First Baptist Church
October 20, 2002
Healing? Me?!!
John 5:1-9
Soon after the discovery of the New World, Europeans began making the long journey across the ocean in hopes of finding something. Some were hoping to find a new life. Others wanted adventure. Some wanted religious freedom. And there were still others who came in search of gold. One was a Spanish conquistador by the name of Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon and his men were the first Europeans to explore Puerto Rico, parts of Mexico and Florida. In his quest to find gold, he met many Indians who told him of a spring that bubbled up out of the ground. It was said that this spring had magical powers. Anyone who drank the water would be healed of any disease or physical problem they might have. And their bodies would once again be youthful. It was appropriately called the "Fountain of Youth." De Leon made this his life-long goal, however, he died from a poisoned arrow in 1521. Obviously he was unsuccessful.
In the year 2002, not much has changed. We’re still looking for the fountain of youth. Women try to find it in make-up and facials. (NEW SURGERIES) Men and women seek it by having their faces lifted and tummies tucked. As we enter the cold months, we’ll try on last years winter clothes. There is no better barometer to determine how our waistline is doing than trying those clothes on again. The suntan season is over. We lay out in the sun to soak up rays so we can have that "youthful glow." Yet, a century or two ago, the goal was to become aged so that you could enjoy the respect old age brings. But today, the goal is to look as young as you can so you can feel good about yourself. As much as we try, and as many breakthroughs as science hands us, our search for the fountain of youth will end the same way that Ponce de Leon’s search ended. It will forever be elusive.
Fifteen centuries before de Leon, Jesus strolled to a place called Bethesda. There He found a scene that would repulse many of us. Lying and sitting around this pool were many men and women, and maybe even boys and girls. They were all in search of the elusive fountain of youth. You see, it was believed that every time the water stirred in that pool, which was connected to an underground stream, healing powers would appear and whoever touched the water first would find healing.
Once a rumor got started it was hard to stop it, and quite possibly someone may have been healed one time and now it was difficult to get people to leave the pool. Jesus approaches a man who had been ill, who had most likely been bed ridden for the past 38 years. We know he was a beggar, making a living off of what others gave him. He may have paid people to bring him food and have others take care of any other needs. Life for this man may not have been so bad. One Bible scholar wrote (Findlay), "An Eastern beggar often loses a good living by being cured." So there was a risk if he was cured. Jesus lived in that culture, so He understood this way of thinking.
So Jesus stopped and asked him a question that seems to astound our senses — "DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?"
On the surface this is a ridiculous question. It would be like asking someone if they want to eat something when they’re hungry, or drink if they were thirsty. It would be like asking a person who was shivering in the freezing cold, if they wanted a coat. Yet, Jesus’ question was profound and insightful.
When Jesus asks the man if he WANTS to be made well, the word WANT takes this man to a deeper level. We don’t see it in the English, but Jesus is literally asking the man ‘you must not only be willing to be made well, but you must also show me by your actions. It’s like asking me if I want $1 million, I must take the money and do something with it. The word WANT means that I will participate in this action. And the same is true for this man. He must show Jesus by His actions. This man had lived for so long in this state, that his sense of hope may have vanished.
And dear friends we are asked the same question — "DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?" Again, this sounds crazy to us. Of course we want to be made well. But look around you. On the outside we all look and sound like there are no worries no concerns in our lives. We give off the assumption that life is grand. But as Marshall Hayden wrote in an article entitled, "Would Every Non-Hurter Please Stand Up?" He pointed out people come to church wearing their best clothes & their best smiles. Everybody looks happy, so we assume everything is okay. But he suggests we need to look beyond the facade and realize that the pews are full of hurting people.
He wrote, "Over here is a family with an income of $500 a week and an outgo of $700. Over there is a family with two children who, according to their dad, are "failures." He’s constantly telling them, "You’re stupid. You never do anything right." The lady over there just found a tumor that tested positive. The Smith’s little girl has a hole in her heart.
"Sam & Louise just had a nasty fight. Each is thinking of divorce. Last Monday Jim learned he was being laid off. Sarah has tried her best to cover the bruises her drunken husband inflicted upon her. That teen over there feels like he’s on the rack, pulled in two directions. Parents and church pull one way, peers and hormones pull the other.
