John 5:1-18 (2)

Let us open our Bibles to John 5:1-18. We will read, and then we will pray. I have entitled this morning’s sermon “Help the Helpless”.

The main theme of chapter 5 is the Jewish leader’s negative reaction to Jesus. This is the first time that the Jewish leaders reject Jesus and wish to kill Him!

In chapters 2 through 4 of John’s gospel, we see the people’s attitude towards Jesus with interest but with reservation (people showed interest in the signs that Jesus performed and in the controversial cleansing of the temple.

However, in Chapters 5 through 7, we see the beginning of the nation’s shift in attitude toward Jesus from interest with reservation to outright rejection of Jesus.

In our passage today, we find that the religious leaders of Israel are now beginning to oppose Jesus, and their hostility towards Jesus was triggered by the compassionate work of Jesus in healing a paralyzed man during the Sabbath. The miracle that Jesus intentionally did on the Sabbath triggered the hostility of the religious leaders of Israel.

In this battle between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders, I want us to see HOW Jesus and the Jewish leaders RESPONDED to the difficult situation of the helpless. Who between them really cares?

I. God’s compassion for the helpless (vv.1-9)

II. False religion chokes the helpless (vv.10-15)

III. False religion contempt God (vv.16-18).

I. God’s compassion for the helpless (vv.1-9)

Introduction (vv.1-2) The Helpless Condition of the People. We are told of the story's setting - Jesus went to Jerusalem in time for the “ feast of the Jews.” We really don’t know what feast this is, but it was a feast, a time of celebration, and the Jews were flocking to the City of Jerusalem. Then John zoomed in to a specific location called the Pool of Bethesda, which means “house of mercy”. It’s a big place because it has five porticoes (covered walkways/colonnade).

Problem (vv.3-5) The problem in the story is that there are a multitude of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people lying in the walkways, and they are helpless and desperate. In their desperation for healing, they hang on to a superstition that an angel would come and stir the water, and the first one to get into the water gets healed (This part is not found in the oldest manuscripts but was later added by scribes). The author focused on a paralyzed man who had been like that for 38 years. He suffered for 38 years, and no one was able to help him. In the house of mercy, he received no mercy, no compassion. When will his suffering end? Who is able to help him escape his desperate situation?

Rising Action (vv.6-7) The Compassion of Jesus. Enter now Jesus…Jesus approached the paralyzed man who had been ill for 38 years, for he KNEW that he had been suffering for a long time and asked him if he wished to get well. Jesus “KNEW”. As we know in chapter 2, Jesus KNEW what is the heart of man. Jesus is all-knowing.

Then Jesus asked the man, “Do you wish to get well?” But why ask the man if he wishes to get well? The Lord’s question seems strange; obviously, the man wanted to be cured, or he would not have been at the pool in the first place. There was a purpose to this. His question served several purposes: to secure the man’s full attention, to focus on his need, to offer him healing, and to communicate God’s love and concern for him.

Instead of answering Jesus’s question ‘Do you want to get well?”, the man gave a gloomy testimony as to why he was not healed. It is because no one helped him get to the pool when the water was stirred. In the place called “house of mercy”, he received no mercy. He only hopes for healing when someone helps him get to the pool. He was committed to the superstitious belief.

Have you been in a desperate situation where no one showed mercy or offered help? It’s very discouraging. We can relate to the man’s desperation. But despite not receiving mercy, he is in for a surprise…because HELP is about to arrive.

Climax (vv.8-9). The Miraculous Healing.Jesus commanded the paralyzed man to get up, pick up his pallet, and walk. Why? Didn’t Jesus know that the man could not get up and walk? How will the paralyzed man walk?

But then a miracle happened! Immediately, the man became well, picked up his pallet, and began to walk. Jesus miraculously healed the paralyzed man immediately through the power of His word! Jesus demonstrated His divine power as one sovereign over sickness. The man was released from 38 years of suffering and desperation, and Jesus did it instantly and without any aid.

What can we learn about Jesus here?

Jesus is God and sovereign over physical sickness. There is nothing that Jesus cannot do.

Jesus initiates and helps us in our helplessness. This is amazing GRACE!

Reflect on this: How did Jesus initiate and help us in our helplessness?

