Do You Want to be Healed?

It’s against the law to sing off-key in North Carolina

In Gainsville, GA, you may not eat fried chicken any other way than with your hands (who would want to?)

In Paulding, OH, a policeman may bite a dog if he thinks it will calm the dog down.

In Quitman, GA, chickens are not allowed to cross the road

The the time of Jesus, there were a lot of strange laws in place, especially when it came to the Sabbath.

Examples

If you put out a lamp in order to deter thieves or to allow a sick person to sleep, that was fine. But if you did it in order to not use up the lamp or the wick or the oil, you were at fault

People used to use vinegar on their teeth to alleviate tooth aches. You were not allowed to put vinegar on your teeth on the Sabbath. But you could put vinegar on your food and if that healed you, the religious leaders basically said, “So be it”.

In modern times, there are still very strict laws.

Hot water can not be turned off on the Sabbath

If the gas is left on, you can turn it off, but only if you do it with the back of your hand or with your elbow

This important to note because the following story takes place on the Sabbath and that is a major factor in to how everything plays out.

(ESV)

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

What an interesting story

And it’s made all the more interesting by this verse that is included in the KJV

(NKJV)

4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

I don’t know about you, but for me, this verse is a real head scratcher.

Do you want to be healed?

There’s something about it that just seems odd

4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

Why?

Without spending too much time on it, I want to tell you why.

If you were paying attention as I read the story from the ESV, you might have noticed that this verse did not appear.

1.

And if you were paying attention as I read the story from the ESV, you might have noticed that this verse did not appear.

That’s because in the earliest manuscripts that we have, this verse does not appear. If you have the ESV or NIV or NLT, you may have a note indicating this

It may be that it was inserted a later date by someone who was trying to explain the man’s statement in verse 7 “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me”

If it was part of the original manuscripts I would still have a problem with it. Here are some reasons why

The Era: We are still basically in the 400 years between the Testaments when we have no record of God working miracles like this

The alleged healings at the Pool of Bethesda are unlike another healings that we read about.

We do read about water being involved in healings, such as Naaman, but they are specific to the person

If people really were healed by stepping into the water, this would be sort of a general healing on a “first come first serve basis”

It just doesn’t seem to fit with the way that we see God working before this or after this story.

It was not uncommon and still is not uncommon for the sick to gather around mineral waters like this pool was for healing

even in modern times, there has been a lot of stock put into the ability of mineral water to heal ailments

I don’t believe this man was a man of faith in God and so his words about the water being stirred (which aren’t in dispute, BTW) should be taken with a grain of salt.

I believe that rather he was reflecting a popular superstition and belief at that time.

We don’t read anywhere else that that an angel was involved in healing

Let’s imagine for a minute.

Imagine if it were really true that an angel would stir the water periodically.

The scene is set: It’s the Pool of Bethesda. Under the 5 roofed porches, every square foot is covered with the sick and the lame, the destitute. People without hope. People waiting for a handout from some kind stranger or from someone just trying to appease his/her own conscious.

Their days are long and listless. They live in filth and misery. They keep one eye open for an act of kindness from a stranger and the other eye expectantly open for that magical time when the water of the pool is mysteriously stirred. Their one hope for becoming a whole person again.

And then it happens: the water begins to froth and boil. And pandemonium breaks out.

Only one person, the first person into the water can be healed! Imagine the chaos as people hop and crawl and roll and claw their way to the edge of the pool!

The strong, those who barely have anything wrong with them, are always the first to the water. The lame, those at death’s door, are trampled, pushed to the back of the crowd.

Does this seem like the way that God works? It doesn’t to me

It’s more sort of like grotesque movie scene from some director’s sick mind.

So, no, I don’t believe that an angel really stirred the water of this pool and that the first person in was healed.

But one thing we do know is that the sick did gather at this pool and that there was a belief that the waters had some healing power.

And that is where Jesus finds this man. Huddled up in misery on his bed of suffering. Squinting at the water. Would this be the day when the water is stirred? even if it is the day, how is he going to get to the water?

Suddenly a shadow falls across him and he hears a voice

But being Jesus, he knows that this man has been an invalid for 38 years.

And he walks up to him and says

“Do you want to be healed?”

Do you want to be healed? What kind of a question is that?

Of course I want to be healed! Yes! I want to be healed! You have no idea how much I have wanted to be healed! I think that’s what I might have said.

Instead, this man barely looks up. Another useless question from another curious bystander no doubt. “Mister, come on. What kind of question is that? I’ve been sitting by this pool for 38 years and every time the water is stirred I never have anyone to carry me down there. Stop asking me crazy questions like that.”

