Getting Well and Staying Well
Fortifying the Foundations #12
John 5:1-15
7-13-03
Intro:
As we read our text this morning I will touch on a couple of technical matters that are helpful to understand but not necessary to the flow of the message.
John 5:1-15
5:1Some time later, This is a somewhat inexact reference to time that has expired after the events recorded in chapter 4 in Samaria and Galilee—the woman at the well encounter, the healing of the Royal Officer’s son. We do not know exactly how much time later.[1]
Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. No one knows for sure which feast this is referring to. Some manuscripts have the definite article “the” feast. That would make it the Passover feast but others do not.[2] So what is the significance of this? If a Passover feast occurred at this time or near this time, then Jesus ministry lasted three or four years. If there is not a Passover feast in here then his ministry lasted two or three years. I am inclined to agree with those who view this as a Passover feast.[3]
2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie-the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
You will find in some of your translations at the end of verse 3 and verse 4 a statement something like this: “...waiting for the moving of the water. 4For 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.” NKJV
Most scholars agree that those words are not a part of the original text but were supplied by a scribe to clarify the narrative. There was a reason all these sick people gathered by this pool and the man’s words in verse 7 are a part of the inspired text indicating something like this is going on. In textual criticism this kind of addition is called an interpolation.[4] This is nothing to be concerned about and has little impact on the message of the text but it is sometimes helpful to understand what is happening with the differences in translations.[5]
6When 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." 8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.’"
12So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. NIV
Jesus went to Jerusalem for this feast. The Jewish feast were great times of rejoicing. There were a lot of people in the city. They were having a good time with friends and family. All this celebrating was ordained of God and good. People were having fun eating and visiting with one another.
But,
I. Jesus goes to a place that’s not so fun—a place filled with pain and suffering. It is not a place any of us would want to be. Hundreds of people have gathered around this Pool of Bethesda. They have all pressed in as close to the pool as they can get. They watch the water for any sign of agitation. Each one is hoping to be the first one in—only the first one gets healed. All the rest get disappointed—not much of a chance but these people have no other options. They are desperate people. They are hurting people.
The smell of animals and sickness is fills the air. People with all kinds of diseases and afflictions have crammed into this small area. Most of them are too sick to bath themselves. They are unable to properly bandage their own wounds. I doubt bathroom facilities are adequate and even if they were many of these people would not be able to use them. The smell of disease, gangrene, running sores and sickness is repulsive to breathe.
The sheep and cattle for sacrifice have been brought in nearby.[6] We barely hear the animals because these suffering people are not silent. Have you ever been in a place where a lot of people were in pain? Some are moaning because it is the only way they can deal with the pain.
Then there is the emotional atmosphere of the place. It is so draining to be around just one person who is hopeless and depressed. But many of these people are in a state of despair and depression. They know how unlikely it is to be the one person who gets healed. They know their chances are almost zero. Although hundreds of people are there each one feels alone and abandoned.
Why is Jesus there? Because He cares about people in need. The Father has led Him to this very place to deliver the oppressed. Notice he is not hanging around the luxury of Herod’s palace. He is not enjoying a good time at the Hilton Hotel. He is here at perhaps the most unpleasant place in Jerusalem—a place most people, no doubt, avoided.
I wonder how many of us would be there with Him? How many people in Springfield who are sitting comfortably in a church pew would be there? Most--simply cannot find the time to help somebody else. There is time to go shopping, time to eat out—go to a movie, time for some things. But time for places like this are hard to find in our busy schedules. It is something we would really prefer not to even think about.
Why is Jesus here with these sick people? Mark 2:17 “They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick...” The Father has led Him here because this is where the need is. If we or anybody else would see God move powerfully it will be in the context of where the power of God is most needed—not in the cool breeze of comfort but in the blistering heat of pain. The compassion of God always draws Him toward the needs of suffering humanity. Jesus is not here because it is a fun place to be. He is here because these people desperately need Him.
II. Jesus was drawn to one particular man there.
He was a pathetic case—a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. We are not told exactly what his condition is but it left him unable to get himself into the pool. Thirty-eight years --how many know that 38 years is long time to have a problem like that? Most of you here this morning haven’t even lived that long. In 38 years a man’s identity can get wrapped around a problem like that. In 38 years a man can easily decide that’s just the way life is. For 38 years this man’s life was dominated by this infirmity.
