Crossover-AZ.com

John 5:2-6

“Now there is In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool called in Aramaic Bethzatha, which has porticoes. In these were lying a large number of those who were sick, blind, lame, paralyzed. And a certain man was there who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness. Jesus, when he saw this one lying there and knew that he had been sick a long time already, said to him, “Do you want to become well?”

“De eimi en ho Heirosolyma epi ho Probatikos kolymbethra ho epilego Hebraisti Bethzatha echo pente stoas. En houtos katakeimai plethos ho astheneo, typhlos, cholos, xeros. De tis anthropos eimi ekei echo triakonta okto etos en autos ho astheneia. Iesous, eidon houtos katakeimai kai ginosko hoti echo polys chronos ede, lego autos, “Thelos ginomai hygies?”

First in English and then in Greek.

This is an interesting story that John gave an account of that deserved to be unpacked!

Apparently there was a pool that was just outside the Temple In Jerusalem that the sick would come to, and wait for, what appeared to be a ‘stirring’ of the water - that people thought would bring them healing.

The stirring of water occurred and people would help others in the water to get their healing.

Many believed and hoped for healing!

John says that near the pool….(kolymbethra)

A large number (plethos) had many different types of illnesses!

Sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people!

What a dark and sad setting!

What is even more depressing is that there was a man who had been sick for 38 years! (triakonta okto)

This man had tried and tried and could not get to the pool at the moment that the water stirred because he had no one available to help him to the water!

Days of hopelessness turned to weeks and the weeks turned to years!

Here is the amazing thing…

In the crowded area it appears that Jesus walked over some and stepped by others who were sick, and zoomed in on this man!

The scripture does not indicate why Jesus did this!

Or what it was about the man that brought Jesus to him.

Perhaps when we look at the people John writes about before this story…

You see different levels of desperation and because of that you see different responses from Jesus!

Here a man was beyond desperate that it does not even show that he had the ability to plead his request for help in prayer.

Or demonstrate His desire for healing with a physical act.

This man was desperate beyond desperate!

Jesus asks this man a seemingly rhetorical question, “Do you want to become well?”

“Thelo ginomai hygies?”

Hygies means - to be restored to health

What a question to ask a man?

Jesus knew the time the man was sick. He knew the desperation this man had.

Yet, he asked a necessary question?!

For many people that question should be asked as well.

You see many people are comfortable with their misery.

They are comfortable with their poverty

They are content with their co-dependency and mental health disorder.

They really don’t want to be healed!

Some people…

So, Jesus asked the man

And He asked us as well.

Are you comfortable in your mess?

Are you desperate enough yet?

If so, be encouraged to know that if you are…

Jesus will have laser like focus to bring healing to you

You don’t have to even plead to Him in prayer, because He already knows your desperation!

He WILL heal!

Jesus healed him immediately!

38 years of desperation and with Jesus his healing was immediate!

This should give us all hope that our circumstances however dark and hopeless

Are not too dark and too hopeless for our Lord!

Be encouraged today with that truth!

Ephesians 6:12

“because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

“hoti ego ho pale eimi ou pros haima kai sarx, alla pros ho arche, pros ho exousia, pros ho kosmokrator ho houtos skotos, pros ho pneumatikos ho poneria en ho epouraniois.”

First in English and then in Greek.

Here in this verse Paul shares very plainly that a conflict is taking place.

Paul shares that this is a struggle. (ho pale)

ho pale, here in the Ancient Greek literally means - wrestling bout!

Now, when I read that, this verse took on extra meaning.

I have not competed in wrestling, but I can glean wisdom from what I have competed in, and that is martial arts competitions, as well as combat training when I was in the Marines

I will let the Holy Spirit speak to you with regards to the image of wrestling.

I think there was purpose with Paul sharing this word!

In a wrestling bout, the object is to physically submit your opponent!

The wrestling is both a physical and a mental struggle.

When you are competing, you are analyzing your strengths and your weaknesses, while attempting to gain the advantage on your opponent!

While this is going on, you are simultaneously questioning your preparedness for the bout.

