"lame Excuses" Series

“The Power of Going Public”

"Lame Excuses"

John 5:1-15

In this series of messages we have been looking at what it means to go public with your faith and why it matters; why it is so important. In this passage Jesus has gone to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish Holy Days. The city wall has 8 different gates used for entrance. The one Jesus was near and was using on this day was known as the Sheep Gate. Each gate had its own function. It was known as the sheep gate because it was the entrance for sheep entering the temple from the market. They were purchased in the market, brought into the city where they were taken to the pool to be washed to prepare them to then be sacrificed. The pool was known as the Pool of Bethesda.

Jesus was close to this gate when he encountered this man who was sick. The picture here is so very clear---the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world; to make us completely whole again is standing at the Sheep Gate near this pool where men and women were literally lying around the pool ---sick; this man paralyzed---has been there for 38 years. No doubt someone would have brought him there each day for least 2 reasons (1) by his presence there those doing businesses in that area would see him; some would be moved with compassion and would then offer some financial assistance to the man. That’s puzzling to me; I mean who am I to question Jesus but there are needy people everywhere and this is the one Jesus chooses to help. Could have been because Jesus knew the man had been coming there for 38 years --- but one thing we do know is that Jesus was not helping the man because he had been asked to do so. This man didn’t even know who Jesus was. Jesus encounters this man and then asks him a very strange question. Here it is…would you like to get well? I mean it seems obvious, right? If one doctor were to ask we would likely say, of course, why else would I be here?

When I study I like to look for the BIG TRUTHS that are in a passage of scripture. I like the details but primarily I want to know, what are 2-3 BIG TRUTHS I can take away from this? And in this story I find 3.

1. Going Public with my faith is a decision and the decision can be difficult. Because, when we choose to go public we are then saying that our faith is real; it has substance and it’s relevant---not just for my life but for others as well. So before you take your faith public you’ve got to have a connection in private. And that connection is between your heart and your head. It’s one thing to believe; it’s quite another to allow that belief to affect our behaviors.

And that is what helps me understand this question and why Jesus had to ask. Did this group of men and women really want to get well or were there other reasons they were there? When Jesus saw the man lying there he knew he had been in this condition for a long time and says do you want to get well? It’s clear to me that Jesus wanted this man to think on a deeper level about his faith; in other words there’s a lot more here than we can see on the surface.

For 38 years this man had one listing on his job resume…he was a beggar. He lived off the donations of others. So consider, if he was healed he would no longer receive them. People would no longer have sympathy for Him. As terrible a reality as this is, in some 3rd world countries, parents are actually guilty of hurting their children, crippling them so they can earn a living begging on the streets. If this man were healed he would then be responsible for himself and would no longer be dependent on others for everything.

There comes a point when we must step up and instead of relying on others for everything; we must stop living off the faith of others and realize, hey it’s time for me to grow up; to mature; it’s my time for my faith to really blossom. For all of us there is a time when we must ask how much about God have I learned from my experience how much have I learned from the experiences of others. It should be both but many of us borrow our faith from others and our own personal experience is weak. How much would you know if no one told you?