PM Home Bible Study Group; July 11, 2012
John 5:1-18
Theme: Jesus’ healing of the man at the pool displayed Him as the Son of God who works as does His Father.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
In the Gospel of John, there are seven distinct miracles that are highlighted in the earthly ministry of our Lord—each of them revealing a truth about His identity. So far, we’ve seen two. The story of the turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana (2:1-11) taught us that He holds power and authority over the natural processes of the created realm. And the story of the healing of a nobleman’s sick son (4:46-54)—also in Cana—taught us that He is Lord over life in death; and has the authority and power to heal even at a great distance.
In the passage before us, we find the third of those great miracles. And it too teaches us truth about our Lord. It reveals to us that He is the Lord over even the Sabbath, who holds authority over it as the Son of God. But along with this great lesson of His identity, we also see something of His nature. The Son of God is a compassionate and merciful Savior who cares deeply about the needs of people—and is wonderfully able to meet the needs of those who trust Him.
* * * * * * * * * * *
I. THE SITUATION AT THE POOL (vv. 1-4).
A. The story that preceded this one was the story of the Lord’s healing of the nobleman’s son in Cana (see 4:48-54). And so, John lets us know that the Lord traveled from Cana back down again into the regions of Judea. He writes, “After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem” (v. 1). Just which feast this was, we’re not told. But it was one of the three sacred feasts that every Jewish man was required by God’s law to return to Jerusalem to attend. And in this, we see a wonderful characteristic of our Savior: He was always faithful to obey every commandment of His Father as given in the Scriptures. He was even able to say of His Father, “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29).
B. It’s then that we find that the Lord came upon the situation of our story. We’re told, “Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda [and which means “House of Mercy”], having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water” (v. 3-4).
1. In the English translations of the Bible, this place is called a “gate” or a “market”. But neither of those words are used in the original language. It is simply mentioned as a place that pertained to “sheep”. It most likely was that portion of the old city wall called “the sheep gate” (see Nehemiah 3:1, 32; 12:39), through which the sheep were brought to the temple for sacrifice. Somewhere near this gate was a large pool of water that was surrounded by five covered “colonnades” or “porches”. And on these porches was a tragic sight. Upon them was a great multitude of people with terrible illnesses or disabilities. John mentions such people as those who were blind, or those who were lame or crippled in some way, or those who were literally “withered”— perhaps with palsy, or some other withering disease. The fact that many of these people were said to ‘lay’ there suggests something of the physical helplessness of this massive crowd of suffering people. What a pathetic sight it must have been to see this mass of broken, needy and helpless human beings. No wonder the place had come to be called “House of Mercy”.
2. The end of verse three and all of verse four are not found in some of the oldest manuscripts of the Gospel of John. That doubtful portion tells us that the people were “waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had” (vv. 3b-4). Many scholars believe that this was an addition that had been written in the margin of an ancient manuscript to explain the superstition that the people—laying around the pool—held to concerning the moving of the water of this pool. This “explanation” probably doesn’t describe something that actually happened—that is, that an angel from heaven, sent from God and with His approval, actually came down to earth occasionally to unexpectedly stir the waters of this pool so that people frantically scrambled over one another in a desperate effort to be the one fortunate person who got healed. Rather, it most likely described something that traps and ensnares so many hopeless people who are desperate for some glimmer of hope—just a plain old superstitious belief (which clearly seems to have been held commonly by the people; as is indicated by the man’s hopes in verse 7). Some of these pools were fed by underground pipes that intermittently filled the pool from the bottom; and the sight of otherwise calm water bubbling upon its surface led to the superstitious idea that an angle was stirring the water and giving it healing power.
