Day 5

Scripture to Read: John 5:16–19

The Jews, as we read in John 5:16, were persecuting Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Of course, Jesus is God and established the Sabbath, as we saw in yesterday’s devotion. Jesus also proclaimed Himself to be God several different times in the Gospels. One of those times is recorded in John 5:17–18, But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus made it clear that He and the Father were working together and that He was accomplishing the work of God the Father. Jesus even told the Jews (in John 5:19) that He could do nothing unless it were something He saw the Father doing. As we examine our lives each day, we must ask ourselves if we are walking in obedience to the Father’s perfect will. God has works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), and we must fulfill those works each day. Walking in obedience to our Lord does not just happen. We must choose to pursue our fellowship with Him and be in His Word daily so that we do not miss what He has for us to do. Jesus is our perfect example of fulfilling the Father’s will every day of His life. God has given us His Spirit to live in us, so, we have no excuse for missing His will.

Challenge & Application

• Why did the Jews persecute Jesus, and why did they want to kill Him? • How do we figure out God’s will each day and walk in obedience to His will?

Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!

Devotionals from this week

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Day 1

God set the stage for Jesus to minister so others would know He is God. In John 5:1–5, we read that Jesus went to Jerusalem. Remember that Jesus never did anything without the Father’s will being accomplished, so, going to Jerusalem was the Father’s will for Him. Jesus was Jewish, and it was the time for observing the Passover. According to G...

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Day 2

As we ended yesterday’s devotion, we were reminded that God’s timing is always perfect. His decisions are always perfect and complete as well. As we read John 5:6–9, we get to enjoy Jesus’ conversation with the man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Interestingly, Jesus asked him, “Do you wish to get well?” The man could have just answe...

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Day 3

The Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day were so prideful that their pride blinded them to the beautiful work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their hearts were darkened by their sin (Ephesians 2:1–3, Ephesians 5:8), and the darkness they walked in blinded them to the Truth (Jesus) Who was in their presence. We see their blindness through their response in ...

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Day 4

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 pl...

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Day 5

The Jews, as we read in John 5:16, were persecuting Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Of course, Jesus is God and established the Sabbath, as we saw in yesterday’s devotion. Jesus also proclaimed Himself to be God several different times in the Gospels. One of those times is recorded in John 5:17–18, But He answered them, “My Father is workin...

Read

Day 6

In John 5:20–25, Jesus told the Jews that He is loved by the Father and that the Father shows Him everything He’s doing. Jesus also told the Jews that even greater works were going to happen that would leave them in awe and wonder. What we must remember is that God loves to use us to display His glory. He loves to use us to accomplish His wor...

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Day 7

Life is only found through a relationship with God the Father through Christ and His Holy Spirit coming to live in us. Jesus said in John 5:26, For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself. When people seek life apart from God, they will always end up empty. Nothing in this world can prov...

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