Day 127 Bible Readings – John 5: 19 (ESV)

Judges 6, Judges 7:1-8, John 5:16-29, Psalm 76

John 5: 19 (ESV)

“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”

In verse 19 from John 5, we read about Jesus’ response to the religious leaders who were questioning His authority and actions after he healed the crippled man on the Sabbath. Jesus tried to explain to them his relationship with God the father. Jesus first tells them that he is completely dependent on his father, and that he can nothing on his own. Jesus was totally submitted to his father’s will by choice, and not by force or because he had an inferior nature. He and God the father are fully unified. Secondly, Jesus says that he only does what his father is doing, because of their unity and perfect alignment. This unity also means that Jesus and God the father are equal, and that his works are also the works of God. This verse shows me that we can study how God responds and acts through the actions of Jesus. As Jesus imitates God his father, we can imitate Christ with our actions to align with him and his teachings. Jesus’ submission to God his father is a model for a believer to submit his will to God, and to be obedient to him even if it challenges what is normal in current society and even our personal desires.

Day 126 Bible Readings - John 5: 8-9 (ESV)

Judges 4, Judges 5, John 4:43-54, John 5:1-15, Psalm 75

John 5: 8-9 (ESV)

“Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.”

In verses 8 and 9 from John 5, we read about the incredible miracle of Jesus healing the man who had been a cripple for 38 years at the pool on the Sabbath. I love the faith of the crippled man when Jesus told him “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” The man was so obedient to Jesus, who was a total stranger to him. Did he feel his legs come to life? Since he had been crippled for over 30 years, how did he even remember what it felt like to have feelings in his legs. The power of Jesus to heal ailments was so all-encompassing the powerful that I’ve always imagined that Jesus healed not only the man’s crippled legs, but also his mind. There must have been so much resistance in the man’s mind since he had been crippled for 38 years, but Jesus healed his mind so he could immediately feel his legs.

The writers of The Chosen series Season 2 Episode 4 did a great job of showing in a creative way the miracle of Jesus healing a man by the pool. The actor who portrayed the man at the pool looked so dirty, ragged, and sad, that it was easy to imagine that he smelled as bad as he looked. His healing by Jesus looked so dramatic so kudos to the writers and actor who portrayed the man at the pool for making this miracle story such a joy to watch.

Enjoy The Chosen series, Season 2 Episode 4. 

Day 125 Bible Readings – John 4: 27-29 (ESV)

Judges 2:6-23, Judges 3, John 4:27-42, Psalm 74:18-23

John 4: 27-29 (ESV)

“Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

I love this scene of the Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. Verses 27 through 29 shows us her reaction to Jesus when she realizes that he is the Christ, the Messiah. I’ve always wondered how she sounded and what her emotion were when she tells the disciples “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” Her reaction to realizing that Jesus is the Christ was to immediately go out and tell everyone. The Chosen series in Season 2 episode does a recreating in a dramatic and creative way the scene between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. There are words from Scripture in the scenes, but the writers of the Chosen series have also added other dialog for context. Seeing the reaction of the Samaritan woman at the well was so endearing. The actress who played the Samaritan women did a great job of showing her reaction to Jesus. It makes me wonder what my reaction would have been had I come across Jesus in person and realized to whom I was speaking.

Enjoy this wonder dramatization of these verses from The Chosen series Season 2 episode 1.

Day 124 Bible Readings – John 4: 16-19 (ESV)

Judges 1, Judges 2:1-5, John 4:1-26, Psalm 74:10-17

John 4: 16-19 (ESV)

“Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”

I’ve read the story of the Jesus meeting the woman at the well in Samaria many times, and verses 16 through 19 stood out to me today. Jesus tells the woman at the well to call your husband, and she tell him she has no husband. Then Christ tells the woman at the well her history of being married and that the man she has now is not her husband. The woman confirms that what Jesus said is true and calls him a prophet. These verses show us that we cannot lie to Jesus or try to hide anything from God. God knows us inside and out because he created us, and even without all of our failings and sins he still loves us. We are all children of God, and our heavenly father loves us, wants to help us, and above all wants to have a relationship with us. And like in any good relationship, you cannot hide things from the one who loves you. I think of all the times I’ve wondered in the past if God really sees me or cares what I am doing. Or how I’ve tried to hide from God all the sins I’ve committed by just not mentioning them. I know that God does see me, that he does care about me, and that I can’t hid anything from him. I know that God knows me better than I know myself, and it is after all these years still so surprising that God sees and knows everything about my life and still totally loves me.