The story of Jesus' healing of the invalid at bethesda pool continues John's account of the unfolding of Jesus' glory and increasing tension with Jewish religious leaders. In this 2 part message we look at 4 key points being made in this story of miraculous healing. In part 1 we discover a question and a command from Jesus which apply equally to us today as they did to the man by the pool: "Do you want to get well?" and "Get up, pick up your mat and walk".
Manuscript:
The Healing at Bethesda Pool
John 5:1-16
06/09/09
John 5:1-16
06/09/09
Introduction
The story of the healing at Bethesda pool contains many fascinating and much debated details. It was an event that caused much controversy when it happened and it remains controversial today in how it is remembered. We are going to touch on some of this controversy as we examine the story, but in doing so we are going to be careful to not get distracted on the relatively minor issues. There are four critically important points that John makes here under the inspiration of the Spirit, and they have incredible power to shape our understanding, our attitude and our experience of life if we will listen to what God is saying to us through this story.
Text:
5 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 a and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.[and they waited for the moving of the waters. 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.
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.
Now, some of you reading along with me may have been shocked to discover that there was a section that I read out that did not appear in your bibles. I’ll explain that in just a minute!
In the last message from John we briefly looked at the importance of understanding the context of any Scriptural passage we are studying, both the historical context of what was actually going on at the time of the events recorded; and the literary context of how God has shaped His Word to communicate meaning to us. God is a God of order not chaos, and each book of the Bible follows a structure so the readers and hearers can grow in understanding and in maturity as the story or the letter unfolds. Each part builds with what has come before, and lays a foundation for what comes next.
I want to talk first about the literary context of this story – the part it plays in the unfolding drama of John’s gospel. We’ve seen already that John is not concerned with filling up his book with all of the spectacular things Jesus did, rather by the Spirit he selected just 7, and told them in such a way as to make clear Jesus’ gradual revelation of His glory, which was designed to produce a response of faith in the people who witnessed His works and heard His message. However Jesus would not fit within the rigid boundaries of Pharisaic Judaism – He would not allow the work of God to be limited by human tradition and the misapplication of God’s law. So there is increasing tension through the gospel with religious leaders which finally climaxes with the crucifixion of Jesus. We will see how that unfolds as the last and most important point that John makes in telling this story.
But as we now look at some of the historical context of this story we run into a little bit of controversy, which doesn’t affect any of the 4 key points being made, but is still important to recognise and comment upon. It has to do with the part of the story which for many of you did not appear in your bibles, except as a text note.
The reason is that the oldest manuscripts we have available for us today do not contain what we now have as the last part of verse 3 and all of verse 4. A number of later manuscripts do, so some translations of the bible go with the older manuscripts and some go with the newer ones.
This situation occurs from time to time, which is the reason why there are small disagreements between certain translations. Some people get very worked up about this, and allege that there is a conspiracy to water down the message of the bible by leaving bits out. The fact is that there are very good reasons why most scholars today question whether some parts of those later manuscripts were actually in the original text which was inspired by God, and attribute them to later scribes who added little explanatory notes or made errors in copying. In any case the translations which make use of such scholarship generally include the disputed text as a note so that people still have access to it – it’s not being hidden away to deceive or mislead people.
So in today’s text the controversy is: did God really send an angel to stir up the waters from time to time, so that the first person who made it in got healed; or was this a little explanatory note added by a scribe as he copied out John’s gospel perhaps several hundred years later, to explain why there were all these people waiting around hoping to be healed?
I would love to know the answer to that! There are a number of different scenarios going on here, and each of them affect the way that you explain the story. But here’s the key issue – it doesn’t make any difference to the meaning of this story either way. The 4 key points are still the 4 key points! Those 4 points are found in 3 statements of Jesus and one from the Jewish leaders. So I don’t mind what your opinion is about what was going on in the stirring of the waters, don’t be distracted from the 4 big ideas that come from these statements:
1. “Do you want to get well?”
This might sound like a silly question! The guy had been an invalid for 38 years – of course he wants to be well! Why else would he be camped out here trying to get into the pool when it gets stirred up?
Actually, it’s not a dumb question at all, but a very important one. In our society we have a whole bunch of recognised illnesses that are brought on by the attitudes and actions of the sufferer – they produce their own misery. You may also have come across people who are quite content with the ailment that they suffer from. Sometimes it’s because it provides them with attention, or an excuse to be idle, or a way of expressing some other hurt, or the opportunity to control their own pain or the lives of those around them, or a way of avoiding responsibility, or even a way of earning income. In some parts of the world parents even maim their own children to make them better beggars. Sometimes physical sickness or immobility is a choice, and getting well must also be a choice.
Sometimes when the suffering isn’t your choice, it’s still a tough thing to choose wellness. Just ask Ross how hard it was for him to choose to do the physiotherapy he needed to do after the operations on his knees! It was so tempting just to lie back and not do what the physiotherapist described – but the desire to be whole and strong again overcame the desire to avoid pain.
The same is true in our spiritual life. A lot of people are spiritual invalids. Sadly, some people have been spiritual invalids for a very long time! I’m not talking about those who are spiritually dead – those who have not yet received life in Jesus – I’m talking about Christians. There are people who have areas in their life that are stunted, areas of pain, areas of weakness and immaturity that God wants to heal for them. The issue is not whether God can do it, but whether or not they want Him to!
