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Pool Watchers John
5:1-5:15
You know, one of the most difficult situations you
face as a child is to be picked last. I remember the summer between 3rd
and 4th grade. I grew a whole foot in 3 months and to say the least I
was a little awkward that fall when we began a new school. Every day at
recess we would line up to pick football or basketball or soccer or
baseball teams. There would be two captains and all the best and popular
kids would be picked, then the girls, then well that was when the
teacher would say, “Now children, we can’t start until someone picks
Jeremy.” It was horrendous.
It even happened when we got older. I remember my Freshman year at
college, I was 6 foot 4 and weighed 150 pounds soaking wet. We were
playing a pickup game of basket ball, and I was picked last. That hadn’t
happened to me in a while, and I was very disappointed. In fact, it made
me so mad, that was the only game I have ever dunked a basketball in and
I did it five times.
Do you like to be chosen? Sure, you do. When you are picked, it’s
special. In today’s passage, we discover a person that for 38 years had
been never picked, until Jesus came along.
But before we go on let’s look back at the firs 4 chapters real quick:
in chapters 1-4 John establishes Jesus as the Messiah. He purposely
tells us of specific events that point to Jesus as the promised Messiah.
John the Baptist announces Jesus as the Lamb of God.
Jesus does his first miracle of turning water into wine.
Then He has a discussion on spiritual birth with Nicodemus.
Following that, Jesus breaks down all kinds of walls by speaking to a
Samaritan woman and revealing that He already knows her quite well.
By sharing these events, John is demonstrating to us how different Jesus
is from everyone else.
But now the mood changes…
In John 5, conflict with the leadership begins to grow. Beginning with
this chapter, we begin to trace a growing rejection of Jesus’ actions
and His claims. As we continue into the following chapters, we will
eventually see that it becomes a hateful opposition.
As Jesus’ ministry grows, there is a constant clarification that goes on
to those around Him. Since what He is doing is so different and out of
the ordinary, questions are naturally being asked about who He is and
what He is about. This is important for us as well. It is important to
understand Jesus as He is. As Jesus comes and deals with this invalid,
our understanding of Jesus increases, because it gives us insight on How
Jesus will deal with us.
In the Peanuts comic strip, we find Snoopy thinking to himself:
"Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be
a dog. There’s so little hope for advancement.”
The man at the pool condition is hopeless. There is no hope for
advancement. It will never get better.
Read verses 1-7
You notice that in some of your Bibles verse 4 is missing.
This is because it is not in the oldest manuscripts that we have of the
New Testament. It seems to be an addition that was scribbled on the side
of a manuscript, but later was moved from the side and into the text
itself, which the King James Version included, but most recent
translations do not.
But what is included in verse 4 is helpful information to us because it
describes a legend of the time of Jesus. There was a local belief that
the waters of Bethesda had healing powers, that every so often, an angel
would stir the waters. When this happened, the first one into the water
was healed. This is the background to this text which is helpful to
understand the conversation that is between Jesus and this man.
One thing that I want you to note here is that in the midst of many who
are sick, Jesus chooses and challenges one.
There are many people at Bethesda. But Jesus takes time to focus on one.
He is one that has been an invalid for 38 years. He has lost the use of
the muscles in his legs, apparently experiencing some kind of paralysis.
It sounds like something like multiple sclerosis.
Jesus evaluates the man’s condition. And asks, “Do you want to get
well?” That sounds like an absurd question. Of course this man wanted to
get well! You wouldn’t ask a starving man, "Do you want food?" would
you?
But actually, it was a very valid question, there are people who, if
given an opportunity for healing, might actually choose to remain sick.
Right now they’re free of some unpleasant responsibilities, & they get
sympathy by complaining about their sickness. They can manipulate people
by being sick, or punish themselves if they feel guilty.
So when Jesus asked, "Do you want to get well?" He seems to be saying,
"You have friends who bring you here, & you’ve developed friendships
with others who come here regularly. If I heal you, your life will do a
complete reversal. You’ll be expected to get a job & relate to people on
a different basis. Are you ready for that change? Do you really want to
get well?"
