[Read John 5:1-18]
A couple of weeks ago I encouraged our congregation to go out into the world—into our families and workplaces and community—with eyes looking for the harvest. I hope that you did that. I hope that you were able to see the people you encounter regularly with new eyes, seeing them in new ways. Yet, one of the things that happen when we go into our community with open eyes is that we begin to see things we’ve never seen before. We begin to see people in ways that we’ve never seen before. It can be really hard.
We begin to see people who feel trapped and lonely and longing, people who don’t know a way out, and people looking for a miracle. We encounter people who are trapped in addiction, constantly trying to break free, constantly seeking some solution, falling back into their addiction, watching life fade away, hoping for a miracle. Into that situation this question comes from Jesus, “Do you want to be healed?” and really the question is: Do you REALLY want to be healed?
We will encounter people who feel trapped in a dead-end job, living in a broken-down home, with nobody to help them, feeling all alone, waiting/longing for a miracle. Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
We will encounter people who are always chasing after money and fame, always trying to climb the ladder, never satisfied with where they are, never feeling like they have enough, always striving never arriving, longing for some miracle that will help them arrive. Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
We will encounter people who are always worried, always anxious about what might happen next, constantly thinking the worst is about to happen, always worried about what the future may bring, worried about what’s coming around the corner, hoping/longing for a miracle. Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
We will encounter people who are always trying to measure up, always trying to please the people around them, always wearing a mask or putting on a show, always wondering what other people think of them, always fearing other people’s opinions, longing/hoping for a miracle. Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
This is the situation we encounter in this story. We’ve given this picture of the man at the pool of Bethesda. We’re told, “In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time…” (John 5:3–6, ESV). To get the picture in our heads properly, we have a place in Jerusalem, where many invalids are coming for healing. There are a ton of people who have difficult physical conditions—most of them likely having life-long physical difficulties—surrounding this pool, hoping for a miracle. This one man in particular has been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus sees him sitting by the pool, he knew this man had been sitting by the pool for a long time, waiting, hoping, longing, for a miracle to be healed.
Then, the man describes his situation to Jesus: “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). He feels alone, trapped. He wants to be healed, he’s longing for a miracle, but has nobody to help him. He’s not strong enough to get into the water before the other people. So, he’s trapped and he’s felt trapped for a long time. He’s been waiting and longing to be healed for a long time. He’s been waiting and long longing for a miracle for a long time. But nothing has come from it. Nothing has happened. So, he’s stuck. And into this situation, Jesus says, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6, ESV). And the force of this question, in the context of the rest of the story is, Do you REALLY want to be healed?
There’s a lot to this question from Jesus. I’ve heard a lot of speculation about why Jesus asks this man if he wants to be healed. Some have said Jesus wanted this man to admit his need for help before being healed—I don’t think that’s it. I think Jesus is trying to accomplish a couple of different things with this question.
First, Jesus is pointing out the futility of this man seeking to be healed by this pool. He’s pointing out that this man is looking for healing and miracles in all the wrong places. So, Jesus asks him, “Do you REALLY want to be healed? This pool will not provide healing for you. You’ve been putting your hope and trust in this pool for a long time and it has left you trapped and helpless. If you want to be healed—REALLY healed—you need to look somewhere else. Do you want to be healed?”
This follows a powerful theme we’ve seen throughout the Gospel of John so far. The water in the purification jars at the wedding was nothing like the new wine of the kingdom that Jesus created, the water from Jacob’s well was not enough to satisfy those who were truly thirsty, and the water in this pool, and the superstitions around it, is not enough to bring true healing. We must look to something higher—someone higher. Do you want to be healed? Do you want to be REALLY healed?
So Jesus responds to the man, “Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” (John 5:8–9, ESV). Jesus shows this man where true healing comes from—not the pool, not the superstitions around the pool, but from Jesus Christ. And Herman Ridderbos says, “For the paralytic to carry his pallet home manifested the reversal in his fortunes: no longer does the bed carry a powerless man but, with vitality to spare, he (triumphantly) carries the bed.” (Herman Ridderbos, The Gospel of John, 186).
At once, Jesus brings this man from his trapped, hopeless, longing situation into a state of healing and fulfillment. It’s powerful. Imagine this man longing and waiting for healing for 38 years. That’s a long time. That’s a long time to feel trapped and burdened and lonely and longing. Yet, Jesus comes in and changes everything in a moment. And to this John Calvin responds, “However long, therefore, we may be held in suspense, though we groan under our distresses, let us never be discouraged by the tediousness of the lengthened period; for, when our afflictions are long continued, though we discover no termination of them, still we ought always to believe that God is a wonderful deliverer, who, by His power, easily removes every obstacle out of the way.” (Calvin, 190). Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
Yet, there’s more to this interaction between Jesus and this man. There’s another aspect to this story that is often overlooked—an aspect that I think is one of the main points of this story. Jesus encounters this man again in the temple and says, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14, ESV). That has been a confusing line to many people because there are places where Jesus tells us that our sickness and diseases aren’t necessarily a result of our sin. So, why does Jesus tell this man to sin no more?
