1 Why is there so much misery and hardship in the world?

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1 1 John 5v th September 2016 am Hill and Arcadia Is there anything worse than being an invalid? Is there anything worse: imagine you were an intelligent good looking successful businessman; with magnetic social ability; as well as exceptional skill in sport and outdoor activity and then having a motor accident; been left as a quadriplegic and subsequently abandoned by your fiancé? Terrible things happen to so many people. Our congregation has not been excluded from some of the most awful things like: the death of a loved one (even children); limitations from physical deformity, mental and psychological challenges, terminal disease like cancer; victims of attack and abuse by criminals, abandonment, spousal cheating And it would be accurate to speculate that some dreadful bends in the road could suddenly appear in the future for some of us present here today. Isn t it true that during a time of unexpected and unwelcome crisis and tragedy it feels as if and you convinced that life can t get any worse. That must have been the conclusion of this invalid. For 38 years he had lay helpless amongst a multitude of other miserable sufferers; some were blind, some were lame and others paralysed (v5). What would you be thinking after 38 years of lying around like a despondent beggar with no support? I know what I would be thinking and planning. I would want to slit my wrists or if it was the 21 st century I would want my absent family to arrange an injection to end it all. Jesus enters into a situation where the sufferers knew all about the daily burden of excruciating pain, gross disillusionment, piercing disappointment, agonizing rejection, gnawing self-pity, burning anger, gloomy hopelessness and much more. 1 Why is there so much misery and hardship in the world? Back then in what we would consider as the primitive world; suffering was common place. And now 2000 years later with advanced abilities in medical science and sophisticated medical treatment; suffering has not gone away. Why is there so much misery and hardship in the world? JC Ryle: God did not create man to be full of aches and pains and infirmities. These things are the fruits of the Fall. There would have been no sickness if there had been no sin. Erickson: The Bible tells us that with the fall, man s first sin, a radical change took place in the universe. Death came upon mankind (Genesis 2:17: 3: ). God pronounced a

2 2 curse on mankind which is represented by certain specifics: anguish in childbearing (3:16); male domination over the wife (v16); toilsome labour (v17); thorns and thistles (v18). It seems likely that these are a mere sample of the actual effects upon creation. Paul in Romans 8 says that the whole creation has been affected by the sin of man, and is now subject to decay. It waits for its redemption from this bondage. You and I live in a fallen and broken world. The misery and hardship which we and others have experienced down through the ages are a result of the curse of God upon creation. Why is there so much misery and hardship in the world? Misery and hardship are in the world as a result of the curse of God after the fall. People get cancer or suffer from a burst aneurism, drown in a Tsunami, a baby is still born because of God s curse after man s rebellion. That said it does seem odd and it is a mystery to us as to why in a broad and general sense there are some people who suffer more than others; other than to say as Jesus said about the man born blind in John 9:3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must see then that in this context of a fallen world there are times that God allows or brings about hardship and suffering in some people s lives for no other reason than that the works of God may be displayed. And then very importantly specific suffering and hardship may be the direct result of specific sin. Carson: Although suffering and illness have this deep, theological connection with sin in general and although John insists (as in the case of the man born blind in John 9:3) that a specific ailment is not necessarily the result of a specific sin, there is nothing in any of this that precludes the possibility that some ailments are the direct consequence of specific sins. These then are the reasons why it is so common to encounter so much misery and suffering as you go about life from day today. In our passage it is a man who had been in an unbearable debilitating condition for 38 years. Alongside of him other invalids (blind, lame and paralysed) probably emotionally numb with despair; others who may have already resigned themselves to the fact that they were and always would be marginalized rejects of society. On the one hand this is a horrid reminder to us of the devastating consequence of sin (for whatever reason); but on the other hand there is more for us to see and take in as John unfolds the events of the day.

3 3 2 Is there any hope in such a hopeless situation? For the man who had been under the shelter for 38 years there had been the off chance of someone perhaps helping him to get into the pool when the waters are stirred. But even that possibility had faded from any real prospect the man may have had. We see this in his response to Jesus question in John 5:6 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?" John 5:7 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." He had no help and any hope he had had long since evaporated. He must have been rock bottom. He must have for some time now believed that this miserable state was his lot in life. Unlike many who suffer today with the diverse range of illnesses; for this man there was no prosthetic devices, no physiotherapy, no chemo therapy, no advanced key hole surgery, no pain relieving drugs he just had to endure it to the end. He had seen others healed at the pool of Bethesda, and them going to their homes rejoicing. But for him there was no healing. Can there be anything worse? JC Ryle: Friendless, helpless and hopeless, he lay near the wonder-working waters, but derived no benefit from them. Year after year passed away, and left him still uncured. No relief or change for the better seemed likely to come, except from the grave. Misery upon misery there is no hope apart from the unexpected act of compassion to him from Jesus in John 5:8 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. Jesus had seen this one poor miserable suffering man in the crowd of sufferers. Jesus acts kindly toward this one man who was neglected and forgotten by others. He spoke to him out of the blue with words of gracious sympathy. Jesus miraculously healed him from his paralysing disability. There can be no doubt that the healed manwent on his way rejoicing. We know that this is just one of the many examples of our Lord Jesus Christ s kindness and compassion. He is full of underserved, unexpected abounding love toward sinners. Again and again we see evidence of what Jeremiah expressed in Lamentations 3:19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

