The Man at the Pool
Pray
John 5:1
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.
2:Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
3:Here a great number of disabled people used to lie - the blind, the lame, the paralysed [ - and they waited for the moving of the waters.
4:From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had. ]
5:One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
6:When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7:"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8:Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
9:At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
10:and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11:But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.’ "
12:So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13:The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14:Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."
15:The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Introduction.
Jesus met many people during His life and work on Earth. He met both the rich and the poor, the religious hierarchy and the greatest of sinners, the healthy and the sick or even dead. From looking at the four gospels and seeing how he dealt with and spoke to each of these people, we can gain an insight into who He is, into who God is and into our relationship with Him. I want to look at this story where Jesus enters Jerusalem and comes across a lame man with nobody to help him.
Jesus enters Jerusalem for an unspecified feast. We don’t know what feast Jesus was attending for but all Jews living near to Jerusalem were required to present themselves before the Lord three times a year at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Jesus entered the City by the sheep gate and encountered the pool. The pool was actually two large pools with a 6-7 metre gap between them. It was enclosed with a porch on each side and one in the middle in the area dividing the two pools. Lying around this pool were all the sick and diseased people hoping that they might find healing.
I want to look at how Jesus impacted on this mans life. I want to look at, firstly the state the man had found himself in, then how Jesus intervenes and finally, the commands he then gives.
Mans State.
The first thing we learn about this man is that he is an invalid and that he has been in that condition for thirty eight years. We don’t know exactly what his disability is, the Greek term used, ’astheneia’ means weakness or disease, but we know that it is bad enough for him to not be able to move a few metres to the pool without assistance. He has come to a point where he is seeking healing. He recognizes his illness and lies with the others simply hoping that he might find the help he needs. He is a man who is helpless. We don’t know how long he has been there but we know he has been there long enough to miss the stirring of the pool a number of times. He sees his last chance of healing as coming from the pool. He believes that if he can just get into it first when the waters are stirred, he can receive that healing.
The dependance on this man for his healing being from the pool is so great that he fails to recognize the healer. Jesus, the very source of healing, asks the man if he wants to get well, and the man takes that as an offer to help him into the pool. The man wants Jesus to help him get healed his way. We see that the mans state is one of hopelessness and despair.
Jesus’ Intervention.
It is at this point in the mans life that Jesus intervenes. Jesus makes the first move in approaching the man. When Jesus sees him lying there He has compassion and makes the effort to learn what the mans problem is. We see the mercy of Jesus that He is willing to take time to discover exactly what the problem is. The man is completely ignorant to who Jesus is and yet Jesus still acts and heals in spite of this.
Jesus then challenges the Man, asking the question, ’Do you want to get well.’ This very question seems ridiculous. Of course he wants to get well, he has been lame for 38 years, desperately waiting by the waters. But perhaps he has grown accustomed to his disability and would prefer the pain of the known to the terror of the unknown. It would bring new responsibilities and demands that he hasn’t had to face before. He would have to leave the comfort of being with those in the same situation as him. As a beggar he would face losing this source of income if he were to become healed. Here we see both the Divine Sovereign of Jesus in being able to offer this healing and the human responsibility in having to accept.
Jesus then heals despite the mans ignorance. He tells the man to ’get up, pick up his mat and walk’. The man does just that. He accepts Jesus’ command and is immediately healed. Jesus gave the command, get up, pick up your mat, and walk. In obeying this he demonstrated that he had the faith to be healed. Jesus not only heals him but restores him to full health. After so many years of not being able to walk the mans muscles would have been in a severe state of atrophy. Yet after 38 years of waiting, the man finally finds his healing.
Jesus’ Command.
The man has been healed. He has accepted Jesus’ invitation for help and has believed and been restored, and yet we find that when questioned he doesn’t still know who Jesus is. He has been touched but not yet come into the knowledge of his healer. The reason for this is not that the man is ungrateful but the fact that Jesus immediately slipped away into the crowd. Jesus however does not leave him in this state but looks for him again and finds him in the temple. After showing His mercy and love, Jesus now warns him abruptly. "See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."
Jesus now commands obedience. He makes it very clear that this mans illness has been due to sin. The bible tells us that suffering has many sources and reasons. It can be suffering to prove or test our faith, as in the case of Job, suffering that is sent to bring improvement, as Paul describes in Hebrews, suffering that shows Gods glory, as in the healing of the blind man, or suffering as a punishment for sin as is this case here. In speaking in this way Jesus shows that he has the power to offer mercy, but if that is rejected, also has the power to bring judgement. Jesus, all too often is described as a God of love, without mentioning the fact that He is also a God of Judgement who demands Holiness.
The man is threatened with something worse happening. Something that is worse than being a helpless invalid in despair for 38 years of his life. In this instance we see the man soon disobeying Jesus and betraying Him to the authorities. This is in stark contrast to the story of the blind man where he defends Jesus fearlessly in front of the Pharisees. The blind man, after being interrogated by the Pharisees who were trying to get him to say Jesus was a sinner for healing on the Sabbath replied, in John 9:32-33
"Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." Yet Jesus chose to heal both men. He showed even more grace and mercy in healing the lame man who would betray Him, than he did the blind man who would defend Him.
Bridge.
Why is the story of how Jesus healed one man two thousand years ago relevant to us today? It is because He shows the same mercy and deals with us in the same way as he dealt with that one lame man then. I believe that in these few verses is a great insight into how Jesus is able to touch our lives and heal us.
Our State.
