What Do You Need From Jesus?

Introduction

As I begin this morning, I want to take a minute and say, “Than You” to a few people.

First, I want to say thank you to our deacon body. These men love me enough to tell me that I was over doing it! And they love me enough to “MAKE” me take a little break!

Next, I want to say thank you to Lance. Without question, he covered three weeks of preaching and is still covering for me on Sunday Nights.

And finally, I want to say thank you to you! Your love and concern never goes unnoticed! So, thank you!

Now, then, three weeks ago we left off our story at the end of John 4. There you may remember that Jesus healed the “royal official’s” son, without ever seeing the boy.

This was a “remote” healing of sorts. Nevertheless, the man—the father— “took Jesus at his word. . .” (4:50b).

As a result, the man’s son was healed and lived!

Today, we come to chapter 5, and we pick up the story with Jesus going back up to Jerusalem.

So, if you have your Bibles, I want to encourage you to turn with me to John chapter 5, and we’ll begin reading with verse 1.

John 5:1 NIV

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

New Scene

We are given an indefinite time marker, “Some time later. . .”

The action is that Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

He went there to celebrated one of the Jewish festivals, but we are not told which one.

John 5:2–3 NIV

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

The Pool

In Jerusalem near the “Sheep Gate” there’s a pool (see Logos Media) (v. 2a).

In Aramaic it is called “Bethesda” (v. 2b).

The pool was surrounded by 5 columns (v. 2c).

Around the pool gathered all of the sick—the blind, lame, and paralyzed (v. 3).

NOTE: Some later manuscripts have a verses 3b & 4 that reads, “For an angel of the Lord went down and stirred up the water at certain times. Whoever first stepped in after the stirring of the water was healed from whatever disease which he suffered.” Few textual scholars accept the authenticity of any part of v. 3b-4. They reject this passage because it is not included in any of the earlier passages. In fact, no Greek Text prior to 400 A.D. contains these words.

John 5:5 NIV

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

The Paralytic

We are introduced to a man who was “an invalid” (Gk. astheneia lit. weakness, sickness, diseased, illness, a spirit caused illness (v. 5a).

He had been an invalid for 38 years (v. 5b). John’s timeline of 38 years lets us know the severity of the illness. It might have reminded Israel that they wandered in the wilderness for 38 years after their rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea.

Jesus’ Question

John 5:6 NIV

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

Jesus sees the man — He notices the man — lying there in one of the five colonnades (v. 6a).

Jesus learned of the man’s condition (that he had been lying for 38 years) (v. 6b).

So, Jesus asks the man a question: “Do you want to get well?” (v. 6c).

The Man’s Answer

John 5:7 NIV

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

The man blames others (v. 7a)! “I have no one to help me into the pool.”

Blames those ahead of him (v. 7b)! “. . .someone else goes ahead of me.”

The essence of what the man says, is that he does want to get well, but can’t because others block his way!

John 5:8 NIV

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

Jesus’ Solution

Jesus bypasses the belief of His day (v. 8a).

He gives the man 3 commands (v. 8b):

Get up!

Pick up your mat

And WALK

John 5:9 NIV

At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

The Result!

At once (Gk. eutheos, immediately, straightaway) the man was cured (Gk. hygies meaning healthy, whole, to be well, sound) (v. 9a).

Immediately the man picked up his mat (v. 9b).

And immediately the man walked (v. 9c).

There is a Problem

All of this took place on the Sabbath (v. 9d).

According to the traditions of the Elders of Israel, what Jesus did was a violation of the Sabbath. But in reality, Jesus did nothing wrong—according to God’s law (v. 9e).

The Jews’ Response

John 5:10 NIV

and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

The Jews stop the man, and tell him:

It’s the Sabbath

The law FORBIDS you from carrying your mat (that’s work)! (cf. Jer. 17:21)

John 5:11 NIV

But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

The Man’s Response to the Religious Leaders

It’s not my fault! The man who healed me said, “Pick up your mat and walk.”

I love the fact that this guy takes zero responsibility. He simply says he’s doing what he was told to do.

John 5:12 NIV

So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

The Religious Leader’s Question!

They want to know who the man was that told him to pick up his mat and walk (v. 12). In other words, they want to go after Jesus!

The Man Tells Them!

John 5:13 NIV

The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Actually, the man did not know it was Jesus (v. 13a). So he had no idea who had healed him.

Jesus had healed the man, and the faded away into the crowd (v. 13b). So the man really didn’t know who head healed him.

Jesus Sees the Man Again!

John 5:14 NIV

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

John gives us a time marker — “Later. . .” (v. 14 a)

Jesus “found” (Gk. literally find, knowing the whereabouts of something, meet accidently) the man at the temple (v. 14b).

Jesus states that he observes that the man is well (v. 14c).

Then he tells the man to “stop sinning” (v. 14d) which is an interesting statement. It implies that the man’s inability to walk may have been caused by his sin.

Jesus goes on to tell the man that if he doesn’t stop sinning “something worse may happen. . .” (v. 14e).

One thing we notice is that this man seems to have zero appreciation for what Jesus did for him. There is nothing in the passage that lets us know the man was thankful. Nevertheless, Jesus gives the man a warning.

The key for us is this: we have no clue what the man’s sin (if any) might have been.

It is important to note, John does not say the man’s sin caused his illness. What Jesus warned against was not using his healing as an opportunity to sin (cf. Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor 11:30).

Then Jesus also warned, that sinning could/would lead to something worse happening!

The Man’s Response

John 5:15 NIV

The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

The man returned to the Jews leaders (v. 15a).

In order to tell them that it was Jesus who had healed him (v. 15b).

NOTE: We do not know if the man pursued a relationship with Jesus or not. Apparently, he did not express gratitude to Jesus for we have no such record. What we have is the man’s return to the religious leaders to identify Jesus—and get himself out of trouble.

So What?

Many people, today, accept the gifts of Jesus without accepting Him as ruler. Many times we call on Him in our times of trouble or need, but refuse to live obediently lives when our time of crisis is over.

Other times we call out to Him in our time of crisis, but actually end up trusting in a worldly solution or we conform to the world’s way of dealing with the problem.

This morning I have some questions that each of us need to answer:

What burden, care, illness, or struggle are you carrying today? Once you have your need clearly in sight, we need to answer the second question.

Do you want to be healed? Like our story, Jesus will not heal anyone who doesn’t want to be healed! I talk to a lot of people who don’t like their situation, but at the same time they really do NOT what their situation to change. Like the man in our story, they blame everyone and everything else for their situation—but really they are afraid of change! And they are really afraid of allowing Jesus to be the LORD of their lives.

That brings me to our third question: If you met Jesus today, and had a life changing event with Him, would you follow Him and serve Him?

Here’s what I know about Jesus:

Jesus loves you!

Jesus has a plan for your life!

But that plan not only includes being your Savior, or Healer, or “Friend.” It also includes Jesus being your Master, Ruler, LORD!

The final question is simply this: Is Jesus LORD of your life today?