I Saw the Sign: Part 2
We’re into our second week of “I Saw the Sign.'“ Like we talked about last week, the miracles of Jesus are not merely stunts to get attention, but about being rebels against our culture. Of course, we’re not rebels who take up weapons of this world, though. We are people of peace who speak truth, dismantle falsehood, love our enemies, and sacrifice ourselves for the good of others. It’s radical rebelliousness, not rooted in personal glory but in self-denial and taking up our cross daily. Jesus’ signs are a call to action that we’ll again tune our attention to this week.
The Ruins at Bethesda, Jerusalem
Anchor Texts:
John 5:1-18 ESVUK - The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath
Psalm 67 ESVUK - Make Your Face Shine upon Us
Questions to Ponder:
What does it mean to “rebel” against culture as a Christian?
How is Jesus acting as a “rebel” in this story?
There is a “multitude” of sick people by the pool, why does Jesus heal only one in John’s account? What is John telling us?
Why is it okay for us to call God “Father”? Jesus gets in a lot of trouble for is in V. 18. How does John 14 (see link above) help us understand our relation to the Father?
The Theme in Song:
This song has a line in it: “we’ve been trusting in the broken.,” This line speaks about the brokenness that humans usually trust in - a top down power structure that will save us, like the religious elite and Pharisees. The chorus talks about note needing a “hero,” which also sums up the other common tendency of humans to have a bottom-up idolatry, where we put faith in a superstition… or a superhero. Instead, we need someone from outside our realm - the God-Man. Jesus is no mere “hero” within the story, he is the author of the story and the only one who can truly heal us.
The Theme for Kids:
In this video we see the story laid out in simple terms,. The point of the story is that the true healing comes from God and is a sign of the Kingdom Jesus us bringing. Superstitions and human ideas in religion can’t save our bodies or our spirits!