Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”

 John 5:10-18

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” John  5:14

I continue my study of John, and today, I unpack John 5:10-18 using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: After healing the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years, Jesus finds the man in the temple, greets him and warns him to "sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you" (v14).  We should understand that all believers sin and will continue to do so until we die - we are human!  So Jesus is not expecting us to not sin at all, its that we must refrain from willful patterns of sin that demonstrate a lack of faith and a lack of abiding in Him and His Word - doubts in Jesus will inevitably creep in and lead us into further sin.  See this post and another on repentance from RC Sproul.  V17 shares that God the Father is working until now, and that Jesus is working, and here we see two identities of the Triune God at work as the Father sent the Son.         
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Building on the text from yesterday where we saw a man healed who had been unable to walk for 38 years, we see the response from the Jews (implied it is Jewish leadership who felt threatened by Jesus) who believe that it was unlawful for the man to "take up his bed" (v10) on the Sabbath.  The man indicates he only followed the commands/instructions from the man who healed him, and he did not know it was Jesus because the text shares that "Jesus had withdrawn as there was a crowd in the place" (v13).  Jewish leadership wants to know who this person is who is healing and getting others to "work" on the Sabbath.  In scripture, Jewish leadership often (read about ceremonial vs moral law) add to/subtract from the law and use tradition to bend the law in their direction for their favor and benefit, particularly in how they use the law to crucify Jesus. Yes God wants us to use the Sabbath to rest and for worship of Him, but it is not sinful to work on the Sabbath (see this post from DesiringGod.com).  The Jews learn that it is Jesus that healed the man and seek to persecute Him for "working" on the Sabbath, and for considering Himself equal with God (vv16,18).      
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?):  Avoid willful sin and bending the law in our direction in our favor.  See Jesus as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and as Lord and Savior.  Repent, follow Jesus, and abide/remain in Him.    

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who provides Your Word that is perfect (2 Timothy 3:16) - You also save and continue to work in my heart and life.  Thank You Jesus for saving me and for working in my life.  I am not deserving of such love and blessing.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

Mark 6:30-44

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Mark 6:30-32

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 6:30-44.  Excerpts from introduction to the commentary for this text and for the first (of three) division (vv30-32):

• The title of this chapter of the commentary for the text is: "The Feeding of the Five Thousand;" the Main idea is: "Jesus’ mission of love and rescue is demonstrated in His feeding of the five thousand;" the title of the first division per the commentary: "Like Jesus We Should Find Rest from Ministry." 
• "John 6:15 informs us that this miracle made such an impact on the crowd that they attempted to take Jesus “by force to make Him king.” Our Lord would refuse their advance and stay the course to the cross, as was His divine destiny."  
• "When Jesus authorizes us and empowers us, we can anticipate God’s blessings in what we do. We must simply believe and go.
• "This was how our Lord mentored His men: Teach them. Send them out.  Have them return. Report and evaluate. I doubt we can improve on this model of discipleship and training."  
• "They had worked hard, putting in many long hours. Still the blessings and joys of ministry were evident."  
• Jesus calls the Twelve together and encourages them to rest. "We can glean several practical insights. (1) There is a time to work (cf. John 9:4). Laziness has no place in the Christian life. (2) We should have periods of rest because Jesus tells us to. Being a workaholic is not spiritual and actually can be sinful. Some make ministry an idol. (3) Rest is best when accompanied both by solitude and companionship. (4) Rest is for a specific period of time. It is not permanent. (5) Even while resting, be prepared for ministry if necessary. A devoted follower of Jesus is never off duty."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and gives rest - a rest that we can find only through You....physical rest, emotional rest, and a spiritual rest.  Thank You Jesus for how You provide this rest and of course how You save.  I am not deserving of how You save nor how You bless with this rest.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Portions of Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers-Deuteronomy

  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  Exodus 20: 8-11

Day 48 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on God speaking through Moses to remind the Israelites of the laws before they enter the Promised Land.  Of particular importance in today's scripture is to rest on Sabbath - the 4th commandment.

The importance of Sabbath rest is reinforced by it's mention more than 15 times in the Bible.

My commentary refers to the Sabbath "as symbolic of the day upon which God rested after creation, and a reminder that no day of rest was permitted when the Israelites were in Egyptian bondage. It is the one day each week when all attention can be focused upon God and his blessings. And, although the Sabbath falls on the last day of each week, it foreshadows a time when the first day of each week will be observed in memory of the greatest event which will have happened since creation".

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

As I have posted on arrogance this past week, it is important that we focus on God and His blessings - keeping in mind that these blessings are not because we are righteous or deserving, or due to our own efforts but because of God's grace and rich mercy.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is rich in blessings and mercy for me - thank You Jesus!  Please help me constantly remember these blessings - not just on Sunday but all the time - You are a great God!  I am not deserving of such blessings and mercy.  I sin...daily, including worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.