March 15, 2023

 Have You Sought Out the Real Facts About Jesus?

“For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” John 5:18 (NASB)

While serving as a Sheriff’s Office Detective, I worked many cases. Some took countless hours of investigation to bring a case for prosecution for the State Attorney’s Office. During the course of some investigations, I determined a crime occurred, but no intent was found. For this reason, I could not bring charges. Over 25 years sadly I saw some detectives bring cases which were declined for prosecution. Some were poorly investigated, some were half-hearted, some poorly put together. Whatever the reason, poor investigative conclusions made the difference between whether it was prosecuted for a crime or dropped due to lack of information.

When a violation of law in our legal system is reported, intent has to be determined. This is one important element to determine if a person(s) is charged with a crime. Time and careful investigation will determine if all elements to a crime are present. Once the elements have been met, the seeking of prosecution can go forward. Persons charged with a crime can now begin. If no elements or intent of a crime are found, prosecution cannot be sought. The problem we have today is with the Jew’s investigation of Jesus. They stepped away from the legality of investigating Jesus. They began seeking a premeditated illegal investigation. They decided His guilt before they spoke to Him. Today, the average person would be set free.

In today’s passage the Jews, “were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” The word “seeking” here is zeteo or “seeking,” gives judicially a sense of investigating, examining, considering, or deliberating.[1] The words “all the more,” after “seeking,” shows the forceful persistence by the Jews. At this point their investigation is clearly off track and impure. This is shown by their intent to dig and attempt to find something which they could find Jesus guilty. As noted, before violations of law are investigated to determine if there is wrong intent or a violation of law. All evidence is considered and evaluated. Here there is no consideration or evaluation as judgment. In this case, Jesus did not break the law by healing the man on the Sabbath. God can act by His own authority. The law applies to man, not God. It was His statement of “making Himself equal with God,” that infuriated the Jews. This was the tipping point for the Jews. This infuriation in Jewish hearts would not be quenched until Jesus was off the scene. William Arndt says, “the Jews were about to engage in irrational investigations.”[2]

While you study God’s Word today, I challenge you to spend your time investigating the claims of Jesus. Get to know Jesus in a real and personal way. This way you will be ready to defend Him at moment’s notice. Don’t become lazy and lethargic in your approach to the Word of God. Do a careful investigation of Him and His Word. Too many Christians today are lazy in their time in the Word. Don’t be one of those today. Explore all you can about your God!

[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 428.

[2] Ibid, 428.