Law Breaker

 

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  

Have you ever thought of Jesus as a law breaker?  As a common criminal?  If not then thankfully you do not possess the mindset of the early Jewish authorities and teachers of the law.  See, back in the day it was common knowledge that you didn't work on Saturdays.  That was seen as the Sabbath, the day the Lord rested from His labors of creating the heavens and the earth.  Well, all it would take was a sick man to toss a monkey wrench into the years of tradition that the Jews had been following.  One day Jesus came upon a sick man ling near the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.  Legend has it that a angel would come down, stir the waters of the pool and whoever stepped into the water first would be cured of whatever ailment they had.  You can imagine the race to be the first into the water when that happened.  As Jesus was passing the pool, He asked this sick man, "Do you want to be made well?"  Now, I'm sure that the very last thing on the sick mans mind was that this was the Sabbath.  Was this man who had tried and tried again to be the first into the pool and be healed supposed to simply tell Jesus, "No thank you, sir, for it's the Sabbath and any kind of work would certainly be illegal."  We're told that this man had been afflicted with his infirmity for thirty eight years {John 5:5}.  I can imagine that in the moment the Sabbath was the last thing on his mind.  So it was that Jesus healed the sick man and became a law breaker {John 5:8}.  Of course, when the Jewish authorities got wind of these works of Jesus, they immediately sought to kill Him {John 5:16}.  Jesus knew that He had done nothing wrong.  In fact, He knew that what He had just done was dismantle one of the traditions which works against us.  It's been said that the law is only as good as those who follow it.  I say that sooner or later, ANY law will be broken by someone somewhere.  How many times have you driven through a stop sign?  Those are only mans laws you say?  How many times have you taken the Lords name in vain?  How many times have you looked at a woman with not so good intentions?  If I were following the law, tomorrow would be the Sabbath for me.  Would I turn Jesus aside from saving me simply because it's a day long held by tradition?  Better yet, would Jesus Himself refrain from saving you on the Sabbath?  I think we already know the answer to that one.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel."

John 5: 19 - 20 NKJV 

Why had Jesus healed the sick man on the Sabbath?  I don't believe that Jesus chose that day in order to heal the man simply to stick it to the legalistic Jews.  The Jews who seemingly valued their traditions above all else that was important.  No, Jesus healed the man because He could.  This man was suffering, and Jesus eased his suffering.  This is what Jesus does.  Why would we be surprised that He would offer a healing touch to someone without regard to what day it was.  If you were sick wouldn't you wish Jesus to work in your life no matter the day?  Where is it that Jesus even got the notion to do such things?  Well, He tells the Jews assembled to accuse Him that He only does what He sees the Father do {John 5:19}.  In the minds of the Jewish authorities, Jesus has born the ultimate sin.  Not only had He worked on the Sabbath, but He claimed that God was His Father, making Him equal with God.  Blasphemy!  Now, if we were adhering to the Jewish law, I would be toast by now.  For I continually recognize Christ Jesus as the Son of the living God.  It is Jesus who tells His accusers that He and the Father have been working {John 5:17}.  I feel what most people lose sight of in these passages is the truth  by which Jesus explains Himself.  For Jesus does only what He sees the Father do.  How many of us picked up behaviors from our own parents that we continue to use today?  I have a friend who is a pretty good gardener.  He learned that from working with his father.  I have yet another friend who is good at working on cars.  Again, a skill he learned from his own father.  As believers, we have the opportunity to learn from the Father as Jesus has.  We do this through Christ Jesus in us.  The apostle Paul explains that it is Jesus who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  As Jesus learned from watching the Father, so will we learn from knowing Jesus.  

~Scott~