Lord of All

Two ladies met for their 50-year high school reunion. They hadn’t seen each other since high school and they were asking about each other’s life. One of them said, “Well, my life has turned out perfectly.” The other lady said, “What do you mean?” She said, “We’ll, first I married a millionaire, but he died. Then I married a Hollywood director. And he died. Then I married a Baptist preacher. And he died. But now I’m married to an undertaker, so my life has been very well ordered.” The other lady said, “Well, what do you mean? It seems like having a millionaire husband die and a Hollywood director die and a Baptist preacher die would be sad. And now you’re married to an undertaker? What’s so perfect about that?” She smiled and said, “Think about it. One for the money; two for the show; three to get ready; and four to go!”

Brian Sternberg was a champion pole vaulter in the early 1960’s. He set records in that event in 1963 and was a huge favorite to win the gold medal at the Olympics in 1964. On July 2nd 1963, while training on a trampoline in Washington State, Brian had an accident and became a paraplegic. In his own words he describes the accident:

However, life does not always go so smoothly. Sickness, disease, tragedy and other trials befall us all. It is into this world Jesus came, and revealed the Father to us. In the passage we have read this morning I want us to see a man who received a miracle from Jesus and that this miracle contained a message.

This miracle takes place in Jerusalem. We left chapter 4 with Jesus in Cana. Now, during a Jewish festival, Jesus is in Jerusalem. Large crowds would have been gathered there. Among the crowds were various groups of people. Two groups are seen in this account. The disabled-blind, lame, and paralyzed. (v.3) The Pharisees, pious and religious Jews. This miracle serves to deliver a message to the religious and pious of Jesus’ day, the Pharisees. It would also continue to escalate the tensions between Jesus and the Pharisees. This of course is all in accord with God’s purposes and redemptive plan.

I. The Crucial Question

The miracle that Jesus sovereignly performs in this man’s life is purely of grace. It is also a miracle with a message. I want you to notice first:

The miracle that Jesus sovereignly performs in this man’s life is purely of grace. It is also a miracle with a message.

I. The Compassion of Jesus

We dare not miss the amazing concern and grace of Jesus in this passage.

Verse 3, disabled-blind, lame and paralyzed. Various infirmities had rendered these individuals incapable of changing their condition. Powerless.

, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins..”

II. The Triumph of God’s Grace

, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.”

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly

He arrives at the temple complex and makes his way not to the places where the elites were hanging out, but to a pool located below the temple complex called Bethesda by the sheep gate which was a small entrance to the city of Jerusalem near the northeast segment of the wall near the temple. The area near the pool literally had five porches and was used by large numbers of hurting people.

III. The Twisted Response of The Religious Elite

Jesus Chose to Go Toward the Hurting and Despised

We see evidence of this throughout the gospels. We have already studied this with the events of the woman at the well in Chapter 4 of this gospel.

, “ Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were guests with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

29 Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were guests with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

In the parable of the large banquet in we read where the master tells his servant to “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.”

In we read how the Pharisees were upset and complaining because Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them.

In the parable of the large banquet in we read where the master tells his servant to “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.”

The multitudes of hurting people are representative of the human race. People who are in despair, hurting laying by the pools of human philosophy or man-made superstition or religion to find healing. Organized religion had not helped this man, nor would that change after his healing.

I need to make a clarifying statement concerning the latter portion of verse 3 and verse 4 which is mentioned in the footnotes of the Christian Standard Bible Translation.

This section reads: “waiting for the moving of the water, because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had.”

“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.”

John Phillips, a well-known bible commentator states, “There is some doubt about the validity of this verse. Perhaps it reflects the popular explanation of the time for the periodic disturbance of the water.”

Most New Testament bible scholars believe this section is not original and was added in the margin of a manuscript by one of the scribes who was copying the text. Nonetheless, it does show us what many thought in that time, and it explains the paralyzed man’s words in verse 7.

These verses are not in the oldest copies of the original manuscripts of the New Testament. Therefore, in an effort to be as accurate as possible, the translators choose to put the verses in question in a footnote to bring attention to this fact. The Christian Standard Translation of the bible that I use from this pulpit is an accurate word for word translation of the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic texts.

The Christian Standard Translation of the bible that I use from this pulpit is an accurate word for word translation of copies of the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic texts of God’s word. Likewise, the King James Version, New King James Version, NASB, NIV, ESV and NLT are excellent and very accurate translations. I am happy to discuss any questions or concerns you may have privately. But we should not be alarmed or build theological camps or start divisive arguments over these very accurate bible translations.

Jesus Sovereignly Chooses to Heal This Man

Jesus chooses this man, who had been lying there for 38 years, and asks a probing question, “Do you want to be well?” The man answers in verse 7 with what he thinks is an obvious fact to him. How could he be made well since he was unable to get into the water, which he believed could heal him. He had more than likely grown negative and bitter after 38 years of paralysis. The answer that Jesus gives back to the man’s response is not to depend on a mythical cure, but to act upon the command of Jesus, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk.” Jesus spoke with divine power that healed this man.

Jesus’ instructions in verse 8 provide for us insight into the purpose of this miracle. Jesus could have healed every person there, but he chooses to heal this one man.

This man did not buy his healing. His faith is less than evident in the passage. He seems to respond to Jesus question about being made well with grumbling and not faith. He has done nothing to deserve the mercy he is being shown. Jesus simply makes him whole.

Jesus heals this man and tells him something interesting when he does it. Jesus doesn’t just say, “Get up and walk” but he specifically tells the man to “pick up your mat and walk.”The word “walk” is peripateo, which literally means to walk around. Jesus wanted this man who was lame for 38 years to be seen by all walking around and also carrying his mat. The man is healed and he picks up his mat and walks around.