C. It’s very hard to condemn such people for believing in such a thing though. Hopeless misery makes people today—even in our supposed “scientific age”— reach out for anything that might give hope. But it’s our privilege, as ambassadors of the gospel, to turn people’s attention away from such false “trusts” and on to the Savior who truly meets our needs. May God help us never to harden our hearts to such needy people—even when they believe wrongly; but to be like our Savior whose own heart was “moved with compassion” when He saw such needy people “because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
II. THE NEED OF THE INFERMED MAN (vv. 5-7).
A. It’s then that our attention is drawn to a specific man in that mass of human tragedy. We’re told, “Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.” We’re not told the nature of his infirmity; but it’s clear that it robbed him of his ability to walk—and perhaps robbed him of even more, if he was also not able to work. We’re not told how old the man was; but it would be safe to assume that he had suffered under this infirmity for most of his life. He had begun to suffer this infirmity nearly eight years before our Lord was born. This poor man was sitting by the pool—and perhaps had been there for many of those years—waiting in superstitious hope with all the others for the slightest movement in the water. But his misery was particularly remarkable. Even if he saw it stir; his only hope was for someone to have mercy upon him and put him into the water before anyone else could get in. But while he made whatever motion he could toward the water, someone else inevitably got in before him—spoiling his chance (or so he thought) of being healed. And so, there he lay by the pool of Bethesda, waiting and watching for his chance, struggling and failing each time, for untold years! What a hopeless and frustrating existence it must have been.
B. But then came the Lord of hope. We can suppose safely that it was a special mercy on the part of our Lord that He came upon that crowd of suffering humanity right then. Few people probably ever did so—except those who were in misery and were hoping for a miracle. But Jesus came. He doesn’t distance Himself from the suffering of people. His coming was a deliberate, very specific act of mercy directed toward that poor man. John tells us about Jesus in verse 6; that He “saw” the man lying there—that is that, out of all those poor, miserable human beings, our Lord’s attention was drawn to that one particular man. And we should take special note of the fact that Jesus “knew” that he had already been at that place, seeking a miracle, for nearly a generation’s time! How did Jesus know that? It wasn’t because someone needed to tell Him. Rather, it’s because He is the very same God—in human flesh—who the Bible tells us stores up our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). He’s the One who taught us, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7). We should never think for a moment that we are going through something that our merciful Lord Jesus doesn’t know about thoroughly and perfectly. He sees us, and He knows all about everything that concerns those He loves. And when He seems to be ignoring our need, or taking a long time to answer it, He is—in reality—waiting for the perfect time to meet it so as to best demonstrate His glory and bring about our greatest good.
C. And then comes a remarkable question from our Lord. John tells us, “When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?'” (v. 6). What a seemingly-odd question to have asked! Wouldn’t it have been obvious that the man wanted to be healed? Why else would he be laying at the pool? But we need to understand that the Lord wasn’t simply asking the man if he was interested in being healed. Rather, He was probing the man’s heart and making the man come to terms with whether or not he really, truly had the will to be healed. He was basically asking him, “Do you genuinely have the will to be well? After thirty-eight years of being an invalid, do you really want to stop being one, and to be made whole?” There is some very profound psychology involved in Jesus’ unusual question.
D. It’s fascinating that the man didn’t answer Jesus’ question with a simple “yes”. Instead, we’re told that he said, “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” (v. 7). That was not the question that the Lord asked him; but that was the answer the man automatically gave. It’s hard not to detect just a hint of personal pride in the man’s complaint over the injustice of it all; and perhaps even the expectation of the sympathy it would evoke from others. We shouldn’t be too quick to condemn the man. We’ve all done this sort of thing at certain times. Not everyone who wants to be relieved of their misery necessarily wants to be relieved of all the other things that their misery might bring them. Someone can suffer from something so long that, when faced with having that suffering completely alleviated, they are afraid that they won’t know what they’ll do without it. Sometimes, people can almost build a whole identity around their suffering. Their suffering is how other people have come to relate to them. Sometimes, what people want is to be freed from their suffering—but, at the same time, not entirely freed from the other things that have been built into their lives around it. For some, a paralysis of the will can be an even greater infirmity than a paralysis of the body could ever be.