I don’t know why Jesus healed this man and not others. The man didn’t make any particular appeal to Jesus. Jesus initiated this encounter. Last week we talked about the healing of the Royal Officer’s son at Capernaum. That man had come to Jesus and made his request. Blind Bartimaus cried out to Jesus for healing.[7] The woman with the issue of blood pressed in through the crowd and touched the hem of his garment.[8] But this man has done nothing to demonstrate a faith in Christ. In fact, even after Jesus has healed him he doesn’t even know whom it was that did the healing. Can you imagine that? I think I would at least find that out.
He is not particularly admirable in his character. After everything Jesus does for him he identifies Jesus to the Jews—knowing that their intentions toward Jesus are not good. “God, why this man?” And God says, “Why not this man?” No one deserves God’s mercy and goodness. God reaches out to us because He loves us—never because we deserve it. Have you ever just stood back in awe and marveled at the grace God has bestowed upon you? By the grace of God I am what I am.
We even know that in this particular case this man’s infirmity was directly related to personal sin. In verse 14 Jesus says to him, “...Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Does that verse prove that personal sin is the cause of sickness? No. It only proves that personal sin can be the cause of sickness. In I Cor. 11:27-32 Paul gave instruction concerning our attitude at the communion table. He writes to believers,
“27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” NIV
Many of the Christians at Corinth were sick and some had even died because of un-judged personal sin. I am glad for that closing assurance in verse 31, “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” There is forgiveness for sin. Those kinds of judgments can be avoided by humbling ourselves and throwing ourselves on the mercy of God. But personal sin can bring sickness. And sometimes for a person to get well and stay well he may need to change his life-style. If I am sick I am going to ask the Lord if there is anything I’m doing or not doing (sin of omission) that I need to change.
Jesus told this man, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Why worse? Because now he knows better—now he is not sinning in ignorance—now he would be sinning against light.[9]
But certainly not all sickness is caused by personal sin. And we will do great injustice to people if we take that position. In John 9 Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. His disciples immediately asked Him, “...who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” How many remember Jesus’ answer to that question? Jesus said “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” In that case the infirmity was not in any way related to personal sin. So why was that man born blind” “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” In other words, God was to be glorified in his healing—not in his sickness—but in his healing.
All sickness is related to Adam’s sin. When Adam sinned that opened the door to the possibility of sickness for all mankind. Some people get sick simply because they are a part of the human race. In Romans 5:12 we are told “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-“ NIV Sin entered the human race through Adam. Sickness and death entered through that sin. Sin is contrary to God’s design for us. Death is contrary to God’s design for us. And sickness is contrary to God’s design for us. And when the whole redemptive plan of God has been fulfilled there will be no more death—no more sin—and no more sickness to contend with. Rev 21:1-4
”And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” KJV Can anyone say “hallelujah” to that promise?
The question is often asked, “Why does one person get healed and another doesn’t.” God is no respecter of persons. Healing is a work of grace. It is a gift. None of us can earn it or deserve it. We do know that faith is involved for “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” But understanding all the dynamic of that is easier said than done. In some instances when Jesus would go into a place He healed everybody there.[10] In other cases, that did not happen. In His hometown of Nazareth Mark 6:5 says “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” NIV
So there are issues that can be considered. But why does one particular person get healed and another doesn’t? Ultimately only God knows the answer to that question. It seems evident that Jesus didn’t heal everybody at this pool in our story. He certainly has the capacity to do something like that. But for some reason it did not happen. That, however, does not negate the reality of healing that did take place. Just because everyone does not get healed does not mean God does not heal. When God heals He does not always do it the same way. We will never get God completely figured out. We can heal no one. God is the Healer. Our job is to pray for the needs that we encounter and only God can ultimately meet those needs. Do not let the fact that some do not get healed keep you from praying for sick people because some do get healed.[11]
Somehow Jesus knew this man had been in this sad condition for a long time. We are not told how Jesus knew that but it was probably through a word of knowledge from the Father.
