The Surprised Crippled Man - John 5:1-15 (2)
Gospel of John (2020) • Sermon • Submitted
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The Surprised Crippled Man
John 5:1-15
©Copyright November 15, 2020 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
People who truly meet Jesus (as opposed to simply encountering formal religion) are changed forever. That will be seen clearly as we move to the story of a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. We find the story at the beginning of John 5.
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!
Before we get into the actual healing there are some interesting facts. The Sheep Gate was a small opening in the north wall of the temple. The sheep were washed in the pool before being taken to the sanctuary. It was essential they be clean and unblemished. This pool was also the place where invalids lay in hopes of being healed.
For a long time people claimed there was no such pool in the Temple area. They don’t say that any longer. Dr. Boice shares the story,
There was a time when critics of the Gospel were giving the book a very late dating and were arguing in part on the basis of this reference that the author of the Gospel did not really know what Jerusalem was like in Christ’s time. They said no one had ever heard of a pool by this name and, besides, no one has ever even uncovered a five-sided pool from antiquity. Now, however, the name “Beth Eshatain” has emerged from the copper scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. It gives us the name Bethesda. And what is even more important, the pool itself has been found. Actually, the pool of Bethesda (now known as the pool of St. Anne) is two twin pools each surrounded by colonnades. Thus, there are five collonades—four of which surround the pools and one that divides them.
In the New Living Translation and other modern translations verse 4 is omitted from the text. That verse said, “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” (KJV) The oldest manuscripts do not have the verse in there. This is not an attempt to “edit” the Bible, it is an attempt to “get it right.” It is possible someone added these words as an explanation for why these people were all lying there. In other words, what is written may be accurate, it is, however, likely not what John wrote.
It is staggering to think about the many things people will turn to (other than God) to help them solve problems: drugs, material indulgences, and gimmicks. Even in Christian circles we turn to magic formula prayers, “blessed” items, and other gimmicks to get what we want. We aren’t any different from this man who was hoping he would, in a sense, “win the lottery”. When Jesus met him, He had won nothing.
THE HEALING
This is an interesting account because the man does not ask for healing! Jesus approached Him! There were lots of sick people sitting around the pool looking for a miracle. Why did Jesus pick this guy? Is he the only one around the pool Jesus healed? If so, why again?
The answer is: we don’t know. Was it because Jesus saw the man’s desperate situation? Did He know this man was nearly out of hope? Again, we can only guess. The Bible says,
God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?
35 And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back? (Romans 11:33-35)
Yes, this man was selected by Jesus. It raises many questions, but it should provoke another in us: “Why did He choose us?” “Why did the Lord lead US to faith?” It is humbling and staggering to ponder. The Lord sees our need and for a reason beyond our comprehension, He chose to heal and remake us. Our only response should be that of gratitude and wonder.
It is interesting what Jesus asked the man: “Would you like to get well?” It is a simple question and it would seem there is an obvious answer. However, the man doesn’t answer the question, he in a sense blames other people for why he is not healed!
How often we do the same thing! The Lord wants to do something in our lives, and we have a long list of why it is impossible. He simply asks, “Do you want to be well? Do you want to be forgiven and made new?”
Jesus did not debate the issue with the man. He simply said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Then we read, “Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!”
Don’t miss this! He had not walked for 38 years! His muscles had atrophied. Yet he got up and started walking IMMEDIATELY. It was a remarkable thing that happened.
The Sabbath Question
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.
From our perspective we read this and think it is crazy that this man is accused of working on the Sabbath (in that day, the Sabbath was Saturday; after the resurrection, the church changed it to Sunday). The Pharisees considered themselves to be the keepers of the law of Moses. To safeguard the law, the Pharisees came up with many more laws that were designed to make the command to "Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy" clear and easy to understand.
If the Pharisees were doing this today they would undoubtedly have Laws such as,
· You should go to church on Sunday
· You can't watch football
· You can plant flowers as long as you are not transporting dirt
· You may not mow the lawn, but you can cook on the grill
You get the idea. The focus was on how to obey the Law instead of focusing on the purpose of the law. Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man; not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God gave us the Sabbath to enrich and protect us rather than to enslave us.
The purpose of the Sabbath is 1) to teach us to rest (in Him) 2) to realign our lives with His 3) to worship and honor the Lord. If you never take a day off; if you never stop and simply sit before the Lord in worship and attentive listening; your life will be out of balance. When our life is out of balance, we miss the beautiful thing God intended life to be. We are stressed, worn out, and we find we no longer have time for God . . . so we drift.
The problem is not that the observance of the Sabbath is wrong. The problem was these teachers were missing the point entirely! This man who had been in prison for 38 years in his own non-functioning body, had been set free! It was a glorious day. Rather than celebrate the miracle, they were concerned that he was carrying his mat!
People continually fall into the habit of trying to earn their salvation. We hope if we obey all the rules, we will find favor with God. The better, and Christian understanding is: When we accept the free gift of God's grace apart from works, we are motivated to serve God graciously and enthusiastically. In other words, the Pharisees had things in the wrong order which was actually a perversion of God's truth. They were "missing the forest because of the trees."
When this man said, "The man who healed me . . . " you would have thought this would have changed the focus of the conversation. Instead of focusing on the greatness of the healing, these leaders were preoccupied with a violation of their (not God's) law . . . the very law that was supposed to open them up to the work of God in their lives!! Do you see the irony? Their preoccupation with their laws actually kept them from noticing the work of God in this man's life!
