Text: John 5:1-18
Title: What We All Need To Hear?
D.T.: Jesus is the one who can meet our need.
Introduction
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to
safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away.
Seven days went by and knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s
bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole- Natalie Cole Story
- We like stories like this, don’t we? Stories that show a person in need, and then along comes the hero who meets that need. That is why we love superheros, because they meet needs. Superman comes whisking in at the last minute to meet someone’s needs, Batman comes flying in to meet someone’s needs, and my childhood favorite, Hulk Hogan comes muscling in to meet someone’s needs. We are drawn to these types of stories.
- Perhaps, the reason we are drawn to such stories is because we have needs. And we all like the thought of someone or something coming in out of nowhere and meeting that need. So millions of Americans go to the gas station and buy hundreds and thousands and millions of dollars worth of lottery tickets. They are hoping to hit the jackpot so that all their needs will be met. That is why half of the marriages in America end up in divorce, because a husband or wife doesn’t feel their needs are being met, so they give up on that marriage and look for someone else who can meet their needs.
- What do you need? Maybe a better question is, what do you think you need?
- We say it all the time don’t we. I need this or I need that. I know that I do it and sometimes I catch myself and other times I don’t. I am walking through the mall and I see dozens of items that I need. My shoes are beginning to wear out, so I need a new pair. The zipper on my jacket is torn, so I say I need a new jacket.
- What is it that you need? We come to God with our needs. We come to him and we say God, I need this. Can you make this happen or not happen? Can you fix this or unfix this? Can you give me this or take away this? And we ask as if we need Him to do these things. But maybe we should ask ourselves, are these really needs or are these wants. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes, a lot of the time there is nothing wrong with wants. After all it was Jesus who said, "Ask and you shall find, seek and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened to you." But what about when our wants become needs?
- Well, let’s take a look at a story of needs. Read John 5:1-18.
- Notice the needs of the invalid.
- We read that Jesus has come to Jerusalem for a feast and he ventures to this sickward called Bethesda, which means House of Mercy. I get the picture of MASH, when all the wounded soldiers are lined up in cots waiting waiting for healing. And there at the house of mercy, in the midst of all those who are blind, paralyzed, and lame, Jesus picks one of them. Out of all those who were there waiting for the waters to stir, hoping in a hopeless situation, Jesus picks just one of them. Just one! It is hard to say why this one, but whatever the reason he asks him a very peculiar question, "Do you want to get well?"
- I mean what kind of question is this? As if he didn’t already know the desires of this man, as if he didn’t know what the answer would be? But for some reason Jesus wanted the man to specify His needs. And it reminds me that our Lord desires for us to express our wants and desires with a humble and submitting spirit. But this is not an easy task for so many. Sometimes we don’t want to get well.
- Like when I used to work at Sam’s Club as a Cart Boy. Part of my job was to help people load their groceries and items into their car. But more often than not, the people would look at me like I was a criminal when I would offer my assistance. One lady in particular, was loaded down with one of those large fake plants and a cart full of items. It was freezing outside and raining, and when I asked her if I could help, she completely ignored me and went on loading it herself.
- Why didn’t she want any help? Why don’t we want help sometimes? Maybe its because of our pride, or our upbringing, but whatever the reason we think we can handle it ourselves.
- After the probing question, Jesus delivers a specific command. He tells the man to rise up, pick up his mat, and walk. So the miracle happens, and as a result of this miracle this man’s physical needs are met.
- And in this miracle, like all of Jesus’ miracles, we see his compassion, his grace, and his power. But in the midst of such an amazing miracle, there are questions that must be raised.
- Why the one? Out of all the people needing to be healed, why did he choose just this one? What was Jesus purpose in performing this miracle?
- It seems as if Jesus had ulterior motives in the performing of this miracle. Well, perhaps Jesus chose the one, because he saw something in him, he saw that this man would bring about the confrontation that he was really desiring. If you haven’t noticed already, in reading on the life of Jesus, he is not afraid of confrontation, and often times he is the one that instigates it.
- Reminds me of me with my sisters...
