#14 John 5:1-15
Leader: Have your Student write down the Passage and the Questions then, give them a week to prepare.
Passage: John 5:1-15
Questions:
- 1) What does the third miracle in John’s gospel reveal about Jesus?
- 2) What questions do you have?
Then, this week the Student will:
- Read the Passage every day!
- Handwrite the Passage
- Answer the questions
When you do meet again, you will go over this…
John 5:1-15
5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Notes for Leader:
Open your time together with prayer. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation and teach what needs to be learned and heard during your discussion. He will give you the words that you need! May you grow closer together and closer to Jesus.
Briefly review what you learned last week. Now, let’s see what else we can discover about who Jesus is…
Here is what we noticed.
1) What does the third miracle in John’s gospel reveal about Jesus?
v.6 Do you want to get well? This man was paralyzed for 38 years! He sat near the pool hoping for healing, yet Jesus wants him to answer and reveal what is in his heart.
v.7 He doesn’t answer yes!?! He makes excuses for why he isn’t already well. And, he limits God’s ability to heal to being in the pool.
v.8 Command – Get up. Pick up your mat and walk.
Faith in pool waters vs. faith in Jesus
Ironically, this man had faith in the healing powers of the pool waters but, he did not have faith in Jesus… yet, Jesus healed him!
v.9a cured “at once” – the man was healed completely and immediately
v.9b Sabbath – no work allowed according to Jewish Law. See Exodus 20:8-10
v.10-11 The Jews remind the man of the Sabbath rules, the man blames Jesus, “He healed me and I just obeyed him”. God created the Sabbath for Man’s good, not as a burden or as something that prevents Man’s healing or keeps Man from relationship with God, so Jesus ignores the rules created by Man.
v.13 Jesus slipped away into the crowd. Jesus does not draw any attention to himself, so little attention, that even the man that he healed did not know his name! Jesus does not do miracles for the purpose of promoting himself.
v.14 We don’t actually know how much later. Jesus is concerned about the man’s spiritual health, living a life of sin will bring a worse result than being crippled for 38 years! Jesus tells the man to stop sinning… the verb tense for sinning is the present imperative, which means that means it is repetitive and presently happening, it is a way of life. I wonder what that sin was, was there something specific Jesus was referring to? Jesus wants this man to repent, to find forgiveness and more importantly, eternal life. Jesus healed this man, for nothing that the man did, he did not even have faith. This story is about grace, this man did nothing to deserve this healing… but grace without repentance does not demonstrate a changed life. We must stop living in continual sin and change direction. Jesus sought this man out LATER, to help him recognize his need for spiritual health.
2) What questions do you have?
Don’t be nervous about this one… the Holy Spirit will help you answer. If you are discipling a young child (and most others!), remember that they are not expecting a doctoral dissertation when you answer, so keep it simple and true. And, it is ok to say, “I am not sure, let’s look into that together.” And then add that question to your study for next week.
Allow the Spirit to lead a great conversation!
Now, look ahead to next week’s study and give your student the next passage and questions to prepare this coming week.