Life Changing Questions From The Lord Series

Life Changing Questions from the Lord

The Gospel of John

John 5:1-15

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - April 29, 2018

(Revised July 26, 2019)

BACKGROUND:

*Tonight in John 5, we will take a good look at the Lord's third miracle recorded in the Gospel of John. While He was here on earth, Jesus worked countless miracles. In John 20:30-31, the Apostle John tells us that:

30. . . truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

31. but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

*Then, in John 21:25, the Apostle said, "There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

*Jesus worked an astounding number of miracles here on earth. But counting the Lord's resurrection, there are only 39 specific miracles of Christ mentioned in the four Gospels. John's Gospel includes only 11 of these miracles, and 8 of those are found only here in John. (1)

*Last time in John 4, we looked at the Lord's second miracle in this Gospel. It was the story of a nobleman from Capernaum. That man's son was so sick, he was just about to die. And when that loving father heard that Jesus was in Cana, the ruler rushed twenty miles to ask Jesus for help.

*John 4:50 tells us that "Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your son lives.' So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way." Before that dad got home the next day, his servants ran to meet him on the road and tell him that his son was healed in the same hour when Jesus told the man to go home!

*We've also studied the Lord’s first miracle in John 2. It happened at a wedding in Cana. There Jesus instantly changed 120 to 180 gallons of ordinary water into wine. Now, that might seem like a frivolous miracle to us. But the Lord has promised to meet all our needs, both the big and the small!

*Plus, Jesus always does all things well, and the Lord had some great lessons for us in that miracle. There at the wedding, Jesus changed ordinary water into the best tasting wine. Most likely, it was the best tasting wine the world has ever seen.

*Now Jesus is trying to change us into the best people the world has ever seen. Miraculously changing water into the best wine was easy for the Lord. Changing us is the hardest thing Jesus ever had to do, because it took Him dying on the cross for our sins.

*Changing us also takes more time, and it involves much bigger miracles. But our risen Savior will make the transformation complete for everyone who trusts in Him. And tonight's miracle can help us get there, because God has great lessons for us here. Please think about that, as we read John 5:1-15.

MESSAGE:

*One of the things that stands out about our Lord is how He loves to ask questions. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

*In Matthew 7:3 He asked, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"

*In Matthew 7:11, Jesus said, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

*In Matthew 8:26, Christ’s question for His disciples was, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then in Matthew 9:4, Jesus met some of His enemies, and "knowing their thoughts, asked, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?'"

*Tom Gilson explained that "Jesus was not asking out of confusion or even curiosity. He knew their thoughts. He knew what was going on under the surface. Jesus wasn't asking because He needed to know. He asks questions to help US.

*Jesus asks questions to help us think about who we are, what we believe, and what we should be doing with our lives." (2)

*Well, the Lord also had a great question for the sick man here in John 5. And as we look at this miraculous story, we can see that Jesus has some life-changing questions for us.