John 5, The Politics of Bethesda: Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to be well?” The man said, “Sure!” Jesus said, “Take up your bed and walk.” So the guy did, and he had no idea God had just visited him. The Pharisee’s, who seemed to be screening things, tell the guy, “Gahh! Don’t you know it is WRONG to work (carry you bed) on the Sabbath!??!? What’s a matter with you?!!?” The guy sez, “Well, the man who made me well said to pickup my bed, so i did.” Pharisee’s, with condescending exasperation, “ARGH! Do you do everything you’re told?!? Who is this “person” who said pick up your bed!??” The guy sez, “I don’t know.” Later, the guy who was healed was in the temple (he evidently was not ignorant of who God was, he just didn’t actually know Jesus), there he meets Jesus, Jesus gives him some advice, then the guy goes and tells the Pharisee’s (“Look!, Look!, right over there! That’s the guy!”). Then Jesus makes an incredible statement about working on the Sabbath, He sez, vs17, “My father is working today, so i’m working today.” Very upsetting! Jesus was a lot of things, but “nice” wasn’t one of them.
“Nice” is VERY subjective you know. Ummm … ok, wait. The law says it is illegal to work on the Sabbath, but the Father works on the Sabbath, Jesus works on the Sabbath. Wait a minute! So if God didn’t make that law, then who did? The lawyers and Pharisees were more concerned with obeying the rules, and who cares if anyone got healed after 38 years of being incapacitated, just keep the rules, by all means. Following God’s lead is far more important than being a good rule keeper, checking off all the performance accomplishments. Prayed today, Check!, read my Bible today, Check!, Went to church today, Check!, Witnessed to someone, Check!, Spent an hour with my spouse (how gracious of me), Check! Was nice to people at work (feeling piously benevolent about that), Check! Didn’t work on the Sabbath (oh man, i’m doing the stuff now!), Check! i should be ok ’cause my list is checked off right? But why is my job, my marriage, my relationship with my folks/kids, why does all that just seem kind of, i don’t know, tilted?? Off balance, unfulfilling.
Why do i always spiritually feel like my arm is out of joint and i’m out of breath? Why do i feel like i’ve been holding my breath all day? i’m doing the formula, and it’s just not cutting it anymore! Oh bother, What will we do, what will we do?? i’m fairly certain that in the life of every believer, at some point, doing the formula (pray/read/fellowship/tithe) is not enough, and there’s nothing wrong with doing those four points, of course not, it’s just that being good little law keepers isn’t enough. Toeing the line of a moral code will eventually inspire the best of us to be double-minded simply because the pressure to constantly perform is more weight than we can bear. God wants a relationship not just rule keepers, he doesn’t want to do it FOR us, He wants to do it WITH us. Do you believe that y-o-u-r well being is directly tied to y-o-u-r ability to be obedient?? Be honest!
That means when you get life wrong you don’t deserve to be well or do well, and when you get it right enough, ahh,now you are worthy of blessing and well being.
Ships captains of 150 years ago used to have a phrase that everyone recognized as a command to come about to the given nautical heading. They would say, “Come to”, meaning to change your old heading to the new. Maybe you don’t exactly know who is gently knocking on the door of your heart. Maybe you think you do and it terrifies you. Maybe you think if you could get your life together better things would go more smoothly, always reaching to be a little more obedient in hopes of a better result. Maybe some of that is generally true in the sense of just paying attention to the details, like washing your clothes, doing the dishes, or showing up for work. But thinking we can be obedient enough that God will give us what we want is another story. We must cease our mindset of giving to get, always needing a little bit more in order for you to be OK.
Being a rule keeper may make us acceptable to our peers, but what if we did the right thing simply because it was the right thing, not because the rules said we should do the right thing? You know, people tend to mandate acting correctly and also feel the need to add a penalty at the end, like a threat to all rule breakers everywhere.
The Pharisee’s of John 5 demanded the minions keep the rules and do what they were told. They made up rules the minions had to keep that they, themselves, had special excuses as to why they didn’t have to keep the same rules. On one hand they demanded the man be obedient to their rules, but on the other hand when the man obeyed God instead of keeping the rules, they wanted to know if he always did what he was told. Oh, so, it’s like the attitude is: i’m glad you do what you’re told as long as i’m the one doing the telling, otherwise you’re just disobedient? Church leaders set a standard tithe as 10%, but God moved that forward and said something bigger, He said, “Follow me”, which is a present, active, imperative verb. It’s imperative, meaning “do it!” It doesn’t mean keep the rules, nor did He add a penalty afterwards saying, “and if you don’t, i’ll make you pay.” That’s not what God said. Acts5:29, “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” and Acts4:19, “But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you decide.” i didn’t say don’t respect authority, but i am saying our ultimate responsibility is to God, first, with a continuous upward pointing to the sovereignty of God as a platform for where we plant our feet, on the entire word of God, not just the parts which support our agenda.
What do you think?