"Then there are those of us with lesser hurts, but they don’t seem so small to us: an unresponsive spouse, a boring job, a poor grade, a friend or parent who is unresponsive and on and on and on go the stories. The lonely, the dying, the discouraged, the exhausted, they’re all here."
In the face of that, the Word of God has good news! In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
This is not to say that He will heal every problem immediately if we just have enough faith. Jesus clearly said that we will have trouble in this world. But He can help us through our worst problems only if we trust in Him.
In some cases, He may resolve the problem immediately, even miraculously. In others, He grants the power to endure the difficulty and triumph over it. (Melvin Newland @ Sermon Cenrtal.com)
You see dear friends, we all have our problems and we all have our pools. For some it’s pornography, or it’s an affair, maybe it’s drinking and drugs or over-eating. Whatever our pool or escape is, we want a way out. But to say YES!!! YES!!!! JESUS, I REALLY DO WANT TO BE MADE WELL!! YES I’LL DO MY PART TOO!! It’s almost too difficult. It sounds good, it looks good, we believe, yet we don’t believe. We hear the promises of Jesus, and our hearts run out to them and we claim them. And we believe that we mean what we say. Yet, for some of us this has been on-going for more than 38 years. It’s been a lifetime of rejecting Jesus’ offer of healing. We want to be healed, yet, yet, do we really have the faith, the trust to move outside of our boundaries, would we really do it?
That is the question that was confronting that man on that day, and it is the question which confronts us today, and honestly, it may be everyday. DO WE REALLY, REALLY WANT TO BE MADE WELL? DO WE REALLY, REALLY WANT TO BE HEALED? While I’m not a huge Dr. Phil fan, he often times tells people that if you really want to do something then you will do it. If you want stop a bad habit, then you will. It works conversely, if you want to start reading the Bible or praying, or living a new life, a different life, then it becomes a matter of desire and conviction and commitment. It sounds difficult, almost impossible and you know what? It is impossible. We can’t do it on our own. That is why we so desperately need Jesus. For without Jesus, what can we do? Nothing. But with Jesus, we can conquer the world.
You see, if that man got well and if we get well, then our lives MUST change. We have no choice. That man would have to get a job, he would have to become more responsible, he would have to maybe take care of a family. There would be a new set of responsibilities. The same goes for us. When we make a commitment to Jesus to do something, then along with that commitment comes a whole new set of responsibilities.
Think of those who are being baptized today. The water will not save them, their faith in Jesus Christ assures them of salvation. It is an absolutely glorious day for the ___ people who will be baptized. Now Jesus is calling them into service. Abby, Clara, Colton, Kyle, and Morgan and for all of us who have already been baptized, our lives must change. The waters of baptism means that we are a new creation, the old nature, the sinful person that we were before we knew Christ is now gone. We have a new nature, our dead self has been buried and now there is a new person, we have risen from the grave and no longer can death have a hold over us, for death has been defeated. Our final destination will be heaven. Amen
But now the call for each person is to use the faith that God has placed in our heart, soul, and mind and go into the world doing good things in the name of Jesus Christ. But that won’t always be easy, because there’s pressure that others will place on us, but the GOOD NEWS is that Jesus has promised He will never, never fail us. He will not bail out on us when life gets rough. Instead He promises He will be with us to the ends of the earth. Now that you have Jesus, know that He will always be there for you.
In the same way that man who was an invalid, who couldn’t walk, was now told to do 3 things -- stand up, pick up your mat, and walk.
Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had been unable to use my legs for 38 years, I may have some doubts about my ability to even stand, let alone to walk. "I can’t get up? I’ve been unable to walk for 38 years." But Jesus says in effect, "You can, because I say so."
But the command to get up is not the only command, for Jesus removes the possibility of relapse. He says, "Get up and take up your bed!" You know why Jesus said that? Because he wasn’t coming back. He’s not leaving his bed at that pool thinking he’ll be back tomorrow. NO!! He isn’t coming back to the pool because he was healed. It was time to move on.
He was cured. He got up, picked up his mat, and he walked. It seems to happen very quietly and privately. Yet, there is no doubt, it happened.
Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Compolo felt terrible.
But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.
But the lady told Compolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."
And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed." (Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today Tape #212) (The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, Swanlake@jam.rr.com September 30, 2002)
My dear friends, that too, is our goal, it is to find healing, the cure would be great, but more than anything, what do you want Jesus to heal you from. Ask Him, believe in Him, participate with Him and I believe it will happen.
