What Are You Waiting For

What are you waiting for!!

St. John 5: 1-9

Wilt thou be made whole? It is a question that Jesus asked the man at the pool. It was a question that is comprised of 5 words. It was a question that not so much asked a question, but rather posed a challenge to the man. Tonight taken from these verses and this phrase Wilt thou be made whole, I like to use for a subject a challenge, comprised of 5 words and that is “What are you waiting for.”

Feast of the Jews: This feast was the Passover, which was to commemorate how when the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt and the 10th and final plague was brought upon the Egyptians, which was death. God told Moses to tell the children of Israel to put the blood of a lamb on the door post and the mantle of the door and when the death angel would pass by through Egypt, he would see the blood and Passover the blood saving those that were covered by the blood of the lamb. Hence the meaning Passover. Understand that Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law, so he had to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Jews, Passover. In the book of Deuteronomy 16:5-6 God said “Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: but at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name in, there thou shall sacrifice the Passover.”

So to fulfill the law Jesus went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Jews or the Passover also it provided Him the opportunity to reach many more people, because people from every tribe that had been scattered all over had to come to Jerusalem for Passover..

In Jerusalem there is a pool, the Greek word “Kolumbethra” which means a place of cleansing or bathing.

The name of the pool is Bethesda, which means: - House or place of Mercy. It had 5 porches. It was the shape of a pentagon. The 5 porches were for protection from the weather and sun. The number 5 denotes man as responsible under the government of God. It declares God’s work in redemption and is symbolic of grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God shown to the unworthy; therefore the number 5 represents unworthiness or weakness. What am I saying. 5 is the number of exercise and responsibility of weakness (man) and of grace in spite of weakness (God). Man is weak and unworthy and responsible for giving God praise for allowing him to function and because of God’s grace inspite of our weakness He shows favor upon us.

Within these 5 porches there laid a great multitude of impotent folk, literally weak folk, some were blind, halt, withered, all were waiting for the troubling of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season, certain time of the year, and troubled the water and the 1st person into the water was made whole of whatever disease they had.

Verse 5 (which represents weakness) says “And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.” The word infirmity means weakness, feeble, diseased.

Whenever you read the phrase “Certain Man or Certain Woman” it is expressing an historical fact true, but prophetically speaking it is pointing to something else. It is different than “There was a man from the land of Uz whose name was Job.” When the Bible specifies a person by name, there is something about that person that we can learn from, rather it is their character, dedication, determination there is something that God needs us to see and learn from that person. However, when you see the phrase certain man or certain woman it points to something that God wants us to be aware of, like the condition of the person or the mind-set of that person. For example, we should strive to be patient, longsuffering, and committed like Job, but be aware that the mentality of this certain is not found in us, for this man’s mind-set caused him to be spiritually blind and we must be aware not to become spiritually blinded.

Verse 6 says ‘When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole.” Understand that this was not so much a question that was asking him do you want to be healed, but a challenge to the man saying what are you waiting for, the source of your healing is standing right here. The impotent man answered and said unto Him SIR.

WATCH THIS: Sir is a show of respect that is often used when you don’t know a person’s name. How many times have you spoken to someone and did not know their name and said Sir or Ma’am. This man didn’t know who Jesus was, he was not only physically impotent, but spiritually impotent as well. Because he didn’t know who He was began to make excuses for why he was still in the condition he was in.