“The Power of Going Public”
"Lame Excuses"
John 5:1-15
In this series of messages we have been looking at what it means to go public with your faith and why it matters; why it is so important. In this passage Jesus has gone to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish Holy Days. The city wall has 8 different gates used for entrance. The one Jesus was near and was using on this day was known as the Sheep Gate. Each gate had its own function. It was known as the sheep gate because it was the entrance for sheep entering the temple from the market. They were purchased in the market, brought into the city where they were taken to the pool to be washed to prepare them to then be sacrificed. The pool was known as the Pool of Bethesda.
Jesus was close to this gate when he encountered this man who was sick. The picture here is so very clear---the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world; to make us completely whole again is standing at the Sheep Gate near this pool where men and women were literally lying around the pool ---sick; this man paralyzed---has been there for 38 years. No doubt someone would have brought him there each day for least 2 reasons (1) by his presence there those doing businesses in that area would see him; some would be moved with compassion and would then offer some financial assistance to the man. That’s puzzling to me; I mean who am I to question Jesus but there are needy people everywhere and this is the one Jesus chooses to help. Could have been because Jesus knew the man had been coming there for 38 years --- but one thing we do know is that Jesus was not helping the man because he had been asked to do so. This man didn’t even know who Jesus was. Jesus encounters this man and then asks him a very strange question. Here it is…would you like to get well? I mean it seems obvious, right? If one doctor were to ask we would likely say, of course, why else would I be here?
When I study I like to look for the BIG TRUTHS that are in a passage of scripture. I like the details but primarily I want to know, what are 2-3 BIG TRUTHS I can take away from this? And in this story I find 3.
1. Going Public with my faith is a decision and the decision can be difficult. Because, when we choose to go public we are then saying that our faith is real; it has substance and it’s relevant---not just for my life but for others as well. So before you take your faith public you’ve got to have a connection in private. And that connection is between your heart and your head. It’s one thing to believe; it’s quite another to allow that belief to affect our behaviors.
And that is what helps me understand this question and why Jesus had to ask. Did this group of men and women really want to get well or were there other reasons they were there? When Jesus saw the man lying there he knew he had been in this condition for a long time and says do you want to get well? It’s clear to me that Jesus wanted this man to think on a deeper level about his faith; in other words there’s a lot more here than we can see on the surface.
For 38 years this man had one listing on his job resume…he was a beggar. He lived off the donations of others. So consider, if he was healed he would no longer receive them. People would no longer have sympathy for Him. As terrible a reality as this is, in some 3rd world countries, parents are actually guilty of hurting their children, crippling them so they can earn a living begging on the streets. If this man were healed he would then be responsible for himself and would no longer be dependent on others for everything.
There comes a point when we must step up and instead of relying on others for everything; we must stop living off the faith of others and realize, hey it’s time for me to grow up; to mature; it’s my time for my faith to really blossom. For all of us there is a time when we must ask how much about God have I learned from my experience how much have I learned from the experiences of others. It should be both but many of us borrow our faith from others and our own personal experience is weak. How much would you know if no one told you?
At one time or another all of us are in this particular place. Sick. Hurting. Grieving. Lost. Lonely. The list just goes on and on. We look at others and wonder why their life seems so vibrant; why they are so full of faith---why they’re growing and our lives seem so stagnant. Our growth in our spiritual lives begins when we make a decision to be proactive about our faith. We decide that our faith actually matters. Listen to these verses:
• The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. James 5:14-16 ESV
• Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Jesus was saying, you’re whole now; continue to be whole. Means to heal; to be made whole; to save.
• At times the scripture even says Jesus did not mighty works because of their unbelief; their lack of faith.
So are we saying our faith heals us physically?
So are we saying our faith heals us emotionally?
So are we saying our faith makes us whole?
So are we saying our faith make us safe?
Yes, yes, yes, yes. It means all of that. And it all begins when we make a decision to focus on our faith by making it public.
2. Going Public will require me to throw away my excuses. Look at verse 7. Notice that this man actually dodges the question, Jesus asks of him. It’s simple; do you wanna get well? Not multiple choice just a simple yes or no will suffice. This man has a longer answer for Jesus. You see Jesus; it’s this way – when the water bubbles up (when the angel stirs it up) I don’t have anyone here to put me into the pool…. So someone else always gets there ahead of me. He doesn’t say whether he wants to get well or not—just pulls out his list of excuses…. No one wants to help… I’m always at the back of the line… I’m a victim of society. Blame my parents. Blame my friends. It’s their fault. Has to be because sure can’t be the one to blame. I can’t put words in the mouth of Jesus but I can picture him saying now what I ask…. the question is, do you want to get well?
Now it’s not as though Jesus has no compassion for this man; in fact just the opposite. His compassion is what led him to the man. His compassion is what caused Jesus to single this man out to be healed. We cannot help but feel sorry for this man; alone, if he has family they’re not mentioned and he says, I can’t do anything, nobody will help me and God’s not doing anything for me either and somehow I always end up at with the short end of the stick – at the back of the line. Ever feel that way? Have trouble moving forward? Feel sort of left out? Like things never seem to go your way? Or you just feel plain stuck. Stuck in your grief, stuck in your emotions, and you can’t seem to get unstuck. It could be a problem with your faith. It’s not personal enough. You’re living on excuses living on the faith of others; borrowing faith from others and not having any faith of our own. If so, for this man and for you as well it is time to throw away the excuses and go public with your faith. Stop just lying there and doing nothing and do what Jesus tells this man to do.
3. Going Public will require us to take a stand. Stand up, pick up your mat and walk. As far as we know up until this point, this man has never done any of these things. Never stood up, never picked up his mat on his own, never walked on his own. Jesus said, well it’s about time. Now, understand, when this man was healed, he wasn’t healed by the water. He was healed by Jesus. Jesus said, get up! Walk. Here are his options.
• Ignore what Jesus says and just stay right here is
• Look around and ask someone to do it for him
• Just do what Jesus tells you to do and get up!
In a real sense all of us have the same choice to make every single day. We have the same choices. Stay right where we are and not do a thing. Leave the mat in place so we can always go back to it. After all the mat IS kind of comfortable. Jesus is saying pick up that mat, throw it away. Cut off any possibility of going back to that life---burn your bridges and burn them now.
Later we find in verse 14 that Jesus found this man in the temple and he said, “See, you are well.” “Stop sinning or something even worse may happen to you.” Now I don’t think for a minute that Jesus was saying that his sin was the cause of his illness; but don’t think for a money that it couldn’t be. This is a truth He was giving us for sure…the result of sin in our lives is always worse than the result of physical illness. The wages of sin is death. This man, like all of us had his excuses. But now He has been made well and Jesus doesn’t want him to fall into that place again. Do you have excuses that keep you from being all that God wants you to be? Nobody helps me. I’m always at the back of the line. And it’s been that way all of my life. Jesus says there comes a time to step up and the time for you is now.
Robert Reed had enough excuses for all of us. Legitimate excuses actually. His hands are twisted. His feet are useless. Can’t feed himself. Can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair or dress by himself. His shirts are held together by Velcro. Has Cerebral palsy. This disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike or just going for a ride. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from college with a degree in Latin. Didn’t keep him from going on 5 mission trips and eventually becoming a full time missionary to Portugal. There, he stationed himself, daily, in a park where he could give out brochures about Jesus all day long. In 6 years he led 70 people to Christ. Why? He chose not to offer any excuses. He just threw them away and went public.
