THE MIRACLE AT THE POOL

JOHN 5:1-15

          After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.

          A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.

          Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." But he answered them, "he who made me well was the one who said to me, "Pick up your pallet and walk." They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk?" But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well (NASB).

INTRODUCTION

          A story is told of an acrobat who dazzled his audience with many wonderful displays. This acrobat could ride a bicycle on a long suspended rope. He walked on the rope with a bucket of water on his head and the audience would applaud. He could even ride the bicycle with his head on the seat and his legs in mid-air and the crowd would cheer and applaud. Then the acrobat asked a pertinent question. He asked the audience, "Do you believe that I can put a person on my shoulder and walk him/her across this rope?" The audience responded, yes, we believe. Then, he pointed to one young man in the audience to come and sit on his shoulder and he would walk him across the Niagara Falls. The guy said, "Are you calling me to sit on your shoulder to cross this Falls?" The acrobat said, yes.

          The young man said, no way. This is the way it is with many people today when it comes to believing in Jesus Christ. They say, "We believe he is the Son of God. He is the Savior of the world. He is the resurrection and the life" He is the great Teacher. He is the miracle working Lord then Jesus says to them, "Come to Me." Then they become silent.

          I. THE EXPERIENCE AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA (VV. 1-5)

          Jesus went to Jerusalem because of a feast of the Jews. Since Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel and also the center of worship, many religious people went there during the Jewish festivities. As you know the Temple of Solomon was located in Jerusalem. We do not know the actual fest, which Jesus attended in Jerusalem because the text does not tell us. In Jerusalem by the sheep gate there was a pool called in Hebrew "Bethesda." The word "Bethesda" means, "House of Mercy." But Jesus found it the house of misery to many. This pool had five porticoes or colonnades. In these colonnades or porticoes lay people who were sick, blind, lame, and withered. There were all kinds of physically ill people there. They were there for the moving of the waters. Obviously, there was a belief that at certain times an angel of the Lord went and stirred up the water and whoever would step in the water first was healed. At this very pool lay a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. This does not imply that the man had lain there for thirty-eight years. There was someone who carried him from home to Bethesda for many pears hoping that he might get healed.

          II. A PERTINENT QUESTION FROM THE MESSIAH VV. 6-9

          When Jesus saw the lame man, He knew that he had been disabled for a long time. Jesus always has compassion for people; especially those that are beaten down by all kinds of suffering. Jesus asked the man, "Do you wish to get well?" Jesus' question to the man may sound strange or ludicrous, or even out of place to some of you. But having suffered for so long and unable to step in the water by himself, perhaps he had given up hope. There are many people who when confronted with insurmountable problems easily give up all hope. The response the man gave to Jesus' question even had the ring of hopelessness to it. He said, "I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and if I try another person gets in my way and goes before me." can you imagine how frustrating this might be to the man? Sometimes we don't understand those who are suffering physically because we do not empathize with them. We often do not take time to help those who are suffering physically because we don't put ourselves in their shoes. This man had lost hope because he had no one to put him in the water. At the man's statement of hopelessness, Jesus issues a command to him. Jesus uses a threefold command. Jesus says, "Arise, take up your pallet and walk." All the three verbs (arise, take, and walk) are imperatives; they are commands from Jesus to the man. The first command is "arise." Do the thing you are unable to do, because I say so. The reason many people do not experience the power of God in their lives is that they doubt what Jesus tells them in His word. Obviously, this man could not stand but Jesus said, arise. Second, Jesus says to this man, "Take up your pallet." The word "pallet" means a mat. This mat could be rolled up and carried on the shoulder. It was handy like the mats we have in Africa. Jesus is saying to this man make no provision to stay here any longer. Do not make this place your permanent home. Third, Jesus commanded him to walk. Jesus is saying, "Do not expect to be carried." This was the command of Omnipotence, and His commands are His enabling. Immediately the man was healed. This man's healing was instant. Jesus did not take the man's hand to help him get up on his feet. Jesus did not pick his mat for him. These were things the man could not do by himself before he met Jesus.

          Jesus is willing to meet you at the point of your need, but He wants you to exercise your faith in Him. God will answer your prayer for a job opportunity but don't lie on your bed and expect the employer to call you. Send in the resume and follow it up. Go out and look for the job and God will touch the employer's heart to hire you. Don't pray to God to help you pass your exam while you neglect studying your textbooks. God is Omnipotent. He is all powerful in doing what He wants to do, hut He requires human cooperation. Jesus will not do anything against your will. That is why He asked the man, "Do you want to be well?" Jesus is asking you the same question today, "Do you want to be well?" "Do you want your needs met today?"

          The miracles that Jesus performs including this one reveal the God who cares. God cares so much about the condition of the poor, marginalized, outcasts, and broken humanity that He comes in person to be our Rescuer and our Savior. Jesus did not come only to the heal illnesses and diseases; He came also to rescue us from the bondage of sin and the stronghold of Satan. He did this by dying on the cross for our sins. The miracles attested to His divine nature. The miracles are pictures of what Jesus offers to do in the human heart. For example, His opening of the eyes of the blind Bartimaus is a picture of a new vision he gives to those who come to Him. The healing of the lame man in this passage is a picture of the new power Jesus makes available to those who put their lives in His hands.

