Signs - Part 3

Introduction:

We are now in the third week of our current sermon series - Signs. We have been studying the signs that John includes in his gospel account. There are seven in total but we are only covering five of them including the resurrection. Although Jesus did many other signs during His earthly ministry, John includes these seven because they each reveal something important about the identity, message and mission of Jesus.

This third sign has some distinct differences from the first two and it also is a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. The first two signs were initiated by the requests of others.

Mary asked Jesus to do something because the wedding party was out of wine.

And the official sought Jesus out in order to heal his son. But we’re going to see that Jesus initiates this third sign without being asked to act.

The first two signs John writes that some of the people involved in the sign “believed in Jesus”. In the case of the first sign it was the four disciples who believed and in the case of the second sign it was the official and his family. With this third sign, there is no such declaration of belief. While, as we will see, there is a degree of belief, it is certainly not the same as what we observed with the first two signs.

Even more significant, when we reach the fifth chapter of John’s gospel, we see that Jesus’ signs actually precipitate intense opposition to His ministry and from that point forward the Jewish religious leaders are looking for a way to arrest Jesus and put Him to death.

Prayer

Let’s begin in John 5:1

John 5:1 NLT “Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days.”

We don’t know which feast this was, but it was likely one of the three feasts where able bodied Jewish men were required to go to Jerusalem. Right after He performs this sign, Jesus returns to Galilee.

John 5:2–15 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” 11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. 13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Textual issue for v. 4:

Before we study this passage, I need to briefly address a textual issue here, since I know some of you are already aware of it. In the NLT, and almost all newer translations, you will notice there is no verse 4. There is a footnote indicating that some manuscripts insert some additional wording there. That additional text is not present in the earliest manuscripts that we have available and was almost certainly added by some later scribes as they copied the original manuscripts to try and explain the sick man’s answer in verse 7. I’d be happy to talk more about that with you if you’d like, but, like every textual variant we find in the New Testament, it does not impact in any way the meaning of this sign or any doctrine, so we’re not going to spend any more time on it right now.

Here is the central idea for today’s message:

This third sign shows that Jesus is the Son of God, who speaks and acts for God in order to make people whole.

This was an inflection point in Jesus's ministry. This was the sign that pointed to Jesus as the Son of God, making him at once more controversial: both desired and hated.

John 5:2 NLT Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.

I want to give you some context and a picture of what is happening during this time and at this location:

The Sheep Gate was located along the north wall of Jerusalem. It was the gate through which the sheep were brought for sacrifice in the Temple.

[Map]

The pool of Bethesda was located just outside the gate. There was a legend that the angels would periodically stir the waters, and that when that occurred, the first person to enter the pool would be healed. You can imagine the scene here. Invalids of every type were constantly hanging around the pool. And every time that the waters stirred, probably as a result of a spring below, there would be a mad dash to be the first to reach the waters.

Bethesda means “house of mercy”, but in reality it should have been called a “house of merit” because even if those waters could heal people, which they obviously could not, only those who were strong enough or quick enough would be able to reach the water first and be healed. The neediest could never be healed.

This is a picture of many people in the world today when it comes to their spiritual condition. Helpless, sin-damaged people put their faith in some superstition or religious tradition that cannot save them. And therefore they are never healed.

John 5:5 NLT “One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.”

As Jesus walked by the pool he saw a man who had been sick for so many years sitting around the pool, waiting for the waters to move. Most likely, based on the context here, the man was lame and could not walk.

As is often the case, Jesus a question. A question that throws us off.

John 5:6 NLT “When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

Would you like to get well?

Well of course he wanted to be healed.

That’s why he’s hanging around the pool, right? So why would Jesus even ask that?

First, we need to keep in mind that whenever Jesus asks a question, He isn’t doing that to obtain information. The text even tells us that Jesus already knew everything about the man. As God in the flesh, He already knows the answer to the question.

Most of the time Jesus asks questions get the other person to consider aspects of his or her life that maybe that person hasn’t really considered before. I think that is exactly what Jesus is doing here.

Because this question is really the key to understanding this entire sign, I’m going to take a few minutes to dig a little deeper into what Jesus is asking here. In Greek the question consists of three words:

Would you like = thelo = Are you willing/committed. to will, to wish. Expresses a person’s desire or wish in terms of purpose or intent.

This is much stronger than just desire. It is to be entirely willing and to be committed to taking the action required to do something.

to get = ginomai (gen-in-my)= to become, to come into being

This Greek verb is related to the word from which we get our English word “genesis”. It describes a new beginning or a new start.

well = hygies (hoogeeace) - healthy, sound, whole

This is more than just physical health. It is closely rela “ ted to the Hebrew concept of shalom = peace | wholeness. Pre-fallen state that God desires all of his children to return to. It is being who God intended a person to be.

So Jesus is essentially asking this man if he is willing to do what it takes to be reborn into the whole person that God intended for him to be.

The man doesn’t answer Jesus’ question. Instead he begins to make excuses.

John 5:7 NLT “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

He apparently doesn’t consider the possibility that Jesus can make him whole, so he replies that he is alone and has no one that can carry him down to the water when it begins to stir. So someone else always beats Him to the water.