They wanted to know the name of the healer. They needed to stop this guy! Afterall, you can't have people going around healing people who have been crippled for 38 years!
Something Worse
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.”
This seems like an odd passage doesn't it? Jesus found this guy in the Temple (we don't know how much later this was) and seemed to give him a warning. Jesus told the man to stop sinning or something worse would happen to him. Here's the question: was Jesus saying his lameness was the result of a particular sin, or that there is something worse than being lame . . . and that is to spend eternity outside of God's mercy and grace. What Jesus calling this man to an even greater opportunity to be healed? The healing of his very soul?
Of course, all pain and hardship is the result of sin. God did not make us to have diseases and other problems. However, when sin entered the world; when Adam and Eve listened to the advice of Satan instead of obey the command of God; that which was perfect became defiled. It was like cancer was introduced to the human race and has been causing havoc ever since that time.
When we get to Heaven all these diseases will be wiped out along with purging sin and Satan from our lives. In the meantime, we do not know whether these "sin cancer cells" will lie dormant for a while or whether they will attack with a vengeance. Sometimes we facilitate the growth of these cells by the choices we make and sometimes they seem to strike for no reason.
Sometimes we seem to sin with the belief that there are no consequences to our sinful behavior. The point is: there are ALWAYS consequences to our sinful behavior! Some are immediate, some are delayed, some are passed down to those who come behind us. Sin is no little thing. It creates a wedge in our relationship with God and it robs us of the joy-filled living God wants us to have.
So, did the guy listen? It doesn't seem like it, does it? After he talked to Jesus, instead of seeking forgiveness through repentance, he went back to the leaders to tell them it was Jesus who had healed him. Instead of gratitude, this man seems to have tried to "throw Jesus under the bus."
We are staggered by such a callous disregard for this great gift Jesus gave to this man. But are we any different? Don't we tend to grab His blessings and then deny Him in the things we do, say, and sometimes don't say? We welcome God's gifts and blessings as long as He doesn't ask us to change our lives in any way. We are fine with Him making our lives better as long as we don’t have to actually live as if He is our King and Savior.
Life Lessons
First, we are reminded of the power of the Lord to address ANY need in our life. We are never beyond the reach of what He can do or heal.
· He can heal any physical problem
· He can rescue us from any addiction
· He can remove the scars from abusive relationships
· He can meet financial needs
· He can restore even the most despicable sinner
· He can bring a child to the family who is barren
· He can provide a home to the child who has been discarded
· He can restore a fractured relationship
· He can bring peace to a troubled mind
Sometimes He does it quickly, sometimes He waits until we stand before Him personally. This much is sure: He is able to address the deepest needs of our lives. I don't know why the timing varies. His ways are more profound than ours. His delays are purposeful. His decisions are always right. Don't stop believing in Him. Don't stop praying.
Second, we should not let temporal problems or victories overshadow the more significant spiritual problems. The man's lameness was a big deal but his spiritual lostness is an even bigger deal. We seem to feel if life is going well, we have nothing to be concerned about. The greater problem is ALWAYS the spiritual one. You can be miraculously healed and still end up in Hell! All of these miracles are designed to do the same thing . . . they are given so we will know that Jesus is the true Savior who was promised by God. Miracles were not an end in themselves - they were meant to be a means to an end. They were meant to show Jesus is who He said He is and as such we should come to Him in humility with a desire for repentance and new life.
C.S. Lewis wrote,
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses
We are saved by an undeserved mercy. The lame man did not seek out Jesus. Jesus went to Him! We are not extended God's grace because we are deserving. We are given grace because He is loving. We should never presume upon His mercy. We should never swell with pride because we are saved, and others are not. We have not been blessed because we are better than others. We are saved because for some reason God has extended His kindness to us. We should live our lives as the most grateful people ever. We should move forward in humility with a desire to serve and honor Him with our obedience . . . not in an attempt to earn His favor, but out of gratitude FOR His favor.
Finally, we should be cautioned by the religious leaders of Jesus' day. We must be careful that we do not miss the blessing of God because we continue to insist on playing God! We must not set up barriers when we should be trying to clear away barriers. We must be careful about designing rules that suit our preference rather than His Word. We must never be so concerned for getting people in line for God, that we miss God ourselves.
God does not need our help! He does not need us to be His police force. He does need us to announce to ALL PEOPLE that He is the true and living God who would like nothing more than to make them a part of His family. He has given us the incredible honor of telling others about the grace and mercy of God as displayed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. What a great and honorable job we have been given.
So where are you in the story? Are you a Pharisee watching others to make sure they are not having any fun? Like the hall monitor waiting for someone to step out of line so you can turn them in? Or maybe you are like the man sitting by the pool, discouraged by life, feeling things will never get better and blaming everyone else for your problems? Perhaps you are one who had been blessed in many ways and you feel it is because you deserve it. I hope instead you are someone who has been transformed by God's grace. It may have resulted in a big change in your life or a series of subtle changes. Either way you realize just how blessed you are. You are humbled by His grace. Overwhelmed by a love you know you don't deserve. And you consider it an honor to serve the Lord with the rest of your life. Rather than hard and calloused, you are becoming soft and grateful.
I'd like to know what happened to that lame man. Did He end up following Jesus and now celebrates with Him in Heaven or did He take it all for granted grateful that someone finally helped Him? Did he sadly discover that which is worse than any suffering in this world? We don't know what happened.
The greater question for us is this: What has happened and is happening to you because Jesus entered your life?