John 5:16-30 (Sermon Outline)
Sermon Outline
WANTED MAN: The Rule Breaker
John 5:16-30
I. Introduction:
a. Last week we looked at Jesus’ visit to the Pool of Bethesda, and how He miraculously healed a man who had been crippled for 38 years (John 5:1-15). You would think that this story would have had a happy ending, and Jesus would have become EVERYONE’S Hero for what He had done! And yet, this was the furthest thing from the truth. Jesus did not become everyone’s hero, He instead found Himself on Israel’s Most Wanted List. The moment Jesus gives this poor paralytic what he wants (John 5:6-8), He becomes wanted by everyone! However, the people that wanted Jesus most, did not want what Jesus could do for them through faith, they wanted to get rid of Jesus (John 5:16).
b. This response to Jesus, simply because He has forever changed and transformed this individuals life, has been the typical response to Jesus throughout the history of the Christian faith. People either rejoice and praise God for what Jesus does, or they reject Jesus and try to get rid of Him. Either way, Jesus becomes a WANTED MAN!
c. It is this idea that has inspired the big question we will be answering this morning, which is: Why should we want Jesus?
II. Message: If you would please stand in honor of reading God’s Word, we are going to begin with part of last weeks text from (vv.8-15), in order to help lead us into the passage we will be studying together today.
i. READ: John 5:8-15
ii. And so here we read that Jesus heals this man who had been a paralytic for 38 years, and as Jesus is healing him, (v.8) tells us that Jesus commands the man to do the very thing that contemporary Judaism forbid any Israelite to do on the Sabbath… “Take up your bed!”
iii. The Sabbath observation was at the heart of Jewish worship in Jesus’ day, and so when Jesus heals this man … the man immediately takes up his bed, and leaves. And he goes to the Temple, and the moment the religious leaders see him, they rebuke him and seek to find out who healed him.
iv. How blinded were these men? They were more concerned about their rules than they are about God’s rules. And second, they’re more concerned about their rules than they are about people! Because they had added to the Word of God in order to help them (in their deceived minds) better keep God’s Word. However, the only thing they actually did by adding to God’s Word, was break the Greatest Commandments that override all commandments, which is “to love God and to love your neighbor!”
v. God had just done the impossible in this man’s life, and the only thing these men were concerned with, is that their man-made rules were being broken, which causes them to go on a manhunt for Jesus.
vi. And so this is the setting as we travel into this next section of Scripture in John 5.
a. And it is also this idea that has inspired the 1st answer to this morning’s big question. The big question we are answering today is, Why is Jesus a wanted man? The reason Jesus is a wanted man is because Jesus BROKE all the RULES of man-made religion (5:16).
i. READ: John 5:15-16
ii. You see these men were accusing Jesus of being a rule breaker. They were accusing Him of breaking the Sabbath, and that’s because the OT prohibited working on the Sabbath, and the penalty was death for anyone who did.
iii. READ: Exodus 35:2
iv. The work that God’s Word is addressing here is the work they would do in order to make a living the other 6 days of the week. So any work that was done along those lines on the Sabbath, was a violation to God’s Word. And therefore it does not apply to this man who was miraculously healed, and then carried his bed home after the healing.
v. God wanted Israel to work hard, but not to be workaholics, where there work came before their relationship with Him. They were to trust and obey God to provide for them, and the way they were to demonstrate that trust was by setting aside the Sabbath for rest and for devoting their day to the LORD.
vi. And it is really no different for us today is it? Do we put our work or our hobbies before God, so that God simply gets the leftovers week after week, whenever we have leftovers to offer?
vii. This act of faith on the Sabbath was meant to be “a sign between the LORD and Israelthroughout their generations, that they would know that it is the LORD who sanctifies them” (Exodus 31:13). And it’s really no different for us today is it. We faithfully come to church so that we can worship Jesus and show the world that He is first in our life.
viii. However, rabbinic tradition went far beyond just this commandment that God gave in regards to the Sabbath. In fact, like so many of us have the tendency to do, these men got caught in the trap of running to extremes in life. God’s will has been revealed and needs to be understood the way God intended it to be. The religious rulers in Jerusalem read God’s Word, and decided to show God and everyone else, how extra spiritual they could be for God, by creating their own rules on how to go about obeying God’s rules, and then forcing everyone else to adhere to them as well.
ix. Rabbinic tradition listed 39 forbidden categories of work. They even had everyday life defined to the point where it was hard for a person to live. (Orthodox Jews still try to live by them today as well!)
x. Here are a few examples
1. You could not turn over in bed more than 7 times or that was considered work.
2. Throwing a toothpick into a fire was also considered a violation of the Sabbath
3. If you wanted to borrow something from your neighbor, you could not put your hand through the threshold of the door to receive it, nor could the neighbor put their hand through the threshold of the door. This would be considered work. If you both met halfway, it was not considered work.
vii. This was the type of ridiculous extremes the Rabbi’s had gone to.
xi. Listen to what Jesus says about these “extra” rules that the rabbis had developed.
xii. READ: Matthew 15:6
xiii. Jesus said in Matthew 15:6, “You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.”
xiv. Jesus is telling them that they have actually made the word of God to be of no effect in their life and in the lives of those who follow them, because they are misusing it, and taking it out of context. We have to be careful of that as well. That is why the Bible exhorts every believer to be able to study God’s Word on their own.
xv. READ: 2 Timothy 2:15
xvi. The Bible exhorts us to be able to “rightly divide” the word of truth. This Greek word for “rightly divide” is a powerful word. It literally means, “cutting straight.” To cut along a straight line, or to cut a strait road, or to keep a straight course.
xvii. LOOKING ON THE NEXT SLIDE: Forest / Highway
xviii. It reminds me of when Lyndsey, Jeremiah, and I lived in Vancouver Washington. Whenever we wanted to drive to the coast, we would cross over the Columbia River, drive through Portland Oregon, catch Highway 26, and make our way through 2 different state forests, in order to get to the Beach.
xix. But in order for us to get from Portland to the Beach, someone had to cut a straight path through the massive forest. And in order for anyone to travel from point A to point B, they have to stay upon the straight path that was cut. If you veer off the road and try to make your way to the beach, by travelling on your own path, you are going to find yourself lost and in serious danger soon.
xx. That is why the Bible exhorts you and me to be men and women who read the Word of God and follow it’s guidance for our lives. You see, these individuals that were after Jesus, were not cutting a straight path for themselves to travel upon, or for others to follow. They were lost, and heading for destruction because they had veered away from God’s Word.
xxi. But what Jesus did on the Sabbath to heal this man was not violating the Sabbath. It was only violating their traditions. Because acts of mercy, works of kindness that benefited other people, were never meant to be excluded on the Sabbath. Think about that. If these acts of Mercy we see Jesus doing on the Sabbath throughout His ministry were not permitted by God, then there would never be any “good deeds” or “acts of kindness” shown to anyone on that day! For 52 weeks out of the year, there would be a lack of kindness and mercy being shown by God’s people, and the Sabbath was supposed to be a sign that we were God’s people! Does that make sense? Of course not!
xxii. Let us not run to extremes like these religious rulers were doing in the days of Jesus, and instead of loving God, they trapping themselves and everyone else in bondage with their traditions.
xxiii. And it is for this reason that Jesus became a wanted man! The moment He heals this paralytic and commands him to “Rise, pick up his bed, and walk”, He becomes a wanted man, by those who had set up their own standards for what it meant to obey God’s Word.
xxiv. It’s important for us to understand though; Jesus did not break the commandments of God. What Jesus broke was the Rabbinic tradition of man-made religion. And it’s a good reminder to us, that we want to be men and women who are always willing to break the rules when the rules are in opposition to the Word of God.
xxv. And just as Jesus’ breaking their version of the Sabbath caused these men to want Jesus for the wrong reason, to get rid of Him… this claim should also cause you and me to want Jesus because He wants to protects us from man-centered religion.
xxvi. Let’s move onto the 2nd passage of this mornings message, which is found in (vv.17-18).
