Sermonette: January 6, 2025

A couple of weeks ago, I was studying my way through John when I came across a detail that I had never pondered before. For those with Bibles, it concerns the healing story recorded in John 5:1-15. Basically, the story goes that a man had been lame for 38 years when Jesus strolls up and heals him. Now, when I preached this passage, I focused upon the exact command Jesus gave the man: “Get up, take your mat, and walk”; which was very striking, considering the man was lame and it was Sunday. However, unrelated to Jesus’ command, I was struck by something else in the story: the man’s faith in Jesus.

When Jesus asked if the man wanted to be healed, initially the man responds very positively. He deeply desired to be healed. He had spent 38 years seeking healing from a magic pool because he so desired to walk again. Because of his determination, Jesus heals him; but this is where the story goes sideways. The man doesn’t thank Jesus, or praise him, or even ask for Jesus’ name. When he is questioned later that day by the Jews as to why he is working (carrying his mat) on the Sabbath, he can’t even name or identify Jesus. Later, however, Jesus seeks him out and challenges the man to live better so that he can avoid something worse than 38 years being lame.

This is an intense verse, but what struck me so hard is what the man did next: he sought out the Jewish leaders to turn Jesus over to them. Jesus healed him, but because Jesus commanded him to take his bedspread home with him, the Jews want to punish Jesus. Moreover, the recently healed man not only complies, but aids the Jewish leaders in identifying Jesus.

This is what blew my mind: the man had sought healing and life for 38 years on his own. When Jesus showed up and gave him the gift he couldn’t earn himself, his first action is to betray Jesus to the religious leaders of the day.

Foolishly, he feared/respected the religious leaders more than the man who could give life. How insane is that? That guy must have been bonkers. Didn’t he consider the fact that if Jesus could heal, he was likely capable of doing far more amazing and powerful things? Meanwhile Jewish leaders were no more than humans dressed in peculiar outfits. Who should he be more afraid of?

And yet, his story is our story, isn’t it? We seek the fullness of life that our best efforts always fail to attain. All is not lost, though; some of us are lucky enough to have Jesus walk up and heal us. We’ve had Jesus give us abounding life more fulfilling than anything else in existence. But do our lives reflect the fact that we’ve been granted a gift beyond both our ability and our comprehension? Or are we like the man in the story; who met the Messiah but still feared silly religious leaders? Do we claim Jesus’ salvation, but still seek the approval of silly pastors, friends and members of our little community? Do we live like other humans have some ability to actually seriously hurt us?

While the answer to that question is most likely "yes," it shouldn’t be. If we’ve truly been granted something as awesome as eternal life, then we should live like nothing else and no one else is as important as Jesus and his gift. He is the one we should fear/respect/follow. The only acceptable response to what we’ve been given is to live like we only care about the Savior's approval, as it is written:

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 ESV

So, this week, my challenge is for everyone to pause, and think about whose approval are you seeking? Who still holds sway over you? Who do you still, on some level, fear? Remember the only person whose approval we should seek,who should hold sway over us, and who we should fear, is Jesus.