Jesus Stopped - 1

TAG A FRIEND

Part 1

"The Man at the Pool"

John 5:1-8

A new Barna survey finds a majority of Americans believe Jesus speaks to them in some form or another.

Fifty-two percent of Americans said Jesus speaks to them by influencing or connecting directly with their mind, emotions or feelings.

Slightly more than two in five people said Jesus communicates with them through the Bible passage they read or that is read to them.

And more than one-third of the population said Jesus communicates to them through signs--which included...

sermons or teachings that addressed their immediate situation,

miraculous circumstances,

undeniable answers to prayer,

and through words spoken to them by someone else.

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This doesn't surprise me because Jesus hasn't changed; He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8).

Throughout His ministry, Jesus encountered and spoke with a large number of different people from every conceivable background...

Men, women, boys, girls, "down and outers," "up and outers"...

The sick, the successful, religious and non-religious...

Desperate people and people comfortable with life,

Deeply flawed people and those who seemed to have it together...

He spoke with people living on the sharp edge of despair and those who were simply curious as to Who He (Jesus) was.

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His encounters with them were generally brief but powerful, and they are packed with truth and meaning for us today.

None of them, and I mean NONE, walked away the same.

With some the encounter left them in a state of semi-shock and speechlessness.

Others left fully convinced of His divine Son-ship.

More times than not they left either healed of sickness, delivered of torment, or lifted from hopeless despair.

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We're going to look at some of these encounters as a faith-builder.

I want you to see that the same Jesus Who changed lives in the N.T., and Who changed YOUR life, wants to change the lives of people you know--loved ones, neighbors, co-workers...

Today is the official launch of what we're calling "Tag A Friend" Sunday where we are encouraging you to invite someone to an encounter with Jesus Christ on Sunday, November 9!

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So let's begin by looking today at the man whose story we just read about who we'll call The Man at the Pool.

First, the setting for the story...

Jesus was on His way to a festival in Jerusalem; likely either the Passover feast or for the Day of Atonement.

As He entered the city He took an unannounced, unexpected detour to what was called "The Pool of Bethesda"---Bethesda meaning, "The House of Mercy."

But what greeted His eyes was anything but merciful; FIRST we see:

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I. A crowd

The Bible says, "Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches." (vs.3)

Walking into this scene was more like walking into the critical care unit of a hospital than a peaceful pool.

Desperation, hopelessness, pain, and death filled the air.

Since I don't believe anything Jesus did was by accident or whim, there is an application in this event for us today.

Here's what I see:

The crowd that greeted Jesus was, spiritually speaking, a perfect snapshot of lost humanity--lame, blind, crippled, paralyzed.

The famous book that boasted, "I'm Ok, You're Ok" was not OK, because that's not a true depiction of humanity.

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The Bible says without apology that the human race is LOST.

Jesus said of Himself, "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was LOST" (Matt. 18:11).

"LOST" means "to be ruined, destroyed by wandering away from God."

The Bible says that "ALL we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned EVERY ONE to his own way..." (Isaiah 53:6)

The Bible also testifies that, just like the poor people gathered at this pool, we can't help or save ourselves...

Before a person knows Christ, he lives in this world "without God and without hope" (Eph.2:12).

The Bible goes a step further and says that we don't even have the capacity to SEEK GOD apart from His help...

Romans 3:10-11 "As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; NO ONE is seeking God."

So, just like the crippled, blind, and paralyzed surrounding the pool of Bethesda, we too are spiritually CRIPPLED (unable to walk the righteous path God requires),

BLIND in that we can't see the truth without God's help), and...

PARALYZED in that we can't act to save ourselves.

The Bible is very clear about our helpless condition to save ourselves:

6 "For while we were still without strength (helpless), at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

This applies to anyone who doesn't know Jesus Christ personally--your neighbors, co-workers, family, friends, loved ones....all of them!

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The next thing we see in our story is...

II. A pool

For me, the pool of Bethesda is a picture of false hope.

It says that all the "...sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waited for the moving of the water. 4 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."

