“The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; Yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord GOD might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation; And unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.”
Psalm 68:17-20 KJV
A Gift Worth Receiving
After Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for almost four decades, the religious Jews were angry with Him. This may seem strange, because healing is a good thing, but Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath—the day of rest. In the Old Testament, God gave believers a long list of rules to follow in order to stay right with Him, and these rules included honoring the Sabbath.
But in the New Testament, Jesus was sent to change our relationship with the Father. By sacrificing Himself on the cross, He gave us access to a relationship with God—so that long list of rules was no longer needed. Throughout Jesus' life, He shows people the nature of this new relationship. But because it didn’t line up with what the religious establishment believed, they were angry with Him.
In John 5, Jesus justifies these changes through revealing His true authority. By calling God His Father, He shared that He was equal to God. This angered the religious Jews, but it gives us a ...