Saying “Yes” to Jesus means handing over control of that area of your life to Him. A lot of people recognise that things aren’t as they should be – whether it’s in relationships or finances or personal holiness – yet they are determined to fix these things themselves because they don’t want to hand control over to Jesus. There is something about their spiritual illness that they don’t want to lose. Their sin does something for them that even though they hate it, they want it. It has a grip on them.
Jesus says “Do you want to get well?”
Is there an area of your life that is not well right now? Will you let Jesus heal it? Don’t let it continue to be part of your life. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been there, Jesus can deal with it if you will submit to His lordship and His saving power.
The invalid at the pool responds to Jesus’ offer by saying in effect “I’m trying, but I just can’t get there! I need someone to help me get into the pool before anyone else when the water is stirred.” We have no idea how often this might have happened. There are legends from other places that these events happened once a year, but really we have no idea.
I can only imagine how frustrated the man was with himself for being unable to access the healing that others seemed able to achieve. I have no idea how much he struggled with the injustice of seeing those more able than himself receive healing as they were quicker to the pool. I have no idea what resentment he may have felt toward any family and friends he had who never seemed to be there when he most needed them, no matter what else they may have done to look after him.
I have seen these sorts of things play out in many people’s lives in different circumstances. Maybe they were an issue here.
Whatever the case, it is this admission of helplessness that leads to Jesus announcement of help.
2. “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
The power of Jesus achieved in a moment what this man had not been able to achieve for himself in 38 years – he was immediately cured.
How often do we limit our expectations of what Jesus can do, because we are aware of what we have not been able to do? We see the problem instead of the solution. We see a giant who has beaten us down time and time again. A persistent sin, a moral weakness, a repetitive failure, a lack of wisdom – whatever it is, it seems like it’s got us beat and it will always prevent us from being well. It will stunt our relationship with God and with people, it will diminish our witness, it will bruise our hearts and load us with guilt, frustration, self-pity, jealousy of others and resentment toward them and so on.
I am convinced that Jesus is the answer to every problem. If you are struggling in any area of life Jesus is the one who will achieve victory for you. What you need to do is obey His instruction. It’s not a case of earning your own miracle, like the man was trying to do by being first into the pool. Rather, it’s a case of trusting Jesus to do what you cannot, and just doing what He has told you to do.
Jesus is both Saviour and Lord. Many people want Him to be Saviour without being Lord. They want Him to be like a genie in a bottle. Call Him out when you need Him or when you want something but keep Him locked away at all other times.
Do you want to experience the healing power of your Saviour? Follow Him obediently as your Lord! Do what He says you must do, for He always does what He says He will do!
I want you to recognise that you cannot save yourself. That’s true when it comes from saving ourselves from God’s righteous punishment for our sin, and it’s true when it comes to dealing with the weaknesses of our sinful nature. It’s true when it comes to overcoming the spiritual forces of darkness who desire to steal, kill and destroy. Our only hope is in what Jesus has done for us through His death and resurrection, what He is doing in us through His Spirit, and what He will do when He returns to judge the world and the ruler of this world.
If you want to be whole and well, if you want to live the abundant life that Jesus has promised and He will produce in you, then you must listen to what He tells you to do and simply do it. The victory has been won, now walk in it!
I want to ask you to evaluate your life as it is right now. Are you paying attention to what Jesus is telling you to do? Are you reading His word regularly? Are you being built up by other members of God’s church as they help you understand and obey the Bible? Are you spending time in prayer, not grocery list prayer, but time in fellowship with God when you are stilling your own voice and listening to the quiet voice of the Spirit?
Are you obeying what Jesus is telling you to do or are you making excuses for yourself? Are you telling yourself that it is beyond you? Are you focussing on the shortcomings of others instead of first paying attention to your own walk?
Do you want to be well?
Will you do what Jesus tells you to do?
When I look at my own life I recognise that I am far from being completely well. As the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
I sometimes get frustrated by my imperfections. Just as Romans 7 describes I see the sickness of my sinful nature and the way it holds me back from living out of the righteousness that I have been given in Jesus. My own failures produce a sense of hopelessness and guilt, even to the point of questioning how God could possibly love and forgive me. The wonderful truth of the gospel is that He does and He has!
When I start to focus on my own limitations and weakness to the point where healing seems impossible, that’s when I need to remember instead to look to Jesus, to listen to Him and do what He says, trusting in Him to produce in me what I cannot produce in myself. As I focus on Him, living by His Spirit and not my own strength, suddenly I am no longer held back by my weakness or by my strength. Instead He produces in me new life!
There is no longer any room for self-pity or for boasting! Rather in everything we glorify Christ by living obedient to His commands and witnessing to His transforming power at work in our lives.
I look at this church family and I see evidence of the grace and power of God at work in us. I also see ways in which we are not yet well.
The Bible tells us what we must do to be well, to be a church marked by love and maturity and effective witness. The question is whether or not we will obey.
I wonder how many of us feel a little discouraged when we think about the problems and challenges we face. I wonder how many feel resentment, jealousy, anger or other such emotions. I wonder how many of us are still thinking that our own efforts will make the difference in turning things around.
The only answer for our church is Jesus, and the only option is obedience to Him and complete dependence on Him.
If we do that, the future is glorious. If we do not, the future is ugly!
Next week (God willing) as we look at the final two points of this story, we will discover a very powerful and relevant message to where we are at right now as a church family, and where we have been for a great many years now. We will see some heart attitudes and behaviours strongly challenged, and a very serious warning issued by our Lord. May our hearts be ready. May we have chosen healing over sickness, trust and obedience over self-reliance or self-pity.
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