That’s a question we may need to answer, as well. What do you want? The
first step to gaining something is to want it.
Drs. Minirth & Meyer have written a book about overcoming depression
entitled "Happiness Is a Choice." They wrote, "As psychiatrists, we
cringe whenever Christian patients use the words, `I can’t’ & `I’ve
tried.’ Any good psychiatrist knows that `I can’t’ & `I’ve tried’ are
merely lame excuses. We insist that our patients stop saying `can’t’ &
say `won’t’ instead."
"They need to see what they are really doing, so we make them face up to
it by saying, `I just won’t get along with my wife.’ `My husband & I
won’t communicate.’ `I won’t discipline my kids the way I should.’ `I
won’t find time to pray.’ `I won’t stop gossiping.’ When they change
their "can’ts" to "won’ts" they stop avoiding the truth & start facing
reality."
The man in turn shares his disappointment with Jesus. He can’t get into
the water. Every time the water bubbles up, no one helps him to the
pool. So who gets in first and is healed? It’s the one with minor
ailments like ingrown toenails and psoriasis. He just lays at the side
of the pool disappointed over and over. It all seemed so hopeless.
The interesting thing here is that Jesus’ agenda is much different than
this man’s. For Jesus has no intention of getting that man into that
pool. Instead, He wants to get him away from the pool forever.
Let’s continue with verses 8-9
Do you notice what Jesus does here? Jesus commands the impossible. He
says, “Get up!”
Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had been unable to use my legs for
38 years, I would have some doubts about my abilities to accomplish such
a task. Get up? “I can’t!” “I have been unable to walk for 38 years.”
But Jesus says in effect, “You can, because I say so.”
But the command to get up is not the only command, because Jesus takes
it a step farther by removing the possibility of relapse. He says, “Get
up and take up your bed!”
You know why Jesus says that? He says it because they are not coming
back. He is not leaving his bed at that pool because He is not coming
back to the pool. It was time to move on.
You see Jesus expects continued success. “Get up and take up your bed
and walk!” His time of being carried is over. He is to keep going. It is
time to walk. And I like how John describes this. He was cured. He got
up, picked up his mat, and he walked. Jesus didn’t make a big production
out of it. In fact, it seems to happen very quietly and privately. Yet,
there is no doubt, it has happened.
Have you ever noticed that laws sometimes stay on the books a little too
long?
"In Pennsylvania, the penalty for cursing is a forty-cent fine. However,
if God is mentioned in the curse, the fine is sixty-seven cents."
"It is unlawful for goldfish to ride on a Seattle, Washington bus unless
they lie still."
"Michigan law requires the taking a census of bees every winter."
"An old Hollywood, California, ordinance forbids driving more than two
thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time."
"A Minnesota law requires that men’s and women’s underwear not be hung
on the same clothesline at the same time."
"In Joliet, Illinois, women are not allowed to try on more than six
dresses in one store."
Well, a law that has been on the books for too long comes into the text.
Read verses 10-15
The opposition begins when law becomes more important than mercy.
Simply, it was against Jewish law for this man to carry his mat on the
Sabbath. This was not something that God had said, but something that
had developed through the tradition of the rabbis through the years.
They had just about everything covered.
Let me read a few Jewish laws for you today
On the Sabbath a man may borrow of his fellow jars of wine or jars of
oil, provided that he does not say to him, ‘Lend me them’ (Shab. 23:1).
This would imply a transaction, and a transaction might involve writing,
and writing was forbidden.
‘If a man put out the lamp (on the night of the Sabbath) from fear of
the Gentiles or of thieves or of an evil spirit, or to suffer one that
was sick to sleep, he is not guilty; (but if he did it with a mind) to
spare the lamp or to spare the oil or to spare the wick, he is guilty’ (Shab.
2:5).
