TODAY’S SERMON: July 13, 2025
Studies in John: 11 At the Pool of Bethesda - John 5:1-18
If you have been in church for any amount of time, you have experienced legalism in some for or fashion. Legalism is a silent killer of congregations because it moves beyond the commands and instructions of God’s word and imposes man’s ideas on those who do not know the difference.
Legalists love their lists – lists of dos and don’ts that help control people who will not confront the foolishness of such actions. Well, Jesus was not one of those guys who’d simply roll over and allow the legalists of His day to impose unnecessary mandates on those who sincerely wanted to serve God.
The legalists of Jesus’ day were called Pharisees, and we will see a sample of their behavior in our text today as it revolved around the Sabbath and how one should view it.
Notice that Jesus will visit the temple of Jerusalem for the second time in John 5; He visited it first when He made a whip and ran the money-changers out (John 2:13-22). The first time, Jesus was restoring worship, this time, Jesus is restoring grace.
Grace is what we need, not legalism. We will see this as Jesus deals with the man at the pool of Bethesda. The very identity of this pool is consumed with legalistic ideology. Most of us are unknowingly influenced by legalism, but the more we are made aware, the sooner we can stop expecting things that are not expected by God. Please pray with me that our eyes can be opened to what God has for us!
Bro. Joey
Legalists love their lists – lists of dos and don’ts that help control people who will not confront the foolishness of such actions. Well, Jesus was not one of those guys who’d simply roll over and allow the legalists of His day to impose unnecessary mandates on those who sincerely wanted to serve God.
The legalists of Jesus’ day were called Pharisees, and we will see a sample of their behavior in our text today as it revolved around the Sabbath and how one should view it.
Notice that Jesus will visit the temple of Jerusalem for the second time in John 5; He visited it first when He made a whip and ran the money-changers out (John 2:13-22). The first time, Jesus was restoring worship, this time, Jesus is restoring grace.
Grace is what we need, not legalism. We will see this as Jesus deals with the man at the pool of Bethesda. The very identity of this pool is consumed with legalistic ideology. Most of us are unknowingly influenced by legalism, but the more we are made aware, the sooner we can stop expecting things that are not expected by God. Please pray with me that our eyes can be opened to what God has for us!
Bro. Joey