So I just read John 5. Here's some thoughts to start the conversation:
First I noticed something I had never thought about before:
2 Now in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew (Jewish Aramaic) Bethesda, having five porticoes (alcoves, colonnades). 3 In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, [waiting for the stirring of the water; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.]
So wait... an angel stirred the water? Why isn't this mentioned anywhere else in the Bible? When did it start? Why did it start? What is happening? I'd love to know more about this.
Second, this stood out to me:
10 So the Jews kept saying to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to pick up your pallet [because it is unlawful].” 11 He answered them, “The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength was the One who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’”
and then this part where Jesus is talking to the Pharisees:
39 You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me; 40 and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
This struck a chord with me. I've been saying and hearing other folks say for years that a lot of Christians worship the Bible more than wanting a relationship with Jesus. They get so caught up on rules, do-this-don't-do-that thinking that they ignore the very reason the book exists in the first place. It's interesting to realize the Pharisees did the same thing to Jesus' face.
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Subject: Re: Reading together? 
Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:55 am
