Going Deeper for Life Change

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude ~ Colossians. 2.6.7

Miracle To Murder
1. Observe what obstacles were holding the invalid back from being 4. From this passage identify one truth from this passage which God is
healed. How do we respond to problems in our lives which seem to have leading you to bring to bear in your life. What area(s) of your life will this
no solution? affect, and how can you apply this for God’s glory?

2. The Jewish leaders knowing about the healing miracle, basically

ignore it. Why do you think this is so? What does this indicate about
their application of the Law and view of Christ? Are we in some ways like
these leaders that opposed Jesus?
The Folly of False Systems of Law
by Noah Ressler
What begins to unfold in the text of John 5:1-18 is a most amazing thing
to me. In the face of the demonstration and infallible truth that Jesus
Himself is God the Son and of the same essence as God the Father, man
demonstrates his insistence upon suppressing truth for a lie (Rom. 1:25).
In the case in our text, the lie was the misapplication of Scripture
concerning the Sabbath. The Sabbath had developed into a system of oral
tradition that became law. Those who held strictly to this Sabbath
tradition in effect set aside Scripture (the Word of God) for their own set
of standards, all the while claiming to be obedient adherents to the Law.
And the rub today is that in Christian circles we do the same.

3. From this passage identify the statements which are present that point We set up systems of thinking in our minds that become our spiritual
to the fact that Jesus is God? security blanket – systems of doctrine that are not the essential issues of
the Word of God, but become systems that we become comfortable in – a
kind of spiritual “comfort zone.” When those are threatened, we feel
threatened. And thus, the church is much astir about nothing and
apathetic to the issues that really matter. There is a great reaction when
the “laws” are broken and little focus upon responding with the proper
measure of grace and mercy. As we learn about the Pharisees of
antiquity, let us guard against becoming Pharisaic in our present. The sin
nature is very much alive today in all people and culture. Whether pagan
or religious, it shows itself and must be dealt with by the Truth of all
truths – the Word of God.