John 5.16-47 - The Four Witnesses (and a 5th)(and a 6th)

Last time we saw a guy lying by a pool.  Pool guy (PG).  38 years, he’d been sick, waiting who-knows-how-long to be healed by the waters of this pool.  The Bethesda pool.  House of Chesed.  House of Grace.  Famous.  Five [stoas] full of hurting people, waiting, hoping for healing.  But it’s first-come first-served gets healed, and PG had never made it.  No one to help him, either.  Until Jesus showed up.  Jesus healed him, with just one word - BUT He dared to do it on a Sabbath, on Shabbat, and the Jewish leaders are livid, cuz PG is carrying his mat on Shabbat (which Jesus told him to do).  And these Jews are looking for whoever had the audacity to tell PG to do that.  Of course it was Jesus.  PG learns His name and tells the Jews, and they go ballistic [16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on Shabbat.].  And again, for the Jews, it was [Law/Shabbat above all]… No work at all on Shabbat.  You told a guy to break one of our Shabbat rules!  No WORKING on Shabbat!  No mat-carrying.  And NO healing either! [Lk 13.14]  Totally devoid of compassion, blind (rules > people), oblivious to what God is doing in the world…

[17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”]  Yes, God created the world in 6 days and rested from that work of creation on the 7th day.  And yes, He set an example and a standard for people to set aside time when they cease from their own labors and focus on Him.  BUT since the beginning of creation it’s also true that God continues to maintain - AND REDEEM - all of creation, 24/7.  I.e. He is working, continues to work.  Which is a valid point - but Jesus ups the ante.  [My Father] (a title He uses 26x in John) is working, and that’s what I’m doing.  THE Father is My Father, and I have the authority to do what He does.  I.e., not only is Shabbat NOT above all, but in the same way that God the Father transcends and supersedes all these Shabbat rules - so do I.  What’s He saying here?

[18 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.]  Jesus does this deliberately.  The Jews are now actually looking to kill Him.  They’re enraged!  Cuz - according to them - He has just [blasphemed].  Makes Himself EQUAL with God.  Which - if He were just a mere man, that charge would be accurate.  But already, John has shown us that Jesus is no mere man.  Not simply claiming to be something He isn’t.  He’s been backing it up.  Jesus has already shown us divine attributes of [omniscience] (He knows thoughts/secrets of every heart).  [Omnipotence] (He does the impossible, heals with mere words, creates matter out of non-matter).  And [omnipresence] (He knows/sees all, and works miracles without needing to be there). Just wait until He rises from the dead…!  But going forward, the Jews are out to kill Him.

[19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.] The Jewish leaders reject Jesus’ claim of equality with God, so He gives them His 4th truly truly.  Truth truth: I (only) do what I see the/My Father doing [Son-Father, Father-Son].  If you have a problem with Me (Jesus), you have a problem w the Father.

[20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. 21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.]  Father-Son, Father-Son.  And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!  Greater works.  Marvelous.  And you will marvel: raising the dead back to life, Power over death.

[22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.]  Still Father-Son, Son-Father - again mentioned in the same breath.  The questions of life & death & judgment & eternity - all those the Father has given to Jesus.  It all runs thru Jesus.  All judgment.  All honor.  In fact, there is no way to honor God at all without honoring Jesus.

Double truly truly: [24  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.]  It all comes down to, do you and I believe what Jesus is saying, that He is THE God•send?  

[25-29 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who practiced the foul deeds to a resurrection of judgment.] The [Power over death] - this is unparalleled power.  Authority of judgment - it is all given to Jesus.  The Son of Man.  God the Son Who is fully man.  AND He has Life IN Himself.  He not only IS alive, He has life IN HIMSELF.  He IS LIFE.  [In Him is Life]  All life - including and especially eternal life - is contingent upon Jesus.  And the Son gives life to those who “do the good work” of believing in Him.  To whoever He wishes [21][which is the Greek word, thelō].  The Lord WANTS to give eternal life - but this is only for those who HEAR Jesus’ Word and believe Him.  Those who don’t seek what they want but seek what God wants.  And if you have not yet believed in Jesus, you may think you are alive - but you don’t know you are dead.  You are spiritually dead - and you need to hear the voice of the Son, so that you will finally and fully LIVE.  You need to listen to His voice and believe…

[30  “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.]  Theléma - the noun form of theló.  The want of the God•send-er.  What do You want, Lord?  That is the question...

