Do You Want to Be Well?
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea
Big Idea
Tension: Why does Jesus heal and forgive the paralytic knowing that he was a sinner.
Resolution: In order to do the Father’s will in seeking and saving sinners.
Exegetical Idea: Jesus heals and forgives the paralytic knowing that he was a sinner in order to do the Father’s will in seeking and saving sinners.
Theological Idea: Jesus saves sinners because it is the Father’s, and therefore his, will.
Homiletical Idea: Jesus saves me because he wants to.
Outline
Outline
Introduction: Why does Jesus save us?
The Story
Scene 1: Jesus and the Cripple
Jesus comes up at festival time into Jerusalem
He was at the pool. Jewish superstition held that when an angel came down and stirred the water, the first person who stepped into the pool would be healed (vs. 2-4). This is why so many people were blind, lame, and paralyzed.
There was a man who was laying there who had been tehre for 38 years. This is a man who is probably homeless, he probably has veyr little money, everything he has he carries with him, he was destitute and a beggar. We find out in vs. 7 that he has no community, no friends. (5)
Jesus comes to this man and says, “Do you want to be healed?” (vs. 6)
The man says, “I have no one to put me in the pool that I I could be healed (vs. 7).
Jesus simply says to him, “Take up your bed and walk.” (v. 8)
THe man we are told at once was healed and he took up his bed and walked (9).
Scene 2: The Man made well and the Jews
It was the Sabbath (v. 9)
The jews approach the man and say, “It is not lawful to carry your bed on the Sabbath (10)
The man simply says, “The man who healed me, he’s hte one who told me to take up my bed and walk.” (v. 11)
The Jews of course ask, “Who is he?” (v. 12)
But the man doesn’t know because Jesus had withdrawn due to a crowd in that place.
Scene 3: The man made well and Jesus
Go and sin no more (vs. 14)
He goes and tells the Jews who Jesus is (15)
Because of this, he is persecuting Jesus (vs. 16)
The Cripple
What should we make of the cripple? Why is he here? Who is he? Why is he important?
Positively
he was healed - Often times in the 4 gospels, when somebody is healed it indicates that somebody is forgiven. Forgiveness is often called healing in the Old Testament (Ps 41:3, 103:3, 107:20; Is 19:22, 53:5, 57:18-19; Jer 3:22, 17:14; Hos 6:1, 14:4; Matt 8:16-17)
The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.
“Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God.
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.
That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
He gets a change of identity. Whereas in vs. 5 and 7 he is called the sick man, the one who was invalid, in vs. 10 and 13 he gets a new identity. No longer is he identified as the one who was sick, but the one who was healed. No longer is he identified by the wrong things he used to do, but now he is identified by the fact that God had healed him.
he seems to be obedient. In vs. 9, at once he gets up and takes the bed and walks.
Negatively
On the other hand, it is clear that he has significant habits of sin in his life even after meeting Jesus. In vs. 14, when Jesus says “sin no more”. That word “sin” is in the present tense, meaning that it is ongoing, progressive, habitual sense. The point being that this man is walking in serious, progressive, habitual sin.
He does seem to have divided loyalties. This is contrasted with teh story of the Blind man in John 9. Unlike him, we are told that there is a connection between his suffering his sin. And unlike him, this man goes out and finds the Jews and tells them about Jesus, whereas the man born blind was willing to be cast out of the synagogue.
“The man defends himself by blaming the one who told him to do it. It is doubtful exegesis that understands the man to be defending Jesus, as if he were saying that anyone with the authority to heal certainly has the authority to interpret the law authoritatively. He is simply ‘ducking’ the authorities; he will shortly go so far as to try to ingratiate himself with them (v. 15). - DA Carson
Conclusion: So which is it?
He’s a tragic figure.
I think he is a figure who is genuinely redeemed.
Yet he is also a figure who has genuine struggles for sanctification and people-pleasing. He has divded loyalties
Of course the question is, if this is true, if this is who he is, why would God save him? Why would Jesus knowing that he would betray him go and save him?
In this, looking at the cripple is almost like holding up a mirror, isn’t he? After all, we are saved and we follow Christ. And yet, we still have difficulties, temptations, strugges. We still ahve divided loyalties. We still have people-pleasing tendencies.
So the question is not only, why would Jesus save him, but why would Jesus save any of us?
The Savior - so what does this all tell su about Jesus?
First, Jesus has a greater purpose in mind. Jesu sknows what day of the week it is. Jesus is using this event to almost pick a fight wiht the Pharisees. All teh suffering, all of the years of sickness and toil, Jesus has a plan to use for his glory.
Yet, Jesus is very intentional. After all, Jesus could have healed anybody, but jesus chose to heal this man. There were masses of afflicted before him, and Jesus heals this man. He chooses to give this person healing.
We see quite clearly, Jesus knows all about htis man’s character. Jesus’ omniscience is emphasized in vs. 6. Jesus knows that he’s going to betray him, he knows he has divided loyalties, he knows who he is.
Yet, and this is quite clear, Jesus forgave him anyways. Jesus doesn’t come to forgive those who have no sins. The doctor does not come to heal the well, but the sick. Jesus did not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance (Matt 9:9-13)
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Not only this, but Jesus is not content to forgive this man. Rather, Jesus is committed to this man’s sanctification. He comes to him and says, “stop sinning.” This is what Paul says in 1 Thess 4:3 that God’s will is our sanctification.
Now you might come to me and say, “Why did Jesus heal this man, why did he call him to holiness, after all, this is a man with deep, pervasive issues, this is a man with great struggles who would let him down immediately after he called him.
And I guess my answer would be because he wanted to (John 1:12-13). Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
Application:
Jesus knew who you were when he died for you. He does not have buyer’s remorse.
Jesus comes to you today and asks, do you want to be made well?
“Christ comes to us invalids, and he asks whether we want to be made well. There are many who prefer to remain in their sickness. Nevertheless, Christ, having suffered for all, in a certain way, offers himself for our salvation.” - Johannes Oecolampadius
If you are a CHristian, you are no longer known by who you were and what you have done, but by what Christ has done for you.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Jesus heals us for our holiness
Some of you need to hear, go and sin no more.
And the motivation for that is, if you keep sinning, something worse will come.
WHy would GOd do that? Because he loves us. (Heb 12:7-11)
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
When we fail him, which we will, we should pick ourselves back up, and seek him.
Sometimes suffering is in some way caused by our sin and usually it is exacerbated by our sin. But, it is almost impossible to know if that is true in the moment.
Take John 9 again as an example.
Further, there are plenty of examples of people who are terrible sinners, but who do not prosper.
If you are in the midst of suffering, I just think teh most unhelpful question to ask is, “Do I deserve this?”. The answer to that question is never simple.
Instead, ask, “What is God trying to teach me in this?”
But, and you can take this to the bank, God has a purpose in your suffering.
