January 7, 2024 - How to Overcome the Critics in Your Life - Pastor Paul Vallee

The background to this discourse between Jesus and the religious leaders is the man's healing at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day. Since Jesus commanded the man to 'pick up his mat and walk,' the religious leaders became antagonistic toward Jesus because, in their minds, he was violating their oral tradition. They had thirty-nine regulations regarding how to keep the Sabbath day holy. The problem was that it was impeding God's intention for the Sabbath. Many of Jesus' miracles occurred on the Sabbath and became an opportunity for Jesus to address an incorrect understanding regarding the nature of God. So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defence, Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.' (John 5:16-17) John has used this context to show the true nature of Jesus. These incidents in John's gospel are more than just some powerful theological lessons; they are practical examples that we can learn in answering Jesus' critics. How can we overcome the critics in our lives? When we understand who we are and our purpose, we can continue to do what needs to be done despite the critics and challenges in our lives. In this miracle and the following discussion, we discover that Jesus reveals who he is and how he brought glory to the Father. Jesus was revealing the nature of the Father to every generation. In John 5:17-30, we discover three things that show Jesus' identity actions.