Alba 7-28-13 (Revised 10-2-2022)
HELP ME GOD, I FEEL HELPLESS
John 5:1-9
Have you ever felt hopeless — helpless — at the end of your proverbial rope? Have you ever cried out, “God help me”?
That’s a loaded question, because I think we’ve all been there. In one way, or many ways, we’ve been there. When we’re there, we have options, even when we don’t think so.
Today, we’re going to look at a passage which leads us to talk about being hopeless and helpless. In John 5:1-9, we read a story about a question and a healing to a hopeless and helpless man.
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, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 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. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
And that day was the Sabbath.
One of the first things that we learn from this account is...
1. THE LORD KNOWS YOUR NEED
Verse 6 “Jesus saw him lying there. He knew that the man had been in that condition for a long time." Jesus saw...and knew.
Richard Jensen, in his book The Crucified Ruler (C.S.S. Publishing Co., Inc., 1987) says, “The IRS knows me by my tax numbers. My state knows me by my driver’s license number. My bank knows me by my account number. My employer knows me by my social security number. My insurance company knows me by my policy number. On and on it goes for you, for me, for everybody. Everybody knows my numbers. I’m not sure that anyone knows me!”
Well, Jesus does. According to John 10: 2-3, Jesus says, “He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
Later Jesus tells us in John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father.”
What an important message to hear from our crucified and risen Lord. We are known by God! We can be honest with ourselves, with others, and with God, who sees and knows!
And we are known intimately, not just by our numbers. Jesus knows us personally. He knows us by our character. He knows what is in our heart and soul. He knows us by our name.
Remember what the woman at the well said about Jesus? She said,
“He told me all that I ever did.” John 4:39
Jesus knew about Judas. He knew in advance that Judas would betray Him. Look in John 6:64,“For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.”
Jesus knows everything. He can see down inside, what we are thinking and feeling. We don’t need to cover it up. We shouldn't kid ourselves. Jesus knows our problems,... and the solutions. He knows our malady AND our cure!
Think of the songs we sing: "Jesus knows all about our struggles" and another...
"No one understands like Jesus. Every woe He sees and feels.
Tenderly He whispers comfort. Every broken heart He heals."
These words are true. We can take heart. We may feel helpless, but God sees us, not for who we are, but for our potential. And He doesn’t throw the clay away. He continues molding and shaping.
When God saved us He didn’t just see us as the sinner we ’were’...He saw the ’thou shalt be!’
So, when someone doesn’t like who you are, ask them to be patient, because God’s not finished with you yet! Tell them "He’s still workin’ on me."
But according to our text for this morning, we discover that just like this helpless man, we are not only personally known by God, with all of the positive qualities we may have, but known as well by our shortcomings, our failures and our needs.
Maybe we would rather hide in the obscurity of our numbers identity. But we are totally known by Jesus. There is nothing to hide – nothing we need to hide!
We are intimately known, with all of our faults and shortcomings. But when we are in Christ, we are also loved and forgiven.
We have a Savior who can meet our deepest needs. He sees, He knows and He cares.
But notice also in verse 6...
2. THE LORD HAS A QUESTION
“Do you want to get well?”
“Do you want to get well?” Wow! What a loaded question. It sounds rude and callous. How could Jesus even ask that question to a man who was really, really weak? To a man who was obviously sick?
According to the Scriptures, this man had lived with this infirmity for 38 years. He had been sick longer than Jesus had been on the earth!
“Do you want to get well?” Seems like a ridiculous question. But fact is, some folks don’t want to get well. Some don’t know they are sick. Some do and yet don’t care!
Physically, some always WANT to be sick. Like what Andy Griffith said of old Miss Emma Watson: "She’s been enjoying poor health for years."
The leaning tower of Pisa was built about 900 years ago, leaning due to a faulty foundation. For centuries they tried to find ways to fix it, but couldn’t.
Eventually they found a way, but chose to leave it as it is. Why? It’s a tourist attraction. They don’t WANT to straighten it out! They enjoy the attention they get!
So what would our answer be to Jesus' question? Do we really want to be made well? If we are honest we would likely say, yes and no.
We would say, “Yes, I want to be made well. I don’t want to hurt anymore.” Yet, some part of us likes to play the role of innocent victim, to blame others for wounding us, or for keeping us stuck.
We find reasons to complain and look for excuses. We can list the many ways our parents have done us wrong, “This is why I am the way I am.”
