RESCUE 911 The Man by the Pool Dr. Roger Barrier JOHN 5:1-18 S-1677

Transcription

1 RESCUE 911 The Man by the Pool Dr. Roger Barrier JOHN 5:1-18 S-1677 John carefully selected eight miracle-signs in order to help people believe in the reality of Christ and to strengthen the faith of those who already believe. SLIDE #: John s first selected sign was changing the water to wine at the marriage feast in Cana. SLIDE #: The second sign occurred about a year later when He stood in Cana and healed the royal official s son who was dying twenty miles away in Capernaum. SLIDE #: The third sign took place in Jerusalem when Jesus healed the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda. Our goal, like John s, is to strengthen faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Set up Sandlot Video by over viewing the story of the desperate man by the pool. We are desperate and impotent before God. Need someone to step in and heal us. Saves us and then marries us. SLIDE VIDEO #: Sandlot scene of Squints deliberately jumping in swimming pool to get life guard s attention. SLIDE VIDEO #: Sandlot scene of final scrolling of what happened to the participants in the movie: Squints married the life guard. Jesus rescues desperate people and the Biblical picture is that He marries them. SLIDE #: John 5:1-2: Some time later, went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. SLIDE #: It is interesting to stop at this point to note that the pool of Bethesda, mentioned here by John, is now known to archaeologists. WHITE OVERHEAD: Two pools surrounded by five covers. Actually, the pool of Bethesda (now known as the pool of St. Anne) is two twin pools each surrounded by colonnades. The word for pool is kolumbethron, which means to dive. The pool was such that it was deep enough to swim in. SLIDE #: John 5:3-4: Here a great number of disabled people used to lie the blind, the lame, the paralyzed and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had. Still do this today. Go to resort, and five patios around the swimming pool. What were they waiting for? Evidently this was an underground fed spring and occasionally the water bubbled up! There was a superstition and the bubbling was caused by an angel. 1

2 SLIDE #: John described those who required healing as disabled the blind, the lame and the paralyzed. The Greek word translated here as disabled means impotent or powerless. Like Squints when he fell into the pool. He was desperate, but unable to swim, totally dependant one some one else for help. Probably the Passover Feast in Jerusalem and hordes are passing by on their way to the temple. All race by - too busy to notice the broken earthenware littering the area around the pool. Yet, Jesus noticed. He knew all about this place and all about the people who thronged around. He knew the popular legends attached to the pool. He knew every person there, and all their hopes, frustrations, disappointments, and their anticipation. That multitude represented humankind. Jesus comes to this human cinder pile, this human dumping pile, and focuses His attention on one for whom the world had lost all hope. SLIDE #: John 5:5-6: One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" He had been there 38 years, half a lifetime. It may be that he had been brought there in his teens and left there to make the best of things. One by one, with the passing of years, his friends had left him. Now he was abandoned, unable to move, he had become a fixture. How can we measure his misery? He had no friends, no family. His companions were blind people, lame people, people withered up inside and out. All their hopes had shrunk to the chance they had of outsmarting the others and being first in the pool. The stench must have been depressing. "Do you want to get well?" sounds like a foolish question to ask a man who's been sick for thirty eight years! I wouldn't be surprised if Christ had asked that question just to get the man's attention. If Christ had ambled by and said, "Nice day, isn't it?! I doubt if he would have responded at all! There no better way to get a response from a sick person than to ask them how their illness is. SLIDE #: John 5:7: "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Talk about faith: Jump into a 75 foot deep pool with paralyzed legs. SLIDE #: John 5:8: Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, He trusted and obeyed Christ! Why? Because he knew that Christ was Christ? He didn't know that! Because he knew that He was the Son of God? Didn't know that either! Because he knew that Christ was a prophet? He didn't know that either. What did he know? Only knew that there was something about the commanding love and appearance of Christ that made him stand up in faith. He believed! I would love to see the face of Jesus as He gave this command. 2

