“I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgement is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.” John 5:30 NLT
The things that Jesus taught explained what he did, and what he did confirmed what he taught. In today’s reading, Jesus claims to be the Son of God and that he is the mediator between God and man. Being that Christ is the mediator, He had a job to do – to carry out the will of his Father.
We know that Christ was obedient and carried out the will of his Father because back in Matthew 3:17, we read that, “a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” We also know that following the Father is not easy. Before Jesus’ arrest, trial, and eventual crucifixion, Jesus prays to the Father in Luke 22:44 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Let us not think for one second that Jesus looked forward to His crucifixion. He was of flesh and blood like any of us who would experience fatigue, fear, and pain. Yet his job as a mediator required his death on the cross; and this not being his will, but the Father’s.
When our hearts are full of pride and love for this world, there is no room for the Word of God to abide. Jesus is the ultimate example of selflessness; being fully obedient to his Father and willing to die for my sins. May we make room for the Lord in our hearts; surrendering all so that we too can say that we are carrying out the will of our Heavenly Father.
Lock Your Wings 
“So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.”
John 5:18 NLT
Seems odd that someone would object to healing a man who had been ill for over thirty years. They likely would have even known him or recognized him. Why would they be so quick to criticize (to the point of wanting him dead!) instead of rejoicing in the healing? Perhaps we too are stuck on the “rules” – no work on the Sabbath and not the humanity of what bending those rules might look like.
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