In the same way that the man at the pool needed healing, we too need that touch. After years of trying to live our lives our way we find ourselves in a tangled mess. What things are you doing that you know you shouldn’t? What addictions or problems are you facing that you don’t know how to deal with? Do you suffer with the guilt of the hurt you have caused to other people? Have you got any bitterness? Are you hurting today because of what others have done to you? If you are then just like the invalid by the pool you aren’t alone as Romans 3:23 says ’for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ There are many others in the same situation. This might be your first time here, or you might have been for 38 years and seen others touched but never felt that healing yourself.
You may have tried everything and looked everywhere. Whatever the pool that you are looking to for healing you haven’t found it. You may have tried the doctors, councillors, spiritualists or even the Church and not yet found the healing that you are looking for. I want to suggest to you that you might be looking to the pool but missing the saviour. You may even be a Christian and looking for healing from a particular illness or a particular sin. For years you have been asking Jesus to heal you your way, to help you get to the pool, instead of just giving the problem to him. If that is the state that you find yourself in today then Jesus is ready and able to heal.
Jesus’ Intervention.
Just as Jesus made the first move with the lame man, so he has also made the first move with you. But you might think, Jesus has never approached me! I have never known or felt his touch! The fact is Romans 5:8 tells us different in that ’... While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ While you were creating the problem, Jesus was undergoing incredible pain and suffering in order to provide the answer. In allowing himself to be brutally crucified, Jesus was making the first move.
In the same way that Jesus learned of the mans condition and was moved with compassion, he also knows the problem that you face. The same God who created the heavens and the earth understands your problem and loves you enough to want to do something about it. You may feel that nobody cares. If you look at what Jesus went through in order to offer you a solution, beaten, starved, abused and hung, then you will realise just how much he does care.
The man at the pool didn’t even know who Jesus was and yet Jesus still healed him anyway. The first step was simply to discover that Jesus had the answer, finding out who He was came later. We often want all the answers before we accept a solution. If the man hadn’t had the faith simply to believe and act then he wouldn’t have been healed. Don’t wait until you tried and eliminated everything else until you realise that Jesus is the answer, you might find its to late.
The big question of course is ’do you want to get well?’ The answer to this seems obvious. But just think about it for a second. What exactly is it you need healing from... Is it pornography, an affair, drink, drugs, overeating, gossiping etc. Do you really want to be healed or do you enjoy the benefits of feeding your earthy desire. Are you suffering from an illness, and do you enjoy the attention it gets you. Before we can answer that question we need to ask not only do we want to be healed from it, but also are we willing to give it up.
If you are willing to be healed and willing to accept Jesus’ intervention, then in the same way that he touched the lame man, He can also touch you. Jesus is saying to you, get up, pick up your mat, and walk.
Jesus’ Command.
In the same way that Jesus had to revisit the man it is also not enough for us to be simply touched by Him, He also commands our obedience. In saying ’See you are well again, stop sinning or something worse will happen to you,’ Jesus was firstly saying that the man had been forgiven. What did Jesus mean by saying something worse would happen? What could be worse than being lame and helpless for the majority of your life? Jesus was talking about judgement. If you reject Jesus’ salvation and call to obedience then you have to face His judgement. This judgement will mean spending eternity in hell.
The command to stop sinning seems an impossible demand. However we have to remember that in saying this Jesus had approached the man a second time and revealed Himself to Him. When Jesus died he made the first approach to us and enabled our healing. In order that we might fulfil this command of stop sinning Jesus approaches us again by sending us the Holy Spirit. If we accept this, then Jesus is able to fully reveal Himself to us. Through the power of His Spirit we be be led into a life that is pleasing to God. Although this doesn’t mean that we won’t sin again, what is does mean is that we will be able to live a life that is sensitive to Gods will and that characterised by genuine repentance to any sin we commit along the way.
The problem for the man was that he faced the Jewish authority who looked for a way of discrediting Jesus and took the opportunity that presented itself with the healing occurring on the Sabbath. This didn’t break any of Gods laws but broke their interpretations of Gods laws which they had added along the way. He betrayed Jesus, unlike the blind man, in chapter 9 of John, who faced the same opposition, in similar circumstances ,but defended Jesus faithfully. The fact is that when God moves in your life, you will face opposition. You must understand that to accept Jesus’ healing in your life you will also have to face His opposition. The same opposition that Jesus faced two thousands years ago faces us in many different ways today. Are you willing to accept Jesus’ command through this.
Conclusion.
What ever the problem that you need healing from, stop looking to the pool, and start looking towards the healing source.
Accept the fact that Jesus’ sacrificial death is able to bring your healing.
Realise that Jesus understands and cares about your problems.
Ask yourself ’Do you want to get well?’
If you do then ’Get up, pick up your mat and walk.’ by responding today.
Stop sinning, or you will face judgement.
The story begins with Jesus entering on the Sabbath and I mentioned that Jews had to enter Jerusalem three times a year for the feats of Passover, Pentecost, and the Tabernacles. We have read that Jesus approached this man twice, firstly at the pool, in order that He might be healed, then in the Temple in order that the man might have a true revelation of who He was, and to prophecy Judgement if he was disobedient. I have tried to show that Jesus has already approached us twice. The first time was at the feast of Passover, where he was crucified for our sins. The second was at the feast of Pentecost where he gave a true revelation of himself through His Spirit.
The third feast is the feast of the Tabernacles and this is where Jesus will come back again to bring the Judgement that he has promised, and that He told the lame man about. The feast always occurs at the end of the harvest and it is a great time of rejoicing for what God has provided for His people. Yet this is also the time when Jesus will bring judgement on those who aren’t His and have rejected His sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:26
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27:but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
