Jesus at the Pool

Well, before we jump into God's Word, I just want to wish all of you mothers a happy Mother's Day.

Hopefully you get a chance to connect with your children today, and that it's a great day for you.

Let's pray as we go to the Word of God.

Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for your Word.

Thank you that you have spoken to us,

and that in these moments we have the opportunity to hear from you, God.

We ask that you'd open our hearts, open our minds, enable us to hear, enable us to see what we need to see and hear from you.

I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, have you ever wondered what it would be like if Jesus were to go to the local swimming pool?

That's exactly where we find Jesus today in the story which John tells.

John chapter 5, verse 1.

John 5:1

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

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.

To be fair, a trip to the pool in Jesus' day would be very different from a trip to the pool in our day.

Massive cultural differences.

This was a totally different time as well.

You can imagine in that part of the world, in the Middle East, and in that day, people didn't have running water.

They didn't have plumbing in their houses.

And so the local pool, that was a place to go and cool off, rinse off, drew a lot of people.

It was a bit of a social hub in the community.

We don't really know exactly what it was like for Jewish people of Jesus' day,

where they act like full-blown swimming in the pool or what.

We don't know.

Some people think that the lower part of this pool here in Jerusalem,

they actually found some of the remains of it north of the Temple Mount,

that that part of the pool was used for ritual washing or bathing.

We don't know for sure.

But this is where we find Jesus.

He's back in Jerusalem.

He's at the pool.

And what does Jesus see there?

Well, John tells us in verse 3 that here at the pool, a great number of disabled people used to lie.

The blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years.

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?

Sir, the invalid replied,

I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.

While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.

Then Jesus said to him,

Get up.

Pick up your mat and walk.

At once, the man was cured.

He picked up his mat and walked.

So here's Jesus at the pool and he does another amazing miracle.

He's at the pool and John tells us that a great number of disabled people used to lie there.

That word disabled, it's more generally a term for sickness or ill,

but refers usually to people who have some kind of really serious debilitating condition or sickness.

He gives examples.

People like the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

Now, why are these kinds of people at the pool?

Well, John tells us, it kind of comes out in verses 7 and verse 4.

In verse 7, we kind of hear it a little bit in what the man says.

He says to Jesus,

Jesus asked him,

Do you want to get well?

And the man says,

Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.

While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.

The sense that we get from that is that,

Well, I'm trying to be healed,

but I can't get down into the water before,

after the water is stirred because somebody else gets down in there first.

So what's going on here?

What's with this whole healing from going into the water after the water is stirred?

Verse 4 gives us an answer to that question.

But depending on the translation that you're using in English,

you may not have a verse 4 in your Bible.

In my Bible, it just goes straight from verse 3 to verse 5.

So why is that?

What's going on here?

Well, there's a short answer to that and a long answer.

And if you have more questions or thoughts,

wonderings about why there's a whole verse missing in your Bible,

I'd be happy to chat with you anytime.

Feel free to give me a call.

The short answer is that today,

because of modern-day archaeological discoveries,

we actually have older and more accurate manuscripts

or copies of the New Testament writings available to us

than they did with the first English translation of the Bible,

the King James in 1611.

And so those old manuscripts that we found,

they don't have verse 4 in them.

They just go straight from 3 into 5.

So probably what took place is that somewhere along the lines,

as people were reading John's account,

they were wondering,

well, what's this business about needing to get into the pool first

in order to be healed?

And so somewhere along the line,

somebody added in verse 4 to explain it.

It's kind of probably a parenthetical comment.

Verse 4 says this,

that the people who were there,

the disabled or the sick,

the blind,

the lame,

the paralyzed,

they were waiting for the moving of the waters.

From time to time,

verse 4,

an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters.

The first one into the pool after each such disturbance

would be cured of whatever disease they had.

So because it probably wasn't in the original writing of John,

we don't know for sure if it's true.

It's possible that people really were healed,

and if they were,

then for sure we would give the glory and the credit for that to God.

And it's also possible that that was the prevailing thought or attitude or idea

that there is more of a religious superstition,

that,

hey,

this pool has magical healing properties,

and occasionally from some kind of natural thing,

it's probably a spring-fed pool or fed from some kind of moving water source,

it would get stirred up,

and people thought that you could be healed from it.