The shadow doesn’t move. And the man slowly looks up into the intense gaze of a man young enough to be his son.

There is something in this man’s eyes that commands respect. The man bends down and gazes into his eyes and says, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

At that moment, he feels strength coursing through his body and feeling returning to his legs and feet. And before he knows what he is doing, he finds himself gathering his legs under him and pushing upward to stand, seeing the world from a perspective that seems almost foreign after 38 years of lying down on a mat.

He looks around. The man who spoke to him is gone

In a daze, he bends down and gathers up his well-worn mat and begins to wander through the temple toward the exit hardly daring to believe what has just taken place.

True to form, he is soon accosted by the temple leaders who are upset that someone dares to carry his bed on the Sabbath. “How dare you carry your bed on the Sabbath? Don’t you know that is work?”

Don’t they know? Dont they recognize me? I’ve been lying by that pool for 38 years!

“Hey, it isn’t my fault. The guy who healed me told me to do it!”

“Oh yeah? Who is this guy?”

“I have no idea. One minute he was standing by my bed and the next minute he is gone.”

The man continues wandering through the temple complex toward the exit.

As he comes around a pillar, there He is! That’s the guy! The same young man with the same intense eyes that radiate authority!

The young man beckons him over and looks at him intently and earnestly.

“See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” the young man says.

It dawns on the guy who this young man is. It’s Jesus! He’s heard about him. People have told him about how Jesus forgives sins and tells people to stop sinning. It’s gotta be Jesus!

The man rushes off and finds the authorities.

“Hey, you were wanting to know who healed me. It was Jesus, that’s who!”

The temple authorities gather together and begin to lam blast Jesus for breaking the Sabbath and not respecting Jewish law.

The man, satisfied that he has done his job and has escaped getting into trouble, slips away and is never heard from again.

Why is this story included in the Gospel of John?

I don’t believe that there is wasted space in the Scripture. There must be something that it teaches us.

Jesus is Lord. Again we come back to this. Jesus is Lord

And in this case, His lordship is displayed in how he chooses to heal

When it comes to healing, Jesus decides when to heal and who to heal

Again, this man doesn’t seem to be particularly godly.

He wasn’t expecting God to heal him. INstead, he was relying on some superstition about the water being stirred

He was not doing anything to “earn” a healing. But he was healed anyway

This may seem kind of unfair to us who have lived for the Lord all our lives, and our loved ones have lived for the Lord and we have seen them get sick and die.

But I think that it is so important to realize that God’s sovereignty is not manipulated or changed by our relationship with Him.

Instead, because He is all-knowing and sees the big picture, God decides who and when to heal so that His glory will be magnified in the world

And in this case, it gave Jesus a chance to make a very important point with this man and with the Jewish authorities

God uses sickness to bring attention to something in our lives

Jesus’ question “Do you want to be healed?” and His command, “Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you” I believe are connected and are a key part of this story.

There is a question afoot here. And that is, “Is sickness always a direct result of sin in our lives?”

My answer would be, no I don’t believe it is. I don’t believe that Scripture teaches that it is.

But can God use sickness to get our attention and to root out some things in our lives?

My answer to that would be, “Yes I believe he can and I believe that He does”.

In this case, from all appearances, this man either had sinned or was sinning and his sickness was a result of that.

Jesus sees him and asks him a very pointed question. “Do you want to get well?”

Of course he wants to get well. Nobody wants to get sick

But does he really want to get well?

I’ve said this before, but sin and pain have a way of getting such a hold in our lives that they become a part of our identity

When Jesus reaches inside for healing, we resist Him because we don’t want that part of our identity taken away.

When Jesus wants to take away an addiction, we resist Him because that’s where we go for for that shot of…whatever we need when we are feeling lonely or discouraged or worthless.

But He says, “Do you want to be well?”

When Jesus wants to root out bitterness or unforgiveness in our lives, we resist Him because we want that right to hold the ax over someone’s head. It makes us feel powerful. And to give that up, means I have to give up my right to demand justice. I may never received justice.

But he says, “Do you want to be well?”

And sometimes, whatever our answer our attitude is, in His marvelous grace, he reaches in and heals us.

He takes away that addiction. He takes away that bitterness

And then He says, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.

Don’t go back to that addiction. Don’t pick up that bitterness again. Let me carry it!

You don’t want to face the harm that could come to you if you pick it up again.

So, as we wrapt up this story,

Again I’m just amazed at the grace of Jesus who healed a man who wasn’t really asking Him for healing

And then it made me think about my response to His grace in my life. Do I continue on as I have always done or do I continue to look to Him for transformation in my life?