Friday 3 July 2026

Psalm 26

Background
In this passage we see Jesus teaching. He has healed a paralysed man on the Sabbath, and as too often happened then – and perhaps still happens today – the focus is on breaking religious regulations rather than the wonderful miracle. Jesus uses the context to explain more to the Jewish hearers just who he is, and his relationship to God the Father. And in the middle of this discourse we get this definitive statement of eternal life. (v. 24)

How do we discover eternal life? Well, it’s not by following religious regulations. They are useful and important as they help to guide and direct our lives. We aren’t about to jettison the Sermon on the Mount, or the Ten Commandments. But Jesus didn’t come to tell us to follow regulations a bit better. It's about meeting God in Jesus and believing. What are we to believe? That Jesus is the Messiah. The one who comes to save us and give us life for ever.

And that isn’t something we just look forward to and then experience at some future time when our life on earth comes to an end. Rather it's here and now. We have already entered into eternity when we believe in Jesus and can then experience life fully as it is completed by our relationship with God. Of course, this doesn’t mean that our problems somehow disappear. That is not life. But in Jesus we have strength in our times of weakness and grace in our most difficult moments. God is with us, and in him we have found life.

To Ponder:

• What does ‘eternal life’ mean to you?
• Are we saved from something, or saved for something?

Prayer
O God our saviour, you promise us eternal life, and you enable us to live life in all its fullness. We respond by giving our lives to you, that we might live to your praise and glory. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Stephen Skuce
The Revd Dr Stephen Skuce is the Superintendent for Growing Churches within the Methodist Church in Ireland.