Changing The Narrative

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE—John 5:1-18

Read John 5:1-3. For many years, skeptics said there was no pool called Bethesda by the Sheep Gate of Jerusalem. However, excavations in the 1800’s found 2 pools, with a 5th portico between, as John said. Evidence of the pool being called Bethesda finally emerged in 1952, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. One of the scrolls, the “copper scroll,” referred to Beth-eshdathayin by the Sheep Gate

John takes us to the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus has a divine appointment with a paralyzed man.

Read John 4:5-18.

Is there anything you would like to CHANGE about your life or circumstances?

Health (physically, emotionally, spiritually)

Relationships (marriage, family life, burden for certain people)

Pace of life: stress, you run all week, and then gone most weekends

Focus: busy, but lacking purpose or significance

The man at the pool needs CHANGE—desperately! And Jesus can help him!

Jesus says 3 surprising things to him (and to us):

DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?

Why would he ask that? Of course the man wants to get well!

But that isn’t how the man answers! Instead of answering the question, he gives an explanation for why he hasn’t been healed. (Read verse 7.)

His answer reveals a lot about him. He feels helpless, and maybe a little defensive. Perhaps he wants Jesus to work something out: a system to take a number, and some volunteers to put the person with the next number into the water.

Yet when we examine his situation more closely, we find that he is just as stuck mentally as physically. He has been locked into one alternative for 38 years, and it is not working for him! If he has no chance of getting into the water when it is stirred, why is he there?

That’s not to blame him; maybe he has no better choices.

Then Jesus shows up. He says, “Do you want to get well?” Why does Jesus ask, when the answer seems obvious?

The question is not just for that man at the pool. The healing of this man is a SIGN, the 3rd of 7 in John. Other gospels call them miracles, but John calls them signs, because they point to who Jesus is. They were signs for people then, and they are signs for all who read the gospel, like us.

“Do you want to get well?” Do you want change—really?

Change is difficult: It upsets the balance of our lives, often in a good way! Yet it may be harder to be well than to be sick!

Some of us are so busy, always tired and stressed, running from one thing to another. What if you were less busy? Would you feel guilty, or lose your sense of identity or worth? Would you miss the “bragging rights” to being so busy? (When people ask, “How are you doing, often people will say, “Really busy.” Nobody says, “Bored most of the time.”)

When you have free time, is it healthy time? Do you mope around, or are you glued to a TV, phone or tablet? ***I saw a quote last week: “I’m not sure whether Facebook ever caused the lame to walk, but I have seen it cause the dumb to speak.” Where did I see the quote? Facebook!)**

Change is hard. If you unplug, you might have to talk to your wife! That might be a good thing, but what would you talk about? We might want some things to change, but the “same old, same old” is familiar and comfortable.

People around us may resist change, because it upsets the balance in the system. ***I knew a man with a 30-year meth habit. His wife took responsibility for holding the family together, taking care of the kids, and keeping him functioning. Then, with treatment, he slowly began to get better. It took a long time, with the help of Christian people. As he got better, his wife was overcome by anxiety, so that she couldn’t function! She couldn’t handle the new normal.**

Change is hard in the family. If the kids open up about what is happening at school, the parents might go ballistic. If you tell your husband or wife how you really feel, who know how they might respond?

If you change the patterns at work, or an organization like a church, breaking up alliances, refusing to play games, there might be chaos. If you refuse to engage in gossip with your friends, and reach out to include other people in your group, there might be pushback.

Change made life much more difficult for the man at the pool.

He took Jesus at his word, picked up his mat, and walked. Hallelujah! But not everyone was shouting hallelujah: It was a Sabbath, and Jews were upset. Read verse 10.