III. Jesus approached this man with a question, “Do you want to get well?”
What a question? Surely the answer is obvious. Here this man is waiting for the troubled waters, waiting for a chance to be healed. But Jesus is probing deep into this man’s soul. Do you really want to be healed? Do you really want to be changed? Do you really want to be rid of this bondage?
I think I see tears in this man’s eyes when he answers Jesus. “I don’t have anybody to help me. Every time I try to get up and into the water I’m too late. Where were his friends? Maybe they were tired of the problem. Maybe they were tired of counseling a man that seemed to make no progress. Maybe they had given up on his case as simply being hopeless. He feels abandoned and alone. Perhaps Jesus will step into his world and help him into the water. I think his answer may have been a request. Jesus would you help me into the water? If I could do it myself I would. But I have tried and tried. I have failed and failed over and over again. I don’t really know why I’m even here. I know its not going to work. But I have completely run out of ideas.
Does anybody here know what it feels like to try and try and try and yet every effort seems to end in defeat—one disappointment after another? After awhile it gets hard to get up for the next try. I don’t know how many times this man tried solving his problem in this way. I suspect in 38 years he had tried several time. His case is admittedly a hard case. But how many know Jesus specializes in hard cases? In 1917 a hymn was written entitled “The Love of God.” The last stanza of that song was taken from words penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an asylum—written by a man who was said to be demented—whose case by human standards was hopeless. But his case was not hopeless for God. This man must have had a wonderful encounter with the Lord before he died. He wrote:
Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.[12]
The chorus goes on to say,
O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure the saints and angels’ song.
To anyone who may feel his or her problem is hopeless, I point you to the example in our text. Can you be free from your pain? Jesus is the Healer. Can you be free from that habit that has plagued you for years—the one that you have resolved to break—the one that robs you of so much in God—the one that you have promised to stop but have failed so many times you’re afraid to try again? Can you be free? “If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.”[13] Jesus can set you free just as he freed this man from his infirmity.
I think this man may have been half afraid of getting his hopes up. It hurts to get excited about a possibility only to watch it pass away like a cloud without rain. It hurts to have hope dashed. Does he have it in him to try one more time? Probably not, but Jesus is not going to ask him to try again like he did in the past. That didn’t work. Obviously, that was not the answer. One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.[14] That’s why Jesus doesn’t help him into the water. The answer is not in the water. The answer is in a person. And that person was standing right in front of this man.
Its sad to know that Jesus was right there with all these sick people and they didn’t have a clue as to who he was or what he could do for them. They were preoccupied by their own pursuit. They were all there for healing. Yet the Healer is there and they don’t notice him. That is perhaps one reason Jesus asked this man the question—to arrest his attention. He’s still trapped in his old mindset—he’s still thinking beat everybody into the pool. But at least he’s talking to Jesus now.
A lot of times when we’re talking to Jesus—when we’re praying, we are still trapped in a mindset of defeat. We’re still thinking old methods—methods that have not worked and will not work. But perhaps it’s all we know. God has a better plan and He wants to bring us into it.
“Sir, I have no one...” Have you ever felt that way? You can feel that way sitting in a church full of people. You can feel that way sitting alone at home or surrounded by family and friends. They are there but in another sense they are not there. But this man will discover—they are not his answer. The answer stands right before him. The answer is there to help him. In reality, he does have someone. His name is Jesus.
“...I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred...” But you don’t have to wait until the water is stirred. Jesus is never dependent upon such things.
“While I am trying...” I have tried. You have no idea how hard I’ve tried.
Yes, He does. But have you tried long enough to realize you cannot do it. You cannot do it even with the help of other people. You must have Jesus involved? There is a great difference between what is about to happen in this man’s life verses all his past efforts. Now Jesus is in charge of the situation. Now Jesus is calling the shots. Will this man move out of his passed ways of handling this and let Jesus take over? That is what he is now faced with.
Jesus authoritatively speaks these words to him (verse 8), “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Notice what Jesus does not say to him,
Jesus does not give him a lecture about why it didn’t work in the past.