Or a spouse has let us down. Or, “It’s the kids, they didn’t turn out as expected.” Or “My boss, my career, my teachers, my siblings, my friends, my church,” or ultimately . . . “my God has let me down.”
This man at the Pool of Bethesda could have been thinking, “Life is definitely not my fault. I deserve better. Why I could have been fully alive and well – but then those bad things happened . . . so here I am, stuck forever on the edge of healing. Healing is so close, I can taste it, I can smell it, but it never happens.”
“Do you want to be made well?” That question can cover more than just our physical situation. Most of us would like not to suffer some of the pains and problems we face, especially as we age.
But there are other areas of our lives that could be considered as well. We have to ask ourselves if we are really as healthy as we should be mentally and spiritually.
It requires honest self-examination. Maybe a little digging into ourselves. Maybe we need a shovel. Sometimes we need to complete an archaeological dig . . . going deep into our heart and spirit to discover who we really are and what we really need and want.
When we’ve sifted and sorted through our heart, spirit and mind, what we may discover is that we want to be fully alive. Deep down we want to love and to be loved, and to draw close to the powerful love of God.
I think deep down we want our lives to be about something much larger than ourselves and our worries, concerns and problems. We want our lives to be full of light, to be blessed and to be a blessing to others.
When it comes to healing, Jesus doesn’t appear out of nowhere, waving a magic wand. What Jesus asks is more demanding than that, and more costly. We need to accept His healing so we can become the very person God is calling us to be.
Maybe we aren’t feeling helpless enough. We’re not ready to give up on our own efforts to solve our problems. We’re not ready to admit we cannot make it on our own. We’re still determined to get into the water on our own. If so, Jesus can't do anything for us.
If we identify with this man, and the Lord is asking us, "Do you want to be made well?" and if we say, "Not yet," or, "No, I don't," then there is no reason to expect anything more.
But this man at the pool of Bethesda wants to be healed. While he didn’t give a direct answer to Jesus, and while it was messy, I believe he wanted healing, but didn’t know how it could happen.
He basically said, “Yes, I want to be healed, but I can’t. I've tried, I've done everything I know how. I want to get into that water, I want to be healed, I’ve really tried, but I’m slow. There’s no one to help me. I've given up. I have no hope.”
Notice all of the I’s in that kind of answer? We can easily be like that man. So we give up, feeling helpless. But if we give up in whatever situation we face, we will have resigned ourselves to less than what God can provide.
But Jesus is standing there and He offers the solution to each of us. Jesus speaks, and His response is short and clear: “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
It was when the man acted in obedience to the word of the Lord that gave evidence to his healing. You will notice the man didn’t need to climb into the pool in order to be healed. Whenever we say yes to Jesus, healing comes our way. His strength meets our helplessness.
It may not just be physical healing we desire, it may be spiritual, it may occur in our heart. We may need to let go of something to find true and total healing.
Jesus said not only “rise up”, but also “walk”. The scripture says the man had an infirmity, he was an invalid. He had some weakness or frailness that prevented him from walking about as other men.
What a picture of the sinner who is lost and separated from God by his sins. Regardless of what he tries, the sinner is still lost and unable to walk in the ways of the Lord.
Notice later verse 14 how Jesus gives further instruction to the man who was healed. It says, Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
Jesus died upon that cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins. Now that the man could walk, Jesus calls him to walk life in a better way.
Jesus also calls us to rise up and walk, to walk in the way that honors Him. Our response should be a desire to “sin no more” so that we could live the life God intends for His children.
A preacher once said: One morning I heard an advertisement on the radio that startled me. The announcer was telling of a special offer for Life magazine. He closed by saying, “Enjoy Life at half price.”
How many people are trying to enjoy life at half price! But it doesn’t work. God never promised that our lives would be free from struggle, pain, or tragedy. But a high price was paid to bring healing.
When we are helpless, Jesus Christ has the power to take any life, no matter the problems, no matter the sin, and make it well again.
CLOSING:
A mother and her small daughter were discussing the dolls in a department store. "What does it do?" the child would ask about each one.
The mother would answer, "It talks," or "It wets," or "It cries."
The dolls were rather expensive, so the mother tried to direct her little girl’s interest toward an ordinary one that was more reasonably priced.
“Does it do anything?” the child asked.
"Yes," the mother replied, “It listens.” The little girl reached eagerly for the doll.
Jesus is listening for us when we feel helpless to cry out to Him for help. He is all-powerful, all-saving and awesome!
He will lift you out of the affliction of your sins if you will only come to Him when He calls you.