[31-39] Believe the witnesses: 1) John (TW), 2) the works I do, 3) the Father, and 4) the Scriptures.  And they all Point.To.Me.  Life is in Me.

[40 and you are not wanting to come to Me so that you may have life.]  I so want to give you eternal life, and I have FOUR witnesses testifying that what I’m telling you is true - but you are UNwanting.  Theléma.  You DON’T WANT to come to me.  And why is that?  Two reasons:

[42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.] 1) You do not have the love of God.  Let God love you, show you His love.  Receive His love…[The story of the Bible, of heaven - all this is one grand love story]-[He made paradise for us to live in and enjoy, to enjoy Him!]  And He has gone to indescribable lengths to bring us back into relationship w Him... [3.16/Rom 5.8][the cross].  So first, you do not have His love in you.

[43 “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?]  And 2) You receive/care about what people say/think.  You care much less about what God thinks.

[45-47 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”]  There is actually a 5th witness!  And you DO hope in him - but he points to Me [Dt 18].  I am THE Prophet.  But you don’t believe what he said about Me, you don’t believe Me. 

They refuse.  So blind, and angry.  And Jesus just pours fuel on the fire.  MOSES accuses you.  You do not seek glory from God.  You do not have His love in you.  You don’t care about what He wants.  How they hate Jesus now.  How the world hates Him (still).  Jesus calls every person to face our sin.  Selfishness.  Selfrighteousness.  Hypocrisy.  Hard hearts of unbelief.  If only we’d believe… Believe the witnesses.  Believe JTW.  Believe the Father.  Believe the works.  Believe the Scriptures.  Believe Moses.  And don’t forget Pool Guy - you could believe him (6th witness!).  Or you could simply believe Me…   

Referenced verses

Luke 13:14 But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

Deut. 18:15  “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to Him. 18 (The LORD said to me,) ’I will raise up a Prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 ‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which He shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.’”

John 5.1-14 - Bethesda (aka The House of Chesed)

 John 5 - Bethesda (House of Chesed)(Sabbath rules)

[1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.] Jesus is returning to [Jerusalem].  It’s been a year since He's been there - remember what went down the last time: Jesus messed w the Temple.  Cleaned it out.  Messed up the emporium that the Jews had going on there.  Jesus made some enemies.

This time, we see more brokenness.  Sam was broken - it was her choices.  B’s son was broken - but that was due to an illness (i.e. some accident of birth/life).  And life is full of both, right?  Some brokenness we experience by our own choices. Some comes on us through no fault of our own.  [God always sees/cares, and is working something better…]

[2  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.]  Five [stoas] - this is a big pool.  [A double pool?].  And it was [intermittent]?  [3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered.]  So, a large pool with five stoas FULL of sick people... all waiting for their shot at hitting the healing-jackpot.  Only this was no [lottery; 1 in 300mill].  It sort of looks like this was simply, first-come first-healed...

[5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.] We'll call him, “PG”.  38yrs - a lifetime of some kind of severe debilitating physical condition.

[6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He says to him, “Do you wish to get well?”]  Jesus sees him.  But the verbs are past tense.  Having seen him (i.e. in the past).  Having known he’s been sick - sick many years, and known many years.  Jesus has known him.  He has seen him.  He knows PG wants to be healthy. Question: why the question? Why does He even ask?  Because [words create/reinforce reality (The Word SPOKE.  Powerful things)]  But Jesus sees him.  Again, He sees the brokenness.  Whatever brokenness we are experiencing.  And He has a plan.  Do you want [thelō] to get well?  This Greek word "well" here gives us our word, hygiene.  I.e. that which keeps us healthy.

[7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”]  PG doesn’t answer the question.  What PG gives Jesus for an answer is more of an excuse.  This is the physical temporal thing that is holding me back in life.  Like so many, PG is also too focused on the [physical].  On the water.  He thinks he needs this stirred-up water.  The water will make him healthy and clean…  What’d we learn in Samaria?  What’d Jesus tell Sam?  This water, this physical water might help you meet a physical need (temporarily), but it will never heal your real brokenness.  [Other water/reality…]

[8 Jesus says to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”]  Jesus TELLS him to do something he perhaps has never done.  Be rising up.  Sometimes, the breakthrough we need, the healing we need, comes as we do something we have never done.  Some of us, Jesus is asking us to do something.  Never done it.  Not part of our routine.  Well how’s that routine working out for you?  Rise up.

