John 5:1-18 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.… I. The DIGNITY of labour. Toil is not incident to man as a fallen creature. There is royality in it, for the greatest worker is God. 1. God has been working in nature. His works are His thoughts, and how beautiful they are is written on every hand. 2. God is working in providence and grace through all the millenniums for a great purpose of redemption. Patriarchs, lawgivers, prophets, kings, and priests have been His instruments. All the best works have been done because God works. 3. Let these sublime truths point out the dignity of labour. Throw off the delusion that freedom from work is to be sought as an end in itself. By indolence man throws away his crown and rebels against that Divine law of work which finds its highest expression in God. II. The QUALITY of labour. 1. Divine work is always of the highest and most perfect kind. 2. Always faithful and true. 3. Each man therefore should take his work as a sacred charge to do his best at it. To "do the truth" (1 John 1:6) would work a reformation in this country. All bad work is a lie. Men are lying when they build houses that cannot stand, when they supply goods we cannot wear, and when they sell foods that poison us. III. The METHOD of labour. 1. We never see in Christ, though He was always busy, any symptoms of rashness and hurry. There were depths in Him of holy peace which outer storms could not disturb. 2. There are causes for anxiety and haste which are not easy to control. But how many of them we never seek to master; desire for display and to be rich, a neglect of the deeper elements of character which leaves us open to the annoyances of little-minded men. It matters little to us whether God works or not. We have taken our concerns out of His hands. Thus we miss the confidence and restfulness which is our strength. IV. The true MOTIVES of labour. Many work as though they said, "The world worketh hitherto, and I work." The cardinal point is that success must be achieved at all costs. Christ worked, and we must work because the Father works. (W. Manning.) Parallel Verses KJV: After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.WEB: After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
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