10 November, 2013, CMA

John 5:16-30 Text:- https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+5%3A16-30

So, what is happening here? Why are the Jewish religious leaders persecuting Jesus?

I do not understand. Are religious leaders persecuting him just because he healed a seriously sick man and asked him to carry his mat??

Maybe, this is why some people hate “religion”. Some say “religion” is what got Jesus into trouble and eventually crucified.

In-fact, Jesus came to get people back from “religion” to “relationship” (with God).

Verse 18 ("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."):- Jesus definitely claimed to be God, and that was one of the main reasons He was killed.

Verses 19-20 (" ... the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed"):-

The zillion dollar question has always been - “What is God’s will/plan for my life?”

These verses give useful insights into finding God's will/plan.

Note how Jesus infers God's plan for His life here. Here, we learn God shows His children what He is doing in the world, also so that we may join hands with Him. So a key lesson is to try to sense what is God doing in us / around us, especially through His Church. Here we learn Jesus does God's will by joining hands with Him in His works. We should do the same, as we cannot do God's will by ourselves (verse 19). Remember God's children are His body / hands and feet / ambassadors (1 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Corinthians 5:20), anyways.