The Gospel of John – Part Six
Head – Helpful Information for Understanding our Passage
Chapter five opens with Jesus going down to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holidays. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he went to the Pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate. Bethesda means “house of outpouring.” Apparently, there were two pools there, both covered by porches or porticos. When Jesus arrived there, there were crowds of sick people lying on the porches. A tradition related to the periodic bubbling of the water taught that an angel stirred the waters and that the first person to reach them when they were stirred would be healed of sickness, disease, or handicap.
Jesus saw there a man who had been disabled for 38 years, and Jesus was able to see that the man had been sick for a very long time. Jesus asked the man if he desired to be well. The man’s situation seemed hopeless. He had no one to help him into the water. As the waters stirred, he could only lie there in abject sorrow. Yet, the man came everyday, hoping against hope that someone might help him into the waters. Perhaps Jesus was that someone. Indeed, help had arrived – but not the kind the man had been looking for.
Why did Jesus ask the man if he wanted to be well? Doesn’t everyone desire to be well? The answer to that is not so clear. Many people do things that they know will make them sick. Many purposely do things that will harm their body, mind, spirit, or relationships. So, why do some people choose to be unwell? People who have diabetes are not forced fed donuts. A person who chooses to wreck their marriage made decision when they commit adultery. Someone with bipolar disorder has a choice about staying on their medication or falling back into another tail spin. No. Not everyone wants to be made well.
Jesus commanded the man to “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Strength pulsed through the man’s body, pushing out the disease and strengthening the very muscles that had grown atrophied. The healing took place apart from the pool. And, it was the Son of God, not an angel, who brought about the healing.
The healing caused an immediate crisis. According to Rabbinical teachings, a medical healer was not supposed to work on the Sabbath, except in the case of a life or death situation. Nor was someone supposed to carry something from place to place on the Sabbath. The man was now in trouble because he had been healed and because he was carrying his mat.
Verse 11, when the authorities asked him why he was carrying his mat, he told that them that the one who healed him had told him to carry it. Verses 12-13, when they asked him who had healed him, we find out that he had not even bothered to ask for Jesus’ name. This man was so self-centered that he was not even interested in the Healer’s name.
In verse 14, Jesus comes to the man and speaks to him a second time. Jesus tells the man that he needs to get right with God. Apparently physical illness was not his only, or even his greatest problem. His deepest problem was that he was sinner with a sick soul. He needed not only physical healing, but a deeper heeling of the spirit. Jesus was offering the man, not just few good years on earth, but eternal life. The first step was taken when the man responded in faith, allowing Jesus to heal his body.
Now the man needed to take a second step, allowing Jesus to heal his sin-sick soul. Now the man needed turn from sin to God. He had to choose between eternal life and judgment. There was no middle ground.
Heart – The Personal Connection
We must all make the same choice as this man. Each of us probably have outward problems. Some of us may have physical problems. Perhaps we have a chronic illness or debilitating physical limitations. Perhaps we have money problems or financial struggles. Like the man in this story, we may feel hopeless. We may be looking to Jesus to help us out of our problems. Perhaps he will. But, like the man in this story, we have a problem that runs deeper than any of our external circumstances. Because of sin, we have spiritual poison that is killing us from the inside out. Jesus stands ready to save us from our sins. But, we must choose between eternal life and eternal death. We must decide whether we want Jesus to be our Savior, or whether we just want him to do us a favor. As Jesus confronts this man with the ultimate decision, and we watch in eagerness to see how this man will respond.
And how does this man respond to this second opportunity to meet Jesus? How does he respond to Jesus’ words? Verse 15 says that the man reported him to the authorities. He betrays Jesus. He is unwilling to risk anything for this strange Healer of men. After all, what does he owe Jesus? Why should he risk his new found freedom for One he barely knew?
In spite of what Jesus did for him, he shows no movement from spiritual dullness to belief in Jesus. He doesn’t give deep consideration to Jesus, and find him wanting. He simply chooses to stay in ignorance and unbelief.
It reminds me of a saying of G.K. Chesterton, who said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left mostly untried.”
Hands – The Practical Application
Today is Transfiguration Sunday. On this Sunday, we commemorate the event in which Jesus revealed his glory to three of his closest followers. Read Mark 9:2-9. This story seems to suggest that seeing is believing. But that is not true. Believing enables us to see. The man in our story was physically healed by the Lord, who stood before him; yet, he was unwilling to see who Jesus was. Peter, James, and John were able to see because they believed in Jesus. It may sound backwards, but they’re are depths of God’s glory that you will not be able to see without a heart open to God.
This morning, I would ask you to consider a question I asked earlier. Do you want Jesus for your Lord, or do you only want him to fix something in your life? Do you love the giver more than the gift? If forced to choose, would you have him or his blessing?