moment of judgement.



And the next claim of Christ? (Verse 23)



He is the one worthy of honor. To acknowledge the Son as the true light is to honor him as Lord. Those who recognize Jesus as Lord also acknowledge God the Father as Lord. There can be no separation of the two. Anyone who claims to worship God while denying the deity of Christ has neither the Father nor the Son. Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the Father, worship the Father, or serve the Father.



And what does acceptance of Jesus Christ mean for us? (Verse 24) What does it mean to hear the word and believe?



Acceptance means life. To believe that God is as Jesus represents Him, that He is all love, is to enter into a new relationship with Him in which all fear is banished. To accept the way of life that Jesus offers us, however difficult that may be or whatever sacrifices it may involve, is the ultimate way to peace and happiness.



When does eternal life begin?



Anyone who hears and believes has eternal life. Not will have. Has. Eternal life has already begun for the believer.



And finally, Jesus discusses death and life in several different ways. (Verses 25-29)



Here the messianic claims of Jesus stand out most clearly. He is the Son of Man, the life-giver and the life-bringer. Jesus will not only bring new spiritual life to believers, he will raise the physically dead to life and, when they are raised, he will be their judge.





We may have a hard time articulating the relationship between love and judgement. We may assume that only those who are good will have eternal life because we think that God judges us according to our works.



Others of us may assume that God’s love will overpower judgement and will graciously save us all in spite of how we live. Today’s lesson not only stresses the love of God without denying the reality of judgement but also makes it clear that judgment and eternal life begin now.



John Wesley published 144 sermons. He ranked them, in his opinion, in order of importance. Brother Charles only published two sermons in his lifetime (with his thousands of hymns, he probably didn’t have time and anyway most of his hymns are as good as a sermon anyway). One of Charles’ two sermons, “Awake, Thou That Sleepest” is number three in John’s list of 144. Charles preached the sermon at The University of Oxford, St. Mary’s Church, on April 4, 1742 and was according to one in attendance that day “hissed out of the pulpit.” Despite the criticisms of those who first heard the sermon, history has judged it to be a Christian classic.



I mention the sermon now only because it contains one of my favorite quotes:



“Act quickly. Eternity draws near, and infinite happiness or infinite misery hinges on what you do now.”


Eternal life does not begin at some future “judgement day”. Judgement is now. Eternity is now. The desire of God is to bring us into the kind of loving life that will make possible an eternal life that is good. Those who assume that our good works will bring us into the Kingdom do not understand sin. No one is good enough to be part of the future sinless creation. Everyone needs forgiveness and grace, no matter how good our lives may seem.



How should recognizing that eternal life begins in this world make a practical difference in my life right now?



I should always “act quickly”. We experience the blessings of resurrection in every moment that we hear and obey. My infinite happiness or infinite misery hinges on how I respond to Christ’s calling right now...and now....and now........



How can we avoid making the mistakes of the Pharisees, who thought that they were protecting God’s truth but were actually violating it?



All of will eventually face God. God will judge the good that we do. But we must remember that “those who have done good” are those who have believed and trusted Jesus Christ. That is the only “good” that any of us can really do.