"The real goal"

Title: The real goal

Text: John 5:1-18

Introduction:

Hook: (Story)

Mention story about being young and how I disliked being sick, but I enjoyed the benefits that it offered me

Though I disliked the effects of being sick, I enjoyed some of the benefits it gave me

Thesis Statement:

The main point of my sermon is to help us get to where Christ wants us to get to (Real Healing)

I. Exposition of the Passage:

Context:

Mention that Jesus is now beginning to become a household name in this part of John

In John 1 we are told that the word has become flesh and chose to make its dwelling among us

John 2 we are told about his first miracle turning water to wine, and then we are told about his temple cleansing

John 3 we are told about the infamous conversation between Nichodemus and Christ, to which we’re given arguably the greatest pericope of scripture saying “For God so loved...”

John 4 we see salvation vs theology where Jesus confronts the samaritan woman nye the well

And then the page of scripture turns over to John 5, and we’re now dropped into Jerusalem, where Jesus has what I’ll argue, one of his most impactful discussions.

The word tells us that Jesus walks by a man and asks him a peculiar question “Do you want to be made well?”

I’d argue that this question, at first glance, was perhaps one of the worst questions Jesus could’ve ever asked. It would seem obvious enough, that Jesus who is walking among individuals who are lame, sick, blind, dumb, it would only make sense, that he would want to be healed. But Jesus, much to my chagrin asks this probing question, is it your desire to be made well.

The author of John, does not directly tell us what was the cause of this infirmity, it does not tell us what was the reason behind it, but all it tells us is that the man was ill. And for 38 years he could not bring himself nye unto the pool for the spiritual healing he so desired

Some versions of the word describe this as the interaction with the invalid, a person who was ill by natural limitation

The bible does not go into the depth the reason for his illness but all it tells us is that He was Ill.

And If I can be honest, over the course of this week my feelings toward this invalid man changed a little bit, because not only do I see myself in Him, but I also see many of us in Him.

You see at the beginning of this week I despised this invalid man, I thought of Him as weak, I thought of Him as your typical beggar. I thought of him as somebody who should’ve just laced up his bootstraps and gotten His job done, but the Lord had to show some compassion for me.

Jesus asks Him, “do you want to be made well” and instead of the man telling Jesus YES, he immediately begins to make excuses on why he can’t go into the pool. And you see when I read that, it made me so angry, because I thought to myself here’s your choice at the help you’ve been sitting around for, why not just say yes, but then the Lord dropped this bombshell on me

II. Key Points:

1.) I felt the Lord tell me plainly, “if you become a victim to your circumstance, any help that comes your way will feel like you are being criticized”

The story of the woman at the well and the story of this man aren’t so different, they show two people who had an excuse for why their circumstance was not changed.

You see I had a talk with a friend of mine yesterday and what she said tore me up, she said “The beautiful thing is that you get to decide the world you live in”

Some of us, due to our current circumstance have become such a slave to our circumstance that we can’t recognize help when it comes our way.

People try to love on you, people try to be there for you, people try to lift you up, but you see it as a threat and a harm to your personal ministry that you discard the help because you see it as an attack

Jesus asks the man, do YOU want to BE made well, and the only thing that he can muster up the courage to say is, “I ain’t got nobody to put me in the pool.” Now look this isn’t a sermon saying just have a little faith and you’ll be good, nah this aint that sermon, but man why is it that whenever Jesus wants to do something good for us, our only response is “look at my circumstance” (And can I be honest, we allow our circumstances to punk us for too often)

But when I read the text again I had to ask myself, why would Jesus need to ask him does HE want to be made well? Now I know some believe that faith can be measured, but I simply believe that faith is just trust, so even I’m barely trusting I got some faith, but I had to ask myself what about this man gave Jesus the inclination that there was a chance he didn’t want to be made well.

But then I came across this phrase, “when Jesus saw him lying there, and KNEW that he had been in that condition a long time”. Now some would argue that it was Jesus’s omniscience that led him to that discovery, but the bible doesn’t insinuate that, what it does insinuate is that it was made KNOWN to Jesus that he’d been there long. So this could’ve been two options, the first is somebody informed Jesus about the man, or perhaps Jesus recognized the man. Perhaps Jesus would pass by this place once in a while, and would see the man, perhaps Jesus would go about his business stop by the pools and see the man, all we know is that somehow someway Jesus had known that this man had been there for a long time.

