Pool Watchers Series

POOL WATCHERS

John 5:1-15

S: Wholeness

Th: Jesus as He is

Pr: JESUS GIVES WHOLENESS.

?: How?

KW: Steps

TS: We will find in our study of John 5:1-15 three steps we follow that demonstrate how Jesus gives wholeness.

The ____ step that we follow is…

I. DESIRE (1-7)

II. DETERMINATION (8-11)

III. DEDICATION (12-15)

RMBC 10 March 02 AM

INTRODUCTION:

You know, one of the most difficult situations you face as a child is to be picked last.

Because of my size as a child, this often happened to me.

For when I was little, I was really little.

There would be two captains and all the best and popular kids would be picked,

Then there were the runts.

That was when the teacher would say, “Now children, we can’t start until someone picks Paul.”

This even happens when you get older…

I remember my Freshman year at college, we were playing floor hockey, and I was picked last.

That hadn’t happened to me in a while, so I was a bit disappointed.

In fact, it made me so mad, I scored five times.

The next class, I was picked first!

Do you like to be chosen?

Sure, you do.

When you are picked, it’s special.

In today’s narrative, we discover a person that for 38 years had been never picked, until Jesus came along.

TRANSITION:

Today, we are returning to our study of the gospel of John that we began in December 2000

Off and on, we will be returning to this gospel throughout the year.

It is our goal to do chapters 5-7.

As a reminder, we need to remember that…

1. Context: John 1-4 establishes Jesus as the Messiah.

John purposely tells us of specific events that point to Jesus as the promised Messiah.

John the Baptist announces Jesus as the Lamb of God.

Jesus does his first miracle of turning water into wine.

Then He has a discussion on spiritual birth with Nicodemus.

Following that, Jesus breaks down all kinds of walls by speaking to a Samaritan woman and revealing that He already knows her quite well.

By sharing these events, John is demonstrating to us how different Jesus is from everyone else.

But now the mood changes…

2. In John 5, conflict with the leadership begins to grow.

Beginning with this chapter, we begin to trace a growing rejection of Jesus’ actions and His claims.

As we continue into the following chapters, we will eventually see that it becomes a malicious hostility.

As Jesus’ ministry grows, there is a constant clarification that goes on to those around Him.

Since what He is doing is so different and out of the ordinary, questions are naturally being asked about who He is and what He is about.

This is an important discovery for us as well.

For…

3. It is important to understand Jesus as He is.

As Jesus comes and deals with this invalid, our understanding of Jesus increases.

So…

4. We will find in our study of John 5:1-15 three steps to follow that will help us understand Jesus as He is.

OUR STUDY:

I. The first step to follow is DESIRE (1-7).

ILL Notebook: Advance (Snoopy)

In the Peanuts comic strip, we find Snoopy thinking to himself:

"Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. There’s so little hope for advancement.”

We come across a man whose condition is hopeless.

There is no hope for advancement.

It will never get better.

Let’s hear the text…

[1] After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. [3] In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. [4] [5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”

You notice that verse 4 is missing from the text.

The reason is is that it is not in the oldest manuscripts that we have of the New Testament.

It seems to be an addition that was scribbled on the side of a manuscript, but later was moved from the side and into the text itself, which the King James Version included, but most recent translations do not.

But what is included in verse 4 is helpful information to us because it describes a legend of the time of Jesus.