Jesus Preaches Gospel To Pharisees (J20)

Jesus spoke much to a large throng of Jews,
“My Father works always*; so does the Son;
Greater things than those of which you accuse
Will I do; things that my Father has done!
My Father raises the dead, so will I;
I give eternal life to whom I may;
Believe me, and my Father honors you;
Believe not, and be condemned Judgment Day!
My voice will be heard in all graves on earth;
The dead shall rise; my Father made me judge;
The righteous to eternal life of worth;
The evil to torment, that none begrudge!”
Said the Jews, “Not just Sabbath does he break,
But equal with God he does himself make!”

*Meaning: God works 7 days a week, including Sabbath, to keep this world running

The words of this poem are just a paraphrase of part of what Jesus said to the Pharisees who accused Him of breaking the Sabbath after He healed the invalid at Bethesda Pool. I will finish His talk in my next blog. This poem/commentary concerns the scripture John 5:16-30.

“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working!’ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:16-18)

Although the poem’s quotes are paraphrased, they convey the accurate meanings of Jesus. Of course He was claiming equality with God, because He was God. He pulled no punches. This is John’s way of presenting Jesus, and his gospel book angered the Jews more than any other. These Pharisees were the experts on Mosaic Law given to Israel by God, and there are at least 340 prophecies about the coming of Jesus (Messiah) in Hebrew scripture, every one of which came true. These so-called “experts” on the Law should have checked them all out, found them true, and welcomed Jesus to His kingdom; they should have given Him a royal escort to the temple, put the crown that had been made for Him in Zechariah’s time (See Zechariah 5:8-15), and introduced Israel’s divine King. Instead, they tried to arrest Him for breaking one of their man-made rinky-dink rules because He healed a 38-year invalid on the Sabbath! Jesus told them clearly the gospel—believe and be resurrected to eternal life or disbelieve and be condemned.

However, at this point, Jesus did not want their friendship and support. God had decided in Jeremiah’s time (700 years before) to disallow His covenant with the Jews—rather, they had so broken their side, that God didn’t want them accepting Jesus (See Jeremiah 31:31)—that He had decided on the covenant of grace; that He would come to earth and be crucified in atonement for the sins of all people, scrubbing the Law as a means of salvation; which it never was, anyway. Humanity was unable to live righteously, so God made it possible for those who accepted Jesus to be saved by the righteousness of Jesus. What that means is, you can’t ever earn your place in heaven; you will always sin; but you can believe in Jesus and be saved, because He lived and died to give you that privilege! That is grace—the unearned favor of God!

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)