When Traditions Get In The Way

SCRIPTURE:
John 5:16 CSB - Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

OBSERVATION:
Traditions aren’t inherently bad—in fact, they’re often a good thing. We find joy in our traditions. Whether we realize it or not, we all have them—and we often hold on to them tightly. We celebrate holidays, family, and even religious traditions. There’s nothing wrong with any of these—unless they keep us from what God wants to do in our lives.

In John 5, we meet a man who had been bound by tradition for many years.

John 5:2-4 NKJV - Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

The tradition was that when the angel stirred the water, the first to enter would be healed.

This man had followed that tradition for years—but had never managed to get into the pool in time. Some believe that people with money would pay to be placed on the lower porches so someone could help them in. Whether or not healings actually took place wasn’t the point. The man’s trust was in tradition—and it hadn’t brought him healing.

Later in the chapter, Jesus is confronted by religious leaders who accuse Him of violating the Sabbath. Once again, man-made tradition takes center stage.

God did say to keep the Sabbath—a day set aside for rest and worship. But tradition had taken that principle and built legalistic rules around it. Instead of rest, they made it a burden. These leaders didn’t even acknowledge the miracle: a man who had been lame for years was now whole.

On the Sabbath—the very day of rest—he finally found true rest. But their tradition blinded them to what God was doing.

Jesus confronted their blindness:

John 5:39-40 NKJV - "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

We can become so caught up in rules, rituals, and even correct doctrine that we miss Jesus. Yet all of Scripture points to Him and to the finished work He accomplished on the cross.

APPLICATION:

Traditions can be beautiful—but don’t let them bury your joy. We can cling so tightly to “how we’ve always done it” that we miss what God is doing today.
Yes—hold tightly to the foundational truths of Scripture, but hold traditions loosely.

The Jesus Movement, which gave rise to Calvary Chapel, happened because people were willing to break with tradition. If God wants to do something new—why would we fight Him?

Remember what Jesus said in this same chapter:

John 5:25 NKJV - "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live."

God is still in the business of bringing people to life—whether by stirring the waters or by healing on the Sabbath. He is God. He can do it however He wants.
 
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for saving me. Thank You that it was by grace alone—not by tradition or ritual, but by Your unearned kindness. Help me to hold loosely the traditions I’ve grown accustomed to—and hold tightly to the unshakable truth of Your Word. Do whatever You want to do in and through me. And may I never get in the way of what You are doing to save others. To You be all the glory, honor, and praise.