“But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.” (John 5:36 NLT)

Jesus returned to Jerusalem to observe the holy days at the temple. While He was there, He passed the pool of Bethesda, a place of hope and despair. The waters of the pool seem to have had a healing effect. Many people believed that an angel occasionally came down to stir the waters. And the first person who entered the pool after the waters had been stirred would be cured of their ailment.

That explains why crowds of sick, blind, disabled, and paralyzed people gathered on the five porches that surrounded the pool. They each hoped for a miraculous healing. One man had been disabled for 38 years. But since he had no one to help him into the water, he had no hope for healing. Or so he thought.

With one sentence in verse 8—“Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (NLT)—Jesus changed his life forever. The man was healed instantly. He picked up his mat and walked away. Only to be busted moments later by the Jewish religious leaders.

It turns out that the healing had taken place on the Sabbath. And in Jewish culture, there were all kinds of rules about what people could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath.

So when the religious leaders saw this man who had been disabled for four decades suddenly walking, the first thing they wanted to know was . . . why he was carrying a mat on the Sabbath.

And when the man identified Jesus as the One who had healed him, the Sabbath police went after Him. They didn’t express awe over Jesus’ healing power. They didn’t praise Him for His compassion and concern. Instead, they harassed Him for breaking their Sabbath rules.

These hypocritical religious leaders, with their misplaced priorities, were so concerned about Jesus’ growing influence that they started looking for reasons to have Him put to death. Jesus gave them everything they needed and more.

He referred to God as “My Father,” which was the same as calling Himself equal with God. He pointed out that everything He said and did had God’s blessing. That meant His words were God’s truth. He claimed the power of judgment over everyone. He made it clear that anyone who didn’t honor Him—including the Sabbath-obsessed religious leaders—didn’t honor God, who sent Him.

Jesus told them that the power of eternal life rested with Him. And that He was carrying out the will of His Father. So anyone who opposed Him opposed God’s will.

He reminded the religious leaders that they had taken John the Baptist seriously—and John the Baptist’s entire ministry was built on testifying that Jesus was the Son of God. And then He pointed out that the religious leaders revered Moses and his —and Moses had written about Him (Jesus) centuries before.

The truth that Jesus’ enemies couldn’t wrap their heads around still gives us assurance and confidence today: Every reliable witness testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior.

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