Jesus does not say to him, “This idea of an angel troubling the waters is mere superstition. That’s not the way God works. You need to get your theology straight before I help you.” It is quite possible people were getting healed that way. For some reason all these people were convinced of that. But it certainly wasn’t God’s plan for this man.
Jesus did not give him a book on discipleship. Jesus did not give him ten steps to victory.
Jesus gave him a simple word of direction and the man must either obey or disobey. His time had come. The brief discussion had come to its climax. “Get up! Pick up...and walk.”
What will the man do? Will he continue to explain to Jesus why he can’t get well? Will he say to Jesus, “Sir, if I could get up, I would. I would love to get up but I’ve tried. I simply can’t change this. You don’t know how much I would like to be rid of this infirmity, but I just can’t shake it. Maybe you could pick me up and when the waters stir just toss me in.”
That response would have gotten the man nowhere. Yet that is the response we are tempted to make when Jesus calls us to greater freedom and liberty. Is Jesus saying to you, “Get up? Rise above that infirmity or bondage. Take the step at my command and watch Me work.” This man was willing to let Jesus take charge.
As he responds God’s grace, God’s strength, is given for victory.
It’s amazing to me how little commotion the healing itself stirred. We later learn there was quite a commotion over him carrying his mat on the Sabbath. But nobody seems to even notice what has happened. Nothing is recorded about the crowd being awed about this great miracle. Nothing is said about the afflicted crowding around Jesus for healing. Were their eyes so fixed on the water that they didn’t even notice? I don’t know.
Later Jesus finds this man at the temple and follows up on the deliverance. That’s where we learn in verse 14 that this man’s problem was associated with a particular sin in is life. He has been healed. He has been forgiven. He has been delivered. But now Jesus tells him how to stay delivered. Stop doing the thing that got you into this in the first place. You can’t keep your deliverance and your sin at the same time. Gal 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” NKJV
We don’t know whether this man stayed free or not. The grace was there for him to stay free. I want to believe that he did exactly what Jesus told him to do and kept his healing. But all of that depended upon the choices he would make from that day on.
The permanence of this miracle depended upon this man’s willingness to make a lifestyle change. It depended upon his acceptance of the Lordship of Christ. And that is exactly where most of us struggle. We may want to be free from a particular problem that is plaguing us. It may be a weakness. It may be a habit. It may be a sickness. Jesus wants us free. Jesus is able to set us free. But living in freedom is directly related to living in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’ve ever dealt with addictions you know that breaking that addiction is more involved that simply saying, “Jesus forgive me, I won’t do that anymore.” The person may be very sincere in that kind of prayer. But it is not the kind of prayer that will bring permanent freedom. Behind that addictive behavior is a whole root system of behaviors that feed into the problem. If we just saw off the branch it will grow back or another branch will grow. Some people just trade one addiction for another because the source of the problem has not been addressed. Is it painful enough that I am willing to change by whole lifestyle? Of course, I want rid of the problem. But will I embrace the Lordship of Christ? Will I cooperate with all the changes He wants to make in my life? This man wanted Jesus to help him into the water. But, Jesus does not come as our helper, He comes as Lord! Hear His question to this invalid in that context, “Do you want to get well—completely well—on My terms—in My way?” If so, “Rise up, take up your mat and walk!”
Perhaps He speaks that same question to the hearts of some of us here this morning. “Do you want to get well?”
Let us pray
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts, 2000, p 164.
[2] John 5:1 Roberson points out, “Even if it was not the Passover, there may well be another Passover not mentioned besides the three named by John (John 2:13,23; 6:4; 12:1). (from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[3] John 5:1(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
[4] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. 1, Book III, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1984, p.463
[5] A basic knowledge of textual criticism and the profound assurance we have of the integrity of the Bible helps one to know the relative insignificance of these kinds of variations.
[6] John 5:2 (from Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)
[7] Mark 10:46-52
[8] Mark 5:25-34
[9] Luke 12:47
[10] Luke 6:19 & 9:11
[11] James 5:14-16
[12] Church Hymnal, Tennessee Music and Printing Company, Cleveland, TN, 1951, p. 220
[13] John 8:36 NIV
[14] Benjamin Franklin http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/q109067.html
