Yesterday, I was reading the Gospel of John. It was written by “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (21:7; 21:20). John spent much of the time showing the deity of Jesus, which ultimately led to charges of blasphemy and the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross. But in chapter 5, we read a wonderful story of mercy and grace… at least for some people.
“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed.” (John 5:2-3 ESV).
This pool is where all who needed healing would come for a chance to be healed. One man in particular, was an invalid for 38 years. Can you imagine that? 38 years of living a life with a broken body. We don’t know if he was born with this condition or if he had been whole at one time and suffered an illness or an accident that left him unable to walk. But we do know that for almost 4 decades, this man longed to be healed.
So, he made his way to the famed pool. The pool that when the waters were stirred with healing power, the first to step into it would be healed of their infirmity by the power of God. On this particular day, this man was here with a great multitude of people who also needed healing. But most had an advantage over him. They had legs to rush them toward the pool as soon as the water stirred.
I wonder, where were this man’s friends, his family, his loved ones? Where were the ones who would carry his burden and be his legs for him and rush him into the pool when the water stirred? We read about the friends of a man who, in Luke 5, cared so much for their friend that they lowered him down through the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching because the multitude was too thick for them to bring him to Jesus through the front door to be healed.
We’re not told why this man was alone, but in spite of being beaten to the pool every time the water was stirred, this man was still there, waiting with the multitude of others who needed healing too.
“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6 ESV).
What a question! Everyone there wanted to be healed of something. But it is in the man’s response that our hearts go out to him.
“The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (John 5:7 ESV).
And just like that, Jesus- the One John said who made all things (1:3) simply says,
“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” (John 5:8b ESV).
And you know what? He did! Sure, it was on the Sabbath Day. Sure, Jesus would catch heat for healing the man on this day. But in that moment, a man who had suffered for 38 years received the grace and healing from his God who came and sat beside him on this day. No friends or legs needed. Just Jesus.
What a wonderful story of grace and love, right? But did you notice that when Jesus left, there was no mention of Him healing the multitude? Those who were also suffering- the “blind, lame, and paralyzed.” - We never read of Jesus healing all those in this crowd. Sure, He may have and John just didn’t record it. And we know…
“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25 ESV).
But it is just as likely that this man was the only one who Jesus healed at the pool on this occasion. Why? Who knows? Does it take away from the grace and mercy that He showed to this broken man? Certainly not.
Jesus never came to take away all of the pain, illness, poverty or suffering in the world. But what He did come to do was to bring salvation to a spiritually sick and dead people so that
“all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12b ESV).
Why does Jesus sometimes heal and sometimes leave people in their broken bodies? I can’t answer that. But I do know that while He may or may not heal us physically, our God will always do the greater service in healing us from our sins and giving us the grace to live with Him for eternity.
And yes, with a little patience, at a time of His choosing, He will one day take even our broken body and give us a perfect, everlasting one. This is the promise we all have. And on that Day, none will be left broken at the pool.
“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53 ESV).
I'm in the midst of some intense study and one conclusion that I have drawn is this:
We must all be careful with the presuppositions we bring about God. If they are wrong, they can lead us down a long, winding path away from the truth about Him and who He is.
This morning, I am reading Deuteronomy. It begins with Moses preparing the Israelites to enter the promised land. He tells the people that God is about to give them a land flowing with milk and honey. They would live in houses they did not build; eat from produce they did not toil for and drink from wells that they did not dig. Indeed, their houses would be full of possessions that they did not fill themselves.
God was about to make them rich with possessions that they did not work for. And he warns them not to become complacent in their newfound wealth. Not to shift their reliance from the Lord to their possessions. This hit me hard.
How many of us, if given the choice, would choose to be poor in possessions so that we would have to rely on the Lord for our needs, rather than to be rich in possessions and look at the Lord as simply an addition to our lives, but not struggle with the great need we have for Him daily?
We say that wealth is not sin but a blessing, and I agree. But are we so quick to justify our wealth that we lose the message of warning that Moses gives to the people about the dangers of false comfort; how we must always guard against complacency and self-reliance when the Lord blesses us with great wealth?
Aren't you glad that our shortcomings are never bad enough that the Gospel can't overcome them?
The world is full of good and evil. We will find what we look for.
As you surf the web, watch YouTube, read Facebook posts, watch streaming services or jump on any social media site, remember- you are the one who chooses what you see and what you refuse to see.
There is good if you are looking for it. And there is evil too. Will you turn your eyes away from evil and toward good today?
“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” (Psalm 101:3a ESV)
In the ancient world, people would approach their gods from a “I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine” mentality.
They would bargain with their gods- If you give me fortune, I will sacrifice to you; If you heal me, I will give you a portion of my possessions...
This is how you approach a false god made with hands. But can you approach the one true God with bargains? Consider....
What can you bargain with? Can you say to God, “If you do this for me, I will give you 10% of everything I have.” God says to you, “I do not need your money. I own you, your home, your neighbor's home, your city, your country, the Earth, the universe.”
What do we have to bargain with? When we bargain with God, we lower Him to the level of man-made gods who hunger after the things that men can satisfy them with.
Rather than bargain with the One who needs nothing we have to offer, consider approaching Him in the same way the publican approached Him.
There is nothing we have to offer the God who owns everything. There is nothing we can do for the God who can do anything. We are created beings relying on the grace of the Creator.
Rather than approach God as though we can sway Him with what we have or what we can do, approach Him in humility, realizing that we have nothing to bring to the One who has everything and needs nothing from us.
“God, I have nothing to offer you, but I need you. Rather than make bargains that are futile for me to make, I will approach you as the Sovereign one true God. This is my need. I know you can do all things. If it brings glory to your name by granting my petition, then let it be. If not, let Your will be done.”
At the end of the day, we only have the grace of God. When the publican approached God with no bargains, but a simple submission to His sovereignty and an appeal for mercy, Jesus- our Lord and Creator- said this...
“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14 ESV).
When someone does wrong to us, will we listen to the carnal man and lash out in vengeance, suffer the destructive effects of bitterness and anger, and forget about the compassion our Lord shows to us daily,
Or
Will we listen to the spiritual man who quiets the soul, turns it over to the Lord, and bathes in peace and gentleness that frees us from suffering the rottenness of vengeance?
Turning vengeance over to the Lord is not always about someone getting what is coming to them as much as it is about keeping us from suffering from the destructive effects that vengeance will bring upon us.
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV).