THE MAN AT THE POOL
John 5:1-18
This third of the miracles recorded in John’s Gospel finds a place there, as it would appear, . . . because it is the occasion for that great utterance of our Lord about His Sonship and His divine working as the Father also works, which occupies the whole of the rest of the chapter, and is the foundation of much which follows in the Gospel. [Maclaren]
THE MAN’S SITUATION
1 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 and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie - the blind, the lame, the paralysed. {(Av only) – 4 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.}
It is not certain which of the ‘Feasts’ this was, but the male Jews were required by Law to go to Jerusalem three times a year;
Exodus 34:23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. [NIV]
It was while fulfilling this requirement that the Lord Jesus was confronted with this needy man requirement.
THE MAN’S REQUIREMENT
HE WAS IN NEED OF HEALING
Imagine the scene. He had been sick for 38 years, and came to the pool hoping for healing.
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?"
HE WAS IN NEED OF HELP
He looked for help to those in like circumstances! Each one looked to their own needs.
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.
HE WAS IN NEED OF HOPE
His physical limitation was hindering him, and he saw some of the others were having their needs met;
While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
Jesus saw the man, and knowing that he was long thus, prompts the desire of healing, but brings out the despondency of unbelief. How truly it is man under law! Not only is there no healing to be extracted from the law by a sinner, but the law makes more evident the disease, if it does not also aggravate the symptoms. The law works no deliverance; it puts a man in chains, prison, darkness, and under condemnation; it renders him . . . incompetent to avail himself of the displays of God’s goodness. [W Kelly]
JESUS RESPONSE
The words that Jesus said are easy to say, as we shall see, we can all say words like that, but do our words have the same kind of power? Let us remember who Jesus was, and still is – the Son of God. One word from Him and the man was able to rise up! There was
A WORD OF COMMAND
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
And take note that the cure was immediate! It certainly was
A WELCOME CURE
But action is required. He needed to get up, pick up the mat, and act out his healing!
9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
This reminds me of the ‘Ten Lepers’ who were healed by Jesus;
Luke 17:14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
They had to act out their faith, just as this man did, and just as we need to do!
Let me warn you – that obeying Jesus will not please everybody! Others may well attempt to find something wrong with what has happened. In this case, no one could disprove the healing, and instead of rejoicing with the man, the people criticise because the healing took place on the Sabbath! Here we have a
A WORRYING CIRCUMSTANCE
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
I believe it is vitally important for us to have a right understanding regarding the Sabbath. The Lord requires us to set the Sabbath apart for Him, and make a special time when we can shut out the distractions of the world around us, and set our minds on the things of the Lord. The words of the Lord Jesus are
Mark 2:27-28 He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
Make the day special for the Lord!
Now I want you to take notice of the way the Jewish Leaders reacted to this wonderful miracle. The man is released from his years of suffering, and they complain, unjustly, on the basis of an incorrect understanding of God’s heart for man. Notice
THE LEADERS’ RESPONSE
Instead of seeing the power, they saw the problem, they had
THE LEGALISTIC MINDS
10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat".
What they said might have been quite correct, but they failed to see that the One who had given the Law they were speaking about, was the same One who told the man to pick up his mat! We need to watch lest we are caught in this same legalistic trap!
It appears that the man who was healed did not really understand what had happened, and so tried to ‘shift the blame! Notice what he said,
11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’"
He had a problem with his thinking!
THE ESCAPIST MENTALITY
He did not dispute his healing, but did not know how to handle the situation, and perhaps he had reason to be careful. It seems to me that when they questioned him, there was a hidden agenda in the answers they looked for.
See the next verse for
THE DOUBLE MEANING
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.
We see later that they really wanted to kill Jesus! These were the very people who were claiming to uphold the Law! (You must not carry your mat, but it’s alright for us to commit murder!)
THE MAN’S RESPONSE
THANKFUL
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."
It is good to see him going to the Temple, and we presume it was to express his thanks to God for his healing, but even meeting Jesus did not really change him! He still held fast to his traditional beliefs and reported to the religious leaders.
CLINGING TO WHAT HE KNEW
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.
I find this to be so sad, for he had come face to face with the Son of God, been touched by the Son of God, found release and liberty yet did not realise who Jesus was! We must realise that there are many people who know many things about Jesus, but they do not know the thrill of salvation.
THE JEWS REACTION
We need to be careful in our judgement, as the man was following his leaders! We need to take particular note that because of what Jesus stated, the Jews tried to find a way to kill him! There was a
WRONG REACTION
17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him;
It will help us to understand more about Jesus, and who He really is, if we read this scripture, I give it in the Message version,
John 14:10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act. [Message]
If only they could have understood who Jesus was! But they
REFUSED TO RECOGNISE
. . . not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Please, always keep an open heart and mind towards the things of God, but ensure they are founded on the Word of God. This is vital, as we are all required to make our own response.
OUR RESPONSE
The Apostle John makes it very clear that there was a special purpose in his record of the life and works of the Lord Jesus, and in his choosing to record the seven miracles he lists in his book; the first reason was that we might believe who Jesus is!
John 20:31 These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
The main emphasis all through his gospel is to show that Jesus is the Son of God. Each of the recorded miracles reveals this in some way.
There was a second reason for this record, it was that might know and believe, and in believing, find life!
and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John was selective in his record, he was also purposeful. His purpose was to share the truth about Jesus.
What will we do now? Will we be like the man in this account and go to church? He went to the Temple but didn’t know the Lord. Will we cling to some religious teaching we were brought up with and simply be religious, without salvation? Or will we accept Jesus as the Son of God, and trust Him for our salvation? Paul says,
Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me
