Daily Dose of Hope

October 10, 2025

Scripture – John 5

Prayer: Holy God, How amazing it is that we can come before you today. You are God of all things, Lord of everything, and yet you care about each of us. We give you glory and praise. We thank you most of all for Jesus, who made it possible for us to walk hand in hand with a holy God. Help us see today's Scripture through fresh eyes. Keep teaching us, Lord. Continue to reveal yourself to us. We are open and grateful. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. As most of you know, we are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we dive into John 5.

The chapter starts with a narrative about the disabled man who had not been able to walk for thirty-eight years. There are a couple reflections I had from the text. You may have noticed them too.

First, when Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well, the man did not say yes. Instead, he blamed his circumstances for why he was disabled. "Well, no one will help me into the waters and then people go ahead of me." He takes no responsibility, and he puts all his trust in this mystical pool. How many times have we done the same thing? Maybe we haven't put trust in a pool, but we have wanted to blame others or blame the whole world for our deep-rooted problems.

Second, when the religious leaders find out Jesus healed on the Sabbath, they become angered. They say nothing about how this man experienced healing after thirty-eight years of disability. How crazy is it that all they care about are the rules? They have no concern for individual people.

Jesus turned social and religious norms upside down. He was less concerned with convention and more concerned about the souls of people. The Pharisees totally were missing the point. How often do we miss the point?

Healing on the Sabbath only makes Jesus more of a target for the religious establishment. This begins a discourse of Jesus' authority. One of the more important questions we have here is – what is the relationship between the authority of the Father the authority of the Son? Jesus says that the son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. This is where we have to be careful in our interpretation.

What can we learn from these verses?

1. The Son doesn't operate independently of the Father.
2. The Son is in constant touch with the Father.
3. The Son does what he discerns the Father is doing.
4. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.

The key to Jesus' Sonship is constant communication with and obedience to the Father. Thus, he is the perfect expression of the Father here on earth. In chapter 1 we read, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." (1:18)

The chapter ends with testimonies about Jesus. The reality is that anyone could come and make claims about divinity and sonship. Jesus knew this. He says if it were just his personal testimony, then basically no one should believe what he has to say. But Jesus says there are other witnesses that can attest to who he is. First, there is God the Father. He comes in his Father's name. Then, there is John the Baptist. Next, there are many signs and wonders which attest to his divinity. There is plenty of testimony that Jesus is who he said he is. Basically, everything in the Scriptures points to Jesus. John says that if we fail to recognize that, then his Word doesn't dwell in us.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki