John 5:10-18 (NIV)
10 The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
11 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
12 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
13 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
14 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
15 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
16 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
17 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.
18 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”
19 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Real Faith Goes Beyond External Forms
In John 5, Jesus heals a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years, yet, sadly, the religious leaders did not rejoice in the miracle. Instead, they focused on whether the man had followed the Sabbath law by carrying his mat. They didn’t care that the man had been healed; they were fixated on his actions that they believed violated the law. This obsession with external forms shows a lack of concern for the deeper transformation that had occurred in the man’s life.
Jesus was not bound by the laws of tradition. His mission was to bring healing and restore lives, not to simply follow rituals. He didn’t stop performing miracles because it was the Sabbath, and through this, He conveyed a profound message to us—true faith is not about adhering to outward laws, but about living in a genuine relationship with God. Jesus’ words to the healed man, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you,” speak to a deeper healing—one of the soul, not just the body.
When the Pharisees asked, “Who told you to pick up your mat?” they weren’t concerned with the miracle of healing but with the breaking of the rules. Their faith was shallow, confined to external actions, without understanding the powerful work of God. Do we, like the Pharisees, focus more on the outward practices of faith than on the actual work of God in our lives? Jesus’ actions challenge this shallow faith and remind us that the core of faith is repentance of the heart and a real relationship with God.
Dear brothers and sisters, faith is not just about following rules but about being in a living relationship with God. When we truly understand the power of God’s word in our lives, our faith moves beyond outward actions to an inner transformation. Faith is about aligning our hearts with God’s will and living out His truth in every part of our lives.
Today, are we like the Pharisees, focused on external appearances while missing God’s real work in our lives? Let us return to the heart of faith, where our relationship with God is not defined by external rules but by a transformed heart.
Prayer:
Lord, help us go beyond outward forms and return to the essence of faith. Let us live out Your truth and love in all aspects of our lives, becoming true witnesses of Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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