Jesus initiated our salvation. Romans 5:8 “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This is GRACE and MERCY!

Because of our sins, we are helpless, and we can’t break the chain that binds us.

Transition: God’s compassion was displayed in the instant healing of the helpless, paralyzed man! For sure, he rejoiced greatly, and for sure, he was excited to test run his new legs! right? Won’t you test-run them? But his happiness was hampered and cut short by the Jewish leaders of Israel.

The religious leaders who were supposed to show compassion to the helpless have done the opposite. In a figurative sense, they choke the helpless by putting heavy burdens on their neck with a heavy yoke called “legalism”. This is what John wants us to see in verse 10-15. This is the second point.

II. False religion chokes the helpless (vv.10-15)

The Jewish leaders hinder the helpless (vv.10-15). Then John tells us that the healing occurred on the Sabbath. This is very important. What’s the significance of the Sabbath here in verse 10?

The Sabbathwas a central issue in the conflicts between Jesus and His opponents (cf. Mark 2:23; 3:4). The Mosaic Law required that work cease on the seventh day. Additional laws were added by later Jewish religious authorities, which became very complicated and burdensome. These human traditions often obscuredthe divine intention in God’s Law. “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27) so that he could have rest and a time for worship and joy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

Jesus refused to observe the legalistic man-made Sabbath regulations of the Rabbinic tradition - Jesus, who is all-knowing, knew that the heart of their legalistic actions is false righteousness.

Think about this: Jesus could have healed man any day. The day before the Sabbath or after the Sabbath. The man was not terminally ill. It was not even about faith. There was no faith involved here from the man. Jesus just deliberately healed the man without faith on a Sabbath, of all days the Sabbath! Why?

The Lord deliberately heals the man on the Sabbath, deliberately tells him to pick up his mat, and deliberately tells him to walk. He knows he is defying the Jews that are always watching Him. He has no interest in Rabbinic tradition, only the Law of God.

· He knows that they have substituted the traditions of men for the Law of God.

· He knows that the Sabbath is a means to glorify God and honor God.

Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:18). Therefore, if anyone would have a right to act on a Sabbath, it was Jesus because Jesus was Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus picked the Sabbath for the expressed purposed of exciting a confrontation with the leaders of Israel. They perverted the Law and Jesus wants to correct their legalistic view of Sabbath. Sabbath should be a time for rest, relaxation…the only thing you are not supposed to do was the normal work , the normal business, the normal jobs - Jeremiah 17:21–22“21 ‘Thus says the Lord, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 “You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.” What was forbidden was “commerce”, normal jobs and business.

By adding legalistic regulations, the Jewish leaders have turned it into a BURDEN for man.

In verses 10-12, Notice how the Jews make it a burden for the people. The Jews saw the man carrying his pallet, rebuked and forbade him from carrying it. They did not even bother to ask why he was carrying his pallet. They don’t even show joy for the man who has been miraculously healed. They don’t care about his joy! They were not interested in the miraculous healing. They pounced on the helpless man who had just experienced the incredible joy of being able to walk and move around. The incredible joy of feeling like a new and different person!

The confused man had been caught breaking the rabbis' rules and did not know how to deal with his problem. So, he sought a quick defense by blaming the healer.

He said, “Hey, I was just following orders.” blame him, not me!

The man just wanted to escape the punishment. According to the Rabbinic Law: “The Jews’ rigid tradition (not the Old Testament) taught that if anyone carried anything from a public place to a private place on the Sabbath intentionally, he deserved death by stoning. In this case, the man who was healed was in danger of losing his life.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

So, in verse 12-13, they inquired who had commanded him to pick up his pallet, but the man did not know that it was Jesus because Jesus slipped away…(Obviosly, Jesus did not post the miraculous healing on FB to let the people know…that’s what most fake healers do to attract victims..right?)