[9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.]  Right away, PG is healed.  Jesus strengthens him to get up, move around, even pick up his mat - maybe for the first time ever!  He don’t need no pool.  No H₂O - Jesus has LIVING WATER.  How do you think PG felt about getting up?  It’d been years.  Was he afraid?  Hesitant?  Sometimes we’re stuck, in a rut, on that mat, in that place of excuses.  Dysfunctional comfort.  Rise up.  The life you’re living is NOT what I designed you for.  Immediately PG becomes well.  Maybe something is holding you back, keeping you down - you need to rise up.  And you don’t need a pool.  Only Jesus.  Trust Him.

Why does Jesus tell him to pick up his mat?  (Cus it's his only possession? But now he has no need?)  Why does He even pick PG in the first place?  Clearly, Jesus has another life-lesson in play here - for the Jews AND for His disciples.  And somehow He weaves it ALL together - for our good [Rom 8.28].

[Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”]  Cured - our word ‘therapy’… PG had been there at that pool for YEARS, living with his disability, waiting for his therapy, his lucky hygiene.  but surely everybody, all these Jews would have known him.  And now suddenly, he’s up and about.  A bona fide miracle!  And - no luck involved - the miracle smashes head-on into spiritual blindness.  The Jews are so focused on the physical, the external - for them it’s not just about water.  Not about people.  They think that to be clean they need to observe the Sabbath, i.e. strictly obey all their Sabbath rules.  To them, people are less important than the program, the rules.  But that's all wrong: People are more important than the program.

The language literally is, Sabbath was, on that day.  Sabbath is the subject in the sentence.  I.e. Sabbath rules this day, and so we obey Sabbath rules on this day.  Sabbath is one of the Top 10 Commandments [Deut 5] - a prohibition of work (even on penalty of death) - but it finds its genesis in [Gen 2.1-3], where God Himself rested on the 7th day of Creation, after working at creating the universe for the preceding 6 days.  The heart of Sabbath is not only needed rest but to help people to focus on the Lord [Is 58; Ps 92] - but in Jesus’ day the legalists have made it NOT about the Lord or people but all about [Shabbat].  About Sabbath rules, things people should not do.

[“It is NOT permissible”], they say. ’Permissible’ literally means, being out, going out.  As in being allowed out, i.e. to do something.  It is about being free, being authorized, permitted to do something (or not).  Jesus uses a related word when He later says, “ALL authority has been given to Me”.  I.e. the Jews are saying, you are NOT authorized, allowed out to do this, to carry your mat.  [11] PG is like, well, the One Who had the power and authority to heal me DID authorize me to carry my mat…

[14 Afterward Jesus finds him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”] What we see is, PG starts out, he is all about what is physically Do-Able (and he is UNable).  For the Jews, Shabbat is about what is Permiss-ible.  And they are so consumed with what is NOT permissible, that they don’t so much care about the person.  They care more about their rules, AND that someone is ignoring their rules.  But Sabbath rules do not rule us.  Theyu don't have the final authority.  With Jesus, the One with the Real Authority, the question becomes, what is Profit-able?  What builds up? [1Cor 6.12, 10.23].  What is good, better for people.  Look at Him.  He goes to this pool, and focuses on this one guy who has been stuck there for his whole life, can’t get out.  And after Jesus heals PG, He then goes and tracks him down in the temple.  He doesn’t want anything worse to befall PG.  [Nothing worse].  You have become physically well - now it’s about your heart.  Stop choosing what you want over what God wants.  

This is the essence of [Sabbath, Mk 2:27-28 i.e. times and extended times of focusing on the Lord].  It gets at the heart of why our Created made us in the first place - to focus on Him.  It's definitely something we try to do when we gather on Sundays [this is also one reason why we encourage folks to go on times of retreat].  And of course none of us will ever do this perfectly - that’s why Jesus died for us.  That’s why we all need to receive the forgiveness He offers, that He purchased on for us on the Cross.  We tend to fall short when it comes to focusing on our Creator.  That is why the Lord gives us Sabbath.  And that's why we all need to come take a daily deep dip in Bethesda - which in Hebrew means, the House of Chesed.  God's House or swimming pool of everlasting love and grace.

