“The Grave Robber: The Third Sign” - John 5:1-9

  February 28th, 2016  

Devotional

“The Grave Robber: The Third Sign” - John 5:1-9

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Going to the Sheep Gate” - John 5:1-3

Jesus was a devout Jew. He went with his disciples to Jerusalem to celebrate the holy days and festivals. While we aren’t told exactly which festival he was celebrating in this passage, we are told that he found himself in Jerusalem, which was expected. But in the midst of the expected, the unexpected happened.

Jesus walked past the Sheep Gate, Bethesda, where folks who suffered from ailments came to lie and wait for the waters. It was legend that the waters of Bethesda had the power to heal. We don’t know if that is true, or simply a legend like that of the fountain of youth - but either way, Jesus found himself down by the water. 

Tell of a time when Jesus showed up in your life in the midst of your routine, in unexpected ways. 

Prayer: Jesus, open our eyes so we can perceive you in the midst of our days. Open our eyes so we can find you acting in unexpected ways. Amen. 

Tuesday: “38 Years” - John 5:4, Joel 2: 21-27

We like to think of Jesus as a man in ministry between the ages of 30 and 33 like some of today’s young clergy, lively, full of energy. But author Leonard Sweet states that Jesus being in ministry in his 30s would be equivalent to being in ministry in ones late 60s today, for often by the age of 40, males in the ancient world were dead. The average life expectancy was 40 if you lived past the age of 2. With that understanding we can see the man of 38 sitting near the pool, not as a man in his youth or approaching middle age, but instead as a man who would be approaching the end of his years. Yet, it is exactly at this point in the man’s history that God shows up in an unexpected way. 

We are reminded that it is never too late to be who God has called us to be. It is never too late to still seek miracles. God can redeem any part of you life.

What are you continually praying for, waiting for God to respond in a powerful way?

Share a redemption story from your life?

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep praying, to not grow weary, O Lord, even as the years seem to go own. Help us claim the truth that your ways and your timing are not ours. Help us to set aside the assumption of what is and is not possible because of our years. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Do You Want to Be Made Well?” - John 5:6

Sometimes I wonder how we would respond to the question Jesus poses in today’s scripture - do we want to be made well. Sometimes it seems like the aliments that we suffer from have become excuses that we use to block us from taking risks. This is not to say that all aliments are excuses, or that we mean to use those we do have as barriers between us and possibilities, but rather to ask if we would resoundingly reply that yes, we would want to be made well. 

For the man who had suffered for 38 years, his aliment was all he had ever known. Anything other than not being able to walk would be a risk for him. Is healing a risk we are willing to take? For until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change, we may not be willing to take that risk. 

What are you waiting for healing from?

Do you want to be made well? Why or why not? 

What short term pain may you have to endure to get to long term gain?

Prayer: Lord, empower us to not let what aliments we suffer from define us. We know that is often easier said than done, especially when we begin to see ourselves as others see us. Help us to see ourselves as you see is, made well, and full of potential. Amen. 

Thursday: “No One to Help?” - John 5: 7, John 9 

Have you ever known someone who was not willing to take that risk? Someone who you wished to help but who wouldn’t accept what you offered? 

One of the topics that I find interesting to study is called able-ism - the prejudice we have against those who are differently-abled (sometime also referred to as dis-abled). I find this topic powerful because it connects with stories in my life of friends who others said could not do things because of their disability, when really it was exactly though those areas that others saw as hinderances that God want to shine. 

Those with differing abilities see the world in different ways. Perhaps the man at the pool did not understand what Jesus was asking. Perhaps he thought Jesus asked why he was not yet well - a question he probably heard from not a few people over the years. Or perhaps he heard and thought it was too good to be true, so he skirted around the question to avoid whatever help the man before him was trying to offer. Whatever the reason, the man told of what blocked him in the past from healing instead of recognizing what Christ was offering right before him. 

Have you ever known someone who was not willing to take that risk? Someone who you wished to help but who wouldn’t accept what you offered?

Prayer: Lord, help me to see people as you see them - not as labels, but as people. Forgive me for the times I have denied other people their dignity because of my own prejudices. Amen. 

Friday: “Get Up!” - John 5: 8-9 

Probably the last thing the man expected when Jesus told him that he was to get up and walk was that he would actually be able to do it! The life he had lived helped him to believe that walking would not be possible for him. 

We all carry around assumptions every day, about ourselves and others, that we need to unlearn. The only assumption we need to cling to is the truth that God is able! 

What false assumptions do you need to set aside in order to claim that God is able?

How do you tend to see people - by their past mistakes or future potential?

Prayer: Lord, free us of our assumptions so we can claim the greatest truth - that you only, O Lord, are able! Amen!

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Grave Robber: Two Fish” - John 6: 1-13

Family Activity: Sometimes we put labels on people so we can feel better about ourselves. What are some of the labels or names you have heard kids called at school? How can you help build people up and remember that God loves them?