Healing at the House of Mercy
Notes
Transcript
Handout
When we begin John 5 we are not simply beginning a new chapter in this gospel, but we are beginning a new year in the public ministry of the Lord. Some scholars tell us that Jesus spent nearly 18 months in Galilee between the closing verses of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5. What we see when we read are these words… “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”
Once again Jesus sets His sights on that holy city, the city where Abraham offered his son on Mt Moriah. The city where David once sat on his throne over the nation of Israel, where, one day, Jesus Himself will sit on the same throne and rule, not just one nation, but all nations! Jerusalem has a special place in the heart of the Savior, but none of that was on His mind as He made His journey.
We see Him make His journey not to the temple to teach, but to a pool by the sheep market called Bethesda. What a remarkable word, “Bethesda”. The word means “House of mercy”...
Church, mercy is what is needed in this wicked world we are living in today, and Jesus is the God of mercy!
Do you know the mercy of the Lord today?
I want you to look with me at this passage this morning and I want you to see through the eyes of the Lord. I want you to see not just what He saw, but how He saw it. Notice first of all, when Jesus came to Bethesda He saw...
The Need John 5:2-5
The Need John 5:2-5
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
Jesus sees the Multitude v. 3
Definition of Impotent -
They are described as “impotent”
The word means to be sick, weak, or powerless
They were in this place to receive healing, if it were possible
There are two important questions we must address:
Was there really an angel that troubled the waters?
I have searched in vain to find any other mention of this alleged angelic appearance at Bethesda - there is no other passage in the Bible that mentions it.
I have reached out to Glenn Mathews, a man who has forgotten more about Scripture than I will ever hope to learn, and he and I reached the conclusion that this troubling of the water was merely a local tradition.
In other words, there was no angel sent by God to trouble the waters, there was only a tradition held by the locals, hoping against hope that when this happened they would be healed.
Does this negate any supernatural happening in Scripture!
There are many records of angels healing and ministering to many people in Scripture, but...
They were all God’s people. Here are people that were simply looking for a healing, not a relationship.
Here is something to learn:
These impotent folk, were you and me
Their infirmities demonstrated their need.
They were weak, powerless, and hopeless
Just like anyone without Christ!
These people had a need, and Jesus could meet that need
We move from the multitude now to...
The Man John 5:5
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
Imagine being in a helpless condition like this for nearly 40 years.
If this man had found himself in this condition as a teenager, then he had been laying here crippled for half his life
That is a long time to be laying powerless to escape a situation, but it gets worse!
Look ahead with me at verse 14...
Apparently, this sickness could have been avoided
It was the result of some sin in this man’s life that led to his feeble condition
How awful that is, to know that some choice you made has led to a lifetime of pain and suffering, depression, and destruction of your body
How awful to find yourself in this condition and have the thought “I could have avoided this.”
I cannot help but think of a story I heard of a business man traveling from home. He had been on the road for weeks, and away from home, away from his family, away from his wife, in a moment of weakness he invited a prostitute back to his room. After their business was completed and she had left, he went to the bathroom and discovered a not written in lipstick on the mirror “Welcome to the wonderful world of HIV.”
b. Imagine being in such a helpless condition, not for 38 years, but for eternity!
Church I want you to know today that every single soul who is in hell today has this one nagging thought that will haunt them for all eternity, that thought is this: “I did not have to be here!”
Listen to me, I do not know who you are, I do not know what your situation may be, but I do know that you have a need, and that Jesus can meet that need! You do not have to go to hell, you do not have to continue in your sin, you can leave here today knowing that your sins are forgiven an that you have a home in heaven.
The Neglect John 5:6-7
The Neglect John 5:6-7
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
This man was pitiful
Look at verse 7
“I have no man…”
Not a family member
Not a friend
He had no one to help him into the water when it was troubled
I cannot imagine how lonely this man must have felt
I do not understand the emotional pain of lying in the same spot for 38 years
Forget about not having anyone to help in the pool, just consider having no one to talk to
His family and friends had turned t heir back on him
I wonder if it was because of the sin which led him to this point?
I wonder if they were embarrassed by him? Ashamed of him?
I do not know, the Bible does not say, we only read that he had no one...
Until Jesus came!
Jesus understood what it was to be alone
His own brothers and sisters did not believe in Him
Jesus would in one future day know what it means to be betrayed, abandoned, and deserted by His followers and friends
One day soon Jesus would know even what it was like to be separated from His Father
The Bible tells us here that everyone overlooked this man
Not only did he not have any friends, but we read that other sick people, like him, would run ahead of him and enter the water first
Other people were receiving the blessing instead of being the blessing
Not a single person there helped him
Not a single person saw him...
But Jesus did! Read verse 6 with me...