Yes, Jesus is authorized.  We’ve seen He has the authority/power to create something out of nothing [water to wine].  His authority extends over all matter (and non-matter].  Jesus also exerts His power from any distance.  His authority is not limited by any distance [B’s son].  And here with PG we see that Jesus’ power and authority is directed towards people for their welfare [Jer 29.11].  He cares.  He cares about the mat we’re stuck lying on.  AND He cares too much to let us stay there.  House of Chesed.  House of Grace, for our good…

Referenced verses

Gen. 2:1-3  Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.  By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Deut. 5:12-15   “Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.” —> REST and REMEMBRANCE (reflecting on the Lord)

Is. 58:13-14  “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Ps. 92:0  A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.

1   It is good to give thanks to the LORD 

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

2  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning 

And Your faithfulness by night,

3  With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, 

With resounding music upon the lyre.

4  For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, 

I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

5   How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.

Mark 2:27-28 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

“Shabbat is the centerpiece of Jewish life and has been so since the infancy of our nation. According to the Talmud, Shabbat is equal to all the other commandments, and the term shomer shabbat (“Shabbat observer”) is synonymous with “religious Jew” in common parlance. Through increasing your Shabbat observance, you’ll create a space to connect with G‑d, family and friends. Try it, you’ll like it.”  -from “What is Shabbat?” by Rabbi Menachem Posner @ chabad.org

1Cor. 6:12   All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

1Cor. 10:23   All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

Jer. 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

John 4.43-54 - Seeing is / Believing / is Seeing

[43-46a] So, Jesus leaves Samaria, continues on His way from Judea to Galilee, and returns to the backwater of Cana of all places [map].  Where He turned water into wine.  What is He doing back there?  Why is He not in His hometown [John never records it; maybe cuz of the HT prophet thing?]?  Or why not in the “bustling metropolis” of Capernaum?

[54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.] This becomes Jesus' second "official" sign?  So far we’ve seen a bunch of signs that apparently “don’t count”?  They all clearly point to the truth that Jesus is THE God•send.  The Lamb of God.  Son of God.  The Savior of the world.  But here John says this is a SECOND sign [specifically in Cana] - the first one being when Jesus turned the water into wine [literally, He took H2O and added carbon to it (out of nothing)].  (He is about to do a miracle where He is not even physically present…)

[46b-47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.] So now a man comes to see Jesus.  John refers to him as a [basilikos] [Basil, Basilio, Vasily].  Gives us our word [“basilica”].  Let’s call him ‘B’.  And B’s son is dying.  Parents, what would you do for the life of your child?  Anything.  Go to any length, travel any distance - to the ends of the earth, if that might help.  Suffice it to say, parents are not designed to outlive their children.  But it happens, and when it does, it’s brokenness at its worst.  Why does the Lord allow it to happen?  There is no good answer.  But in all brokenness, God is always good, and [works all things for good].  He has a good plan - even if/when we don’t feel it or see it.  AND, even as He reminds us in John of how the [physical is just a temporary expression of this greater eternal spiritual] kingdom, the Kingdom of God, we do need to be careful not to place too much import on the how’s and the how-long’s of how things play out in this life.  This life is broken.  [Death has entered in] - and we were never designed to experience that.  It’s why we hate the brokenness so much.  Sadly, most of us have or will experience death (loved ones, strangers, our mortality) in ways that feel very broken.  It just feels wrong, so bad.  But this is also why the Good News is so good.