One option is that his particular illness could have been the result of his sin. That’s possible. We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that sin can NEVER be the cause of a physical illness, but that’s not what Jesus has taught. He simply taught his disciples that not every physical illness is the result of our sin, but some may be. So, it’s possible that this man was an invalid because of his sin, and now that Jesus has healed him, he is telling him to turn away from his sinful actions so that nothing worse happens to him. That’s a real possibility.
However, I think there’s a better explanation. I think Jesus is pressing the same question upon this man that he asked at the beginning of the story: Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed? Jesus is pointing out to this man that his body has been healed—he has experienced a great miracle—but there’s a deeper healing that his man needs. This man needs his soul to be healed. He needs to turn away from his sin, grab hold of Jesus Christ by faith, receive cleansing and forgiveness so that nothing worse happens to him—that he comes under the judgment of God and spends eternity in hell. That’s what Jesus is telling this man. Just like last week, Jesus isn’t just satisfied to carry out the physical healing. He is offering this man something more—something deeper and more important—he’s offering him a miraculous healing of his soul that will lead to eternal life. But to receive that miraculous healing of his soul, he must repent and turn from his sin and grab hold of Jesus Christ. If he doesn’t do this, the physical healing will mean nothing—and something worse will happen.
Sadly, the man doesn’t respond to this rightly. We read, “The man went away…” (John 5:15, ESV). This is the opposite of what we read last week, isn’t it? Last week Jesus points the official beyond the miracle and after the miracle, the man believes in Jesus. This week, Jesus points the man beyond the miracle—to a much deeper need than his physical healing—and the man walks away from Jesus. He turns his back on him and doesn’t believe. Herman Ridderbos says, ”It is a portrayal of people who will not let themselves be moved to enter the kingdom of God by Jesus’ power and words, no matter how liberating the effect of those words. This story thus represents a particular response to the gospel…” (Herman Ridderbos, The Gospel of John, 190).
That was his response to Jesus’ question: Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed? His answer was: No. Sure, he wanted to be healed physically, but he didn’t want to be healed spiritually. He didn’t really want to be healed. He settled for a temporary physical healing that would eventually fade away. That was good enough for him. Sure, he could walk now but the rest of his life would be walking on the path of death and destruction—not on the path of eternal life. You wanna talk about feeling trapped and lonely and longing? THAT is much worse than being trapped in a physical difficulty! Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
Of course, another thread passes through this story—one that we’ll dive into more next week. It’s the conflict between the Jews and Jesus. Of course, when the man walks away from Jesus, he goes to the Jews—most likely the Jewish leaders. And we read this line at the end of the story, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18, ESV). This is a very telling statement. It shows us something really important about the conflict between the Jews and Jesus. It wasn’t actually about the Sabbath. Sure, when Jesus kept on breaking the Sabbath, it angered and frustrated them. But this was just a symptom of something deeper. The real issue was much deeper. That’s why there’s a “but” in this statement. Yes, they were seeking to kill Jesus because they thought he was breaking the Sabbath BUT it was really because he made himself equal with God. He kept speaking and acting in ways that made him equal with God. That was the problem. That was why they were seeking to kill him.
That’s also the reason behind this miracle. Remember Jesus’ miracles are never just about the miracle. That’s why John calls them signs—they are always pointing to something. This miracle is pointing to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the author of life and salvation, the one who can bring healing that is much deeper and longer lasting than physical healing. He’s not just some miracle worker. He’s not just some prophet. He’s the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the True Healer—healing body and soul. That is who Jesus is. That’s the Jesus we need to believe in and place our trust in and give our lives to.
And yet, sadly, we often do what this man did. We receive physical blessings from Jesus and walk away satisfied with a lesser healing, not caring about the healing of our soul. Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed? We often are satisfied if God gives us freedom from addiction or a better job or a promotion or freedom from anxiety or peace of mind or a nice house or self-confidence. We praise God for giving us these things—for healing us in such powerful ways—but do you want to be healed? Do you want to be REALLY healed? Because all those physical blessings and miracles and healings are NOTHING if your soul hasn’t received healing. They are fleeting pleasures that will vanish into the air like smoke. Don’t settle for them. There’s a deeper healing for you. It’s a healing of your soul that will lead to eternal life. And every blessing that God pours out on your life and every miraculous healing he does in your life is meant to guide you to that deeper healing. So, don’t walk away. Do you want to be healed? Do you REALLY want to be healed?
If your answer is “Yes,” then turn to Jesus Christ and believe in him as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the True Healer who can heal your body and soul—who can cleanse you of your sin and give you eternal life. Turn away from your sin and turn to him in true faith, grab hold of him, give your life to him, and be healed—REALLY healed.