< Back

READ: John 5:8-18
LISTEN: John 5

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. John 5:18

Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath. This is a problem for the religious leaders. They begin to persecute Jesus for it. Instead of backing down, Jesus uses the healing as an opportunity to tell them who he really is. Through a back and forth, he makes it clear that he’s God. The religious leaders are not happy. Because Jesus claims to be God, and does miraculous things, they come to an inflection point. It seems like they have two choices: they can admit Jesus is from God or they can label him dangerous and try to get rid of him. They choose the second and plot to kill him.

We can find ourselves at inflection points with Jesus on a regular basis. We have to decide whether we are going to trust that he is God or do our own thing. John writes his gospel to convince people that Jesus is the Messiah and the way to life (John 20:31). Choosing to believe that Jesus is the Messiah means giving Jesus authority over our lives. It’s not a simple one-time decision, but the driving factor behind every decision we make. Believing in Jesus means intentionally building our lives around discovering what God says and putting that into practice.

TODAY: Reflect on who God is and what he’s done for you. Choose to give him authority over your life and follow him. Return to the worship of the weekend service through the song “Love of God” led by the Ada Bible Worship team.