Water... and Jesus

[00:00:02] Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [00:00:08] Amen. [00:00:12] So this morning in the gospel reading, we have a man who needs to get to the water. [00:00:19] He needs healing. [00:00:23] Water features prominently in John's gospel. [00:00:28] This is chapter five, where this man, he wants water to be healed. But in chapter four, Jesus is with the Samaritan woman. The Samaritan woman, well, Jesus asks her for a drink and then ends up offering her water. [00:00:46] Not water that you get with a bucket from the well. [00:00:50] But he says, if anyone comes to me, I'll give them water and they'll never be thirsty again. [00:00:58] He offers her water. [00:01:02] So what is it with water? Yesterday we had a lot of showers in our household. There were haircuts, as you see. There's a whole lot less Vanderheide hair today than yesterday. [00:01:15] That was going way too long there, you know. So showers for that. And then we get done with that. And, well, now it's raining. And of course, that means playing out in the rain. And so we had some more showers to get the mud off later in the day. [00:01:31] But water is indispensable. [00:01:35] Washing is just one thing that you need water for. [00:01:38] Of course, there's drinking water. We're composed of so much water, and we need it to live. And so. [00:01:46] So we come across water all the time in Scripture. [00:01:51] Water, because it's so necessary for life, and not just to sustain our life by drinking it, but also to restore us to our nature, to make us right. That's what happens. You get mud on yourself. It's like there's something that doesn't belong. You got to get it off. And for that, you need water or, like a pan that you never wash. [00:02:14] It's not going to stay the way it should unless you take care of it, unless you wash it frequently. [00:02:22] We need water. [00:02:25] Jesus is himself that water. [00:02:28] Jesus, the source of water. [00:02:31] At least I suppose in Scripture, the Holy Spirit is more represented with water. But Jesus is the one who bears the spirit and gives the spirit. [00:02:41] So he says, come to me if anyone believes in me. Out of his heart. [00:02:46] Out of his heart will flow streams of water. [00:02:52] But I want to mention an instance of water that I talked about with the youth last Sunday. Is anybody in that Bible study in here? Doesn't look like it. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't remember if you guys were part of that or not. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Well, now you're getting it today. [00:03:10] So Psalm 1. [00:03:13] Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. [00:03:22] But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And on his law he meditates day and night. [00:03:28] He's like a tree planted by streams of water. [00:03:32] So you've got that tree planted by streams of water. [00:03:36] And we've got some nice cottonwoods out here planted by a stream of water. And that's fir. [00:03:43] They're thriving there for a reason. Or you drive through the country and you see a line of trees thinking, well, there's probably water there. [00:03:51] It sends its roots out into that stream or nearby, and it can grow strong and be resilient. We've had a couple of these passages recently, like one from Jeremiah 15, that the tree that's planted by a stream of water that sends out its roots and gets all that water is resilient. When the heat comes in the summer, it's not affected. [00:04:17] And same in Psalm 1. Its leaf does not wither, but it's talking about the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, whose delight is in the law of the Lord. Now, that word law is Torah, okay? Torah, which primarily refers to the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. [00:04:41] So essentially, the foundation, the life of Israel, the important parts that Israel was to look back to, to remember how God had made them, how things had gotten off track. [00:04:55] Adam and Eve turning away from God's word, how God had promised to restore humanity through the one who would crush the serpent's head, how God had called Abraham and made a people for himself through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Right? And then there's Israel. And then Israel was enslaved, but God brought him out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. He saved his people, brought them out of slavery, gave them life, brought them through the wilderness and to the promised land. [00:05:32] So blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, in the Torah of the Lord, who meditates on it day and night, meditates on God's Torah, on his Word. [00:05:48] Now, that's the streams of water. [00:05:52] The one who meditates on God's word day and night is the one who is drawing deeply from the streams of water and therefore is built up by God's word into a strong tree. [00:06:08] All right, so let's bring it Back to John 5. [00:06:15] All right, now, you know, when you get into, like, interpreting the numbers that John uses, there could be some variety, but I got this from Augustine in the 4th century and just love the way he presents it and what he does with it. All right? But he says, okay, so there are five roofed colonnades around this water. [00:06:38] What's going on? Well, water, like we just saw in Psalm 1 and in many other places is God's word. [00:06:46] Recalls God's Word and, well, why are there five things around it? And why does John care enough to tell us? Well, maybe the Torah, right? [00:06:55] Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, I mean, Torah is related to 5. So maybe this is the law, the Torah, God's word, and it is water. [00:07:10] But the man just can't get to. He can't get its benefit, right? And Jesus says that about. [00:07:17] Well, Jesus. Sorry, Jesus, through the Apostle Paul, says that about God's word. [00:07:24] In Second