In v.14. Later, Jesus once again showed himself to the healed man and warned him to stop sinning so that nothing worse would happen to him. As we know, sin affects the physical body. Our Lord’s sobering warning reflects an important biblical truth. Although Scripture is clear that illness is not always an immediate result of personal sin (9:1–3), it also teaches that some sicknesses are directly related to deliberate disobedience. For example, think about David. After committing adultery and murder, David cried out, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer” (Ps. 32:3–4)

By warning the healed man, Jesus is interested not merely in healing the person’s body. Far more important is the healing of his soul from sin. Jesus wanted the man to not just look at the physical state of healing but to desire spiritual renewal as well - to come to Jesus and to believe in Jesus as God who is powerful not just to heal him physically but most importantly, to redeem him spiritually.

But the grip of false religion is so ingrained in the man….that he left Jesus and told the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him and told him to carry his pallet (Jesus is the culprit!, not me).

The man chose a side. He wanted to be on the good side of the Jewish authorities, and so he told them that it was Jesus. He doesn’t want to suffer the wrath of the Jewish leaders who are antagonistic to Jesus. So, despite the miracle he experienced, he left Jesus. He was like a person who was choked on the neck and had to give in in order to avoid suffering and preserve himself. Although temporarily, without Jesus in his life, he will surely suffer from eternal damnation, along with the false teachers of religion.

That’s what false religion does; it has an invisible hand that chokes the man with legalistic rules and regulations that burden him and bind him.

That is why Jesus came to unburden man, to give rest to man.

Matthew 11:28–30 “28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

This reminds us today, brethren, to come to Jesus because he alone can unload the burden from our shoulders of trying to be saved by our work and merit. God desires the healing of your soul more than your physical body. For that to happen, you must come to Jesus and put your faith in Him as your Lord and Savior. Don’t make the same mistake that the man did by leaving Jesus for fear of being an outcast and suffering temporal punishment. Only in Jesus will you avoid eternal punishment in Hell.

Transition: It’s not just that false religion chokes and hinders the helpless from receiving and enjoying the grace of God. False religion, at its core –is contempt of God because it twists and misrepresents God and His Holy Word. It attacks the very Word of God! This leads me to the 3rd and final point.

III. False religion contempt God (vv.16-18)

The Jewish leaders hinder the helper (vv.16-18). The Jews then started persecuting Jesus because He was healing on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered with a startling truth for the Jews when Jesus called God His Father. Jesus called God his own Father, making himself equal to God. Here, we see the relationship between Jesus and the Father. This implies that Jesus as God has the authority to define the real meaning of the Sabbath because it is God who ordained the Sabbath. Jesus as God will continue the work of the Father (v.17), For if God stopped working; the world would collapse.

But the Spiritually blind Jewish leaders won’t accept that Jesus is equal to God. As a result, the Jews started seeking to kill Him, for the Jews saw Jesus as a lawbreaker and blasphemer and, therefore, must be eradicated.

Their contempt of Jesus is contempt for God.

In response to their contempt for God, Jesus declared 7 woes (sorrow or distress) to condemn the Pharisees in Matthew 23. It ends with a prophecy that the Jerusalem temple, where these religious leaders twisted and used the Word of God to burden man, will be destroyed - Jesus said, “not a single stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2) - and it happened in AD 70 under the command of Roman General Titus.

In summary, the story reveals that Jesus is the Son of God, sovereign and powerful over physical sickness and compassionate to the helpless. He wants to remove the burden that false religion is putting on the back of the people.

While Jesus came to restore and give freedom, false religion opposes Jesus and makes it difficult for a man to go to Jesus. But in the end, Jesus was victorious over those who opposed Him!

As I meditated on the passage, I felt loved and cared for. I can see myself in the shoes of the paralyzed man. Like him, I was broken and sick physically and spiritually. I am in awe that Jesus understands my helplessness, and He initiated my healing and restoration, above all, my salvation despite my sin and unworthiness. I praise God because, in Jesus, I find rest. Jesus is my rest.

I can’t help but think about the other helpless people who have not met Jesus. They need to hear the Gospel of Jesus so they, too, can experience the healing power of Jesus to cure their physical and spiritual brokenness.

If we claim to be a follower of God, are we compassionate to the helpless? What are you doing to show compassion to the helpless and those who are blinded by false religions?

Conclusion:

As redeemed and restored people of God, let us continue to share the Gospel despite the reality of opposition and false religion around us because many are helpless, and only Jesus can restore them.

Like our Lord Jesus Christ, let us help the helpless!