Jesus has been talking about these two realms, these two realities - this [physical temporal] (temporary) life, and this [spiritual eternal] life.  And the truth is, there is absolutely no comparison between the two [Paul: "very much better" in Phil 1.23].  This truth informs us that the MOST important thing we can do for our kids is to help prepare them to enter eternal life.  That’s what this life is all about - getting ready for eternity.  Those we love - and everyone else.  And whether the Lord gives us 6 years or 6 decades (plus or minus) - a few extra days or decades is not the be-all end-all of existence.  Not in light of eternity [dot/line].  Cuz Life doesn’t end when our physical body [ceases to function].  In fact, THAT is when the Life we were designed to live really comes in.  This is what Jesus is telling us.  We need to be born from above, this 2nd birth (which we don’t get from our biological parents, we get it from the Holy Spirit).  This other food.  Other water, Living Water from heaven.  Jesus.  Because that’s what this is all about.  Yes, there’s a lot to enjoy physically/temporarily while we’re getting ready for heaven.  And once we’re ready, if the Lord leaves us here for a season, there IS a lot to enjoy while we’re helping others get ready for heaven.  Fruit.  Harvest.  And that IS the main reason God does leave us here: helping others get ready for heaven.  Assuming that we’re ready.  But again, that’s why the Good News is so good - there is something so good, very much better waiting for us in eternity - and Jesus came to make the way for us to get there.  Speaking of these two realities:

[48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”] People get stuck in this false assumption that seeing is believing.  They want to see some [physical] sign, they insist on concrete proof about Who Jesus is before they believe, before they put their trust IN Him.  Nic was like, I don’t see it.  Sam was like, Messiah the Christ will come physically and explain it.  He’ll help us to see it.  And Jesus is like, I AM.  All you need is to trust Me.

Come - physically, in person, and heal my son.  It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t just say ‘yes’ to B.  He could’ve just said, ok.  He knows what He is going to do.  He knows He is going to heal B’s son.  But it feels almost like Jesus is telling B, no.  Telling him why He’s not going to come down to Capernaum and heal B’s son.  But Jesus is helping B here.  Sometimes the Lord needs to show us that HE is all and everything we need.  And so He lets us wait.  It can feel like He is saying no.  And He brings us to the point of desperation…

[49 The royal official says to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”] Now B is desperate.  He uses the imperative.  “Lord.  Come down”.  He’s not using [meaningless repetition].  No flippant or flowery language.  He is at his wit’s end.  Out of options.  Jesus is his last resort.  But isn’t that sort of how we roll?  We try these other options.  These other water wells.  Try to handle it ourself.  And the Lord wants to help us realize that He is our first, last, best and only option.

But B is totally stuck on the physical train as well.  Lord, You need to come.  You have to be there physically.  And yes, there is something about [physical presence][Emmanuel].  But Jesus is about to blow his mind, blow this physical mindset out of the water yet again.

[50 Jesus says to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.] Jesus says, Go.  And, “Your son lives.”  5 words (in Greek).  He Himself does not go - but He doesn’t have to.  God’s power transcends any and all distance.  [map] 

The first sign in Cana was [something out of nothing].  It doesn’t exist?  No problem - Jesus calls all things into existence.  All things out of no-thing.  This second sign is, something you can’t even see.  My power is such that, I don’t need to go to Capernaum - or any physical place.  My power does not depend on My visible physical presence.  It is not limited by space in ANY way.   

BTW, that’s why prayer works.  You and I can come to the Lord - Who we can’t even see - and engage our almighty God in a conversation about some person or situation across town or clear on the other side of the planet, and this omnipresent One not only hears us (cuz He’s right here with us) but He is able to engage with that need (cuz somehow He is right there in that place too).  Because distance does not deter our God, not in the least [Ps 139.7-8].  Any place.  Any heart, no matter how hard or distant.  He is there.  He is here - IF we have eyes to see it.

And Jesus tells B, [be going].  The going gives feet to our faith.  B doesn’t see it with his physical eyes, but he trusts, and he goes.   [cf Abraham - Gen 12.1-2] Trusting/believing is seeing. [Heb 11.1,3,13]  Sometimes we need to go, to get up and get going, even tho we don’t see where we’re going.  Even tho we don’t see the provision [Gen 22.7-8].  Sometimes we need to keep going - and how do we do that? [Heb 12.1]

Note, too - B thought he needed one thing.  What was that? (Jesus to come down) - but Jesus totally provides in a way B did NOT expect.  What B - AND his family really needs [51-53].  We think we know what we need.  But only the Lord knows what we REALLY need.  More than anything else, we need to get ready for heaven.  And how do we know we’re ready for heaven?  Born from above.  Living water.  Believe/trust in Jesus - have you done that?

Referenced verses:

Psa. 139:7  Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8  If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

Gen. 12:1  Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing.”

Gen 22.7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

Heb. 11:1   Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 13  All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Heb. 12:1  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith