Would you like to get well?

1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” 11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. 13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

Prologue:

Do you ever wonder if this stuff is true? Did any of this really happen or did a group of salty Galilean fisherman pull one over on the whole world constructing an elaborate lie about their murdered teacher Jesus coming back from the dead and then convince enough people to start a world religion? Hasn’t the Bible been mistranslated along the way? In fact isn’t this passage proof of it?

Bauer writing in the 1830’s based on his philosophical view of religious development stated John’s Gospel was from the 2nd century by someone who didn’t know Jerusalem. Others jumped on board and looked for evidence of their theory finding this is the only Gospel which mentions the pool of Bethesda which in the second century didn’t exist. And in 1830 didn’t exist. The problem with their brilliant confirmation bias deductions was the actual archeological evidence. Around 1910 the pool of Bethesda was found near the sheep gate in Jerusalem with two rectangular pools and coverd porches on all four sides including a fifth between the two pools.

John 5:2 NLT

2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.

What we find here is simply an accurate historical description of the pool from an eye witness. No other religious text in history has been subjected to the scrutiny of the Bible. And I would wager no other would stand the test of time as the Bible Has. We can be confident that the Bible we are reading is historically reliable. This is important because on of the contentions of earlier historians was that the Bible cannot be trusted because it is not even historically reliable. Another accusation was that the Bible mentioned a people named Hittites, but there hadn’t been any evidence found of Hittites so the Bible was wrong, until the Hittites were discovered now you can study this ancient civilization. Time and again the Bible proves historically true. So strike the argument that we cannot trust the Bible because it is not historical. Does that mean if it is historically true that the teachings of the Bible are true as well?

Some say no the Bible has been mistranslated. Look at this passage in your own Bible.

Grab Desktop text comparison.png

Notice vs 4 is gone.

John 5:4 NKJV

4 For 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.

Who erased a verse from my Bible? The better question is who added it? This piece of writing is easily seen not to be from the original text. How do we know this? “Well I’ll tell you...” We have been discovering bits and pieces of the Greek NT for over 1000 years. Let me oversimplify this for the sake of time. We have manuscripts of the NT going back to 95AD. One such early manuscript is called the Codex Siniaticus which we know is from 300- 400AD. This is one of the earliest manuscripts and most reliable that we have of the full NT. In the book of John we notice in this manuscript and most other early manuscripts that vs 4 was not there. The vs 4 didn’t show up until after 500AD sometime. What most likely occurred was a marginal note got added as a verse over time somewhere. This is the textual tradition which the KJV is based upon but since 1611 when the KJV was translated into english we have found manuscripts like Sinaiticus which predate the texts KJV was based on. This vs also stands out in it’s use of language, it is as if a jr high student copied and pasted a wikipedia sentence into their paper as if it were their own.

Notice a couple things this doesn’t change anything about Jesus, this doesn’t change anything about the overall story. It is simply an addition from history which we can leave behind due to it’s later inclusion and different words. It is important to point out that the Bible is true historically, and has not been mistranslated down through the centuries. We still have greek manuscripts from 400AD!

So having said all that because it is important to understand these things we get to the point.

Would you like to get well?

Video introduction - tell em what they are going to see and then show them. Rhetorical question. Can you relate to the guy in the video.

VIDEO - ex leper

Jesus can Heal.

1-6 - Jesus reaches out to the helpless - I came for those who know they are sick.

Matthew 9:10–13 NLT

10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” 12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

7 - 9 - Excuses are like…we all have one. Rehearsed line this was his job.

Mark05 -and here

Jesus doesn’t condemn just heals. Jesus didn’t heal everyone. The tension of faith - God has not created a magical rite by which He.

Galatians 4:13–14 NLT

13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

2 Corinthians 12:6–10 NLT

6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Faith is to trust God not your assumptions about how the world should be. You are invited to be part of a bigger story than you can take in all at once and the end is you are like Christ.

Stand up pick your Mat and walk. - he did it.

Jesus claims to be God - I am always working

10 -13 - 39 categories of Sabbath regulations

Field Work:

Sowing, Plowing, Reaping, Binding Sheaves, Threshing,Winnowing

Selecting Grinding Sifting Kneading Baking

Making Material Curtains:

Shearing Wool Cleaning Combing Dyeing Spinning Stretching the Threads

Making Loops Weaving Threads Separating the Threads Tying a Knot

Untying a Knot Sewing Tearing

Making Leather Curtains:

Trapping Slaughtering Skinning Tanning Smoothing Ruling Lines Cutting

Making the Beams of the Mishkan:

Writing Erasing

The Putting up and Taking down of the Mishkan:

Building Breaking Down

The Mishkan's Final Touches:

Extinguishing a Fire Kindling a Fire Striking the Final Hammer Blow Carrying

Jesus commands this guy to carry!

But what about God? Does He get to work on the Sabbath?

The consensus amongst the rabbis, too, was that God works on the Sabbath, for otherwise providence itself would weekly go into abeyance. About the end of the first century, four eminent rabbis (Rabban Gamaliel II, R. Joshua, R. Eleazar b. Azariah, and R. Akiba) discussed the point, and concluded that although God works constantly, he cannot rightly be charged with violating the Sabbath law, since (1) the entire universe is his domain (Is. 6:3), and therefore he never carries anything outside it; (2) otherwise put, God fills the whole world (Je. 23:24); and in any case (3) God lifts nothing to a height greater than his own stature (Exodus Rabbah 30:9; cf. Genesis Rabbah 11:10).

Whether he breaks the Sabbath or not, God works continuously: all were agreed on that point. -Carson, D. A.

Jesus confirms and says my father is always working, and so am I.

He didn’t know who healed him!? (GRACE)

They wanted to kill him.

Jesus confronts sin.

Here Jesus looks up throughout history - at all of us. This man’s true poverty was not material it was slavery to sin. Jesus is able to deliver.

Jesus is about healing every person from their true malady - SIN!

Sin is actions, attitude, nature, and omission.

Story of conversation??time.

John 5:14 NLT

14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”

Now you are well stop sinning This seems to imply that the mans condition had something to do with his own.

Jesus teaches there is something worse than the disabled mans condition

Sin leads to death. Jesus delivers from sin, first then invites us to walk in freedom. Freedom is knowing God and his will.

1 Corinthians 11:23–32 NLT

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

Jesus can make us well because he is God, listen to him.

14 Now you are well stop sinning - salvation is to be made whole then one can begin to work for Jesus.

We are saved by grace through faith, it is not a work. Faith is evidenced in work but is not a work.

Jesus heals this man who could care less, because Jesus cares more than we can imagine. The good news is not that sin is now overlooked, no sin had a great price which Jesus paid. Jesus did not go to the cross and pay that terrible price to enable us to forget about Him and live in sin. Jesus continues to confront sin in our lives.

By the Spirit

John 16:8–9 NLT

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.

Romans 8:13–14 NLT

13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

By the word

James 1:22–24 NLT

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

Romans 10:17 NLT

17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

By our community.

Hebrews 10:24–25 NLT

24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

God is in the business of forgiving our sin, which is ultimately healing and deliverance from the true problem we face. I invite you today to receive again the grace of God, to allow the loving father to give you His presence his forgiveness, his Son’s perfect righteousness and this is all by faith.

John 5:14 NLT

14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”