John 5:1 After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, “Bethesda”, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; 4 for an angel went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. 5 A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.”
9a Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked.
What are you waiting for?
Are you waiting for something wonderful to happen in your life?
In Jerusalem, Jesus met a sick man. Many assume that the man was paralyzed because he could not enter the pool unassisted. He had been there for thirty-eight years waiting for someone to help him into the sheep gate pool. He had been waiting to be miraculously healed. Upon meeting the man Jesus asked him a question which cut to the heart of the matter. “Do you want to be made well?” To be healed would mean that the man’s whole life would immediately change. For thirty-eight years he had been wholly dependent on others to meet his needs. To be healed would mean that his life would radically change. He would have to take responsibility for himself.
Years ago, I asked an elderly uncle, “What was the happiest day of your life?” I expected him to say something like the day he returned home from the war or the day he was married. Instead he said it was the day he had a heart attack and was able to retire from his job as a machinist. He explained that after his heart attack, although he was relatively young, he qualified for both government and company-funded disability payments. He did not want to be made well.
There are many people in the world who complain about their health, their poverty, their inability to work, or other circumstances, but in truth they are like my uncle. They have grown very comfortable with their circumstances. They use their circumstances as an excuse, expecting and even demanding that others offer them assistance and handouts.
Jesus asks the man if he is ready for radical change. In a follow-up conversation Jesus warns the man to change his life, saying, “Sin no more.”
When the paralytic asked Jesus to help him get into the pool he had no idea that he was speaking to his Creator. Jesus answered his request by commanding him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.” The mats at that time were usually made of woven reeds. So the man rolled up his mat and for the first time in decades, having been completely healed, took up his mat and walked.
Was everyone overjoyed with this miracle?
John 5:9b Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat and walk’?”
13 But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
A paralyzed man who had been longing to be healed for thirty-eight years had just been miraculously healed and all the religious leaders could say to him was, “It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.” They should have been amazed and praised God for the miracle but instead they were blinded by their legalism. Rather than understanding, teaching, and following God’s law, the perfect law that the Creator had given mankind so that they could flourish, the Pharisees and lawyers had burdened the people by adding man-made additions to the Fourth Commandment – Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God… Exodus 20:8-11
Instead of communicating comfort and compassion the religious leaders outlawed compassion and instilled fear in the people. Their grip on the people was so great, that when the man was confronted by the leaders for carrying his bed, he instinctively shifted the blame. He said, in effect, “Hey, don’t blame me, it wasn’t my idea, he who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk’ what was I supposed to do?”
Just like the man in this story encountered many false teachers, today counterfeit Christian cults are filled with legalistic religious leaders, who, like the Pharisees of old, have burdened their people with laws not found in God’s Word. God’s laws bring freedom. Man’s laws are burdens. Rather than rejoicing and praising God for his faithfulness they hold people in their grip with fear.
Jesus, who was just as concerned about the man’s spiritual health as his physical health, sought him out. When he found the man that he had healed he sternly warned him, “Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
The Scriptures are very clear, just as good parents discipline their children, there are times when God disciplines his children. Hebrews 12:6 Like Christ warned the man, if we ignore the warning of God and continue in our sins, God may escalate the discipline. However, we must be careful here. That does not mean that all illnesses are a result of sin. It is never wrong to ask yourself if your illness could be a result of God’s discipline, but don’t fall into the trap of immediately jumping to that conclusion. The Bible never teaches that there is necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between sin and illness.
John 5:15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
It would seem that the man’s fear of reprisal from the establishment leaders was so great that, rather than praising and glorifying God for his healing, he immediately reported back to the Jews that Jesus had healed him.
By Christ’s very public action of defying the Pharisees’ restrictive and useless man-made laws, Jesus demonstrated that he was a threat to their power and authority.
The Jews … sought to kill him.
How did Jesus respond to threats against his life?