3 The word for walk is περιρατεω ( peripateo ) literally means to walk around. Verse nine ends on an ominous note. This does not sound too serious to us because the Sabbath is not a big issue in our time. Nevertheless, the issue was serious in Christ s time. On the grounds of this issue the Jerusalem authorities plotted to destroy him. SLIDE #: John 5:10-13: and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." 11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. John used the term Jews to refer to the religious leaders of Israel. Anyone would have thought that this was a matter of joy and rejoicing. But, there were those who were not pleased. The religious leaders do not rejoice on the more favorable side, Who made you whole? But, Who told you to break the Sabbath? God gave the Sabbath as one day of the week for man to rest and enjoy and recuperate. Imagine a society where No one had to work on Sunday. Society took a collective day of rest before the trauma of Monday began again. How many would like a day like that every week? The beauty of blue laws when society took off for a day of rest. The religious leaders had contrived all sorts of rules and regulations that made the Sabbath a nightmare of legalism. What God ordained as a blessing they had converted into a burden. The law had simply said that on the Sabbath day we took a day off from work. The Pharisees set out thirty-nine different classifications of work. Is carrying a handkerchief work? The answer was yes if it was carried, but no if it was worn as an article of clothing. Is it legal to spit on the Sabbath? Is that work? The answer is, it depends on what happens to the saliva. If it goes into the dirt and makes a slight furrow, then that is plowing and it is work. But if it hits a rock, no work is done. They argued as to whether he could wear his artificial teeth or his wooden leg. To them all this petty detail was a matter of life and death and certainly the man was breaking the rabbinic law by carrying his bed on the Sabbath. All this was abhorrent to the Lord. He determined to rescue Israel from enslavement to these manmade regulations and pave the way for a fuller revelation of God s grace. This was why, on many occasions, he deliberately chose the Sabbath day to perform his works of mercy. And this was why the religious leaders hated him and persecuted him. SLIDE #: John 5:14: Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well 3

4 again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." What the past sin of this sufferer had been we do not know, but the sufferer himself knew very well; his conscience interpreted the warning. There was some unrevealed connection between this man s sickness and his sin. The lord had healing for the one and forgiveness for the other. "Stop sinning." Does Jesus promote a loose life? No! "You're healed now, clean up your life." SLIDE #: John 5:15: The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. SLIDE #: John 5:16-18: So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus defense was wholly shattering. His defense was that God did not stop working on the Sabbath day, and that neither did he. This meant nothing less than that the work of Jesus and the work of God were the same. Jesus was putting himself on equality with God. The Jews were furious. He'd just claimed to be God. It is the teaching of Jesus that human need must always be helped. No day can be made a reason for withholding help that might be given. Other work may be laid aside, but the work of compassion can never be laid aside. SLIDE #: WHY DID JOHN CHOOSE THIS MIRACLE AS A SIGN FOR BELIEF? SLIDE #: THE ALLURE OF GRACE SHINES IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE DEAD FORMALISM OF RELIGIOUS REGULATIONS. An elderly woman was standing in the checkout line ready to pay for her merchandise: a quart of milk and a loaf of bread. She opened her purse. No money was there; neither was her checkbook. As she was about to ask the clerk to put her things back, suddenly a gentle voice said, That looks like that s your lunch. A gentleman was standing right behind her, smiling. Don t worry, he continued. Today I want to treat you. Then the man paid for her merchandise and his own. A week passed by, and the woman came back to the store. The checker recognized her. She whispered, Ma am, maybe you d be interested to know. That gentleman s check it bounced. The question is, Are Christians to be ruled by grace or us he to be under regulations? Few have really comprehended the principle of grace. To many, Christianity is a system of human works and character building from which merit accrues. SLIDE #: Bono, the lead singer of the band u2, said, The most powerful idea that s entered the world in the last few thousand years the idea of grace is the reason I would like to be a Christian. Though, as I said to Larry Mullin (drummer) one day, I can t live up to it. But the reason I would like to is the idea of grace. It s really powerful. 4

