Continuing in our study of the life of Jesus in the gospels,
Jesus now heads back to
John 5:1-13
1 After
these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to
2 Now there is in
3 In these lay a
multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters;
4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool
and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the
water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was
afflicted.]
The bracketed portion was not included in some earlier Greek manuscripts, but it does reveal what the people thought about this pool. There was a great crowd there, waiting for any little breeze that would stir the surface of the pool. The first one to get in the water would then be healed. So imagine this crowd, waiting to race down and get in the water, the second the surface moved!
5 A man was there who
had been ill for thirty-eight years.
This man has been waiting at the pool for 38 years! But since he was lame, he wasn’t very likely to be the first one in to the pool, was he?
6 When Jesus saw him
lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition,
He said to him, "Do you wish to get 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,
"Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."
Jesus gives him 3 commands: get up, pick up, and walk. Why did the man obey? Because he FIRST believed, then acted. Faith has to precede obedience! If you don’t believe, then you won’t act.
One interesting point – God never gives us a command without giving us the power to accomplish it. The only thing we have to add to it is FAITH. This is the way the entire Christian life works:
Faith + power or ability to accomplish = doing the will of God.
God gives us the power to be, to do, to go, and to say
exactly what He wants us to! We simply add
the faith.
Can this lame man accomplish what Jesus commands him apart from faith? No, without faith he never would have gotten up! Can he accomplish it without the power that Jesus provides? Of course not, only Jesus can heal him. Both faith and ability are necessary to accomplish the will of God. The beauty of the Christian life is that you don’t have to worry about where the power or ability to accomplish God’s will is going to come from. Simply have faith, and God will supply the rest!
So what happens?
9 Immediately the man
became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. (Wow, it worked!) Now it was the Sabbath
on that day.
Now comes the problem. It was the Sabbath! This formerly lame man was probably walking toward the temple, to worship God and give thanks. But the religious Jews are about to stop him. That’s where we’ll pick up next time.