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Just When You Least Expect It
It Was Nobody, But Jesus!
Scripture: John 5:1-13 NKJV
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, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
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.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately, the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
Christ Heals on the Sabbath
And that day was the Sabbath.
10 The Jews, therefore, said to him, who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’
”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.[1]
In life, there will come a time when you must take the initiative to change your own life, and other people cannot always do it for you.
Jesus in the text comes to Jerusalem during the time of the feast of the Jews, and it is at this time that Jesus does something unusual.
He comes to this pool called Beth-zatha, which comprises five pools.
This pool was at what is called the sheep gate, and it was this gate that the sheep were brought through for the sacrifice that gave you access to the temple during the feast.
Beth- zatha was comprised of five pools.
Beth-zatha has translated in three different ways, according to scholars:
· House of mercy
· House of grace
· Or the house of outpouring water
Get this they are at the (House of Mercy) where everyone is a mess!
· They are at the house of mercy, and it does not look like they are receiving mercy!
· It sounds familiar this morning, we are at the house of mercy, but all of us here are still a mess.
· Our messes might not all be the same, but everyone here got a mess somehow.
The text says they all gathered, believing that an angel had come down and stirred the water.
· And when the water was troubled, whoever got there first and got in was healed.
· They came to this house of mercy, looking for a miracle to make them feel better.
Sad as it may be, people use the church as a place where they are looking for God to do something for them; they come with the mindset if:
· I can read the right Scripture
· Get the right book
· Throw enough seed on the alter
· Being in the right church, our problems will disappear
But the text says whoever got there first
· They had a spirit of competition
It was at this place where Jesus walked into a place where people were in need; He walked past:
· People who are in need
· People who are blind
· He walks by people who are lame, just to get to one person
· All of the other people at the pool had issues, but Jesus walks by all of them to get to this one man
So, my question is, why this one man?
· There is nothing that says he had a level of faith
· That he was a son of Abraham
· I don’t see anything in the text that says the man called out to Jesus
· He sits there just like everyone else, waiting for the water to be troubled like everyone else… Why this man?
He had been sick for thirty-eight years, longer than many people lived.
· There is something we all can learn from this man, and that is ENDURANCE
· Stay with me, thirty-eight years, and he still shows up believing that if he could just get to the pool first.
· Despite the pain
· Despite the disappointment
· Despite all these years, he hasn’t given up on getting well!
Look at vs6: 6.
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”[2]
His answer to Jesus shows us that his confidence is low!
But at least he is still showing up:
· He hadn’t quit
· He hadn’t stopped living because when you stop living, you start dying.
Many believers fall and fail during times of disappointment and trials because they aren’t willing to push through and believe that their condition does not have the last word over their life.
· I don’t know what you are going through
· What you may be facing
· What your family is dealing with
· Or that you just may need encouragement this morning!
· But I came to let you know… Your condition does not have the last word!
Jesus shows up to let this brother know that his condition does not have the last word!
· Jesus says… He is coming for you
· You never quit
· You never threw in the towel
· You kept believing that things could get better.
· Has anyone ever been through something, and all you had was your belief that God would somehow make away?
We used to sing about it: I know the Lord will make a way, oh yes, He will
Watch this: What this text shows me, no matter how long you have been going through, it’s too soon to quit!
Can I give you some examples of people who made examples of success?
· Dr. Seuss, the author of a popular children's book, was rejected by twenty-three publishers, but when he didn’t quit, his book sold 6 million copies
· During the first year of business, Coca-Cola only sold 400 bottles
· Henry Ford went bankrupt twice in his first 3 years in the automobile business
· Michelangelo spent 7 years on his back painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling
· Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team
· Joseph had to go through a pit and a prison before he saw his dream in the palace
· Moses had to go through a desert before he saw the land of promise
· David had to go through challenges before he became king
But I don’t have to go to the Bible because is there anybody besides me who know there were moments when you could have quit, but I kept on believing that He wouldn’t bring you this far just to leave you?
· Tell somebody I know what the doctor said
· I know how you feel… But it’s too soon to quit!
I believe Jesus honored the man's faith that he could get better!
But here’s where the text gets interesting: Jesus walks past everyone else, goes to this man heals him in a different method than what they had been waiting on.
· Then he walks away while everyone else is watching and still sitting there!
· What about the folks who didn’t get healed that day?
· See, you may come to church expecting to be healed!
· Expecting an answer
· Expecting your condition to get better
· Still dealing with madness at home
· Still dealing with that crazy child
But this might be your day; you have to say that it is not my turn yet!
We are given several conditions of the people at the pool, but we are never told which one the man had:
· Look at vs3: 3.
In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.[3]
· I believe he was paralyzed… because when you are paralyzed, you are stuck in a situation where you can’t go any further than you currently are!
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