At least this man thinks that way.

Either way,

this man thinks that way.

And so he's trying to get into the pool.

Jesus asks him,

do you want to get well?

I'm trying.

I've been trying to do it,

but I can't.

All my attempts have failed.

Every time I try to get in there,

somebody beats me in,

and they get the healing,

and I miss out.

Who is this man?

Let's consider for a moment just who this man is.

Verse 5.

One who was lying,

one who was there had been an invalid for 38 years.

When Jesus saw him lying there

and learned that,

or knew that he had been in this condition for a long time,

he asked him,

do you want to get well?

So,

we're not told exactly what this man's condition was.

We assume,

just from what's said,

that it was some kind of a paralysis.

For whatever reason,

or whatever condition he had,

he wasn't able to walk.

He'd lost the use of his legs,

and so there he was lying on his mat.

And John tells us that he had been,

he had had this condition for 38 years.

Now, that's a long time.

It's half the average lifespan of a Canadian citizen.

Think of that.

The last 38 years of your life

lived in a wheelchair.

This is significant.

This man has been through a lot.

Notice that it's Jesus who initiates with him.

In verse 6,

when Jesus saw him lying there

and knew that he had been in this condition for a long time,

he asked him,

do you want to get well?

So, Jesus comes to him

and starts the conversation.

The man basically says,

I'm trying.

I've been doing what I can

to get into the water and be healed,

but all my attempts have failed.

Jesus, we imagine,

is looking right at him.

In verse 8, he says,

get up,

pick up your mat,

and walk.

At once,

the man was cured.

He picked up his mat

and walked.

Wow.

This is amazing.

To give you a bit of a picture,

I mean, just imagine

what this would be like

in modern day terms.

There you are,

you're at the hospital,

you've been there for two weeks,

you're in one of those rooms

that has two beds,

you're in one bed

and there's another guy

in the other bed,

he's been there

as long as you've been there,

and every day,

multiple times a day,

you've watched

as he presses the button

and a nurse comes in

and lifts his legs

out of the bed

and kind of slides him over

into a wheelchair

to help him get over

to use the bathroom

or to go for a little stroll

down the hall.

And then one day,

a stranger walks into the room

and says to this man

lying in the bed,

do you want to get well?

Well, I have,

I've been trying,

I'm doing everything I can.

Get up.

Get out of the bed.

Can you imagine

how shocked you would be

if in that moment

he just stood up

and started walking around?

This is amazing

for anybody

who knew this man

or who was a regular

at the pool

and saw this man

from time to time.

Can you imagine

the looks on their faces

as Jesus says,

get up.

And this man stands up

and begins walking around.

Amazing.

Well, that's not

the end of the story.

It goes on in verse 9.

John tells us,

the day on which

this took place

was a Sabbath.

And so the Jewish leaders

said to the man

who had been healed,

it is the Sabbath.

The law forbids you

to carry your mat.

But he replied,

the man who made me well

said to me,

pick up your mat

and walk.

So they asked him,

who is this fellow

who told you

to pick it up

and walk?

The man who was healed

had no idea

who it was.

For Jesus had slipped away

into the crowd

that was there.

So John tells us

that all of this,

this healing,

happened on a Sabbath.

And you can just imagine

this poor man,

I mean,

he's having one of the best

days of his life.

And then all of a sudden,

it's kind of squelched.

He gets,

in a sense,

pulled over

by the religious leaders.

Today is the Sabbath day.

What are you doing?

Carrying your mat

on the Sabbath day.

That's against the law.

Now we probably should reflect a little bit on that.

The Sabbath,

according to God's command,

was a day that they were to take

as a special day,

a day of rest

from all their regular work.

God gave that command

God gave that command

to Moses.

And it was for the Israelites.

But since then,

rabbis and teachers

had kind of added in

a whole bunch of,

we could call them sub-commands,

or a little bit of a framework

of various commands

and laws

that would help

that if you kept them,

it would keep you

from breaking the big one

of the Sabbath.

And so they had come up

with a system of,

or a classification system

of 39 different kinds of work

that you could not do

on the Sabbath.

And if you did these things,

it was considered

to be breaking the law

of the Sabbath.

Not treating the Sabbath day

as holy.

And one of those kinds of work

was carrying something

from one location to another.

Amazingly,

they applied this

not just to,

you know,

obviously kind of

work-related things,

but even to small things.

According to one

modern-day Jewish website,

this is Orthodox Jewish belief,

even carrying a key

or a handkerchief

outside of your home

is considered work

and breaking the Sabbath law

of carrying,

which prohibits carrying.

And this kind of legalism

is applied

even today

by Orthodox Jews

to a whole manner of things.

I mean,

it's considered work

to write on a piece of paper

on the Sabbath.

It's considered work

to activate

an electronic device

of any kind

or turn it off

on the Sabbath.

That's the modern-day equivalent

of kindling a fire

or extinguishing a fire,

which is considered work.

Even something as simple

as tearing

a strip of toilet paper

on the Sabbath

is considered work

by some of the most

strict or stringent

Orthodox Jews.

And so this is a big deal

for this man

who's carrying his mat.

He gets pulled over

by the religious leaders

and essentially

charged

with breaking the law.

And what does the man do?

He kind of deflects

a little bit.

He says,

the man who made me well

said to me,

pick up your mat

and walk.

I'm just doing

what the guy

who healed me

told me to do.

And it seems

that his tactic works

because the next question

that comes from

the religious leaders

is,

well,

who is this fellow

who told you

to pick it up

and walk?

And I think

even the way

it's phrased,

they're not so interested

in who is it

that healed you.

They're interested in

who is it

that told you

to carry your mat,

to pick it up

and carry it

on the Sabbath day.

We want to know

his name.

I mean,

that's encouraging

someone to break

the law.

And ironically,

the man who was healed

has no idea

who it was.

He didn't even know

Jesus' name.

It says he had just,

Jesus had slipped away

into the crowd

after he was healed.

Well,

later in verse 14,

Jesus found this man

who had been healed

at the temple

and said to him,

See,

you are well again.

Stop sinning

or something worse

may happen to you.

The man went away

and told the Jewish leaders

that it was Jesus

who had made him well.

So this is kind of

the end of the story.

Jesus runs into this guy

again at the temple.

And this time he has

some very different

kinds of words for him.

See,

you are well again.

You've been healed.

You've received this amazing

gift of God's grace.

Now stop sinning

or something worse

may happen to you.

We'll come back

to that in a moment.

What does the man do?

It says the man went away

and he told the Jewish leaders

that it was Jesus

who had made him well.

That's probably

not the response

that we are expecting.

If we think back

to the royal official

last Sunday

after his son

had been healed,

he and his whole

household,

his whole family

believed in Jesus.

Like,

the real kind

of true faith.

But this man,

even though he has just

been healed miraculously,

miraculously,

it seems as though

he goes back

to the Jewish leaders

and kind of reports

who it was

that had made him well,

but also who it was

that had told him

that he should

break the law.

Not the kind of

grateful response

that we're expecting

to see here.

Well, what are we

supposed to see

in all of this?

Well, there's lots here,

but as we've been doing

throughout this series,

we want to take

a few minutes

just to focus in

on what we see

of the glory

of Jesus.

This is part of

why John is writing,

that we would see

how Jesus

is glorious,

how he is full

of God's grace,

full of God's truth.

How do we see

that here?

Well, I think

the first

and most obvious

way that we see

Jesus' glory

is in the

miraculous power

which he

brings to bear

upon this man.

This is an amazing

healing.

I mean, think of this.

38 years

this man has been

unable to walk.

He's been lying

on his mat

or in the bed.

Think of what

needs to happen

in his legs

for him

to go from that,

38 years of not

using them,

to standing up

and walking

around.

If you've ever

had any kind

of surgery

on your knee

or your hip,

then you know

that it can take

weeks of physio

to regain

the strength

and the range

of motion

in order to be

able to walk.

Yet Jesus

takes him

from not being

able to walk,

not having used

his legs

for almost

40 years,

to instantly

being able

to walk

just in a moment.

It's amazing.

Jesus doesn't

lay his hands

on him.

Jesus doesn't

even utter

any kind

of formula

or pronunciation.

He simply

tells him

to get up

in some moment

in there

between Jesus

saying get up

and him

actually trying

to,

his body

is instantly

cured.

This is amazing.

This is something

that only God

can do.

And it's evidence

that Jesus

is the Son

of God.

The second way

that we see

the glory

of Jesus

here

pertains

to grace.

We see

that Jesus

is full of grace

in this account.

We see it

in the fact

that he heals

the man.

He gives him

a gracious

gift of God.

We see it

in the fact

that Jesus

initiates

all of this

in the first

place

with the man.

Especially

when we think

of last Sunday.

This man

didn't come

to Jesus.

He didn't

ask Jesus

to do anything

for him.

He didn't

even know

who Jesus

was.

And before

any of that

Jesus

heals him

on the spot.

Jesus

initiates

this whole

thing with

him.

Why?

We read

a little

bit in

verse 6

of why.

When Jesus

saw him

lying there

and knew

that he

had been

in this

condition

for a long

time,

he asked

him,

do you

want to

get well?

The sense

that we see

there is

that Jesus

was moved

with compassion.

The kindness

and love

in his heart

just welled

up inside

him as

he saw

the man

lying

there on

his mat

and knew

that he'd

been there

for a long

time in

that state,

in that

condition.

The grace

of God

is seen,

the grace

of Jesus

is seen

in how

he's the

one who

makes the

first move

in all

of this

and offers

this precious

gift to

the man.

we also

see kind

of the

other side

of grace,

the mercy

of Jesus

here.

Jesus

knows that

this man

has not

been living

a life

that pleases

God.

He says

as much

in verse

14,

see you

are well

again,

stop

sinning,

sin no

longer,

which implies

that he has

been living

a sinful

life.

Jesus

knows that.

Not only

that,

but I

think he

probably

knows too

that this

man leaves

and goes

to report

to the

religious

leaders

to tell

on him

in a

sense.

He seems

very much

ungrateful

for the

gift of

God that

he has

received.

And yet

knowing all

of that,

it didn't

stop Jesus

from

healing him

and from

giving him

this gracious

gift of

God.

It's a

good reminder

to us of

what grace

really means.

By definition,

grace is

unmerited

favor.

It's

kindness

or favor

from God

that is,

it doesn't

come because

it's earned.

It doesn't

come as an

obligation.

it's

something that

he offers

out of

his own

free will

and love

and kindness

and desire

to help,

to bless.

And we

certainly see

that with

this man.

Despite

his

character,

despite

his sin,

Jesus

shows

him

mercy.

He

gives

him

that

which

he

does

not

deserve,

which he

has done

nothing to

merit or

earn,

this amazing

gift of

healing.

We also

see that

Jesus is

full of

truth.

How do

we see

that here?

Well,

probably the

easiest place

to see that

is in

verse 14.

Jesus says

those choice

words to

him.

See,

you are

well again.

Stop

sinning

or something

worse may

happen to

you.

Now,

those words,

they don't

sound very

nice.

We'll just

put it that

way.

They're not

the kind

of words

that you

want to

hear from

anyone.

But these

words come

a little

differently

on the lips

of Jesus

because of

who he

is.

He's not

just some

self-righteous

religious

leader

passing

judgment

with this

comment.

No,

Jesus,

as John

has been

telling us,

is the

Son of

God.

He is

God

himself

who has

become

flesh

and is

now

walking

among

us.

And he

knows

what's

going on

inside

people.

He knew

it with

Nathanael,

he knew

it with

the Jews

that he

had

encountered

earlier

at the

Passover

in Jerusalem

last time

he was

here.

He knew

what was

going on

inside

Nicodemus.

He knew

the past

of the

Samaritan

woman.

He knew

the thoughts

and hearts

of the

crowd

that he

was talking

with last

Sunday

when the

royal official

came in

Cana.

He knows

what's going

on in

this man's

life

as only

God can

know.

And so

these words

take on a

whole new

level of

meaning.

When he

looks this

man in

the eye

and says

stop

sinning.

Sin no

longer.

I know

how you've

been living.

And you

need to

turn away

from those

sinful

attitudes and

behaviors.

You've been

made well.

Now don't

take that

gift of

God and

use it

to do

more sin.

or something

worse may

happen to

you.

He says

I don't

think this

is a

self-righteous

threat.

I think

this is

a gracious

warning.

Jesus is

full of

truth and

he brings

the truth

not that

this man

probably

wants to

hear but

the truth

that he

needs to

hear.

Don't

think that

you can

play games

with God.

don't

think that

you can

now take

God's

grace and

go and

live however

you want

and who

cares about

him and

what he

has said,

what he

has commanded,

what he

says is

right and

wrong.

Jesus

doesn't

treat this

man as

just a

helpless

victim of

his

circumstances

who because

of all

that he's

been through

has these

ways that

he's acting

out in

these

behaviors but

he's not

really guilty.

He's had a

tough past.

No,

Jesus

basically

treats it.

You're

responsible for

your own

actions,

for how

you're

living and

you must

turn away

from sin.

You must

stop sinning

or else

something worse

may happen

to you.

I think

we should

hear in

that not

an empty

threat but

a serious

word of

warning from

God.

God.

It's

here that

I think

this passage

there's more

than one

place but

especially

speaks to

us today.

I felt

challenged by

this myself.

Do I

take God's

grace for

granted?

Am I

happy to

accept the

good gifts

of God

God?

But not

so eager

or excited

to obey

the commands

that he

has given

to do

what he

has told

me is

right and

to not

do what

he has

told me

is wrong?

Do we

take God's

grace for

granted?

We'll see

this throughout

the gospel

of John.

God's

grace and

his truth

come to

us together.

When Jesus

speaks both

are there

grace and

truth.

Wonderful

words of

life but

also words

that bring

conviction

of sin.

And it's

easy to

want the

one.

But we

are to

accept God's

gift of

grace by

faith by

believing in

his son and

also accept

his words of

warning and

his words which

bring conviction

of sin.

Jesus is not

just here to

tell us the

good news of

what God

has done

for us and

what he

will do

for us.

He is

also here

to recalibrate

our hearts

and our

thinking back

to a

proper reverence

and fear

of God as

we should

have.

I'm reminded

of those words

spoken through

the prophet

Isaiah about

Jesus.

A shoot will

come up from

the stump of

Jesse.

From his

roots a

branch will

bear fruit.

The spirit of

the Lord will

rest on him

and it

goes on and

then it

comes down

and says in

verse 3 and

he will

delight in

the fear

of the

Lord.

Oh we see

that here.

We see

that Jesus

is saying

something which

should strike

fear into

the heart

of this

man.

A good,

a right,

a proper

fear.

Stop

sinning.

you've

been made

well.

Stop

sinning

or something

worse may

happen to

you.

Grace

and truth.

And so I

just want to

leave us with

that question

and encourage

us to

reflect

and to

ask the

Lord,

what are

those places

in my life,

ways,

behaviors,

habits,

patterns,

attitudes,

perhaps where

I've been

taking your

grace for

granted,

where I've

been thinking

of those

things,

those that

I know

are sin

or wrong

as,

oh they're

no big

deal.

I'm good,

I'm a

Christian,

I believe

in Jesus,

I'll have

your favor,

but don't

tell me

that I

need to

change.

Of course

it's only

the Lord

who can

really show

each one

of us

in our

hearts,

in our

lives,

what those

things are,

but I'd

encourage you

this week

to take

time to

pray about

that,

to think

about that.

Do we

realize

just who

Jesus is?

Do you

know that

Jesus has

come,

not just

to fix

your immediate

problems,

but to make

you well

in the

ultimate

sense,

to give

you life,

to bring

you back

into a

right and

proper,

good kind

of fear,

love

relationship

with God,

the God

who made

you,

and who

loves you?

Do you

believe that

he is the

son of

God?

I hope

you do,

and I

hope that

you will

hear his

words and

respond to

them in

whatever ways

he leads

you to

today and

in the

week ahead.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven,

thank you so

much for

these words.

They are

serious words,

but they

are words

of life.

They are

words of

grace,

and we

need them.

Lord, we

ask that

you would

convict us

of our

sin

again.

Remind us

of those

ways where

we have

blown it.

But even

as we pray

that, we

thank you

that you

sent your

son to

be the

atoning

sacrifice,

the lamb

that we

needed so

that we

could be

forgiven and

cleansed of

all of our

sins against

you once

and for

all.

And so

it's with

joy that

we ask you

to do your

good work

of cleansing,

of searching,

of exposing

in our

hearts.

And we

thank you

that one

day we

will be

made

perfect.

perfect.

And we

will receive

the gift

of life,

those of

us who

believe in

your name.

We say

all this

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.