4 4 God is wonderfully kind and good. The nature of God as merciful must always lead us to have hope in a hopeless situation Is there hope for you in what seems to be a hopeless situation? Yes there is always hope. But let me caution you. This account of healing is not simply about a kind deed Jesus does for a physically sick desperate man. This miraculous healing is not an invitation to carte blanche healing of our sickness and removal of all our troubles. 3 Why did Jesus give us this third sign? The sign is obviously pointing to the all-knowing, merciful and powerful nature of God. It is true that from time to time we see God miraculously intervening and healing someone from cancer or some other illness. But it is not the norm and we should not expect it to be the norm. Notice how after healing the invalid Jesus withdraws from the crowd. John 5:13 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. Jesus heals one man amongst a multitude of invalids and then withdraws probably because the other invalids would have been queuing up for their physical healing. Of course Jesus could have and can heal everyone with a problem. But he doesn t then and he won t now. O yes we do know that there will come a day when he brings about the new heaven and the new earth Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." My point being that this 3 rd sign is pointing to something more than just the gracious healing of a paralyzed man and the revelation of the all-knowing, merciful and powerful nature of God. The miraculous healing of this invalid is followed by a reaction from the religious community and a warning from Jesus to the man he healed. 3.1 Consider carefully the preoccupation of religious men Jesus healing the paralytic on the Sabbath is deliberate. By doing so he provokes a reaction from the Jews that exposes their callous hearts toward God.

5 5 Did you notice that there are no references in their response to the miraculous healing of any thanksgiving to God or any rejoicing with this poor man who suffered for so many years and is now healed? Did you notice instead how determined the Jews are to locate the man who healed the paralytic on the Sabbath? They couldn t wait to persecute Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath (v16). Their preoccupation is with man-made rules and no consideration for the glory of God. We ll come back to this matter as we move on in the passage; but for today I would urge you to consider what it is that captures your devotion and attention in the context of your profession of faith. It could be man-made rules like constitutions, policies, liturgies, orders and times of service, preferred behaviour The point being anything other than delight in and devotion to the glory of God in the face of Jesus is empty and dead religion. 3.2 Consider carefully the prospects of a healthy man What more could this man of asked for other than a clean bill of health? When your body is riddled with disease understandably you long to be well. This man got what he longed for. He was given the gift of having a sound body and a sound mind. What more could he want? What more could he need? It is into that apparent good place that this man has entered; and where Jesus confronts him with a blow of sobering proportions. John 5:14 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." Dear friend you are now healthy. The memories of 38 years of misery and hardship are fresh. In your thinking nothing can be worse than what you have been rescued from. But here is a warning. There is in fact something worse than 38 years of friendless, helpless and hopeless existence. You may ask what on earth can be worse than that. It is a fact that throwing caution to the wind and sinning to his heart s content could plunge him back into his debilitating misery. Gluttony could render him obese and immobile; sexual promiscuousness could lead to his body being infected with sexually transmitted disease; alcohol and drug abuse can cook his brain and wreck his family

6 6 Specific sin can lead to specific disease. But Jesus has something worse in mind here. Later on in the passage John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Even as a healthy man or woman you need to consider your future prospects. You will not escape the effects of ongoing sin. The Father has given his Son authority to execute judgement. The warning Jesus is giving is that your sin matters. You will be held accountable for all that you have done and not done. Sin no more. Repent from your sin that nothing worse happen to you. Conclusion The intelligent good looking successful businessman with magnetic social ability as well as exceptional skill in sport and outdoor activity who was left as a quadriplegic and was abandoned by his fiancé; believed there could be nothing worse than that. And so he decided to go to a clinic in Switzerland; for them to give him a lethal injection to end his life. Was he right? Did the act of euthanasia relieve him from his agony or plunge him into a worse nightmare of eternal hell and separation from God?