Jesus Christ sees you!
Other people may overlook you, use you, abuse you, neglect you, but praise God, Jesus never will!
Jesus never fails
This man demonstrates to us that other people will let us down
But Jesus shows us that He never will!
He sees the man, but more importantly, He sees the need
What was the need?
The man thought his greatest need was being healed
So Jesus dealt with that first
But I am glad Jesus did not stop there!
Jesus knew the man’s greatest need
We’ve already seen this in verse 14, but this man needed to see this too
He needed to know his greatest need was not to be healed, but to be forgiven!
I do not know who you are today, I do not know what you are facing today, but I know this, if you do not know Jesus as your Savior, then your absolute greatest need right now is to put your trust in Him for forgiveness.
Your family may turn their back on you, your friends may abandon you, but Jesus will never neglect you!
Your sin will have consequences, you may lose friends and loved ones, you may even suffer with your health, but there is nothing you have ever done that will ever cause God to stop loving you! There is nothing you have ever done or will ever do that Jesus cannot forgive if you will ask Him to!
Let me move on, we have seen the need, we have seen the neglect, now, let us see...
The New Beginning John 5:8,14
The New Beginning John 5:8,14
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Command v. 8
In verse 6 Jesus asked a question
In verse 8 Jesus issued a command
Salvation is a free gift, but I want you to know, if that man had not obeyed, if he would have ignored the Lord, he would have died in that spot by the pool
Listen, if Jesus is calling you to salvation, you can ignore Him, He will not force you to be saved, but why would you do that?
Be like this impotent man
He could not heal himself; you cannot save yourself
He could not give himself strength, he needed Jesus; you need Jesus too!
He realized his need; when will you admit your need?
Claim v. 9
We see him lay claim to the healing by his obedience
“Immediately” the Bible says
Not eventually, immediately
When God does something He does it right then
This man was thrilled with what Jesus had done
He obeyed His every command
He got up, took up his bed, and for the first time in nearly 40 years, he walked!
There is an entire section here on a discussion about the sabbath, we’re going to look at that tonight, but I want to point out:
Jesus knew what day it was! This man knew what day it was, but neither of them cared!
This man who was a cripple, was walking!
This man who was sick, impotent, was healed!
This man who was a sinner, was forgiven!
Change v. 14
He was no longer by the pool
A sure way to tell if someone is saved is by the changes they make
Change number one: They want to be in God’s house
This man was found in the temple
No doubt he was there making sacrifice for his sin, most likely the one that led to his crippling
If you are saved, you ought to want to be in church!
Jesus found him !
I love this!
Read verses 12-13...
He did not know who he was or where He was
He did not need to, because Jesus, knew him, and Jesus knew where he could be found!
Aren’t you glad to know today that Jesus can find you wherever you are?
Don’t you want to be found being faithful?
Courage v. 15 - this man went to the Jews and told them boldly who had healed him, not to get Jesus in trouble, but because he could not contain himself. When Jesus saves you, you want to tell people about it!
We know this man was saved, because of the changes we see take place in these verses. I wonder, has there been a change in your life since Jesus saved you? Have you turned your back on your old ways? Is there a love for God and hatred for sin? Is there a desire to live for Him or to live just for you?
Has there been a change?
Has there been a change?
Has there been a change in your life since Jesus came in? Are you a different person today because you know you have put your faith in Him, or are you still in bondage to your sin? Listen, there is hope for you, just as there was for this crippled man, but just like the crippled man, you must see your...
Need - this man was powerless to help himself and he knew it.
He acknowledge he needed help or else he was going to remain in his sin-crippled state forever.
So many today do not realize their need - are you like that? Are you going through life not realizing that you have a need?
Listen, you cannot save yourself, if you could, then there would have been no need for the Savior.
Maybe today you are saved, but you are caught in the trap of sin.
Maybe you think you are OK, maybe you think you can handle this
You can’t. You cannot handle it. You are just like this impotent man, you are powerless to break sin’s chains. You need the Chain breaker to break those bonds!
Neglect - maybe you are facing loneliness today.
Just like this man who was bound by his impotence, you are bound by depression and despair
Do not fall into the trap of thinking you are the only one dealing with this, you are not!
You are not the only one who struggles with depression
You are not the only one who struggles with loneliness, with abandonment and, most importantly, you do not have to deal with this alone!
Jesus wants to bring you out just as He did this man, all you have to do is turn to Him
New beginning - maybe today this is your greatest need, you need Christ!
Maybe you have never put your trust in Jesus for forgiveness, and today the Spirit of God is calling to you - come to Him now.
Maybe you are saved but sin has a stronghold in your life and today the Spirit of God is calling you to repent and to turn back to Him - what are you waiting for?