To Know Christ
A Sermon on John 5:10
Originally preached Jan. 26, 1958
Scripture
10¶ The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
Sermon Description
Unbelievers are blinded to the truth by their own prejudices. Jesus had just performed a supernatural miracle by healing the man by the pool of Bethesda. How would the Pharisees respond? In this sermon on John 5:10 titled “To Know Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches that the Pharisees were blinded to the truth by the prejudices that governed their hearts. Confronted with this powerful miracle, the Pharisees were forced to deal with Jesus. They were confronted by the facts of this miracle and ultimately His divine nature. The Old Testament had prophesied of the Jesus of Nazareth and the facts surrounding Jesus clearly fulfilled those prophecies. Instead of embracing and believing the facts, as well as Jesus Himself, they held onto their prejudices. Blinded by the law, they deny Jesus’s identity because He healed on the Sabbath. He had worked on the Sabbath and caused the man to work by carrying his pallet. Certainly no true messiah would break their law. Their reaction provides a stark contrast, a backdrop for true belief. While the miracle pictured spiritual healing in the gospel and was soon to be embraced by the man, the Pharisees could not believe as they were blinded and enslaved by prejudice. To truly know Christ, the prejudice must be removed.
Sermon Breakdown
- The Jews were confronted with the miracle of the healing and the person of Jesus Christ.
- We today are confronted with the Bible, Jesus Christ as depicted in the Gospels, the history of the church, and the lives of believers.
- The attitude of the Jews was one of annoyance, irritation, unbelief, and rejection due to prejudice which blinded them.
- Prejudice led the Jews to be preoccupied with their own difficulties, miss the big facts about Jesus, be unable to explain the facts, and ultimately reject Jesus.
- The man who was healed had a different attitude. He looked into the face of Jesus and saw hope, authority, power, and divinity.
- The man who was healed submitted to Jesus, obeyed him, and gave him all the glory.
- The man who was healed went to the temple, worshiped and praised God, and told others about Jesus.
- We must look at the facts about Jesus, who he is and what he has done, and submit to him.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.