Scripture to Read: John 5:12–15
The Jews continued to question the man whom Jesus healed. We read in John 5:12, They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” These Jews were intent on finding out who would dare to heal this man on the Sabbath. Our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was the One Who established the Sabbath in the first place, so He knew what the Sabbath was for. God gave the Sabbath as a gift for being refreshed spiritually and physically. God tells us in Exodus 23:12, For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as the stranger residing with you, may refresh themselves. Then, we also read what Jesus said in Mark 2:27, Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” God made the Sabbath for man (and even the animals) to be refreshed, not to follow a bunch of rules and regulations. But these Jews were not going to let this go. Jesus found the man He healed (John 5:14) and told him to stop sinning so that something worse did not happen to him. Sin, as we know, always results in death (Romans 6:23, James 1:14–16), and our Lord did not want this man to have death reign in his life (Romans 6:12–14, Romans 8:6–8, 2 Peter 2:19).
Challenge & Application
• Why did God give the Sabbath, and why do you think the Jews forgot the purpose of the Sabbath?
• Why did Jesus challenge the man He healed not to sin anymore?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!