The attitude to healing on the Sabbath is illustrated by a curious
provision that a man may not put vinegar on his teeth to alleviate
toothache. But he may take vinegar with his food in the ordinary course
of affairs, and the Rabbis philosophically concluded, ‘if he is healed
he is healed’ (Shab. l4:4).
You can imagine the consternation of these men when they found out that
this former invalid has been ordered to pick up his mat and walk. It was
a direct violation of their law. “What? Somebody healed you? Who is it?”
“Who told you to disobey the regulations?”
The interesting thing here is that the man has no idea. He had simply
followed the command of Jesus without finding out His name. The text
tells us that Jesus had just slipped away.
Isn’t it fascinating that what should have been a time of celebration
becomes a time of skepticism instead? There has been a healing! A party
should have broken out. God was at work in their midst. Instead they are
worried about the rules. Their rules have been broken.
I like what the former invalid does next. He knows that when God has
worked in your life, it is time to worship. He goes to the right place.
The Jewish leaders may not be celebrating, but the man knows where to go
and what to do. It is time to praise God. He was once broken. Now he is
healed.
Well, the man was in the right place, because it is there he meets up
with Jesus again. Because Jesus is not done with him yet. Jesus draws
attention to the man’s new condition.
He reminds him that he has been made whole. But it is so much more. It
is more than a physical healing. He has been put right with God. So
Jesus gives him another command. “Stop sinning!” “Don’t mess up.” “Don’t
sin anymore.” You see, he was forgiven, washed and cleansed. He was new
and whole. And he could stay that way.
You know, when we come to church, it is easy to only see the surface of
what is going on. People are wearing their best clothes and have their
best smiles. Everybody looks happy. It is easy to assume everything is
okay. But if we are willing to look deeper, we might realize that our
pews are filled with hurting and broken people—people that need the
wholeness only God can offer.
Among us are families where the income does not match the outgo—they are
soon going to be out of money.
There are also families that face stress day after day—it is the
survival of the dysfunctional as nobody does anything right and no one
is loved.
Another has a sickness and has not told anyone—he or she is bearing the
burden alone at the moment.
Another couple had another nasty fight—and each wonders how long the
relationship can continue the way it is.
Others are finding the stress of being laid off almost unbearable.
Another person struggles with a personal sin to which they are so
attracted that they don’t think they will ever get away from it.
Some of our youth feel like they have been put on the rack, pulled in
both directions. Parents and church pull one way; peers and glands pull
the other.
The brokenness is all over the place: a lousy grade, an unresponsive
spouse, a boring job…the stories go on and on.
The church is full of the lonely, the dying, the discouraged, the
addicted, and the exhausted. And we discover that no one is immune to
the pains of cursed humanity. But there is an answer.
JESUS GIVES WHOLENESS.
It is the answer that the man in this story discovered when Jesus chose
him. Jesus wants us to experience wholeness. And He can give it to us,
not because we deserve it, but because in His grace, He desires to give
it. You see when Jesus looks at us, He does not see the fragment—He sees
the whole. He does not just give consideration to our body. No, His
concern is so much bigger. His real concern is our soul.
Jesus will only settle for our possibilities and not what we lack. Jesus
did not give up on the man when he said he could not walk. No, He saw
the possibility. He could walk.
And Jesus sees the same for us as well. For without Jesus in our lives,
we are helpless invalids in a cruel and unfair world. We are spiritually
blind. We are emotionally lame. We are morally paralyzed. But Jesus
would have us rise up from our place of failure, inability and despair.
He would have us take up and move away from that place. He would have us
walk in the newness of life. For us, this means that it is time to get
up and walk. For there is wholeness waiting for us.
Today let Jesus give you wholeness…desire the difference that Jesus can
make in your life; He comes to choose you and challenge you to be a
receiver of His grace. Be determined to follow his instructions; for
when He says to “get up, move out and walk,” we can do it by His
strength. And dedicate yourself to be used by Him; offer yourself in
worship and then watch the difference He makes.
Let’s close today with Pauls admonition to the church at Ephesus and the
New Hope Church of Christ found in Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for
ever and ever! Amen.
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