Hundreds were gathered at this pool, and they all waited with bated breath for the waters to suddenly be stirred by an angel.

We don't know how often the waters were stirred---once a day, a month, a year...it doesn't say.

But you can be sure that every eye was peeled on that water all day, every day.

Can you imagine living this kind of life? The endless tension, the inability to lean back and rest with your eyes closed lest you miss the water's moving?

And on top of all that, only one person got healed while the rest experienced frustration, dashed expectations mixed with despair...

And the ONE that did get healed had to be the one who needed it LEAST because he was healthy enough to get to the water FIRST!

The pool of Bethesda offered no real answer for the dilemma of 99 percent of them!

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The pool of Bethesda was more of a tease than a solution.

And I see in it an illustration of the entire human race whose eyes are peeled on various mirages, various things they believe will heal their pain...

There are many "Pools of Bethesda" in America that promise healing and wholeness.

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We have the huge CULTS---Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, and so on.

They claim to be the answer for troubled souls, yet for every one person who claims to have been helped, multitudes more remain frustrated, discouraged, and lost.

And then there are the Self-help programs, led by various GURUS promising to know the way to life and peace.

One so called "guru" assures his followers that "The individual’s need for fulfillment can be satisfied by turning 'within themselves' to contact a constant source of peace and joy."

But the Bible says our answer is not found by looking in, it is found by looking up!

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Still others turn to the false pool of DRUGS, or the pool of RELIGION, or the pool of MATERIALISM....

"If I can just earn enough, acquire enough, own enough things and stuff, I will be happy and fulfilled," we reason.

Yet just like the crowd of needy people gathered at Bethesda's Pool, we experience frustration and disillusionment with these various false options.

It reminds me of Isaiah's penetrating question to his own straying people,

Isaiah 55:2 "Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight itself in abundance."

Which leads me straight to what happened next.

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III. The Savior paid a visit to the Pool of Bethesda

Jesus, the bread of life; Jesus the light of the world; Jesus the Good Shepherd; Jesus the satisfier of the hungry soul visited the "Pool of Bethesda!"

Now, we notice in the story that Jesus CHOSE on His own to visit this wretched scene.

No one there even knew to ask for Him.

On His way to a celebration He took a detour into hell.

His visit was utterly sovereign.

And folks....aren't you glad that Jesus visited your Bethesda as well!

If He hadn't come KNOCKING, you'd still be there.

If He hadn't CALLED YOUR NAME, you'd still be languishing at some pool of false hope.

And I've got some very good news for those who don't personally know Him today...

Jesus is standing at the door of your pain; He wants to walk into your confusion, visit you in your loneliness...

And church, that person you know who needs The Lord need deliverance from hoping in false pools that can't satisfy!!

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What blesses me in this story is that Jesus chose the worst of the worst to show His mercy to...

The man Jesus decided to talk to had been crippled for thirty-eight years.

He was the poster child for the wreckage and despair of humanity.

Think about it: How many times in 38 years had someone beat him to the water?

How many times had his hopes been dashed?

This poor man pictures any man, all men...

He couldn't help himself--He was crippled physically.

He didn't know Who Jesus was--he was blind spiritually.

His hope was in frail man, "I have no man to help me into the pool," he complained to Jesus.

He was destined to lie there in that hopeless spot until he died but for the Sovereign arrival of Jesus!

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Finally we see...

IV. The conversation between Jesus and this poor man

The Lord's talk with him was brief. "Do you want to get well?"

At first we think, "What an odd question. OF COURSE he wanted to be well!"

But then I remembered having encountered people in my own ministry who didn't want to be well bad enough to come to Jesus.

Maybe you need to ask yourself today whether you want to be healed badly enough to come to the only One Who can truly heal you!

Sensing that this man did indeed want to be whole, Jesus said, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!"

Instantly the power of God surged into his atrophied muscles enabling him to stand up, whole and healed!

V. The Application

All around us lie the sick, dying, hopeless, discouraged, and defeated.

November 9 we're believing that multitudes are going to have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ!

So "tag a friend" by inviting them on that day of destiny.

LET'S PRAY