Read: John 5:1-47

Jesus had just performed a great miracle, but the Jews who were watching weren’t even that impressed with it. Can you imagine knowing a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years and then seeing him suddenly being able to use his legs? That would be amazing.

But instead of being amazed at what Jesus had done and about who Jesus really was, the Jews tried to persecute and kill Jesus because he had done it on the Sabbath day. They were also upset that he called God his Father. Jesus answered them by telling them that his miracles alone were proof that he is the Son of God, and he told them that they were refusing to believe that.

Jesus said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me.” This is interesting because the Jews knew the words of Moses and the whole Old Testament very well. And they even thought that they believed Moses. But Jesus pointed out to them that they don’t believe Moses. The whole Old Testament pointed to Jesus. Just think about the last plague when Moses went to Pharaoh.  The reason that the oldest child of each of the Israelite families was saved, was because they put blood on their door posts. This blood pointed to the blood of Jesus Christ. Or even think about the lists of names of the people returning from exile. These lists show that God gives his grace to individual people, people who belong to him because God saves them through the blood of Jesus who was to come.

The whole Old Testament pointed to Jesus, but the Jews didn’t want to believe that. They didn’t have a love for the Lord. If they did, then they would also believe Jesus and would be amazed that he could heal the lame man, and they would see that he was the Son of God.

Do you believe the words of Moses and do you believe Jesus? Are you amazed at the miracles of Jesus, especially the miracle of saving us from our sins? Always read and study the Bible and ask the Spirit to help you see Jesus on every page and to believe!

Source: Sermon by Rev. R. Vermeulen