- That seems to be the case here in this story, and it seems as if he is using this man to bring about the confrontation that we read about in verses 9 and following.
- And in that confrontation we gain some insight into the needs of the Jewish leaders of the time.
- Do you notice something strange about the Jews questioning of the healed invalid in verse 10? Here, standing before them, in their very midst is a walking, talking miracle. A man crippled for 38 years who is now leaping with joy and strength and yet the first thing that comes to these Jews mind is not how did this happen? Rather, the first thing that comes to their mind is, "It’s the Sabbath and you are breaking our laws."
- It would be like...
- You see between the last book of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus, the Jewish leaders had established a set of laws and regulations that were initially intended to help them follow the OT Law, but eventually in turned into this (hold up Mishnah). Hundreds of thousands man-made rules.
- Don’t worry, I am not going to read to you out of this book, but I will tell you two Sabbath laws that they established that relate to our story found in John 5.
1) You could save someone from death on the Sabbath, but healing or helping would have to wait until the next day.
2) Under no circumstance, is one to pick up a cot-like mat and walk off as Jesus told the invalid to do.
- So when the Jewish leaders saw this invalid explicitly breaking two of their precious laws, they became more focused on the mat than on the healing. But the man is quick to point blame on Jesus, which pleased the Jewish leaders even more. Now they could have something to pin him with, something to corner him, something to accuse him of, which is exactly what they wanted in the first place.
- They searched him out and the text says they persecuted him for doing such a thing. Jesus responds with words that infuriated them even more, he tells them that he was merely doing the work of his father, basically he said, "Like father like son." Which you can only imagine, infuriated them even more. The fact that Jesus was putting himself as equal to God was enough to get him crucified.
- You see, the Jews had needs. They needed their man-made security. They needed laws and regulations that made them feel right before God. And they used these man-made security blankets to manipulate the people into giving them power and authority.
- The invalid had physical needs, the Jewish leaders had political needs, and Jesus confronts both of them and lets them know that their needs are really wants. You know what I don’t like about this story? I don’t like it because that invalid and those Jewish leaders remind me too much of me. The invalid reminds me that sometimes I look to my physical, material, emotional possessions and I place my security in those things. Do you do that? Is your faith in God dependent upon what things he has given you? Take the things away, then take away the faith? The Jews remind me how easy I can look to position and stature for self-worth. Do you do that? Do you wrap your self-worth around the money you make, the power you have, the position you hold?
- I think Jesus is trying to make a powerful point in this confrontation with the invalid and with the Jewish leaders.
- I once read a book about a man who loved God and was sincerely devoted to him. This man had a wonderful life. Every thing a person could ever hope and dream for, this man possessed. He had a loving wife, 10 beautiful children, 7 sons and 3 daughters. He was an extremely successful business man making his wealth from livestock. He was a picture of health and he was held in high esteem by all those that knew him, living every day of his life devoted to God.
- Then tragedy began to strike him. It started with his business as a terrible storm sweeped in and killed all of his livestock. But the tragedy did not end there. The man describes how all 10 of his children were gathered together under one roof during the terrible storm and the house collapsed on top of them killing every one of his beloved sons and daughters. With his business destroyed, his children stripped away from him, the man would undergo more tragedy as a terrible sickness consumed him. Hidoeous sores covered his skin from head to toe. Sores that were uncurable and caused tremendous pain and discomfort. Perhaps the most painful aspect of the tragedy was the abandonment of some of his closest friends.
- What would you do if the same thing happened to you? If all those things that you thing you need were stripped away from you and they very well could be, How would you react? How would I react? Many of us would probably react much the same as this man did. We would question God and we would want answers to the question why? Why God, Why? That is what this man asked, and God answered Job by saying...
- Read Job 38:2-7
- In other words God told Job, the one who created the universe is the one who knows what you need. And what you need, I will provide.
- And the same thing God said to Job, is the same thing God says to the invalid and to the Jewish leaders. And to you and to me, he says, You think you need the things of this world, well you’re wrong! All you need is me. And if you miss me, you miss it all!
