One might of thought this was the end of the matter, but an issue that was a recurrent point of conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees was about to arise. Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath and told the man to get up, walk, and carry his mat. Now the Jews had strict regulations that sought to ensure that the Sabbath was observed. These had a list of thirty two different things that one wasn't allowed to do on the Sabbath, and carrying his mat broke one of these.
Now the Sabbath principle is important, but while God had intended it to be for man's benefit, the Jews had turned it into an extra burden. The ministry of Jesus demonstrated that He saw the Sabbath as a day to bring healing and restoration to people (look in the gospels and see how many of his miracles were carried out on the Sabbath), the Pharisees saw it as a day to find fault with people.
The healed man did not know who had healed him, for Jesus had immediately gone on His way. However, Jesus did later find the man. Jesus advised the man not to sin anymore. This could be taken to imply that his lameness was a result of sin, or it could be general advice to him. I think the latter is more likely. Sometimes there is a direct relationship between sin and sickness (1 Cor 11:30), but equally Jesus warned against adopting the attitude that if someone has encountered misfortune of some sort they must have deserved it (Luke 13:2). In this instance I think Jesus is saying the following: the man's sickness had been the main preoccupation of his life for many years. In actual fact sin was his biggest problem (as it is for all of us), this was the issue he should be most concerned about.
The man went and told the Jews about Jesus. It is easy to criticise him for this, but we must remember that the Pharisees and Saducees were the recognised men of God, and it would be natural for the man to go to them. Moreover, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders was not at its height at this point.
From this point on, however, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders became very serious, and is a key feature of the next few chapters of John's gospel. John makes it clear that the Pharisees knew Jesus was claiming equality with God.
Jesus attitude in all this was to continue to do the work of His Father.
Now the Sabbath principle is important, but while God had intended it to be for man's benefit, the Jews had turned it into an extra burden. The ministry of Jesus demonstrated that He saw the Sabbath as a day to bring healing and restoration to people (look in the gospels and see how many of his miracles were carried out on the Sabbath), the Pharisees saw it as a day to find fault with people.
The healed man did not know who had healed him, for Jesus had immediately gone on His way. However, Jesus did later find the man. Jesus advised the man not to sin anymore. This could be taken to imply that his lameness was a result of sin, or it could be general advice to him. I think the latter is more likely. Sometimes there is a direct relationship between sin and sickness (1 Cor 11:30), but equally Jesus warned against adopting the attitude that if someone has encountered misfortune of some sort they must have deserved it (Luke 13:2). In this instance I think Jesus is saying the following: the man's sickness had been the main preoccupation of his life for many years. In actual fact sin was his biggest problem (as it is for all of us), this was the issue he should be most concerned about.
The man went and told the Jews about Jesus. It is easy to criticise him for this, but we must remember that the Pharisees and Saducees were the recognised men of God, and it would be natural for the man to go to them. Moreover, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders was not at its height at this point.
From this point on, however, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders became very serious, and is a key feature of the next few chapters of John's gospel. John makes it clear that the Pharisees knew Jesus was claiming equality with God.
Jesus attitude in all this was to continue to do the work of His Father.
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