Perhaps the question that Jesus was asking him, was based off what Jesus had observed for himself.

You know those people, that whenever you ask how they doing, they don’t got nothing but complaints to say. “Happy Sabbath, is it Happy?” “Goodmorning, what makes this morning good” Ain’t smile in 10 or more years, but they always got something negative to say. Jesus knew that he had been lying there.

III. Application:

What is seems like to me, is that Jesus by observing this man, recognized that though he was physically incapable, there was apart of him, that was okay with being that way.

It seems like after several hundred or even thousand attempts to etch closer to the pool nothing worked, he tried all He could but nothing worked, He tried to make it happen, but it all kept failing. Have you been in this man’s shoes before do you know what it feels like to be so close to your healing, to be so close your salvation to be so close to your breakthrough but instead of it being you, it’s somebody else.

I know the christians always say “If God is blessing your neighbor” but that ain’t no good for me if my neighbors keep getting blessed and yet I’m still not getting blessed. That’s a cute quote but when is God gonna remember my home when drops the mail off, why is it that whenever I need healing God is too slow to show up, we ask we ask we ask, and when the answer doesn’t come in what seems like 38 years we get depressed, we get restless, we get hopeless, because it doesn’t seem like God wants anything to do with our sinful behind. Yeah so what I messed up but I’m your child where are you Lord! And For 38 years He’s had to wrestle with being unseen, wrestle with being looked over, wrestle with being shoved aside, wrestle with picking up the leftovers, wrestle with the reality that it just isn’t his day. Do you feel his pain, do you recognize His burden.

It’s not that He doesn’t want Jesus’s help, but it’s that He after an entire generation passes on by, he’s still the same lame cripple infirmity striken man he was 38 years ago, while everybody else that He knows getting healed. WHERE ARE YOU GOD!

The bible says, that Jesus knows that he’s been there long. Can you see Jesus now, walking among the sick. His heart aching as He walks past his creation, knowing that the power of healing is surging through his body, but understanding his human limitations and the boundaries set by His Father, Jesus is emotional, because on a day that resembles freedom, on a day that resembles liberation there are still those who are sick, in need and restless. But the soft spoken, gentle way of the savior meets this man in his tracks and asks Him do you want to be made well.

The man gives Jesus his sob story and Jesus just tells him i ain’t come here for that. See I’m grateful that sometimes Jesus has to remind us what he came here for, I didn’t come to ask how long you been here, I didn’t come to ask why can’t you make it there, all I want to know is DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED, all that other stuff doesn’t matter, DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED. Then Jesus tells him plainly, rise, take up your bed and walk.

Some say this is a story where no faith is needed, but I argue and say that it takes faith to hear get up and walk after 38 years of not being able to, Jesus says get up and walk and he begins walking, now I got a very easy shout for you this morning, here it is, WHEN JESUS TELLS YOU GET UP FROM YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS TRUST HIS WORD! WHEN HE TELLS YOU GET UP FROM YOUR PROBLEM, ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS TRUST HIS WORD! CAN I ENCOURAGE SOMEBODY AND LET THEM KNOW, THAT JESUS CAN STILL HEAL, THAT JESUS CAN STILL SAVE, THAT JESUS CAN STILL RESTORE, OH COME ON AND BLESS THE NAME OF THE LORD! THE BIBLE SAYS SOME TRUST IN CHARIOTS, SOME IN HORSES, BUT WE REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD! GIVE GOD SOME PRAISE.

But I can’t let you go that easy, I got a tough challenge for you. Watch this, if Jesus who’s only been around for a little bit, knew this man was ill. That means others knew the man.

The bible tells us that the Jews saw the man, and they got a little upset. (EXPOUND ON THIS), PEOPLE WILL BE MORE MAD ABOUT YOUR HEALING THAN YOUR INFIRMITY

VI. Conclusion:

Now here’s the tough part (I’m done)

Some of us want that spiritual high moment, but the truth is that rarely ever sustains people

The man meets Jesus again and Jesus tells Him to go and sin no more