I am afraid that we are often a lot more like that man than we would care to admit. I definitely get the sense here that he wasn’t really sure he wanted to be made whole because that would come with a whole new level of responsibility. He would no longer be able to sit around and beg but would have to get a job. He could no longer blame others for his situation. He would need to turn from his sin. Certainly we don’t know what kind of sin Jesus was referring to here…maybe laziness or a spirit of fear. Jesus specifically told the man to turn from his sin which would indicate his healing could be both physical and spiritual.We will get back to this section in just a bit.

Interestingly, unlike we saw with the first two signs, there is no indication here that this man believed in Jesus or that he was ever healed spiritually. Granted, he did believe Jesus enough to obey when Jesus told him to get up, take his bed and walk. But on the other hand he also ended up ratting out Jesus to the Jewish authorities.

Nevertheless, this sign is certainly a picture of what Jesus can do for us spiritually. And there are many people who are not willing to do what it takes to be healed spiritually. They don’t want the responsibility that comes with the decision to let Jesus heal them. They are not willing to make Jesus their Lord and put Him in control of their life and obey Him. And often, they are unwilling to let go of some sin in their life because that is more important to them than being healed. Or what is known can feel less scary, even if its causing us pain, than what is unknown

It is also clear here that Jesus intentionally healed this man on the Sabbath in order to precipitate a confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders. After all this guy had been sick for 38 years, so waiting one more day wouldn’t have really mattered. He could have even told the man to leave his bed there and come and pick it up the next day. That way he would not have violated the laws the Jewish leaders had made regarding the Sabbath. But Jesus provokes a confrontation because He wants to demonstrate that religion, religious traditions, and the law were all incapable of making anyone whole.

The Jewish religious leaders had surely seen this man lying helpless next to the pool on many occasions since they had to walk by the pool every day on their way to the Temple. And now that they see him walking around carrying his bed, you would think they would rejoice in the miracle that made that possible. Instead, they are more concerned that He is breaking their manmade rules concerning the Sabbath.

John 5:10–13 NLT “…They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd.”

When he is asked who healed him, this man doesn’t even know it was Jesus. I find that incredible. There may be reasons for this…maybe he was self-centered or that he was shocked that he was healed. We really don’t know why.

We next see this man in the Temple, which indicates that he was probably “religious” at least to some degree.

John 5:14-15 NLT 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

When Jesus finds him there, He does as He often does with other people. As we multiple gospel accounts, Jesus treats people with compassion and mercy, but He never excuses or condones sin. So here He tells the man to “stop sinning”. That is an indication that this man needs more than just physical healing, he also needs to be healed spiritually as well.

Given the context here, it seems likely that this man’s sin wasn’t necessarily what caused his infirmity, although that is certainly a possibility. It seems more likely that his sin was the way that he dealt with it. Rather than seeking God’s help, he was trying to heal himself by participating in a religious superstition. And when he is confronted with his sin, rather than allowing Jesus to deal with it, he does what he always does. He blames someone else. In fact, it appears that he is actually mad at Jesus now, so he returns to the Jewish leaders to let them know that Jesus was the one who had healed Him on the Sabbath.

That is exactly the same problem that most people have when they try to be healed spiritually. They think that somehow they can earn favor with God by adhering to some religious practice like going to church, taking communion, serving or giving money. And when that doesn’t work, they get mad at God or blame someone else. But the fact is that there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor. And unfortunately in this self-centered world that we live in, many are not willing to accept what Jesus has already done for them on the cross.

So as we close this morning, let me ask you the same question that Jesus asked this man:

Are you willing to become whole?

Perhaps it seems obvious that the answer to that question must be “yes”. Who doesn’t want to be whole? But before you answer with a hardy YES, let’s look at what that requires:

In order to let Jesus make you whole, you must:

Decide if I am willing to be changed

Notice that I didn’t say, do you want to be changed? As we talked about earlier, Jesus isn’t just asking that. He is asking if you are totally commited to being changed and if you’re willing to take whatever action is required for Him to change you.

That means that you can’t hold on to anything in your life that is more important to you than Jesus, especially any sin in your life. If there is some sin in your life that is more important to you than Jesus, He is not going to be able to make you whole.

Quit making excuses

If you want Jesus to make you whole, you have to quit making excuses. You have to quit blaming other people for your problems. Some of you may need to take ownership of the bad decisions that you have made that have caused pain and hurt to you and to others.

Take action

Even though, as we pointed out earlier, it does not appear that this man believes in Jesus to the point that he is made whole, we do need to give him some credit. When Jesus told him to stand up and take his bed and walk, he did what Jesus commanded him to do.

This morning, if you want Jesus to make you whole it requires more than just good intentions and words. You will have to take action.

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus and committed your life to Him, then today you need to begin the journey to being made whole by doing that. That is an important decision and action that shouldn’t be taken lightly so if God is placing it on your heart to do that today, we would like to talk to you more about that and help you take that first step.

As part of that process, you also need to take the step of repentance. The word “repent” simply means to turn around. When it comes to our sin, it means that we confess that to God and then that we take whatever action is required to turn away from that sin so that it doesn’t become a lifestyle.

Even if you are an apprentice of Jesus as a result of committing your life to Him, you may also need to repent of some sin in your life. That is especially true if that sin has become a lifestyle. You will never become whole as long as you are hanging on to some sin in your life.

Prayer:

All in on being changed by Jesus

Salvation

Repentance