John & 1,2,3 John | Lecture 8 : BC301-John-20260904

Okay, good morning to those of you who are online. It's 9:00 and we will begin. Uh today can we have someone online open for us with a word of prayer, please? Anybody online? If you can just tell a short prayer asking the Lord to, you know, help us in our entire session. >> Uh thank you, Father, for this wonderful morning hour. Uh it's a blessed morning hour that you're given to all of us for the God wherever we are and uh it's your your hand which is upon us for the God so that we can enrolled and we can learn a lot of things uh from the Bible college for the God and put it into practice in our life and teach the other people uh so that they can know the truth for the God as you said in the word of God for the God and please be with ma'am. Bless the bless ma'am to uh explain each and everything which uh we required in our life so that we can practically practice in our life and take it in our hearts and uh obey according to the word of God and uh help us to take notes which will help us in the coming future which will help us in reference and knowledge as reference for the God but we learn the truth uh through John's book for the God. Thank you for this great day for the God who are yet to come. Please bless them they will be on time and so we will learn a lot from this classes. Love you. Pray in Jesus Christ's name. Amen, Father. >> Amen. Amen. Thank you so much for that. Uh those of you who are in the class, just make sure that you're in the class uh for 3 minutes before 9:00. It's not good to come into the class after uh 9:00. All right? So, maybe about 2 3 minutes before 9:00, please make sure that all of you are here in the class. Okay? Yeah. Um not referring to people who are already there. Referring to the people who are not there in the class. All right. So, we will um continue with our chapter four. We looked at the story of the Samaritan woman, but then there are a few more details which we can cover from this chapter. So, we will look at chapter four verse 27 onwards. Okay, so if we could have someone read out for us verses 27 to 30, either from the class or online. Anyone can read out verses 27 to 30 of chapter four. >> Then Jesus then just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman, but no one asked, "What do you want? Or why why are you talking with her?" Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" They came out the town and made their way to toward him. >> So, in these verses we get to know that after Jesus has concluded his conversation with the lady, the disciples come back and they see that he's there with her and they have brought him food. They went to purchase food which they have now brought back and so in the meantime the lady she goes back to the town to tell the people that this is the Messiah whom they have been looking forward to and she's also told them that he is he has been able to prophesy to her details about her personal life. And so, now we have this conversation where the disciples ask Jesus to eat and then he makes a few statements. So, we look at those particular verses. So, we are now going to be looking all the way from 31 um up to maybe Um yeah, all Okay. All the way to up to the end. Uh 42 uh 31 to 42 if you could if you could read out. >> Meanwhile, his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you uh that you know nothing about." Then uh then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" "My food," Jesus said, "is it to uh is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don't you have a saying, uh 'It's still 4 months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest. Even now, uh the one who reaps draw draws a wage and harvest a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying, 'One sows the one sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to uh reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have uh reaped the benefits of their labor. >> Okay, we'll we'll hold off on the other verses. Uh let's look at what Jesus is saying over here. They have brought him food to eat. And when they offer him the food, he says, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." And they are puzzled, and they wondered if somebody else bring him any food. So then Jesus explains, and he says, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." So in Jesus' set of priorities, the physical food is not that important. Doing his father's will, finishing and completing his father's will is even more important to him. So, we all need to aim for this. Way we reach a stage where it's not just the acquiring of the material things which satisfies us. We need to reach a stage where what actually satisfies us is finishing the task which God has given us. Okay, so it's not enough that our prayer should be Lord, let me get my car, let me get my bungalow or let me get my wife. We need to go one stage beyond that where the true satisfaction comes in having finished his work, in doing exactly what he wanted us to do and having that knowledge that we have done it. Because Paul says you know with such great satisfaction at the end of his ministry, I have run the race. The man knows that he I mean of course for many years you know he lived against the Lord. In fact he in fact opposed Christians. But once he started his walk with the Lord, he really gave his 100% to his walk with God. So, at the end of his life he could confidently say, you know what? I actually ran the race which I was given. So, that gave him satisfaction. We all need to be like that where it's not just enough that we have you know a lot of food and a lot of you know the varieties of snacks. It's not enough that we have our bungalows and our cars. It's not enough that our children you know have gotten to the best schools. That's just not enough. What actually satisfies us is that we have actually we're doing his race. We're running his race, fulfilling his will and actually finishing the work given to us. Because otherwise then someone else will have to you know God will have to assign someone else to finish the work which we were supposed to do. So, that should not be the case with us. And so, at this time Jesus points out a very important fact. He says, the harvest is ripe." It's like all the people are ready to be brought into the barn, you know, because in earlier when John the Baptist was talking about Jesus, he talks about how Jesus will will you know baptize with fire. So, all the all the harvest which is ripe, which is ready to accept God into their hearts, that will be brought into the barn, and the ones with the hardened hearts who are rejecting Jesus, they'll be burnt like chaff. So, that's the terminology, you know, which is being used even over here. He says, "Just take a look. Open your eyes and look at the fields. Stop looking at the you know that car which you you know you have your eyes focused on. Stop looking at that bungalow that you know you have in your dreams. Open your eyes and look at the field. There are people right now out there even in our country which you know which is which has a lot of opposition against Christians. Even in this country, open your eyes and look at the fields, and you will see that people are ripe, ready to be harvested. All they need is someone to go and share with them, and their hearts will be touched. The Holy Spirit will work inside. They'll be convicted, and they'll come into the kingdom. The harvest is ready. The problem is not the harvest, you know, because when when we talk about missions, the what do we focus on? We say, "Oh, the leaders are against the church. Oh, the police in the in the rural areas, you know, are supporting the the people who are you know are persecuting." We talk about all those. What we don't realize is in the midst of all of that persecution, there are a bunch of people who are ready. All they need is someone who will walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and go and share. You know, not just share in their own way with their own ideas, not that way, but prayerfully saying, "Lord, I need you to come with me. I need you to put the right words in in mouth." And when they go with that attitude, with the leading of the Holy Spirit, the harvest is ready. Those people just need to hear and they will come. They will come into the kingdom. They are that ready. So, Jesus says, you know, food is good. I mean, we need food. But he says, there's something that I'm very, very hungry for because I have opened my eyes and I'm looking at the fields and I can see that these people are ready and ripe for harvest. It's just that there are no laborers to go. The We have laborers who come, you know, into ministry to earn money. We have laborers who come in because they want to have degrees and show off how much they know. We have all those laborers. But laborers whose hearts have been touched where they are saying, "The one thing I'm hungry for is to finish the work of my father." People, that kind of laborers, when that kind of laborers, they go out even if they're using the most broken words to express the gospel, it doesn't matter because they have the hunger and they have the Holy Spirit and the Lord will use them. So, it's not how, you know, with with with with what great fineness we can speak. What matters is that you have caught that hunger of the Lord and you're saying, "I'm hungry to do his will and finish the work that he has given." Such people, when they go to the harvest, they They just have to open their mouths and start talking and the harvest is ready. Those people are ready to come into the kingdom and they will be able to come inside. So, in the next verse, verse 36, Jesus says, "Even now, the one who reaps draws a wage." There are people who are going forth talking about the kingdom and right now they have started receiving their wages because the harvest is so ready. These people, when they start going and sharing about the kingdom, there are people already ready to come in. And they will start, you know, the the reapers will start earning their wage in bringing in the harvest. And this is statement that he makes in verse 37. He says, "Um, I sent you to reap what you have not worked for." John the Baptist was the one who put in the effort. He's the one who began to, you know, turn the hearts of the children towards their fathers. He's the one who straightened the way for the Messiah. So, the hard work has already been put in by John the Baptist. All these disciples now need to do, disciples of Jesus, they need to go and talk about the Jesus portion which John the Baptist had not explained because he didn't yet know who exactly the Messiah would be. So, the work work of preparation is already done John the Baptist. All these disciples of Jesus now need to do is go and share about the Jesus part of it. And the people are ready. So, he says, "Others have done the hard work and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. It will be easier for you when you go and start talking, their hearts are already ready because John the Baptist already prepared their hearts. Now, you just need to do your part." And that is why it says in the next verse, verse 39, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him." Why was this lady talking about the Messiah? Why did she when he comes, he will explain everything to us? Why did she say that? Because she too might have gone to John the Baptist one day to listen. You know, where where he was telling about how the Messiah will come. Once the Messiah comes, he'll explain everything to them about how to get into the kingdom and their lives will be changed. So, John the Baptist has done the work reaching out not just to the Israelites, even to the even to the Samaritan people and all the other communities that were coming to him, you know, over there in the desert. He's done that work and these people have begun to eagerly wait for the Messiah. And so, now when the when when the Messiah comes and talks to them, they are ready. The harvest is ready to come into the barn and they get saved. So, it says, "They urged him to stay with them and he stayed 2 days and because of his words, many more became believers." And this is what they say to the woman, they say to her, "We no longer believe just because of what you said, now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the savior of the world." So, when we think in terms of evangelism and missions, it's good to be aware of the persecution. It's good to have a strategy in mind on how you're going to deal with those situations where, you know, people will come and harass and oppose. It's good to be very, very wise in the Lord. So, yes, you should be aware of the opposition part of the equation, but don't forget the other divine part of the equation. There are hearts which have been prepared. There are hearts which are hungry. There are hearts which are desperate. They are just waiting for a Holy Spirit empowered laborer to come along. And when that man, no matter how unrefined he is in his presentation, because he is full of the Holy Spirit, when he speaks, the harvest will just be ready, ready to just say yes to the Lord and come into the barn. So, let us be aware that there's a supernatural side to the whole thing as well. The human side is where you have the gangsters. The human side is where you have the people opposing. The human side is where you have the corrupt police. Yes, you have all that on one side, but then there's another side to the same equation where God is divinely preparing people and they are ready. So, if the Holy Spirit leads you to someone, then the Holy Spirit is definitely leading to someone who who's going to have a work done in their hearts. The problem with ministry is that many people just make plans on their own and they go and they talk in whatever way they have planned to do it. They don't ask for the Lord to lead them regarding these matters, but if you're doing it with the partnership of the Holy Spirit, asking him, "Lord, how should I prepare? What should I speak? Whom do I go to?" If you ask the Lord and the Lord leads you, you will see great results in your ministry, and you will actually see the harvest coming into the barn, and you will not be one of those people who are who say, "Oh, nothing is happening. Whatever I do, you know, it doesn't seem to be working at all." Yes, so there are uh people who will be sent to enjoy from the benefits of what other people have sown, and then there'll be some, of course, who will actually be doing the first sowing. So, they may not see that much results. They may be going into a region where the gospel has never ever been preached. So, over there, they are laying the groundwork. The next bunch of people who come in, they will see the results, and you know, people will get saved. So, yes, there are some who will be doing the sowing in the first stage. Such people will may not see that much results, but because of the sowing which they have done, when the next bunch of laborers come in, they will see great results. And we see many, you know, we've heard many story missionary stories of that, right? There are people who have gone to countries where they struggled their entire life, 30, 40 years of ministry they did, and one or two people got saved. That's it. And then the next generation, when they came along and and, you know, where they heard the gospel, entire churches were established. Whereas the previous missionary, in his entire life of sincere 30, 40 years of ministry, he only sees one or two believers. But the next generation comes along, and you have churches established in every town, every village. Why? Because he did the sowing, he did the hard work. The next generation of laborers that came along, they just had to bring in the harvest, because hearts had already been prepared. So, yes, we see both varieties of workers in the So, I I do not know what kind of people the Lord will send you among. You may be asked to go and do the first bit of sowing, which will always be harder, or you may be one of the reaping type, you know, where you go in someone else has already put the seed in the hearts, and they're already ready. Now, you're just going to bring in, and people will praise you because, you know, so many people are getting baptized when you are when you are reaping. They will not appreciate what was done by the previous generation because the previous generation did not see results, but God knows who did the sowing, God knows who did the reaping, and the you know, the both the reaper and the sower, both of them will be given their reward because it says in your verse 38, you know, verse Oh, no, it says in verse 36 that both the sower and the reaper will be glad together. So, each will be given rewarded according to the, you know, work that they have done for the Lord in finishing his will. So, now we come to the next category of people who, you know, with whom Jesus has his encounter. Um So, that would be the Galileans. He's come back, you know, to Galilee. He left Judea, he returned to Galilee. Um and just as a reminder, you have those three verses over there, verses 43 to 45, which talk about the attitude of people in, you know, certain portions of Galilee. If we can read out verses 43 to 45. >> After the two days, he left for Galilee. Now, Jesus himself had appointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country. When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival. For they also had been there. >> So, we talked about this in one of our classes. Galilee's basically your upper Galilee and your lower Galilee. Upper Galilee is where you have almost entirely non non-Jewish population, Gentile populations. Lower Galilee is basically where Nazareth where Jesus had settled down. So, there are some portions of Galilee which have a low opinion of Jesus. They think, "Oh, okay, he's just a carpenter's son." But then there are some places other places in Galilee where the response is a little more open. And so, he's come over here to a portion of Galilee where the Galileans are willing to welcome him. Um and then he comes to this place Cana once again, you know, where he had done the previous miracle. And it looks like here in Cana where the people saw the miracle, they are still asking a lot of questions. There's not much faith being, you know, um demonstrated in this particular place. So, let's look at verses 46 to 48. >> Once more he visited Cana in Galilee where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Seraf. Sefar No. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Zudia, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death. Unless you people see signs and wonders, Jesus told him, you will be never believe. >> Yeah, so over here when this man um asks Jesus to come and heal his son, Jesus' response is a bit strange. Jesus says, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe." So, here in Cana we get the impression that the people are not really exercising faith even though they saw the miracle of the wedding. Um so so he says, "What you also have come over here looking for more signs and wonders? You still don't want to believe, is it?" That's That's the That's the implication over here in Jesus' words. And uh uh this man on the other hand, he's come basically to ask for something urgent, you know, his son is literally dying. He's going to be dead probably by the next day or maybe even at the end of this particular day. So, he's in a desperate situation and he's coming to ask for help. He's come to ask for healing. And Jesus says, "What you want to see more miracles, is it? Only then you will believe in me, is it?" Okay, that's the statement of um condemnation, maybe judgment that you can say, which Jesus is you know, is uh is making over here. And then this royal official, he says, "Sir, come down before my child dies." And Jesus, you know, does not go with him. Jesus simply says, "Go, your son will live." And then you have the very beautiful sentence. It says, "The man took Jesus at his word and departed." This man was not like the other people in Cana who were, you know, asking questions. He was not questioning Jesus. He came over here with a true heart. So, he was not one of those people others who know who wanted to see more signs, more wonders, more proof, and only then they're going to believe in Jesus. This man on the other hand, even though no extra signs has have been shown to him, immediately he just takes Jesus at his word and he departs. Jesus doesn't even go with him. Jesus says, "You go, your son will live." And the man actually believes and goes away. So, we see such beautiful faith even in this place where the others were questioning Jesus. And so he's returning back to his, you know, town, wherever it is, and then the as he's going back, the messengers who have come from the house, they meet him halfway. And so then he asks, he says, "When when did the when did my son recover?" And they tell him, "Yesterday at 1:00 in the afternoon, the fever left him." And it says then the father realized this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." And then it says, "So he and his whole household believed." So all his family members believed because they had seen this amazing miracle of the boy getting healed. But the father, that man, he believed even before any extra signs were given. He had only heard about the miracle in in Cana at the wedding, and he was that was enough for him. He took Jesus at his word, and he went back home believing that he would see a live son and not a dead son when he goes back. And that's exactly what happens. So we see an amazing sign of faith even in a in a place where others were questioning him. So even if you find all people around you who are saying negative things about the thing which you're praying for, you know, and they're saying, "Oh, you prayed for 3 years, nothing has happened. Stop hoping." You know, they may speak all kinds of negative things around you, but you hold on to the word which God has given you. If you're if you're facing some very tough and serious situation, you know, either in your personal life or in your family's life, ask the Lord to give you certain specific scriptures. And hold on to those scriptures. Take Jesus at his word. If he's given you certain scriptures, hold on to them. It doesn't matter what other people are saying, ignore them. You hold on to the verses which the Holy Spirit has specifically given you regarding your situation, regarding your family. You hold on to that and you will see, you know, the victory coming through. Okay, so it's all about what the Holy Spirit has directly given you, the scriptures he has told you, and you can hold on to those. So, again and again we see that in our Christian walk, it's we'll have a very weak very weak very defeated walk unless we can really hear from the Holy Spirit on a daily basis for our situations, our circumstances, for our ministry, for our future. Without him, there is just no direction. We're almost as blind as the non-believers, wondering, "Okay, maybe let me try out this. If this doesn't work, I'll try out that." It's that kind of a life. You know, you'll hit sometimes, you'll miss sometimes. Hit and miss. God doesn't want us to be having that kind of a life. Develop a relationship with the Lord where you can start hearing the Holy Spirit clearly. Then he will lead you regarding even the smallest matters. So, then when you're when he's leading you regarding the small matters, then when a big crisis comes along, it's easier to hear him because you already done some practicing, right? You already your heart is already in tune with his heart and you already know how to hear from him. So, it's always good to try out small things. So, generally what we do, you know, as believers is we exercise our hearing skills for the small things. Let's say you want to buy a new headphone. Ask the Lord, "Lord, I'm I'm planning on going to the shop. You guide me, Lord. You show me which one I should buy." Now, I'm You people are smiling, but I've actually tried it with with small things. And the reason I mentioned the headphone is because I'm going in the afternoon to buy one. So, now the thing is so in small small things, you ask the Lord. First of all, I asked him, "Lord, where should I go? Which place should I go to?" So, you see and you also ask other people. You ask them, "Okay, which is the You know, is the best place to go? Where where do you a Where do you have a discount? You talk to people. But when you're making your decision, let him decide for you which is the correct place to go. He guides in such beautiful ways. So, you're practicing in small things. Lord, whom do I ring up today? And you know, just to pray with them or encourage them. He will give you a specific person in your mind. So, this is how you gain experience on hearing his voice. Whom You know, so so the Lord will tell you exactly whom to ring up, who needs encouraging. And then maybe you can go one step further and say, "Okay, Lord, what particular verse do I give them? Which verse will encourage them?" Bible is full of verses, but there's maybe some particular verse which the Holy Spirit can use to you know, to spark something inside them. Use all these small small steps as practice. And when you do that, when the big issues, you know, where where where something terrible has happened and your whole family is in a crisis, at that time you can't hear him if you have never practiced. So, start practicing. Let that spirit of you which is inside half asleep, let it wake up. Exercise its muscles. Teach it how to hear its Lord. Teach it how to hear its shepherd. Start doing that now. And then when the big issues come, you will know exactly what you need to do because now you're in tune with him and you can hear him. Okay? So, we need to practice these things. So, um So, yeah. So, in this particular case, this man held on to the words which Jesus had given him and he saw his victory. His child was, you know, completely healed of his sickness. So, now we have looked at chapters 1 to 4, you know, where different categories of people met with Jesus and they got to know Jesus in different ways. He ministered to them in different ways. Now, we are moving into our chapters 5 to 12 where you'll see a whole bunch of people rejecting Jesus in different ways and they give different reasons why they are you know opposing him, why they are against him and Jesus points out the the hypocrisy in them you know in the in the arguments which they are coming up with. So that's basically what you're going to find in your chapters 5 to 12 where this opposition regarding different matters. So we'll begin with chapter 5 and in chapter 5 is where you find the third sign you know the third major sign board with an arrow mark saying look look what Jesus is doing. This is proof that he is the son of God that he is the divine. So the first sign of course was the wine which had a lot of prophecies attached to it in the Old Testament. The second sign was What's the second sign? I can't seem to remember. But I remember covering it. Yeah this one um This man this this boy yeah the boy being healed correct. The boy being healed is the second sign and now you have the third sign which where you have the paralytic being healed. That's the story that we're getting into. Um so John chapter 5 if you could maybe read out just the verses 1 to 4. Yeah John chapter 5 verses 1 to 4. >> Some time later Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festival. Now there is there is in Jerusalem near the sheep gate a pool which which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five um covered colonades. Here a great number of disabled people use it to lie, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. >> And she doesn't have verse four in her Bible. So, do we have anyone whose Bible has got verse four? Okay, whoever has got verse four, if you can read it out. >> For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water. Then whoever stepped in the first after stirring of water was made well of whatever disease he had. >> Okay, so some of the modern Bibles will not have your verse four, but some of your older versions like your NKJV, which was, you know, um which which has come down from your KJV. KJV was in 1600s. So, one of those older versions will have these verses. And um if you have done your first year, if you were awake in your first year class, you will basically know why this is, uh you know, why these translations differ. Um the handwritten copies is basically from where we did all our translation work, right? So, the handwritten copies which were available in 1611 when KJV was done or translation was done, at that time you only had handwritten copies which had survived from the 12th century. So, those were called the Byzantine manuscripts. So, using those Byzantine manuscripts and mainly using um the Latin Vulgate, you know, which is the Latin translation of the Bible, the man who did the the the the team which did the KJV translation, they used that. They used the 12th century hand copies and mainly the Latin Vulgate to do their translation in of the KJV. But in the 1900s is when they discovered manuscripts in Egypt which belonged handwritten copies which were from the fifth century. So, there's a great time gap between fifth century and 12th century. So, by the time 12th century came some extra sentences had been added. Probably originally they would have added them in the margin as an explanation and then afterwards some ignorant person would have taken it from the margin and put it off in the main text which is how we ended up with some extra things in the newer hand copies, 12th century hand copies. So, these very ancient fifth century hand copies which are called the Alexandrian manuscripts, they will not have these extra things. Um so, which is why most of the modern versions uh will will say the Alexandrian manuscripts are more original, closer to the uh you know, closer in accuracy to the original and so they prefer to do their translation from the um from those Alexandrian manuscripts and they will leave out all these extras which are there in your later, you know, 12th century manuscripts. Which is why your verse four is not mentioned in your uh in in in your NIV and in some of the other versions. So, originally the verse four probably would have been an would have been an explanation in the margin because people would have later generations will not know the significance of, you know, um of the of that place why so many sick people are are sitting over there in your uh sheep gate. I mean, there are so many places where sick people can be, right? So, why are they all gathered over there at the sheep gate where there is a pool? So, someone would have added an explanatory note in the margin explaining this is the reason why people gathered over there because they believed that an angel comes over there and stirs the waters. When he does, anyone who climbs inside first will get healed. So, that would have been an explanation which would have been put in the margin and then later, somewhere along the way, someone would have taken that explanatory note and added it into the main text. Okay, so which is why by the time you come to 12th century, there are some additional sentences added in your Bible, which would not have been there in your older Alexandrian manuscripts. Okay, so that's the explanation. So, we don't really know whether any angel actually came and stirred the waters or not, but at least that was the superstition that was there. The the water in the pool probably was just moving due to natural, you know, natural physics, you know, some kind of suction force or some kind of you know, disturbance in the waters due to natural factors. So, we don't know why it bubbled sometimes. You know, water can bubble for different reasons. So, it's not necessary that an angel was coming and doing the stirring, but the superstition was that if you get into it, get into the water at that time, you will get healed. So, all these sick people have, you know, taken up residence over there in the hope that they will see the waters getting shaken. So, that's the place where Jesus has now come, and he knows the desperation of the people over there. If someone is so desperately sitting over there week after week, year after year, it means that they are in a very desperate state. So, it's to that kind of a place that Jesus comes now. And he does not walk up to all the sick people, he walks up to one single sick person. Why did Jesus choose this particular man for the healing? Why couldn't he have gone to all the other people and healed them? So, we see this again and again in scripture. Our God is a God who will go to the most hopeless case first. He'll go to the weakest, the most useless. Those are the ones that he will go to because his love wants to reach out to even such people. So, among all the, you know, nations that God could have chosen, he chose Israel. Israel, even at that time on the map, was not such a big, you know, territory. There were bigger nations around Israel, but God chose Israel. In the same way, you know, that man, Jesse, he had a whole bunch of sons. And whom did God choose? God chose the guy who was not even um considered important enough by the father to call him back from the fields. So, out there he was with the sheep. And God chose David, you know, because he even though he was not he was not even though he was not given any importance. In the same way, God could have chosen just just about anyone as as his disciples, but he chose a bunch of fishermen. So, Jesus always have and God always had this tendency to go after the weakest, the most useless. Why? Because that will en- courage the rest of the people, and it will give them the message, "If such a person can be saved by the Lord, then definitely I can be saved." So, Jesus chooses the worst case over there in that, you know, in that entire collection of sick people, because once Jesus heals that man, all the others will sit up and say, "Yes, we we don't want the waters, we want Jesus." So, rather than waiting over there for the water to shake, they'll all come running after Jesus if they can run, because some of them will be not even be able to run. They will come to him, and they will place their faith in him. So, Jesus goes to the worst case in that entire place. Why is this man the worst case? Because we get to know this later in one of the future verses, in verse 14, that this guy is the guy who became sick first of all because he had been living in sin. This is not just some helpless person who got sick. This man was involved in something, we don't know what, but that sin was so terrible, it it opened the door wide for for the you know demons to come and take control and he reached to such a stage that he that he became completely paralyzed. So, we don't know what his background was, but the people over there definitely must have known. So, he's not really someone who deserves kindness. This is a guy who who got what he deserved. He had been in involved in sin. He had lived a lifestyle which does not deserve kindness. And that's the reason. So, he's been lying over there for 38 years knowing exactly why he's lying over there because of the kind of sins that he committed. So, you know, he's that kind of a case. And plus, he says later on in in another verse in verse seven, he says, "No, no one is there to help me when the water is moving. No one is there to help me." So, nobody likes him. Nobody wants to help him. They don't mind