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March 12 -- John 5:16-47

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” –John 5:24 (NIV)

Because Jesus was healing people on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting Him. Jesus responded by saying that His Father continues to work to keep the universe running, so Jesus works as well (v. 17). This statement is a claim to deity because it identifies Jesus with God’s creative and sustaining work. Jesus went on to explain His relationship to the Father, and He said that He Himself is the Source of eternal life (v. 21). He added, “Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (v. 24).


“Life” in this last statement means more than eternal life, as wonderful as that is. To have “crossed from death to life” implies a new life now as well as in the future. This new life is infused with the Holy Spirit, given to us at our spiritual rebirth. With God’s power working in and through us, we can have true fellowship with Him and with other believers, and we can rely on God’s strength in our battles against sin and temptation. We can have His peace that passes understanding and His joy in the midst of trials and tribulations. We are even clothed in His righteousness. Now. Today. And we are on a journey to grow into this new life with Him.


After explaining His relationship with the Father and His role as the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus told the Jewish leaders that He wasn’t relying on His own testimony about Himself to convince them. They had John the Baptist’s testimony, and they even had “weightier” testimony than this—both the miracles Jesus performed and the Scriptures testify about Him (vv. 36 & 39). If the Jewish leaders would not believe what was written in the Scriptures, how would they believe what Jesus Himself said?


The Jewish leaders thought of Jesus as a rulebreaker and troublemaker. They dismissed His claims about Himself as blasphemy without giving those claims serious consideration. Instead, they were focused on receiving honor from each other (v. 44); they sought earthly rather than heavenly things. Even their focus on Scripture was legalistic. They thought that eternal life came through the Scriptures (v. 39), but Jesus told them that they needed to come to Him to have life (v. 40).


Even those of us who are Christians can lose sight of our Source of life sometimes. We can search the Scriptures for the right answers to our problems and forget to go to Jesus with them. We can look to one another for approval and forget that our identity and worth is found solely in Christ. He is the One who redeems and gives new life—now and for eternity.


Consider: How am I living as one who has “crossed over from death to life”? As I look back over the past 24 hours, how have I faithfully followed Christ? How have I strayed from following Him? Do I go to Jesus to find life or to other people?


Spend some time reviewing your last 24 hours with God. Ask Him to show you when you were living close to Him—when you showed evidence of living that new life in Him—and when you were distant from Him. Finally, thank Jesus for being your Source of life and identity and ask Him to help you remain closer to Him in the next 24 hours, whatever they will bring.

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My name is Melissa Anderson. I'm a spiritual director and ordained pastor who loves God, people, and words. You can read more about me by clicking the button below.

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