Why did Jesus emphasize picking up the mat? Verse 9 leads us to the second point of this passage:

II. The Callousness of Religious Rule Makers (vv.9-16)

People are good at making rules. We aren’t so good when it comes to demonstrating grace. Rules appeal to the human psyche because it makes us feel as though we have accomplished something. It leads to boasting and pride. In reality a rules-based spiritual approach is the polar opposite of the gospel.

Contrast this with the approach of Jesus. Jesus finds this man again in the temple and tells him in verse 14, “See you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” Apparently, there was some sin in this man’s youth that had led to his condition. Not to say that all human ailments are a result of sin, but that sin does have consequences. The most horrible of all would be eternal separation from God. Yet Jesus, as he did with the woman caught in the act of adultery, commands this man to not sin anymore. The result was this man testified to the fact that Jesus had made him whole (v.15). Were the religious leaders happy about this? Not at all.

Healing this Man on the Sabbath was No Accident

Jesus knew very well what day it was. This is why he told the man to pick up his mat. The intent here was to further God’s purpose and plan by instigating a conflict with the religious leaders. This would have broken one of the rules pertaining to the Sabbath.

The Callousness of a Rules-Based Religion

The rabbis of Jesus’ time had added a rule to God’s sabbath law that stated, “Whoever on the Sabbath brings anything in or takes anything out from a public place to a private one, if has done this inadvertently, he shall sacrifice for his sins; but if willingly, he shall be cut off and shall be stoned.” They had specifically 39 tasks that were prohibited on the Sabbath. Looking in a mirror was forbidden. You could not carry a handkerchief on the Sabbath, but you could wear one. Travel was limited to a thousand yards. Good religious people were determined by how well they kept the rules. The best religious people were the ones who made up the lists. The Pharisees were excellent rule-makers.

Remember what has just happened. This man who had been lame for 38 years is walking. Are the religious elites happy about that at all? No, they are only concerned that their rule was broken. Once they discover from the man who it was that had healed him they direct their anger toward Jesus.

“15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.”

These religious rulers were more concerned with their traditions than they were with people. This is a danger for all of us.

Warren Wiersbe, “They had taken the Sabbath—God’s gift to man—and had transformed it into a prison house of regulations and restrictions.”

Donald Grey Barnhouse, “Why all this viciousness? Why this desire to destroy the meek and lowly Jesus? Why this murderous attempt to do away with God? The answer is here in the Sabbath question. They wanted rules, they did not want God’s grace. They wanted human merit. They did not want the simplicity of a divine pardon.”

III. The Clear Authority and Divinity of Jesus (v.17-18)

Jesus is Lord over the Sabbath (v.17)

III. The Clear Authority & Divinity of Jesus (vv.17-18)

Jesus makes clear, God is continually at work, and since God is at work, Jesus is at work. The providence and redemptive work of God in showing grace and mercy never ceases.

The Deity of Jesus

Conclusion:

“What Jesus, as the One and Only Son of God (1:14, 18), claimed was to be sent by God, on mission for God, doing the works of God, obedient to God, and bringing glory to God.”

Bottom line: Jesus is God and as God he is able to heal disease, forgive sin and change lives anytime and on any day he chooses.

Conclusion:

We all understand that life is not always so smooth. Many people, even believers, spend year sin suffering and misery, either physical or emotional. The paralyzed man in this passage experienced a physical healing by Jesus, as many others have. It is a sad commentary indeed that many people will experience a physical miracle and yet miss the salvation that brings spiritual healing and restoration.

Yet God does not always heal the physical disabilities we have. There is no promise that God will heal all your diseases in this life. What we all have in common is the most debilitating disease of all, sin. God has made a way thru Jesus for us to be well. To be healed, forgiven and restored with the promise of a future eternity of complete perfection, not in this life, but in the new heaven and new earth he has promised to those in his kingdom.

“If ever there is a frightening moment in trampolining, it is just as you leave the trampoline bed, on your way up. At that moment, even the most experienced gymnast sometimes gets a sensation of panic, for no good reason… It hit me as I took off. I got lost in midair and though I was going to land on my hands and feet, as I had done several times before when panic came. Instead I landed on my head.

I heard a crack in my neck, then everything was gone. My arms and legs were bounding in front of my eyes, but I couldn’t feel them moving. I was yelling, “I’m paralyzed” …I had practically no lung power. The paralysis was affecting my breathing. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t move… Real anguish hit me a couple of times while we waited for the doctor… I was thinking only about the future. I had not begun to think about the possibility of never walking again.”

He never did walk again. He was paralyzed and lived in a wheelchair for 50 years until his death in 2013. Brian came to faith in Christ not very long after his accident. At an FCA event a few years after the accident he told those gathered there: “I never felt like a winner until I put God in the centre of my life.”

Brian shared the story of how he came to know Jesus Christ. He shared about the pain of a vibrant young athlete becoming a quadriplegic. Brian said that putting Christ first was the best thing that ever happened to him!

I am sure that thousands of times over those 50 years of his paralysis that Brian had imagined that his body was whole again and that he was able to walk. Imagine that 38 years after his accident, that one morning he woke up and was able to walk. What do you think his reaction would have been? What emotions would he have? That is how this paralytic in that was healed by Jesus must have felt.

There was a man who went to see a counselor. He had a strip of bacon hanging from each ear and a fried egg on top of his head. The counselor asked, “So how can I help you?” He replied, “It’s not me. I’m here to talk about my wife because she is crazy!”

Related Media

Related Sermons