(Study Outline sourced from “The System Bible Study” – “The Book of Life” {Zondervan])
(17) Jesus Heals A Handicapped Man On The Sabbath – Claims Equality With God
“Here a great number of disabled people used to lie– the blind, the lame, the paralyzed….One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 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?”…..Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,”
“Sir…..I have no one to help me…” is the situation in which we all find ourselves because of our sin – Jesus, later finding the man at the Temple said to him “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” – a warning that the eternal consequences of sin are more serious than our physical condition. There is no indication that this man’s paralysis was due to his sin .
We are all doomed to die and to pay the eternal penalty for our sin because there is no good in us that God can declare us righteous; therefore, Jesus Christ had to become man so as to give His life as payment to the demands of the Law of God that required eternal death as the payment for our sin. Upon discovering that it was Jesus who had healed the man on the Sabbath, the Jews stepped up their persecution of Jesus and things began to get worse when Jesus continued to defend His actions by saying “My Father…” – claiming equality with God made the Jews try harder to “kill Him”
“Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. ….” . “…the Son can do nothing by himself…”– here Jesus explains that even though He is God, in His humanity as the Son of God, He depended upon, and could do nothing apart from His Father – “whatever the Father does the Son also does” – He did His Father’s will while He was clothed in humanity. In the same way that His Father gave life to the dead, the Son can do the same, because The Father had sent His Son into the world and has given His Son all the divine powers of the Godhead – this fact could not be accepted by the Jews.
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”
“…the Father…. has entrusted all judgment to the Son” – not only did Jesus have the power over nature, sickness, and death, He is also entrusted with the judgment of sin and sinners so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father – this fact is necessary to be understood not only by the Jews but by all mankind . It is therefore imperative that all must hear and believe the Word of God and His Son Jesus Christ, because all who hear and believe “has eternal life and….has crossed from death to life” – and Jesus indicates that the time “has now come” for the Jews and everyone else to hear and believe, because the appointed judgment cannot be avoided .
“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.”
In continuation, Jesus declares that He does not testify to His own defence, nor does He accept any other human testimony; and although John The Baptist testified as to who Jesus was, His greatest testimony comes from the “work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing” – a sign of the true prophet that Moses had given them – and furthermore, the very scriptures that the Jews study so carefully are “the Scriptures that testify about me..” yet they refuse to accept that Jesus is The Son of God, and that proves that they “do not have the love of God in your hearts” – by their rejection of Jesus they accepted the recognition and praise of the people but did not have the recognition and praise that really mattered – the “praise that comes from the only God” .
In conclusion Jesus declares that He will not accuse them before God His Father – “Your accuser is Moses” – was the response; and because they did not believe what Moses had written concerning Jesus they could not accept Jesus and the works that He was doing in their midst.
(18) The Pharisees Complain That The Disciples Pick Corn On The Sabbath
“When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread– which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?”
“Haven’t you read what David did…” – in defence of His disciples actions, Jesus points to the record of what David did when he and his men were hungry as they ran from Saul who had determined to kill David . The “consecrated bread”, or “showbread” as it was known traditionally, and often called the “bread of the Presence”; consisted of twelve loaves, one for each tribe; was placed on the Golden Table in the Temple as a continual offering to God in recognition of His divine presence and provision for His people – it was to be eaten by the priests as a part of their regular share of the offerings . David’s request for bread was met by the statement from the priest that there was only the consecrated bread available, and providing that the requirements were met by David and his men it was given to him .
Jesus continues by inquiring – “priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?” – referring to the fact that they are performing work related to the sacrifices yet are considered to be innocent of breaking the Law. Jewish tradition and the teaching of the Pharisees had so multiplied the requirements and restrictions of the Law of the Sabbath, the burden had become intolerable for the people. Jesus, in answer to this added burden of the Law attempted to illustrate the God-given purpose of the Sabbath – “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” – a day intended for spiritual, mental, and physical restoration . “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” – Jesus indicates that, as God, He had the authority to overrule the man-made restrictions that had been added to the Law by the Pharisees, especially where and when good deeds had to be done or where food was necessary .