Do You Want to Get Well?

We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church.

This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church.

Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org.

This is a reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 5, verses 1-30.

John 5:1–30

Sometime 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 Bethsaida, and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.

Here 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 am 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.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.

And so the Jewish leader 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.

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.

The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.

In his defense, Jesus said to them, My father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.

For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him.

Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus gave them this answer, Very truly I tell you, the son can do nothing by himself.

He can do only what he sees his father doing, because whatever the father does, the son also does.

For the father loves the son and shows him all he does.

Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.

For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son gives life to those whom he is pleased to give it.

Moreover, the father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the son, that all may honor the son just as they honor the father.

Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him.

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.

Very truly I tell you, a time is coming, and has now come, when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, and those who hear will live.

For the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself.

And he has given him authority to judge, because he is the son of man.

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice, and come out.

Those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

By myself I can do nothing.

I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself, but him who sent me.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Good morning, Christ Church.

I wonder if you've seen the new billboards around town.

I just saw them this past week.

I don't know how long they've been up, but the billboard says this.

It says, the pandemic has taken a toll on all of us.

Let's reset together.

Now all Berkeley residents can download the Headspace and My Strength apps for free.

Help at hand, ca.org slash Berkeley.

Berkeley Wellness for All.

Have you seen that billboard?

There's a bunch of them around town.

And I'm really pleased about this initiative.

It started over the past three months, I think.

I'm really pleased to see that the New York Times has increased their reporting over the last month or so

about the need to pivot our attention to the mental health and social well-being crisis,

particularly among our kids and our adolescents.

I imagine many of us are longing for this reset, thinking, you know, my mental health and my social well-being could probably be improved a little bit.

Is that just me or do you feel that way?

Okay.

We want to be a spiritually and emotionally healthy church, and that's why we're working to create times and spaces like Wonderful Wednesdays,

where our kids and our youth can come together in belonging and meaningful, life-giving relationships,

where our adults have the opportunities on a regular basis to share dinner and discussions and be encouraged and challenged in our faith.

So I just want to urge you to find that place, whether it's Wonderful Wednesdays or a community group or both,

where you can be a part of this caring, present community, this family of faith that we have here at Christ Church.

If you struggle with depression and anxiety, welcome to the club.

And if you are needing to work on an addiction or need a relationship tune-up, you are not alone.

We have many caregivers in this community.

We have a list of counselors that we could refer you to.

We have a deacon fund that could help you get to counseling.

We really are committed.

I think that billboard's right.

We need a reset.

It's taken its toll, and we want to work on this together as a community.

But that said, mental health apps are good, but they have their limits.

And individuals and groups and the church and caregivers and counselors and pastors, it's all good,

but they're extremely limited in what they can do for us.

But I'd like to say this morning that Jesus is unlimited.

Jesus is unlimited in his ability to meet us at our point of need.

And what's interesting to me is that Jesus habitually healed sick and hurting people.

In fact, one-fifth of all the material in the four Gospels is concerned with the healing of physical diseases,

which includes maladies and afflictions not only of the body but of the mind and of the spirit.

Jesus, in his healings, he's putting people back into their right mind.

He's putting people back into right and healthy relationships with their families and their communities.

He's putting people, most importantly, back into a right relationship with their creator God.

And so whatever your needs are that you're bringing today, I hope that you'll be thinking about that,

that Jesus is unlimited in his ability to meet our needs.

And as we dive into this story in John chapter 5, I want to point out that Jesus makes shocking claims.

John 5 · chapter mention

He heals the helpless and he shows us how to walk free.

That's where we're going to go.

That Jesus makes shocking claims, heals the helpless, and shows us how to walk free.

First of all, Jesus makes some shocking claims.

When you're studying a historical person, it's really important to listen to the reports

of their supporters and their detractors and to really hear how people are understanding the character

of this historical figure.

How did they act with their deeds?

What did they say with their words?

And this healing is a clear example of how people were interpreting Jesus

and his astonishing works and claims.

Jesus here performs an act of God.

He does what only God could do.

He creates in this invalid the capacity and the strength to get up and walk off.

And only the creator can restore his decaying and dying creation.

So it's astonishing and therefore it needs some explaining.

And that's what Jesus does in verse 17.

In his defense, Jesus said to them,

This guy had been an invalid for 38 years.

Jesus could have waited another 24 hours to heal him.

So why does he choose to heal on the Sabbath day?

Why does he choose to heal on the day that the creator God called holy and blessed?

Well, the rabbis agreed that God did not practice the Sabbath,

that God worked ceaselessly to sustain and restore his creation moment by moment,

so that if the sun didn't come up, you wouldn't get up and the whole world would collapse.

But as we know, on the Sabbath, you know, babies are still born and the rain falls and people die.

God is at work on the Sabbath.

And though God preaches the Sabbath for us and for our good,

he does not practice what he preaches because he doesn't need it.

God is all sufficient.

And so Jesus is provocative in his choice of this day on which to do his work of healing.

What does Jesus' implicit claim that he makes explicit in verse 17?

He's saying, you know, like the creator God, I don't need a Sabbath either.

For on this day, I continue to preserve and to renew the universe just as my father does.

You're not dealing with a mere mortal who keeps the Sabbath.

You're dealing with the God who doesn't.

I'm on the different side of the line than you are.

I'm with my father and we never stop working to restore our creation.

Now, what's the rule for historical investigation?

It is to see how do the people understand this person in context.

And the people around Jesus have no doubt about what he's claiming.

In verse 18,

In their minds, it's right to put Jesus to death if he, as a mere mortal, is claiming to be equal with God.

Now, buckle up and hold on tight because Jesus uses this opportunity

to launch into a little sermonette about his authority

where he gets even more explicit about his identity, about who he is.

And he says in verse 19,

Very truly, I tell you, the son can do nothing by himself.

He can do only what he sees his father doing

because whatever the father does, the son also does.

For the father loves the son and shows him all he does.

Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these

so that you will be amazed.

The son is the perfect revelation of God

so that what God does in heaven, the son does on earth

so that when you see Jesus, you see God.

That's what he just said.

Jesus goes further in verse 21.

For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life,

even so the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

Only God can give life to those who are physically and spiritually dead.

And Jesus says, I too share in that creative, life-giving power.

Verse 22.

Moreover, the father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the son.

Now, it would be ridiculous if I came and said,

Hey, guess what?

I have the right and the authority to judge all humanity.

You would laugh at me because you know I can barely, like, tie my shoes.

I can barely love my family, love my friends, love my church,

much less have the justice to judge all humanity.

We know that that's only God's job.

And Jesus says, Well, God, guess what?

He gave that job to me.

He goes on.

Verse 23.

If you don't honor Jesus for what he just said he is,

as the life giver and the judgment giver,

then you're not honoring God at all.

But if Jesus has this kind of power and this kind of authority

to do these kind of things,

then we should render to him all the honor he deserves

and all the obedience he requires.

Now do we understand all the hostility toward Jesus.

Now do we understand why it is they wanted to kill him.

This is a great quote from a book called God on the Dock

by a professor at Oxford and Cambridge named C.S. Lewis.

And the chapter is, What are we to make of Jesus Christ?

He says this,

If you had gone to Buddha and asked him,

Are you the son of Brahma?

He would have said,

My son, you are still in the veil of illusion.

If you had gone to Socrates and asked,

Are you Zeus?

He would have laughed at you.

If you had gone to Muhammad and asked,

Are you Allah?

He would have first rent his clothes

and then cut your head off.

If you had asked Confucius,

Are you heaven?

I think he would have probably replied,

Remarks which are not in accordance with nature

are in bad taste.

The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said

is out of the question.

In my opinion,

the only person who can say that sort of thing

is either God or a complete lunatic

suffering from that form of delusion

which undermines the whole mind of man.

We may note in passing that he was never regarded

as a mere moral teacher.

He did not produce that kind of effect

on any of the people who actually met him.

He produced mainly three effects,

hatred, terror, adoration.

There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.

This story tells us that it's very easy

to not look at what we don't want to see

and that it's very common to ignore the evidence

that's staring us in the face

because it's extremely demanding if it's true.

Notice how these people respond to the healing in verse 10.

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?

This man has been lying here for 38 years.

He's just been healed.

He jumps up,

presumably leaping around out of his mind with joy.

And what is the question he's asked?

Why are you carrying your mat?

Now there's a simple answer to that question.

That is,

If you're healed,

then you're inclined to do everything

that the healer tells you to do, right?

If you,

if somebody gives me life

to my basically good as dead self,

then I'm bound to do whatever it is

they tell me to do.

But for these skeptics,

they turn a blind eye.

They don't want to look in the direction

of the evidence.

The healed invalid calls Jesus

the man who made me well,

but the skeptics call Jesus

the man who told you to pick up your mat.

That's selecting the evidence we like

and ignoring the evidence we don't like.

For how can we focus

on the minor mat-carrying second fact

and ignore the major life-changing first fact

that this paralytic is leaping for joy?

You can only make such comments

if you've determined a priori

that you're not going to look at the evidence

and recognize what's just happened.

And so that's the question for us

and for everybody really is,

what about you?

What do you make of Jesus?

What do you make of his shocking claims?

What do you,

what viewpoint do you take?

Do you see Jesus as a mere mortal

who makes claims he has no business making

and cannot back them up?

Or do you see him as one,

self-described in verse 21,

as one who gives life

to whom he's pleased to give it?

And that's something we have to wrestle with

if you're exploring Christianity.

You have to wrestle with

these shocking claims

that Jesus makes.

But Jesus not only makes shocking claims,

he heals the helpless.

He not only makes shocking claims,

he backs them up

by healing the helpless.

And I want to turn our attention

to the story in verse 3.

It says that Jesus came to Jerusalem

and when he got there,

he went to this particular place

where there was a great number

of disabled people

who used to lie,

the blind,

the lame,

and the paralyzed.

Jesus moves not toward the privileged,

but toward the paralyzed.

And we can imagine the misery

of this pitiful crowd

of broken, desperate people

that are half dead.

They're the living dead.

Paraplegics, as you might know,

have no bladder or bowel control.

So you can imagine the refuse,

the filth,

and the stench of this place

where Jesus decides to go.

And he gets there in verse 5

and it says that one who was there

had been an invalid for 38 years.

Been there a long time.

Before Jesus was born,

this guy was there.

38 years ago,

I was five years old.

Right?

38 years ago,

some of you only existed

in the mind of God.

It's a long time

for your muscles

and your legs

to waste away

and your limbs

to become

totally not useful.

He has no capacity to walk,

no strength,

no balance.

But what's interesting

is that his story

is even more complex

than what we see,

you know,

with our own five senses,

as all of our stories are.

Why did Jesus choose

to heal this particular guy?

Well,

because he has no ability.

Because he's incurable.

He's stuck.

He's impotent

and utterly helpless

and hopeless.

And what's interesting here

is that his outward physical

capacity

and condition

mirrors the inward

spiritual condition

of all people.

What he is on the outside,

we are on the inside.

And I want to help you see that.

That's why Jesus

asks this question

in verse 6,

when Jesus saw him

lying there

and learned that he'd been

in this condition

for a long time,

he asked him,

do you want to get well?

That's a searching,

penetrating question.

And the man's response

is revealing

in verse 7.

Sir,

the invalid replied,

I have no one

to help me into the pool

when the water is stirred.

And while I'm trying

to get in,

someone else goes down

ahead of me.

This guy is a faithless Jew.

He's entirely without belief.

He doesn't even mention God.

He expects nothing from God.

In fact,

he's at a pagan pool.

He's at a superstitious shrine

dedicated to the god Asclepius,

this Greco-Roman god

of medicine and healing.

And it's just not working for him.

And what he says to Jesus

is I basically have no friends.

I have no one who cares for me.

It's an every man for himself world

and I'm completely ignored

and all alone.

And what you can kind of hear

in this man's voice

is that his identity over time

has become wrapped up

in his infirmity.

And that he has become

codependent with his brokenness.

And he now has a victim mentality.

A blaming and complaining spirit

where he's very good

at pointing out

all the wrongs

of everybody around him.

And that's why Jesus asked him,

do you want to get well?

Jesus has a searching gaze

that sees into the depths

of our hearts

past all of our defenses

and into our real problems.

And that's why Jesus later on

in verse 14

finds this guy

after he's been healed

and he says to him,

see your well again,

stop sinning.

You're well again,

stop sinning

or something worse

may happen to you.

Jesus knows this guy's heart.

He knows that he's sick,

not just with physical paralysis,

but he's sick with sin.

What theologians call

homo incurvatus in se.

He is a human being

curved in upon himself.

He centered his life on himself.

Does that sound familiar

to anybody?

Jesus says,

yes,

you are a helpless victim

of suffering

and physical paralysis,

but more than that,

you're helpless

because you're a responsible agent

of sin

that has created

a spiritual paralysis

in your soul.

38 years

of a chronic crisis

has made you

a crotchety,

curmudgeonly,

unpleasant,

despairing fellow.

Ouch.

And we kind of know that

because this guy gets healed

and he doesn't even thank Jesus.

He doesn't even bother

to find out

who Jesus is.

Well, Jesus has insight

into all the dimensions

of the human heart.

And he says,

this guy is an invalid

who's a helpless sinner

like all of us

who needs to be saved

by grace.

And thank God

that Jesus seeks us

and finds us

to give us that grace.

He singles out

sin-sick people

with no ability

who are incurable,

who are stuck,

who are impotent,

who are utterly helpless

and hopeless,

totally immobilized

by our egocentricity,

no capacity

to struggle up

to our feet

spiritually

on our own.

And what does he do?

He makes us free.

He makes us walk.

Look at the dramatic

demonstration

of inconceivable power.

This pitiful pagan pool

has done nothing

for this guy.

But in a few simple words,

what does Jesus say?

Get up,

pick up your mat,

and walk.

And at once,

the man was cured

and picked up his mat

and he walked.

And this is what Jesus

is getting at

in verse 21

when he says,

just as the Father

raises the dead

and gives them life,

even so the Son

gives life

to those he's pleased

to give it.

It's what Jesus means

when he says

in verse 25,

very truly I tell you

a time is coming

and has now come

when the dead

will hear the voice

of the Son of God

and those who hear

will live.

But,

Jesus has only

just begun

to heal this guy.

He has healed him

in his body,

but what about his soul?

He's healed his

physical paralysis,

but Jesus wants

to do a much more

dramatic healing

of his spiritual

paralysis.

Jesus has no

prerequisite

of faith and obedience

to come and be healed

by him.

In fact,

the guy doesn't come.

Jesus goes to find him.

But Jesus definitely

requires faith

and obedience

as a grateful response

to the healing.

And that's where

I want to end

our time this morning.

Jesus makes

shocking claims.

He heals

the helpless

and then he shows us

how to walk

free.

He makes

shocking claims.

He heals

the helpless,

but he doesn't

stop there.

He shows us

how to walk

free.

See,

Jesus says,

I'm able

to raise you

up to an

entirely new

existence,

but this new

life is not

a freedom

to go back

to live

like you

were living

before.

A doctrine

of cheap

grace

snatches from

God all the

benefits of

life

and then presumes

that I can just

keep on living

the way I

determined to

live my life.

But Jesus,

what does he do

in verse 14?

He comes

and finds him

in the temple

and he says

to him,

see,

you are well

again,

stop sinning

or something

worse may

happen to you.

What a

window

into the

terrible

judgment

of God.

For what

could possibly

befall you

that would be

worse than

being a

paralyzed person

lying on the

ground for

38 years?

Jesus says,

do not

think

that a

lifetime

of being

an invalid

is the

worst thing

that can

happen to

you.

Something

far worse

than any

sickness,

however bad,

something far

worse than

any disappointment,

any loss

of health

or money

or friends

or deprivation

can happen

to you.

What's the

worst thing

that can

happen to

you?

It's to

sin and

not be

forgiven.

It's to

perish

spiritually

forever.

And so

Jesus gives

this warning

that's full

of grace

and truth.

I've given

you health.

Now don't

put that

at risk.

Put the

sins of

your past

life behind

you for

your future

life depends

on it

completely.

What is

the something

worse that

could happen

to this

man?

This is

where we

encounter

that unavoidable

and awkward

doctrine of

Jesus

about

hell.

I don't

want to

talk about

it.

And most

preachers don't

want to

talk about

it.

But it's

in all

the four

gospels

and it's

in all

the writings

of the

people that

Jesus chose

and trained

to represent

him.

And Jesus

is getting

at it right

here in

verse 28.

Do not

be amazed

at this

for a

time is

coming

when all

who are

in their

graves

will hear

his voice

and come

out.

Those who

have done

what is

good will

rise to

live and

those who

have done

what is

evil will

rise to

be

condemned.

By

myself I

can do

nothing.

I judge

only as

I hear

and my

judgment

is

just.

For I

seek not

to please

myself but

him who

sent me.

Now why

does Jesus

have to

bring this

up?

Is he

trying to

ruin our

fun?

Is he

trying to

manipulate

us?

Is he

trying to

scare us

into being

able to

control

us?

Or is

he giving

us gracious

truthful

warnings?

When I

look at

Jesus'

life and

the way

he treated

people I

see the

most loving

person who

has ever

walked

planet

earth.

Jesus

caused

people who

were rejected

by the rest

of the world

like this

paralytic

guy to

feel

completely

loved and

accepted.

And so

I think

the reason

Jesus warns

about hell

more than

any person

in the

whole Bible

is because

he loves

us and

he doesn't

want us

to go

there.

He doesn't

want us

to experience

it.

And he

knows that

if we

continue to

ignore God

and reject

God throughout

our lives

then God

is ultimately

right.

He's what

Jesus calls

just to

reject us.

He knows

that our

sins will

take us

to a

place of

unimaginable

and unending

suffering.

That's why

he says

stop sinning.

Stop sinning

because you

don't want

to go

there.

And that's

precisely why

this gospel

and all the

gospels

climax with

the Son of

God hanging

on a cross.

Because the

Father has

sent his

Son all

the way

from heaven

to earth

to save

us from

this

condemnation

and this

separation

from God.

Jesus

hanging on

the cross

is in

hell

and he's

experiencing

and bearing

the condemnation

and the

judgment

that we

deserve.

And this

is what he's

getting at

in verse 24.

Very truly

I tell you

whoever hears

my words

and believes

him who sent

me has

eternal life

and will

not be

judged.

On the

basis of

the judgment

that I

came to

bear you

will not

be judged

but you

have crossed

over from

death to

life.

And because

Jesus moves

us from

death to

life he

relentlessly

goes after

the sin

and death

that's left

inside of

us.

And that's

why he

comes to

this guy

and he

says stop

sinning

or something

worse may

happen to

you.

Jesus came

not only to

save us

from the

hell of

condemnation

but he

came also

to save

us from

that which

leads us

there and

that's why

he asked

this question

in verse

6

do you

want to

get well?

That's a

more

uncomfortable

and deeply

disconcerting

question than

any of us

realize.

Do you

want to

be well?

It's easy

to say yes

I want to

be completely

whole but

do I even

know what

that means?

Jesus is

saying do

you want a

new life?

Do you

want to

be a

completely

transformed

person?

Do you

want for

God to

come and

fully heal

you and

fully liberate

you and

fully deal

with all

the stuff

he needs

to deal

with in

you?

Do you

want God

to come

and deal

with the

refuse

of your

resentment

and your

bitterness?

Do you

want God

to deal

with the

filth of

your pride

and your

envy?

Do you

really want

God to

deal with

the stench

of the

sloth

and the

slander

that

characterizes

your life?

Jesus'

question is

deep.

Do you

want me to

deal with

all the

secret things

that are

hidden

inside of

you?

all those

treasured

sins,

all those

cherished

attachments

that you

can't

imagine

living

without?

Do you

really want

me to

get involved

in your

life?

Do you

really want

me to

come and

be as

determined

to root

out that

which with

equal

determination

of yours

to be the

center of

everything?

Do you

want me to

come in

like that?

do you

want to

commit

yourself

to a

lifelong

conflict

with sin?

Do you

want to

get well?

Honestly,

I have to

say,

no,

I do

not.

I don't

want to

do God's

will.

I want

to do

my will.

I am

helpless.

And I

have to

say that

my only

hope is

God,

you have

to raise

me up

by the

hand of

Jesus

Christ

through the

power of

the Holy

Spirit.

I would

love to

want to

be well,

but I

don't even

know if I

want to

be well.

Lord,

if you

want me

to be

well,

make me

want to

be well.

Lord,

you must

work in

me both

to will

and to

do your

good pleasure.

You must

give me

the desire

and then

you must

give me

the strength

to carry

it out.

That's what

Christianity

is.

A doctrine

of cheap

grace says,

yeah,

God,

heal me and

I'll just

keep doing

whatever I

want.

But a

doctrine of

costly grace,

here's the

words of

Jesus saying,

if you

want to

come after

me,

you must

deny

yourself

and you

must take

up your

cross

and come

and follow

me.

Come,

become like

me in

every way

imaginable,

in my mind

and what I

think,

in my heart

and what I

desire,

in my will

and what I

choose.

Come,

learn,

to live like

the son with

his father in

total dependence,

total surrender,

total obedience,

watching every

move that the

father makes

and doing

exactly what

the father

does.

Are you sure

you want to

be well?

You sure you

want to be

like me?

Wellness

embodied?

Are you sure

you want to

walk free

forever?

That's the

question,

isn't it?

In the name

of the

Father,

Son,

and Holy

Spirit,

amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.