5 SLIDE #: God helps those who help themselves. So deeply is this ingrained in the modern mind that people try to tell me that the last statement, God helps those who help themselves, is in the Bible. Actually, the opposite is true. For one of the great principles of the word of God is that God, the almighty, helps the helpless. The gospel is for everyone. Several years ago several Scottish fishermen sat down for an evening meal together at a little inn One man in particular was rather frustrated. He was gesturing broadly about the size of some fish that got away just about the time that a waitress came with cups of tea to serve to the men. As he gestured with his hand he hit the cups. The tea flew through the air and hit the whitewashed wall of the dining room. Immediately a large dark stain spread across the wall and began to soak in. The fisherman was so embarrassed. Suddenly a man at another table stood up and said, Don t worry. He pulled a pen from his pocket, walked over to the wall and began to sketch around that ugly brown stain. Before long the picture of a magnificent royal stag, with antlers spread, adorned the wall. The artist was Sir Edwin Lansier, England s foremost painter of animals. The picture remains on the wall to this day. That is what grace does with the dark brown stain of our sin. SLIDE #: GOD WILL NEVER FORCE HIMSELF ON ANYONE. RECEIVING THE LIFE OF CHRIST IS ALWAYS AND FOREVER A PERSONAL CHOICE OF THE HUMAN WILL. WHITE OVERHEAD: Do you want to be well? He spoke directly to the will. We have to choose Divine omnipotence never violates the sanctity of the will. God does not demand; he woos. The lord will neither heal nor save people against their will. The first essential towards receiving the power of Jesus is the intense desire for it. This is Squints wanting to get the attention of the Life Guard. He was desperate. Jesus comes to us and says, Do you really want to be changed? If in our inmost hearts we are well content to stay as we are, there can be no change for us. The desire for the better things must be surging in our hearts. SLIDE #: THE FIVE PORCHES, THE DESPERATE PEOPLE AND THE HEALING POWER OF CHRIST SYMBOLIZE THE FUTILITY OF TRYING TO KEEP PERFECTLY RELIGIOUS LAWS AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHRIST IN MEETING THE DEEPEST SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF MANKIND. There are deeper truths below the surface meant to bring us face to face with eternal things. The impotent people stand for the people of Israel. The five porches stand for the five books of the law. In the porches the people lay ill, and uncured. The law was that which could show a man his sin, but which could never mend it; the law was that which could uncover a man s weakness, but which could never cure it. 5

6 The thirty-eight years stand for the thirty-eight years in which they wandered in the desert before they entered the promised land. The healing of Christ stands for the spiritual healing over the devastation of sin that Christ offers: Do you want to get well? It is a pitiful picture, as John relays it. But it is far more pitiful when we realize that he is including the description to dramatize the helpless and woefully helpless condition of the human race. SLIDE #: Romans 5:6: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. WRITE ON OVERHEAD: Powerless: God tells us that it was when we found it impossible to do anything for ourselves spiritually that Christ died for us. Remember the three terms? The first term is blind spoke of this blindness in chapter 3 when he told Nicodemus that except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (3.3). The second word is lame. Jesus spoke of man s inability to walk in a spiritual sense when he declared, no man can come to me, except the father, who hath sent me, draw him (6:44). Finally, John also tells us that humanity is paralyzed. To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. (Romans 7:18). This reminds me of a Charles Schulz cartoon. Charlie Brown s cut-rate psychologist, Lucy, gives some analysis to Charlie Brown one day. Discouraged again, Charlie Brown? Do you know what your trouble is, Charlie Brown? The whole trouble with you is that you are you! Well, what in the world can I do about it? replied Charlie Brown. Lucy: I don t pretend to give advice. I merely point out the trouble. It is a desperate picture if we take it seriously. Yet it is the glorious prelude to the gospel of God s grace, for it is to such men impotent, blind, lame, and paralyzed that Christ came. He came to find you. But as soon as I am able to accept the fact that I am an ungodly man by nature and therefore completely unable to rise to meet God by any inborn effort, then I can also know that my sins have been dealt with in Christ and that he gives new life to all who trust him. SLIDE #: RELIGIOUS FORMALISM OFTEN BLINDS PEOPLE TO REAL HUMAN NEEDS. MEETING THE NEEDS OF HURTING PEOPLE IS ALWAYS APPROPRIATE. Formalism blinds people to real human needs. Human need must always be helped. SLIDE #: I was hungry /and you formed a humanities club / and you discussed my hunger. SLIDE #: I was imprisoned / and you crept off quietly to your chapel / to pray for my release. SLIDE #: I was naked / and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance. 6

7 SLIDE #: I was sick / and you knelt and thanked God / for your health. SLIDE #: I was homeless / and you preached to me / of the spiritual shelter / of the love of god. SLIDE #: I was lonely / and you left me alone / to pray for me. SLIDE #: You seem so holy; / so close to God. SLIDE #: But I m still very hungry / and lonely / and cold. SLIDE #: A pious father always closed grace for the evening meal with these words: come, lord Jesus, be our guest and bless what you have provided. Papa, said the son, Every evening you ask Jesus to come and be our guest, but he never comes. If we expect him to come and have dinner with us, why don t we set a place for him at the table? So dad permitted the boy to set a place at the table. Just then a knock came at the door. When they opened it a poor helpless waif stood shivering in the cold. The son thought for a moment and finally said, I guess Jesus couldn t come today, and so he sent this poor boy in his place. With little further conversation the little beggar boy was brought in and set at the empty place at the dinner table. It is always the right day to shower grace and compassion on those who are lying hurt and paralyzed on the wayside of life. 7