Jeremiah 11 and 12 continues God’s claims against Israel and Judah. He reminds them again of the covenant He made with them in the wilderness. He reminds them that they have not kept the commandments.

Jeremiah pleads with God regarding the people. God responds that if the people turn back to Him he will have compassion on them again. But if they continue on the path they are walking He will destroy their heritage.

We can see how much God loves His people and how hurt He is by their sin. He is trying every means available to Him to get them to turn from their wickedness. He knows though that they will most likely continue on the same path. Even though they have been warned of the consequences they march on to their own destruction.

John 5 begins with a story about a lame man who waits at a pool to be healed. The tradition says that when God stirs up the water, the first person to get into the pool will be healed. For 38 years the man has waited by the pool but has been unable to get into it in time to be healed. Jesus asks him if he wants to be made well. The man explains his situation. Jesus heals the man on the spot.  The man tells others that Jesus healed him. The religious leaders came after Jesus because he did this on the Sabbath, a day of rest. Jesus says that His Father is still working, so He is still working even though it is the Sabbath. This makes the leaders angry since Jesus is equating Himself with God.

Jesus responds by openly claiming to the God’s Son. He explains that God has given Him the power over life and death. Those who believe in Him will live. He is quite direct with them that they should believe in Him if they believed in Moses since the law points to Jesus. The scriptures testify on His behalf. They should be able to see who Jesus is  because of what they already know.