III. THE MERCY OF THE LORD (vv. 8-9a).
A. The mercy of our Lord is shown in that He didn’t simply leave the man and say, “Well; if you can’t answer a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, then I’ve got better things to do. Let me know when you want to be made well.” Nor did our Lord do what He certainly had the authority to do—send one of His angels to stir the water for the man, and then throw him in. We’re told, instead, that “Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk'” (v. 8). Notice the details. First, He said, “Rise”; which was as if to say, “Don’t lay down on the ground like an invalid any longer. Cease from being in the place that you were before I came into your life” Second, He said, “Take up your bed”—that ‘token’ of his misery; which was as if to say, “No longer make any provision for yourself to go back to where you were.” And third, He said, “Walk”; which was as if to say, “I have healed you. Don’t expect to be carried anymore.”
B. And then, we read, “And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked” (v. 9a). There was no waiting period between Jesus speaking and the man becoming well. There was no gradual, progressive improvement over time. The man was instantaneously, immediately made well. And this was in response to the man’s faith—shown by his obedience to the Lord. He didn’t argue with the Lord and say, “Why are You telling me to do that? Can’t you see what a miserable situation I’m in? It’s easy for You to tell me to do all that!!” In fact, we don’t even see in this that Jesus actually told the man that he was healed! Jesus simply told the man what to do, and the man simply obeyed. He rose up, picked up his bed, and walked. When Jesus frees us from our place of misery, it’s not for us to continue in that place until we’re convinced. It’s time for us to rise up, pick up our bed and move on! Truly the Lord here proves who He is!
IV. THE CONTROVERSY OF THE HEALING (vv. 9b-18).
A. We immediately meet with a sad hint of controversy, though, when we read, “And that day was the Sabbath” (v. 9b). It was considered a breaking of the Sabbath for someone to carry something large—such as the man’s bedding—from one place to another. And so the Jews—most likely the Jewish leaders who were concerned about keeping the Sabbath—confronted the man for it. “The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed’” (v. 10). We’re told, “He answered them, ‘He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk’” (v. 11). And what’s remarkable is that the Jewish leaders didn’t then say, “What? You were confined to a bed; and someone made you well? How wonderful! Who was it that did this amazing thing for you?” Instead, they were concerned only with the breaking of the Sabbath. We read, “Then they asked him, ‘Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk?’” (v. 12). So often, those who focus on religious rituals and ceremonies cannot see past them to the work of God before their very eyes!
B. We’re told that the man could not answer their question. “But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you'” (vv. 13-14). Some have supposed from this that the man’s illness was caused by sin. But we’re not told this. We’re simply told that he was not to go forth to sin any more; but instead rise up in response to the mercy of God shown to him by leaving his sins behind. To do otherwise would be to show great ingratitude and unfaithfulness—and truly invite God’s judgment. But we shouldn’t miss the fact that he was—almost immediately—found in the temple! In response to meeting Jesus, we’re told—in, we can be sure, complete innocence—”The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well” (v. 15).
C. And it’s then that we’re given further insight into the opposition that our Lord would feel throughout His earthly ministry—and the reason for the opposition! We read, “For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath” (v. 15). He was viewed by them as a dangerous disruptor of the works-centered religious system that the Jewish culture had come to degenerate into. It was bad enough to them that He would be a Sabbath-breaker; but He was a dangerous threat to them if He was going around telling others to break it. And so, apparently, they found Jesus and confronted Him about it. “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working'” (v. 17). Though His Father had ‘rested’ on the seventh day and established the ‘rest’ for mankind, He nevertheless labored through His providential care over that which He created. Jesus, then, was saying that He was uniquely identified with His Father in this—and that He was, thus, Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8) who did good on the Sabbath (v. 12). “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (v. 18).
* * * * * * * * * *
There are many things then that this story teaches us. It shows His power and mercy. It shows His readiness to meet our needs. It even shows why He suffered the oppositions that He suffered. But through it all, what a picture it gives us of salvation!
We are like that poor man at the pool—wounded and broken by our sin and unable to help ourselves. We could not go to the Savior; but He willingly comes to us and asks, “Do you want to be made well?” He heals us of our brokenness completely and calls us to rise up and follow Him gratefully. Those who are enamored with religious rituals and regulations can never understand His grace to us; and will most likely oppose Him. But those of us who have tasted of His grace know who He is . . . and love Him for His mercy.