In Search Of Truth, John Chapter 5

The Gospel of John Chapter 5





Still tracking with us? If you haven't yet, take the time to read Chapter 6. We'll wait...


Although not of any practical benefit, it's fun to try and imagine how this miracle with the bread and fish worked. Did Jesus use the existing material and somehow make it divide and grow like blood cells? Or did he simply use and transform the existing air molecules into the substance of bread and fish? It's likely that it any changes happened almost instantly, since the writers never give a detailed account of how it appears to have happened.


When the people saw this though, they became excited. Jesus knew that if they had their way, he would be made into a military leader. Conquering the Roman empire was of no interest to Jesus, and so he went to be alone. Jesus did this often in his ministry and it's a great example to us. No matter how much we are trying to do, we need to take time regularily to be with God. To pray, to read the words he's given to us. We so often take our schedules so seriously and stress ourselves out with all of these "important" life goals. But does God ever make it onto our planner? We would encourage and even plead with you to look at your calendar, or schedule, or whatever you use to order your life, and mark in some regular time with God.


Start small.


Maybe just five minutes on three different days of the week. You can pray or read a chapter of the Bible. But spend time with the God of the universe. It's an incredible relationship that we can have with him and the most important relationship we can have in the world.


In verse 47, Jesus says that anyone who believes in him has eternal life. It's important to note that the Greek word used here for "believe" does not simply mean "believe that he existed" or even "believe that he is God". To "believe" here, means to TRUST in Jesus. To first give him credit for who he is, and then to trust him with your life and your soul.


Have you ever felt funny about the concept of communion? Eating the body of Jesus and drinking his blood? What's THAT all about, right? As you can see in Chapter 6, the people that knew Jesus were asking the same thing. Jesus is again foreshadowing his death and the payment he will make on our behalf, to satisfy justice. We'll see later on that Jesus has given us a symbolic activity to take part in that will tangibly remind us of his sacrifice. Many Christians call this activity "communion". We'll touch on it some more toward the end of this book.


Jesus wasn't afraid to say things that he knew people would have trouble with. Some truth is complicated, mysterious or just plain strange sounding. We would be foolish to just believe everything we are told by our pastors, priests, or parents. But we would also be foolish to throw out strange sounding ideas without investigating them. The disciples close to Jesus, referred to as "The Twelve", made the choice to stick around and learn more before leaving Jesus. They were confused, and lacking all the answers, but they kept their minds opened and stayed with Jesus to learn more.


If you're questioning what it is that you believe, that's good! In every other part of life, we learn by asking questions. It's no different in our spiritual lives. So bring your brain and your questions and feel free to leave your comments here anytime!


See you next week!




Question to comment on:


What might some advantages be to questioning your own faith, even if what you believe is true?