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Bethesda and the Sanhedrin
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instituted the Sabbath must put a period to His labor, and stop the
never-ending routine of the universe.
Should God forbid the sun to perform its office on the Sabbath?
Must He command the brooks to stay from watering fields and
forests? Must wheat and corn stop growing? Must trees and flowers
put forth no bud nor blossom on the Sabbath?
God could not for a moment stay His hand, or man would faint
and die. Man also has work to perform on this day. The sick must
be cared for, the wants of the needy supplied. God’s holy rest day
was made for man; God does not desire His creatures to suffer an
hour’s pain that may be relieved on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the
Lord; the toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly
pleasure or profit is lawful on that day. But as God ceased His
labor of creating, and rested on the Sabbath, so man is to leave the
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occupations of daily life and devote those sacred hours to healthful
rest, worship, and holy deeds. Christ’s healing the sick honored the
Sabbath.
But the Pharisees were still more incensed. Jesus had not only
broken the law, according to their understanding, but in calling God
“His own Father” had declared Himself equal with God. RSV. They
accused Him of blasphemy. These adversaries of Christ could only
cite their customs and traditions, and these seemed weak and vapid
when compared with the arguments Jesus had drawn from the Word
of God and the unceasing round of nature. But the rabbis evaded the
points He made and sought to stir up anger against Him because He
claimed to be equal with God. Had they not feared the people, the
priests and rabbis would have slain Jesus on the spot. But popular
sentiment in His favor was strong. Many justified His healing of the
sufferer at Bethesda.
Jesus Dependent on the Father’s Power
Jesus repelled the charge of blasphemy. My authority, He said, is
that I am the Son of God, one with Him in nature, will, and purpose.
I cooperate with God. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what
He seeth the Father do.” The priests and rabbis were taking the Son
of God to task for the very work He had been sent into the world