Corinthians 3, he says that the Jews who don't believe in Jesus, they still read the Torah. [00:07:37] They're reading the Torah, they've got the Word, but there's a veil. They can't get its benefit until they turn to Christ. [00:07:45] But when they turn to Christ, the veil is removed, and all of a sudden they're being transformed. Beholding his face, being transformed from glory to glory through Christ. It's like turning to Christ unlocks all the benefits, the water of the Word, so that they grow and are transformed and become strong in Christ, you see? So let's bring it Back to John 5 here. This man, he can't get to the water. [00:08:16] He needs healing. [00:08:21] He's been in the state for 38 years. [00:08:26] Israel, Israel wandering through the wilderness. [00:08:31] Remember, after two years, they come to the promised land. And God says, all right, here's what you're going to do. [00:08:38] You're going to enter the promised land, and I'm going to give you victory over the inhabitants. They're going to resist you, but don't be afraid. [00:08:48] I'm with you. [00:08:50] Then they send spies into the land, and they go, ooh, I know God said, I know His Word says that we're going to be okay, but no, we can't take this. The people are like giants and such, right? They don't trust God's word, and so they wander for another 38 years. [00:09:13] Isn't that just perfect that this man, he's been sick for 38 years, wandering, wanting that water but not able to access it, not getting its benefits. [00:09:24] And here comes Christ. [00:09:26] Christ comes and he says, get up. [00:09:32] Take your mat. Take up your mat and walk, right? [00:09:37] You can even think of the wandering Israelites like they're okay. Are they walking or are they just turning in circles? Right? [00:09:46] But now he says, walk, you're going somewhere, life. [00:09:53] So Jesus just, he doesn't need to take him to the water, right? He finds the water in Jesus, this man, he's healed by Jesus. And this is how it is. [00:10:06] There's life in God's Word. [00:10:09] That life is accessible, transformative, it's received. [00:10:14] The life within the water is received through Jesus Christ. [00:10:19] Right? We all beholding Jesus Christ in his word, in God's Word, are being transformed from glory to glory into the same image, into the image of Jesus Christ. [00:10:33] Now let's think about how this, how this works in our own lives. [00:10:42] Well, it's kind of like family is a wonderful thing. What can you say about your family? [00:10:51] Well, like the structure of family is a beautiful thing where parents are a blessing to the children and the children grow and learn and such. But all of the sort of outward elements of that can be there. But you know where the real growth comes from in God's. The God instituted, ordained family. [00:11:15] As that family is centered on Jesus Christ, beholding Jesus Christ, being transformed from glory to glory. [00:11:26] All of our endeavors are transformed through Jesus Christ, our life as God's people. [00:11:36] There are a lot of sort of external elements of that. You think of it like the word, like you can look to the Torah and not look to Jesus Christ. You can look to God's Word and not be looking at Jesus Christ and miss its benefit. [00:11:51] You can come in here among God's people and see all the things going on, our gathering, our facing the same way. You can see the cross up there. [00:12:03] You can hear the words, but miss Jesus Christ. [00:12:09] And then it's of no benefit. [00:12:11] You could hear the words of the pastor saying, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. [00:12:19] And Ms. Jesus Christ. It could just be like, well, that's cool, somebody's saying these words, these magic words or something like that. [00:12:27] But miss Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters in Christ. That in Christ part is the important part, right? Remember, don't miss Christ in the brothers and sisters thing, right? [00:12:41] We can be together and like each other or act like we like each other and miss Christmas. [00:12:48] What unites us? [00:12:50] Jesus Christ, he brings the benefits. It's great to have family. It's great to treat one another like family. [00:12:59] But it is truly Jesus Christ who makes us God's family, who brings us his gifts and transforms our life together. [00:13:09] So brothers and sisters in Christ, don't forget Jesus Christ and all his benefits. [00:13:18] Don't forget as you work in your day job, and interact with co workers or customers. [00:13:28] Don't forget Jesus Christ, through whom they were made and in whose image they were made and in whose image they're being restored by faith in Jesus Christ. If they know about him, if they know to come to him and receive the water, be cleansed and healed and restored and have life. [00:13:49] Don't forget Jesus Christ as you put your kids to bed or as you work through an argument with somebody, don't forget Jesus Christ, who brings healing, healing waters, who brings forgiveness through faith in Him. [00:14:11] Look to him together with your family, with your friends. [00:14:16] Don't forget Jesus Christ. When you find yourself in a tough spot and needing some kind of rescue. [00:14:25] He's not far away. [00:14:28] He's in your heart through faith. [00:14:31] He's just a turn away. He's a prayer away. I mean, he's not even that far, right? But don't forget Him. [00:14:37] He's right there with you. [00:14:40] You look to him and he'll rescue you. Maybe not from the particulars of the situation. Who knows? The apostles all died gruesomely, but Jesus was there and they had life and salvation. They had rescue of another sort that gave them courage to weather any storm, to endure any kind of suffering. [00:15:03] Don't forget Jesus Christ, in whom you're a new creation. [00:15:09] If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. In Jesus name, amen.