Study Journal: John 5-7
Additional Resources:
Notes
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John 5:2-4 - Apparently, according to Bruce R. McConkie, the pool of Bethesda didn't actually have healing powers. How were people being healed? Where they being healed? Why did they keep going if they weren't actually being healed?
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John 5:18 - Christ declared himself equal with God in declaring God as his father. This was either true or it was complete blasphemy.
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John 5:39 - What is our purpose for reading the scriptures? It is to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ. It is as we search the scriptures that we can gain that testimony of Christ. If we don't search the scriptures diligently, we won't recognize Christ at the last day.
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John 5:41-44 - We shouldn't be seeking honors from others, as that can blind us and lead us away from God. When we seek after glory here on Earth, we begin to lose sight of our eternal purpose, which is to return to God and to help others to return to Him.
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John 7:14-36 - Jesus taught well, especially without having deeply studied Jewish traditions and theology like some of the Rabbis. However, he didn't teach their doctrine, either. They had become layered in traditions, with many surface-level actions obfuscating the true meaning of the law that was given to them. When Christ taught, his teachings angered the Jews. He didn't conform to their fabricated traditions, instead pointing them to the true meaning of the law. He showed them what it truly means to keep the Sabbath day holy, or to love God and one's neighbor.
In the same way, sometimes we let our traditions get in the way of God's laws. Sometimes, we care more that we completed our once-a-month home teaching visit than that the person was actually ministered to. Sometimes we care more about getting food to the activity than we do about getting people to the activity. Just like Christ mentioned in chapter 5, we shouldn't let anything, from earthly honor to traditions, get in the way of carrying out God's plan for His children.