helping someone else into the water, but they don't really want care about helping him. So, Jesus goes to this guy who doesn't deserve actually any kind of kindness and Jesus showers him with love. So, we see um you know, that um Yeah, so this is what happens in your verse five onwards. So, maybe we can read out verses five to nine. Yeah. Verses five to nine. >> Now, a certain man was there who had infirmity uh 38 years. When Jesus saw him laying there and he knew that he's uh already had been in condition a long time. He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" And the sick man answered, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well and took up the bed and walked. >> And The day on which this took place was >> And the day was the Sabbath. >> That's such an important detail because all the argument which which is going to happen after this is based on that one sentence, right? So So this here is this poor guy. Everyone knows how rotten he is and that's the reason first of all that you know he has become sick and so no one really even wants to help him. So Jesus comes and asks a rather rude question. I mean it does sound rather rude. You go to someone who's lying there really helpless and say that do you want to get rid of you know why why have you been lying over here for 38 years? You could have gone to the water, no? Do you really want to get well? And the poor man says I have no one to help me. You see when the water gets stirred someone else goes up. No one is there to help me. And Jesus is bringing you know Jesus never says anything because he wants to hurt people. Even the woman, why did he say to her bring your husband? He never says these things to hurt. He's going to write to the to the to the main core of the matter. The the core issue that is there. He literally goes there. You know, that's the way that's the way that's why Jesus is called the word of God, right? The word of God is like a double-edged sword. It doesn't fish around at the surface. It goes straight to where it's needed. That's basically where it goes. So this man is now admitting what he is and how helpless he is. And then he says no one is there to help him. And so now he doesn't need anyone else actually because Jesus is right and Jesus says who do you need for help? I'm here, right? Just get up. And the guy gets up. It's just it's it's it's as cool as that. So the Lord loved even this man who had been living in sin. Even this guy who doesn't deserve help, Jesus loved him and Jesus says get up and walk. No one is there to help you, no problem. Get up and walk. And the man gets up and he walks. And um so it explains over here that the day when he did that was the Sabbath day. So why did Jesus choose this particular man? If this would have given great hope to all the other people over there at the sheep pool. Like I said, all these things are just strict summaries. The Holy Spirit would have said, "No, don't include this. Don't include the don't include this. Include only this." So, John would have had a tough time. He probably would have wanted to write all the story. But Jesus the Holy Spirit was leading him to put down just the main points so that today who we who are living in 2026 will at least have this main specific required points. And the rest of it, you know, the Lord will just um help us and lead us as we need. So, he could John could not put the details of all the other people who got healed over there at the sheep pool. He only includes this one incident, but it must have built up the faith of all the other people sitting over there. You know, so God would have been able to reach out to them and heal them as well. So, now we move into the argument because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. So, we have verses 10 to 13. If if you could read out those verses, verses 10 to 13. >> The Jews therefore said to him, "Who was cured? Is it the Is it the Sabbath? Is it not lawful for you to carry your bed?" He answered them, "He who made well said to him, take take up your bed and walk." Then they asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, take up your bed and walk?" But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. >> Yeah, so at this point the guy really doesn't know. I mean, I know that this is Jesus. He just know that knows that someone showed him kindness and did a miracle. Uh so, he he does not know the details. But the funny thing over here is the kind of questioning which is being done. If if you see a man who's been paralyzed for 38 years getting up and carrying his mattress, could Could we have Chandran muting his mic mic, please? Chandran, if you could please mute yourself because it kind of, you know, interrupts our session here. Chandran, if you could just mute yourself. Um you know, because the noise is carrying into the class. Yeah, Chandran, if you're there, if you could just mute your uh mute yourself. So, yeah, let's hope we we, you know, we'll be able to save the few minutes we have left. Uh what was I saying? Yeah, I was talking about how if you see a guy who's been paralyzed for 38 years getting up and carrying his mattress, what will be the first question you'll ask? Will you ask, "Why are you carrying your mattress?" or will you ask, "Who is the man who did it? Where is he? Where is he?" because we all want to go to him. These people couldn't care less that this poor man has got his healing after 38 years. They're not excited about that. They are rather poking holes and saying, "We Pharisees made a rule that you're not supposed to carry mattresses on a Sabbath day. Why are you breaking one of our rules?" I mean, look at the sheer hardness of the heart. I mean, how hard does your heart need to be where you look at a man who's been healed after 38 years instead of rejoicing with him, you know, and and clapping him on the back and saying, "Shabash, brother. So great, you know." Instead of doing that, they are like, "Who told you to carry your mat?" I mean, isn't that Is it that you know, it just brings out the sheer cruelty of these people, the hardness of these leaders who are talking over here. And this man says, "I don't know really. I mean, I have no idea who it is." And then um uh then we uh yeah, in verse 15 uh, verse 14 and 15, yeah. If you can read out verses 14 and 15. Yeah, don't go into deep meditation when we are almost running out of time. >> Okay, 14 and 15. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See you See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." Then man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. >> Okay, so he had not known who it is who healed him. Jesus, you know, it says Jesus found him at the temple. So, it basically we we see that Jesus has been looking for him. That's why that word found is used. So, why is Jesus looking for him? Because there's a very important message which Jesus wants to convey to him. The Lord is saying, "Please don't open the doors for the evil one to come back into your life." If you leave the doors open, you know, the demon which has left you will come back with seven others to make its home inside. So, the Lord is saying, "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." So, the Lord would have, you know, spent some time with him talking to him, I know, kind of building him up. All the details are not given. We just have the summary point over here. But, after that, the man, now that he knows who it is, he comes and tells the Jewish leaders that it is Jesus. Okay, so that's basically how they get to know that it was Jesus who did the healing. And then we have the conversation between Jesus and these Jewish leaders. Uh, so maybe we could just have verses, um, 16 17, yeah. >> For this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the Sabbath. But, Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." >> So, Jesus is basically saying, "You know what? My My father never goes on holiday. He's always working. So, I too don't go on holiday on the Sabbath day. I also continue to work even though it is the Sabbath day." That's basically the point which Jesus is making over here. Yeah, someone had a question. Someone said, "Ma'am." Did someone online say, "Ma'am?" Okay, I'm hearing voices. Okay. So, yeah. Um verse 18, yeah, if you can read out. >> Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his father, making himself equal with God. >> So, there are two things that he they are angry about. First of all, because, you know, that he has broken their the rule which they made about the Sabbath. The second why they are angry is because he's by calling God his father, he's making himself equal with the father. So, they're angry about both of these reasons. Let's begin by looking at this allegation which they are making that he has broken the Sabbath. Did Jesus break the Sabbath? No. In the 613 laws which Moses had given, Moses never said that you're not supposed to carry your mattress on the Sabbath. Moses said, "Do not work on the Sabbath." It's these Pharisees, right? We talked about that. The Pharisees, when they were first formed as a group, they were a genuine, sincere group. They really wanted to honor the Lord. They didn't want to live like the other people who are, you know, who are living in immorality and injustice and all of that. So, they began to try and keep those 613 laws as well as they knew how. And again and again they were failing. And in fact, you know, um Paul, the Pharisee, also talks about how he was he, you know, he had such a struggle in Romans 7 in keeping those 613 laws. So, they were struggling. So, then they came up with came up with this really bright idea. If we can add extra rules to the 613, then maybe we will be able to keep the law and honor God. So, they added a whole bunch of extra pharisaical rules to the rules which were already existing. Jesus never broke any of the Mosaic law. He came to fulfill the law, not to break the law. And he ultimately fulfilled it by, you know, sacrificing himself on the cross because that was also part of the, you know, Mosaic law that, you know, the the sacrifice would wash away the sins of the people. So, Jesus kept all the laws during his lifetime. He fulfilled all of them, never broke or disobeyed even one of them, and he even went to the extent of dying on the cross. Jesus never broke any of the Mosaic law. Please understand that. The laws that he broke happily and freely were the ones which the Pharisees had added on as extras. So, that we need to I mean, there are verses to back up that, uh, but then the person who has to ring the bell has forgotten about the bell, but then we have to stop. There's no choice. So, we will look at those verses. Okay, Jesus never broke the Mosaic law. We will look at verses which talk about that, um, in our next class. Let's quickly close with a word of prayer. We thank you, oh Lord, that you are a God of compassion and love. You reach out to the most sinful person. You reach out to the most helpless person whom nobody is there to help. You care even about the worst cases. So, Lord, we come to you with confidence, no matter what situation we are in, knowing that we will receive compassion from you, and all we need to do from our side is to repent of our sinfulness and place our belief and trust in you. Help us, oh Lord, to start hearing more clearly from the Holy Spirit so that you can give us specific verses which we can hold on to with confidence. Help us to hear more clearly from you so that we will make all the right decisions for our home and for our family. Help us to hear clearly from you so that when it comes to ministry, we will know what to say, whom to go to, when to minister. We need you, oh Lord. Help us in all these areas of our life. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you. Next class, 3 minutes before 9:00. No coming late to the class. >> Thank you, ma'am.