Untitled Sermon

5:8. Jesus’ powerful word heals the man: Get up! (egeire) anticipates the powerful voice of the Son of God on the last day (vv. 28–29), even as it exemplifies that powerful voice now (v. 25). Jesus’ word also instructs the man: Pick up your mat and walk. The ‘mat’, normally made of straw, was light enough to be rolled up and easily carried on the shoulder of a well person. Jesus’ command is nicely paralleled by Mark 2:11, though many other features of the two narratives differ. Probably the command was particularly suited to healed paralytics: the healed individual was not staggering off in ambiguous health, but leaving with the bodily strength necessary to carry his mat!

5:9a. ‘Just as the thirty-eight years prove the gravity of the disease, so the carrying of the bed and the walking prove the completeness of the cure’ (Barrett, p. 254).

5:9b–10. John briefly mentions that the healing took place on a Sabbath (v. 9b), thereby setting the stage for the confrontation and discourse that follow. There is ample evidence that numerous events in Jesus’ ministry triggered controversy over the Sabbath (see below); this healing is among them. Indeed, in the larger scheme of the Fourth Gospel, this particular story has been included in John’s Gospel partly because it illustrates the powerful voice of the Son of God (cf. notes on vv. 8, 25, 28–29), and partly because of its connection with a Sabbath dispute, and the Christological dialogue it precipitates.

D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 243–244.

3. The Cure in the Healing (John 5:8, 9)

Christ solved the man’s problem quickly. After thirty-eight years the man would no longer be lame.

• The omission in the cure. Christ did not use the pool in the healing. Christ did not use earthly means, or those means would have been given the credit instead of Christ.

• The orders for the cure. “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8). Divine commands are involved in this miracle. Divine commands are for our blessing, not for our burden. First, rising. “Rise.” This speaks symbolically of what happens to your life when Christ enters it. You will rise in character and spirituality just as this man rose physically. Second, taking. “Take up thy bed.” The bed was simply a pad that could be rolled up and carried. Third, walking. “Walk.” This order provided for a great testimony of the fullness of the miracle of Christ. Not only could the man rise and roll up his bed, but he could also carry the bed and walk. This gave abundant and excellent testimony of the work of Christ. A believer should also give abundant and excellent testimony about their faith.

• The obedience in the cure. “Immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked” (John 5:9). The command of Christ was obeyed by the man at the pool. First, the force for his obedience. The cripple had no power whatever to rise and roll up his bed and walk. But once the command was given, the power was also given to obey. When God commands, God enables. This is a great encouragement to those who feel incapable of doing God’s will for their life. It also nullifies many excuses for not serving the Lord. Second, the fastness of his obedience. “Immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.” The fastness of the obedience and the fastness of his healing went hand in hand. We miss many blessings because we are delinquent in obedience. Third, the fullness of his obedience. “Took up his bed and walked.” This man did everything Christ told him to do. Complete obedience gives the best testimony for Christ and the best evidence of salvation.

John G. Butler, Analytical Bible Expositor: John (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 2009), 74–75.