If you have done little training and/or preparation and you face a much stronger opponent…

You submit quickly!

When you are fit and prepared you can endure much longer, and have a better chance of defeating your opponent

Paul shared earlier in chapter 4:11-12

That God has appointed leaders to exercise their roles for the ‘equipping’ of the saints.

The word equipping used in the Greek is the word: katartismos

This word literally means: to bring to fitness!

I don’t believe it is an accident that Paul uses these words!!

We, as followers of Christ have a purpose.

Let me list a few things that we are called to do as followers:

- We are to abide in Christ! Fellowship with Him through prayer and devotional time with Him
- Bear fruit. The fruits of the Spirit
- Exercise our gifts for His Kingdom purpose
- Share the Gospel
- Utilize our time, talents and treasures for His Kingdom!
- Fellowship and encourage other believers

There are many more, but these are just some.

Finally, we are to do this with Love!

This is where our focus and FITNESS should be in!

Jesus Himself said that the enemy’s purpose is to KILL - STEAL - DESTROY!

Diabolos - the slanderer’s purpose is to ‘submit us’ and render our purpose mute!

He can’t destroy our salvation…

But, he can make us give up using our gifts!

He can submit us and with that steal our fellowship with Christ, and His Church!

He can submit us, and kill our testimony and render us ineffective in sharing the gospel!

This is the enemy’s purpose!

I don’t know if the entities that Paul shares in our verse for today realizes the truth that we as believers know…

That they lost, already!

Jesus WON! And, He will ultimately win at the end of the ages!

Without getting to deep into the eschatological implications…

These entities are not of the temporal level.

Paul shares that our wrestling bout is not on the human level of blood and flesh (haima kai sarx)

But there appears a level that is above our level of knowledge and awareness.

It appears that these entities know of God, but believe that they have the power to defeat Him.

Or else, why would there be a struggle?

Paul refers to this level as darkness (skotos) and of a level of heavenly places (epouraniois)

This word in the Greek denotes a sphere of spiritual activity that allows for forces of wickedness (pneumatikos ho poneria) to operate!!

This is real! We may not see the realm, but it is as real as the chair that I am sitting on…

The wrestling bout is taking place and becomes more intense as we as followers, attempt to fulfill the God appointed purpose He has placed each and every believer to do

And make no mistake…there IS a purpose and calling that each of us has as a follower of Christ!

The question is, are we fit for the task?

Or, has the slanderer submitted us?

If not, then we need to go to the gym!!

John 1:1-3

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has not come into being.”

“En arche eimi ho logos, kai ho logos eimi pros ho Theos, kai ho logos eimi Theos. Houtos eimi en arche pros ho Theos. Pas ginomai dia autos, kai choris autos oude heis ginomai hos ginomai.”

The disciples must have been blown away at what they had witnessed when they saw all the miracles Jesus performed throughout His lifetime.

I can’t imagine them trying to wrap their minds around the entirety of God’s revelation of Himself in the person of Jesus!

Especially for John. Aside from Peter, John was part of the inner circle of disciples that also included his brother James.

John witnessed the transfiguration! And he was there with Jesus’ mother Mary at the crucifixion.

John witnessed Jesus at His highest point, as well as arguably his lowest point

Here in our scripture reading, John the apostle of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote down truths that either must be taken as fact, or you have to discard his account in its entirety!

John doesn’t pull any punches starting His account of the life of his teacher and resurrected Lord, Jesus!

In the beginning…

The word used for ‘the beginning is the Greek word: arche

Arche means the beginning of rule or what was done/said originally.

John used a specific word to describe who Jesus was: the word (logos)

Logos is simply the Greek word for: word or message.

John gives this title to Jesus Himself.

John shares that in the beginning, the word was with (pros) God!

Pros means being close by!

Note: John doesn’t say that Jesus and God the Father were the same being occupying the same space…

The word pos means Jesus was close by…

In the beginning! Before creation.

Before time began as we know it.

God the Father and God the son were next to one another.

