Jesus Challenges People

John 5:9-14

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." 11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

NIV

Jesus Challenges People

 (John 5:10-15)

Intro:

              A.  Mark Twain is attributed to saying, “The only one who likes change is a wet baby.”  I want to go on record as disagreeing with Mark Twain.  I love change!  To be honest, I love when YOU change to do what I want.  We often call on people to change to fit our standards, our thoughts, or our desires.  We find that in marriages, we find it in work place, and we find it in the church family.  Change is often about the other person, not about me.

              B.  This morning, we being to take a look at the character and message of Jesus.  We are doing this because as Christians we are called to be the image or likeness of Jesus to the world.  They see you, me and us as a church and they judge Jesus, God and Christianity as a whole. 

              C.  Let’s take a look at four qualities this month to help us become like Jesus.  PRAYER

I.  The Challenge To Stop Sinning

              A.  We often look at Jesus and see the qualities of compassion, kindness, love, forgiveness that make up how Jesus reached out to people who hurt or were harmed by others.  Next Sunday we will look at the compassion Jesus had for others, but there is a side of Jesus we don’t talk about as much, or do so only when we focus that message on others, not self.  The truth is Jesus challenged people to change.

              B.  Sometimes that challenge came across as a gentle reminder to live a more holy life and sometimes that challenge came across almost in a verbal condemnation.  Before we look at how can challenge others to change, I want to start with an example of how Jesus challenged a person to change and how he challenges us to change.

              C.  Turn with me to John 5.  The Bible tells us that Jesus was in Jerusalem by a pool called Bethesda where a man who had been an invalid for 38 years was laying, hoping for a miraculous healing in the water of that pool.

              D.  When Jesus saw him, he asked him the strangest question, “Do you want to be healed?”  What Jesus just did was to change the focus of the man.  He had gone to that pool hoping for a miracle, and now there is a man in front of him who seems ready to do something.  Jesus heard the man complain, but then challenged him to action (John 5:8-9).

              E.  In many other examples of healing, that would be the end of the story, but the Bible tells us more.  This healed man is questioned about the spiritual failure of working on the Sabbath by taking up his mat, his bed and walking with it.  Can I just say, “Wow, what a bunch of jerks.”  There was no joy for man who suffered for 38 years, but a question of how he practices his faith on the Sabbath.           

              F.  The man shifts the blame, if there was any to begin with, from himself to the guy who told him to take up his bed and walk.  AND WALK!  Yes, he is walking.  He doesn’t seem to know Jesus as a person and therefore can’t tell others who did this miracle.   Now listen (READ John 5:14).

              G.  Jesus healed this man and then challenged him, “sin no more!”  His point was clear.  If this man thought being an invalid for 38 years was terrible, think about a spiritual life where sin separates you from God.  Before I get to upset with this man who had been healed and his reaction, I better look at myself and see if sin still is a part of my nature after Jesus has spiritually healed me. 

II.  Repentance

              A.  When we read about the beginning of the Galilean ministry of Jesus, it picks up with learning that John the Baptist was put into prison.  The first demand of Jesus in his public ministry was “repent.”  He said this to everyone who would listen.  Jesus preached “Repent for the king of heaven is at hand.”  It was a message that the common people who knew of John the Baptist had heard him say time and again.

              B.  John, in his ministry, told the people to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”  Repentance is not just an outward change of behavior, but it happens inside us, in our mind and heart.  We turn away from sin, so that we can turn to him.

              C.  Understand, no one is excluded from the demand of Jesus to repent.  When Jesus talked about the some calamities that had happened to innocent people he finishes by saying to them, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Lk 13:5).

              D.  Why this demand by Jesus?  Because you and I are not what God desires for us to be.  When I first became a Christian I repented and was baptized and never needed to repent again.  But we know that is not true.  The only way I will have a Christ-like nature is if I see my sin as God does, and repent of it from the inside out.  My unchristlike behavior starts in my heart.  I need to repentant and desires to be Jesus to the world around me.

III.  Challenging Others

              A.  This sermon is not done yet.  The point of this series is for me to be more like Jesus in every way.  I have to also be like Jesus in challenging others to stop sinning, repent, and enjoy fellowship with Christ and the church.

              B.  We often go to Hebrews 10 to talk about attending the worship of the church, but hear a little more of the context (READ Heb. 10:24-25).  The beginning is “let us consider how to stir up one another…”  We come together because we need each other, not just to worship Jesus.  You help me to grow, not simply by singing and praying, but by sharing life with me. 

              C.  Listen to Gal. 6:1-2.  There is a need for Christians to challenge fellow Christians because to many of us sin willfully and no one says anything to help us change.  Even our congregational reading this morning from James 5 calls on us to help a wayward Christian to come back.

              D.  The Gospel of Jesus is good news, but the good news is you don’t have to stay in a separated relationship from God.  You can change from a life of sin to a life where grace flows over you as you walk in the light.  I have to challenge a person to see their own sin, if they ever are going to follow Jesus as a Savior.

Conclusion:

              A. Gandhi said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”  Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”  The most dangerous phrase in the language is, “We’ve always done it that way.”

              B.  Jesus challenge sinners and religious people to change, to repent, to become more of what God desired and less of self.  Change, repentance, is not easy, but it is necessary. 

              C.  As we walk through the attributes of Jesus I started with the idea of challenging people to grow, to repent, to become God’s workmanship because that idea starts with me.  It doesn’t end with me.  I need to be bold enough to challenge you and you, bold enough to challenge me to see Jesus and become like him.  Change of my personality, my character, my demeanor, my methods, my mouth are all difficult for me, but I know that God’s calling me to be the image of Jesus and that’s my goal.

Because of Jesus,

Jeffrey Dillinger, minister