         

          III. AN ENCOUNTER WITH CRITICS VV. 9B-10

          This miraculous healing took place on the Sabbath day. This man perhaps out of joy and excitement was singing, jumping, shouting, and praising the Lord. All along he was carrying his pallet on his shoulder. But what he was doing was not pleasing to some Jewish legalists. They told him, "Don't you know that today is a Sabbath day and you are not expected to carry your bed?" Whenever the Lord Jesus Christ sets you free, there is an enemy who is ready to take it away from your freedom. When the Lord gives you joy, the devil does everything to steal that joy from you. If you are a Christian and cannot rejoice when a person is saved by the Lord Jesus Christ then, something is wrong with you. These legalistic Jews could not rejoice with the lame man who had been lame for so many years. All that they were concerned was about their man-made Sabbath laws. These Jews were spiritually blind. If you are a new Christian, I want you to be forewarned, because to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I want you to be forewarned because in rejoicing of the liberty you have received in Christ, some Christians would be the first to criticize or discourage you. I like the way the man answered his critics. He said, "He who made me well said to me, take up your bed and walk." This man was telling the critics what had happened to him. He was giving his testimony. In a sense he was saying, I could not walk but a man said to me take up your bed and walk and now I am walking. The man was saying, "This was what I was unable to do until I met this man. The man was saying, 'I am not traveling as you may think.' I was paralyzed but now I am healed." I could not even stand up; somebody had to help me to my feet all the time, but now I can stand up. I could not walk but now I am walking, hallelujah, glory be to God. Even today many people who are physically challenged need a special word of healing from the Master Physician. There are others who are emotionally and spiritually ill that need a word of healing from the lips of Jesus but they would not come to Him.

          It is so sad that people rush to the doctor's office when there is a wake of illness or infection. Yet, the same people have turned down the invitation from the Great and Ultimate Physician with their sin-sickness. However, the truth is that when a medical doctor gives treatment sometimes the illness recurs or there is relapse, but when Jesus heals it is permanent; it is complete.

          In verse 12, the critics inquired from the man the identity of the person who healed him. They were not satisfied with the answer of the man who had been healed. These people are not inquiring because they are grateful to Jesus for healing of the man. They are inquiring because they want to find a way to bring a false charge against Jesus so that they can persecute Him. They are asking because they want to find fault with Jesus. There are people who delight in human suffering but are very critical of human wholeness. They want to call every human healing into question. They delight in human misery. Do I have a witness?       

          In verse 13 the man did not know who it was because Jesus had withdrawn. There were multitudes of people in Jerusalem who had come to celebrate this feast. Therefore, you could imagine the number of people who were on the streets of Jerusalem. However, Jesus found this man at the temple. Do you see what I see? For the past thirty-eight years this man had not set foot at the temple. The sick, blind, lepers, lame, prostitutes, and tax collectors were not allowed to enter the Temple. They were barred from the Temple because they were regarded as "sinners." Probably tears were welling down this man's cheeks when he saw Jesus, because for the past thirty-eight years this was the first time he could mingle with able-bodied people. Now he could go wherever he wanted to go; now he could go to the Temple to worship

          IV. A WARNING AGAINST SIN VV. 14-15

          When Jesus saw him, He said, 'Look at you, you have been made well.' Jesus was rejoicing with him. See the contrast between Jesus and the religious people who saw him carrying his bed. The Jews were critical at him, but Jesus had compassion on him. The Jews reproached him, but Jesus rejoiced with him. The Jews were furious at him, but Jesus was friendly to him. There is a striking and clear difference between the character of Jesus and every other person who walks the face of this earth. Jesus said to the man, you have been made well. This implied that the man did not heal himself. He did not do anything to deserve this healing. He was not the source of the healing. Evidently, the man's healing came from Jesus Christ. Then Jesus commands him to stop sinning. In other words, his physical condition was the consequence of a continuous sin. The physical illness was the result of moral malady. Jesus is compassionate, loving, and forgiving, but He also demands human responsibility and repentance. Jesus was saying to the man, "Don't play with sin, lest something worse than your previous lameness comes upon you." While I believe that not all human illnesses are the result of sin, I believe that some are. Some people are ill because of sin (1 Cor. 11:29-31). For instance, some people are insane because of the use of illegal drugs. Some people are sick physically because of the excessive use of alcohol. Some people are suffering from aids because of sexual promiscuity. The list is endless. However, there are others who suffer physical maladies because we live in a fallen world of suffering. These people are ill not because of any fault of their own. The good news is that Jesus has come to bring healing to a broken world. That is what salvation means. Salvation is God's wholeness to you and me. It is God's rescue at every level of our need. God is reconciling broken humanity to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. There are all kinds of broken people who need the healing of Jesus today. These people can be put back together by Jesus Christ. Some people have been sexually molested who need to be healed emotionally, physically, and spiritually by Jesus.

          There are some of us who have fragmented personalities who need to be made whole by Jesus. There are those who have broken relationships who need to be healed by Jesus today. Some too are walking in the darkness that need to come to Jesus, who is the Light of the world. Jesus' first statement to this man was, "Do you want to be well?" It is the same question to you today. Jesus is asking you the same question today, "Do you want to be well?" Jesus calling some of you to salvation. Jesus is ready to save you. To some of you Jesus is calling you to mend some broken relationships. He wants you to do away with the hatred and bitterness in your heart. He wants you to do away with the pride in your heart. To some of you Jesus is telling you to ask someone you have offended for forgiveness. To some of you Jesus is telling to you rededicate your life to Him because you have lost your first love. Perhaps you have reverted to your old way of life.

          The religious people were critical of Jesus because they forgot that God had no Sabbath were sin and misery are found. In this text, we see that there is a vital connection between sin and suffering. Jesus said to him, "Behold you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may befall you." We are not told of the gravity of the man's previous sin. However, because of the omniscience of Christ He knew exactly what it was and the man was conscious of it as well. Cured from his physical disease, he must be cured of his spiritual disease. "Rise up and walk," "Sin no more." Jesus granted him power, and then pardon. Therefore, this man went his way to be well in soul as well as body. Jesus is asking you today, "Do you want to be well?"