Miracle At Bethesda

After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Immediately, the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.”
(John 5:1-9a)

This miracle perfectly illustrates God’s sovereign grace in action. Out of all the sick people at the pool, Jesus chose to heal this one man. There was nothing about him that made him more deserving than the others, nor did he seek out Jesus; Jesus approached him. The Lord did not choose him because He foresaw that he had the faith to believe; he never did express belief that Jesus could heal him.
It is the same way in salvation. Out of the spiritually dead multitude of Adam’s fallen race, God chose and redeemed His elect — not because of anything they did to deserve it, or because of their foreseen faith, but because of His sovereign choice.

Ask Yourself:
Be on the lookout for people in need — those you meet in very random encounters, as well as those you know well, people you see on a fairly routine basis. Wherever possible, be part of bringing hope and compassion to those who think no one really cares about them. Understand that you represent Jesus’ love and mercy everywhere you go.
Pastor Ben

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Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
(John 4:50-54)

The royal official did not dispute Jesus’ assessment of him and his fellow Galileans. Instead, he pored out his heart, exclaiming, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Despite Christ’s rebuke of the Galileans’ faithless demand for miracles, the Lord graciously performed the miracle and drew the official’s faith to a higher level.
Rather than agreeing to go back to Capernaum with him as the official had begged Him to do, Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” At that very instant (vs. 52-53), the boy was healed. Though he had no confirmation of it, “the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him” and started off for home.
On the way, his slaves met him and he received the good news he was hoping to get: “his son was living.” When he discovered that the time of his son’s recovery was at the very hour that Jesus spoke the proclamation of healing, not only did the royal official himself believe, but also his whole household.

Ask Yourself:
It is hard to be one faithful person among many others who are unfaithful. How are you being called to exercise the lonely, upstream walk of faith in your work or church or family environment? Pray that you would keep believing, even when all those around you discount your unflagging trust.

Pastor Ben

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Facing Unbelief

After the two days, He went forth from there to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”(John 4:43-49)

The proverbial statement “a prophet has no honor in his own country” contrasts Jesus’ acceptance by the Samaritans with His general rejection by the Jewish people (1:11). Jesus returned to Galilee knowing that the saying would be proved true in His case.
John’s statement, “so when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him,” does not mean that they believed in Jesus as the Messiah; they merely welcomed Him as a miracle worker.
The Lord’s encounter with the royal official in Cana is just one more example that the faith of many Galileans, like that of many Judeans, was only superficial, curious, non-saving interest. As a result, Jesus issued this stern rebuke: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”

Ask Yourself:
Has familiarity with Jesus robbed you of recognizing the wonder of His ministry in and around you? How can a person guard against this natural tendency, living daily and actively in His presence while not growing ho-hum with the work He does and the blessings He provides?

Pastor Ben

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Christ’s Concern for Souls

Do you not say, “There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest?” Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.
(John 4:35-38)

Using the grain growing in the surrounding fields as an object lesson, Jesus impressed on the disciples the urgency of reaching the lost. There was no need to wait four months; the spiritual fields were already “white for harvest.” He was likely referring to the Samaritans, who at that moment, were coming toward them (v. 30). Their white clothing formed a striking contrast with the brilliant green of the ripening grain and looked like the white heads on the stalks that indicated the time for harvest.
By telling the disciples that the one “who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal,” the Lord highlighted their responsibility to participate in the harvest of souls. They would receive their “wages”

Intimacy With The Father

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”(John 4:31-34)

The disciples’ primary concern at this point had been food. That’s why they urged Jesus to eat. Jesus, however, had a higher priority, as His reply to them makes clear: “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” Like the Samaritan woman (4:11), the disciples misunderstood Jesus’ words and began saying doubtfully to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”
Jesus took advantage of their confusion to teach them an important spiritual lesson. He said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” Doing God’s will by proclaiming the truth to a lost sinner gave the Lord satisfaction and sustenance far surpassing what food could give to Him.
Jesus frequently referred to the Father as the One who sent Him. His goal during His earthly ministry was to accomplish His work of salvation. Throughout His ministry, Jesus walked in perfect intimacy with His Father, living in complete accordance with the Father’s will until His cry of triumph from the cross — “It is finished!” (19:30) — marked the accomplishment of His mission on earth. Submitting to the Father was Jesus’ constant devotion, consummate joy, and true sustenance.

Ask Yourself:
How often does food come between you and sweet fellowship with your Father in heaven? In what ways does this legitimate appetite become a force that overrules and overrides the greater necessity of daily dependence on God?

Pastor Ben

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What Is Living Water?

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?” . . . Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
(John 4:10-11, 13-14)

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well is another opportunity for Him to teach profound spiritual truth through a metaphor. When their conversation began, He was the thirsty one, and she was the one with the water. Now, He spoke as if she were the thirsty one. And He was the one with the water. Her confusion is not unexpected. She did not understand Jesus was talking about spiritual realities. The “living water” He offered was salvation in all its fullness.
But she was skeptical of His ability to provide the living water He offered. So, Jesus patiently answered her skeptical question: (Read vs. 13-14 again). Here was Jesus offering her the living water of spiritual life to quench her parched, needy soul.

Ask Yourself:
What activities of Jesus in your life share some common qualities with water — its clarity, its refreshment, its cleansing, its sustenance, its replenishment? Praise Him for each of these things as He brings them to mind.
Pastor Ben

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All Authority From The Father

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”(John 3:35-36)

Because of His love for the Son, the Father has given Him supreme authority over all things on earth and in heaven (Matthew 11:27; 28:18; Philippians 2:9-11). That supremacy is a clear indicator of His deity.
John’s affirmation of Jesus’ absolute authority demonstrated his humble attitude, even as his own heralding ministry faded into the background. Having fulfilled his mission on earth, John realized that his work would soon be finished.
But before he faded from the scene, John gave a warning and invitation that forms a fitting climax to his ministry: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” The blessed truth of salvation is that the one “who believes in the Son has eternal life” as a present possession, not merely as a future hope.
But on the other hand, the one “who does not obey the Son will not see life.” The fearful reality is that “the wrath of God” continually “abides on” disobedient sinners who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ. Condemnation is their present condition. The idea here is not that God will one day condemn sinners for their disobedient unbelief; they are already in a state of condemnation (John 3:18; 2 Peter 2:9) from which only saving faith in Jesus Christ can deliver them.

Ask Yourself:
In what ways is the wrath of God evident in the lives of unbelievers? How do you hear it in their voice, see it in their eyes, notice it in their countenance, observe it in their families? Some of these folks seem so nice and easy-going. What are the more subtle forms of dissatisfaction they carry within them?

Pastor Ben

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