To clear any ambiguity John says that the word…

Was God! (Logos eimi Theos)

Eimi is used often in New Testament writing and it means: to be, or to exist.

Here John shares some huge theological implications!

Jesus, whom he witnessed transfigured before his very eyes…

Whom John saw crucified!

Whom he saw ascend into heaven!

Was standing next to God the Father and was somehow God also?!?

This has to be either reconciled in some way, or we have to discount John’s account as way off base with his very first words!

The early church did not dispute the accuracy of John’s account…

None of the other disciples chimed in to say that John was completely off his rocker!

This account of John was included as one of four gospel accounts of the life of Jesus.

We must accept these words as God’s revelation of Himself through the person of Jesus!

John would even continue to say that all things (pas) came into being (ginomai) through (dia) Him.

Ginomai literally means: come into being

And, dia means: through or because of…

There is little ambiguity with the words John used here.

You can’t refute the words, you can try to refute the messenger

Was John a reliable witness and person to state these claims?

I believe he was.

He was closest to Jesus…

He along with Peter and James saw a more complete and intimate revelation of who Jesus was.

And the other persons (Peter and James)

Did not refute John’s claims!

So we are left with grappling with this truth!

How can Deuteronomy 6:4 say:

“Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one”

…be correct?

And how can John say what he shared in our scripture reading, and that be correct as well?

Well, the resounding answer is what took theologians many years to analyze and press out…

Due to the persecution that the church was enduring in the first few centuries of its existence.

It was not until Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine when He gathered all the bishops of the cities where the church had been established…

In AD 325 the Council of Nicaea took place.

In that gathering, the leaders of the church answered many questions, and debated many thoughts.

One question to answer was: what books of Bible should be considered divinely inspired and what writings should not?

Also, they debated and pressed out who/what was the nature of Jesus?

After much heated debate and with 318 leaders of the church…

What came out of that event was the Bible as we know of it today…

66 books

39 of Old Testament
27 of New Testament

Within the 27 books of the New Testament

The four gospel accounts: Matthew, Mark, Luke, AND John.

What followed was to establish the nature of God and Jesus

What came out was the doctrine of the Trinity that God exists as being One but simultaneously existing as three persons:

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

The words of John within the first words of his gospel account are a resounding affirmation to this truth!

Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates his own love love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us”.

“De ho theos synistemi heautuo ho agape eis hoti ego eimi eti hamartolos Christos apothnesko hyper ego”

First in English and then in Greek

I love the original Greek for the word demonstrates (synistemi). This word denotes a present or active verb.

God did not demonstrate this one time, because our sin (hamartolos) implies that it is in our nature. Meaning it is the past present and future sins that we do.

So, God actively shows his love (agape) to us by Christos (the annointed one)…dying for us - for ALL of our sins!

This implies an active replacement for our sin. Our past, present, and future sins!!

I don’t know about you, but that is Good News for me!!

How does this view of sin and what Jesus did for our sins impact your view of God’s love?

Matthew 17:2 the Transfiguration!

First in English and then in Greek

“And he was transformed before them, and his face shone like the sun and his clothing became white like the light”

“Metamorphoo emprothen autos ho prosopen lampo hos helios ho himation egeneto leukos hos phos”

Wow! Did the disciples see something amazing?!!

The Greek words are clear and visual.

The word for transformed is the root word we use for metamorphism

His face (ho prosopon) shined (lampos, where we get the word lamp) like the sun (helios)!

This was an amazing gift for the disciples to witness, and a gift for us as believers to read.

Jesus was and IS God in human form as Paul stated in Colossians.

Peter was witness to this miracle and yet, He would deny Jesus three times. Wow!!

Makes you wonder how he must have felt after Jesus was resurrected.

But, it also shows the nature in all of us when we have witnessed a miracle from God, but then deny him by our actions (such as doubt, worry, or sin)

We can all be like Peter. Witness a miracle one day…and deny Him another day!

Wow!!

Crossover-AZ.com updated their business hours.

Crossover-AZ.com updated their phone number.

Crossover-AZ.com updated their website address.