b. Why is Jesus a wanted man? Jesus is GOD’S SON (5:17-18)
i. READ: John 5:16-18
ii. As I mentioned already, the Sabbath observation was at the heart of Jewish worship, and these men who now wanted to kill Jesus are now confronted with another outrageous reality, and that is Jesus claims to be God. In (v.18), we read that these men “sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father (v.17), making Himself equal with God.”
iii. These religious leaders first wanted to kill Jesus for breaking the Sabbath, but now, He’s also committed blasphemy as far as they are concerned, because He has made Himself equal to God (v.18).
iv. And so in (v.17) Jesus defends Himself, not by clarifying the purpose of the Sabbath. His defense was that God was working on the Sabbath, which made it okay for Him, God’s Son to also work. The Religious leaders would all agree that God did not take a day off on the Sabbath. They believed that if He did, the entire creation would crumble. And what Jesus is trying to get across to them is that if God was working, then it was perfectly legitimate for Him to be working as well, since He is God’s Son.
v. This is why the Jews sought “all the more” to kill Him, because Jesus was making the claim that He is God’s Son, making Him equal to God. And as far as they were concerned, that was blasphemy!
vi. It is this idea that has inspired our 2nd answer to this morning’s big question. Why is Jesus a wanted man? Jesus is GOD’S SON (5:17-18)
vii. The reason these men wanted Jesus dead, was because He not only broke their man-made rules and traditions on the Sabbath, but He also claimed equality with God, when He informed them that He was God’s Son. And for this reason, they wanted Jesus dead.
viii. And what I want to point out here is the fact that just as they WANTED Jesus dead because of His claim that He was God’s Son. This same truth should cause you and me to want Jesus because He is God’s Son. We should want Jesus to rescue us, because it is by believing that Jesus is God’s Son who died and rose again that enables us to find true rest in the Lord, but to also be saved and have eternal life (John 3:16).
ix. Let’s move onto the final passage of Scripture found in (vv.19-30), and see how Jesus defended Himself against their accusations.
c. Why is Jesus a wanted man? Jesus is our SAVIOR (5:19-30)
i. READ: John 5:19-30
ii. Here we read that Jesus “answered” their accusations of His claim to being “equal to God”, by not denying it, but rather ENDORSING IT!
iii. Jesus says 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.”
iv. The opening line to this verse is a powerful statement that John is pointing out here.
v. You see this statement “Most Assuredly” is what theologians call the “double amen”, and is found 3 times in this mornings text (5:19, 24, 25), and 25 times throughout John’s gospel. John uses this form throughout His gospel as an obvious signal that the words Jesus is saying are extremely important to listen to, and to comprehend.
vi. In this final passage, Jesus not only affirms that He is equal to God, but also that as the Son, He is dependent upon the Father, and in submission to the Father.
vii. In response to their accusations, Jesus will make 3 significant claims in order to prove that He is the Son of God.
1. Jesus claims to have AUTHORITY TO RAISE THE DEAD (5:19-21)
a. In this passage we read that Jesus also emphasizes that He is truly equal to His Father in works, but not in competition. Rather in submission and dependence.
2. He claimed to be the JUDGE OF HUMANITY (5:22-27)
a. Here we see that Jesus also claims equality with the Father in His ability to judge (5:22)
b. He also claimed to be equal in honor with the Father (5:23)
c. In (v.27) Jesus uses the title “Son of man”, which is referring to Daniel 7:13-14 and is a definite Messianic title. It is used 12 times in John’s Gospel and over 80 times in all 4 Gospels. The Jews would know this title from their reading of the Book of Daniel; and they would know that, by using it, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, and the Judge.
3. He claimed to OFFER ETERNAL LIFE to whomever He wishes (5:28-30)
III. Life Application:
a. Today we have been answering the question, Why was Jesus a wanted man? We learned that:
i. Jesus BROKE all the RULES on man-made religion (5:16)
ii. Jesus claimed He was GOD’S SON (5:17-18)
iii. Jesus claimed He was our SAVIOR (5:19-30)
b. But these men that were opposing Jesus missed it all. They wanted Jesus for all the wrong reasons!
