Three of the seven Signs are complete, and after the healing of the man at Bethesda, the restored man was given a powerful blessing from Christ. The man was told (paraphrased) that he should go forth in life, and don't sin any more. Jesus Christ told this man, face to face, (again paraphrasing) "I have healed you from your illness, as well as from your sin... go from this place, both physical location and linear point in your life, and look to the future with expectancy as you lead a life free of wrong-doing, a life dedicated to the Father who sent Me to heal you... for returning to this place, both physical location and linear point in your life (by dwelling on the memories) can bring the risk of contagion by other ill people, as well as temptation to sin as they do... don't do that." (Clearly, the quotation marks are only intended to separate the sentence from the rest, and it is in no way a direct quote of the Messiah's words.)
Christ then goes into one of the greatest discourses the Gospel of John has shown thus far, discussing the honoring of the Father. He points out clearly that the Father never stops working, and that as long as the Father is working, the Son will be working. There is no division. And while the Jews were seeking to persecute Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, they also attempted to call Him a blasphemer for stating that God is His Father. In this passage, we see plainly that all of God does all that God does. Again, there is no division. The Father gives works to be done, and the Son carries them out. Nothing the Son does is separate from the Father, and all that the Father asks is done by the Son.
Note, also, that the Father has "given all judgment to the Son (vs. 22)," which means that when we are called to the judgment seat, and face our own deeds and see what we truly are, it is Jesus Christ who will be looking at us. It will be Jesus Christ who walks us through ourselves, and shows us all that we have been and all that we have done. Further, while it is Jesus performing judgment, He does state that He carries forward the will of the Father, proving again that they are not divided, and that all of God does all that God does.
Jesus goes on to discuss that John is a prophet... but even John admits openly that Jesus is greater, for Jesus is from God. Further, Jesus has been sent to accomplish the works laid before Him by the Father, and He will not stop until those works are complete. Now, for fun, I want to ask a couple of rhetorical questions. Jesus is fully man and fully God, right? And therefore, He has all the power that God has, right? And if God says something is "done," then is there any chance that even the smallest portion of that something is left incomplete? And if Jesus IS going to complete His works, given by the Father, with all the power and authority of the Father, then how complete are those works? How complete is the Atonement? How complete is the salvation He offers? Is there any chance that even the smallest portion of anything Jesus ever said or did could be even the smallest bit incomplete?
We will soon begin the well-known fourth Sign, but take time today to ponder on how truly awesome Jesus is, and how complete all of His works ARE. He completed all that was set before Him, and we must take the initiative to not only believe in Him, but also to simply BELIEVE HIM, and know that what He has said is true. He is the Messiah... and no one in the history of creation, throughout the entire universe, can ever make a similar claim.
God bless you all!!!
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