Sunday, John 5 - Pastor Gilman, 11-14-21

John 5..

We finished John 4 with the 2nd miracle which was the healing of a child. In John 5 Jesus performs his third miracle.. And as he did, violated Jewish law as he healed on the Sabbath.. . “8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath.

“10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 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. 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.”

So let's pray.

Father, we open up our hearts as we read and listen to you’re Word..

We are interested, Lord, in the life of Jesus-- the words that he spoke, the works that he performed.

We're interested in knowing about them, and drawing nearer to you..

But not just understanding the scripture.

Not only to be conformed with truth, but to walk With greater intimacy with you.

Lord, you know those things in our lives that are hindering that-- the sins, the thoughts the attitudes or the misinformation.

But Lord, give us a balance-- speak to us further. Using John, chapter five, Lord so that our lives

would be enriched so that we would walk in relationship to you and honor you with our lives.

Lord, I pray for every broken heart who's either a part of this study group or listening by video or reading it on our website.

Those are struggling with certain things, dealing with certain issues that have come up in their lives.

And are weighed down because of it.

As you reveal to us-- as you remind us of who Jesus is and what he can do-- Lord, I pray

that we would walk away different than we came this morning.

I pray we'd walk away rejoicing and our faith would be intact.

We ask it in Jesus' name,

Amen.

     Back in 1611, a version of the Bible was produced under the authority of the British King,

King James of England. It has become the King James version-- the authorized version of the Bible.

Of course, people spoke differently back and 1611 then they speak today. Language is dynamic, language changes, but there is an interesting word found in the King James 1611 version of the Bible that is translated differently in the translation of the new King James version. And so verse three of chapter five, it says:

"In these lay a great multitude of sick people." That's not how the 1611 King James version puts it.

It says, "In these lay a great number of impotent folk."

Now, that word has changed meaning. Impotent in 1611 did not mean what it has come to mean today.

Originally, the idea of an impotent person was a person without strength; a person unable to better himself; a person unable to do something for himself.

So using the word in the original 1611 translation-- a great number of impotent folk--

we have the story here of an impotent man meeting an omnipotent man-- one who is all powerful.

A man who is powerless meeting the all powerful one. A man without strength meeting the one who has all strength at his disposal--all power and authority at his disposal.

A man who is totally helpless meeting, in essence, the ultimate helper.

Now, I remember as a boy the church elders , quoting what they believed to be a verse of scripture, say God helps those who help themselves…

When I came to read more of the Word I searched for that phrase and I couldn't find it, so I thought it must be in an alternate translation.

The elders must be so well-versed in the Bible that they know different translations of the scripture.

So I searched in various translations. And I found not only in the King James version, but in all the variants of that I could access-- I couldn't find that verse.

But I kept reading the Bible I kept studying. Not only did I not find God helps those who help themselves, I discovered the greatest truth-- God helps those who can't help themselves. He helps the helpless people. Then I discovered that where that versus of scripture came from was not the scripture, it was from Ben Franklin. If you have not heard of him he was a brilliant man in US history… But He's the guy who said God helps those who help themselves, not the Bible.

It was Ben Franklin, first noted and first quoted in Poor Richard's Almanac, printed in 1757.

So the scene is in Jerusalem. In a special area known as the Pool of Bethesda. The Pool of Bethesda-- the word Bethesda , in the Hebrew, means mercy-- house of mercy, place of mercy.

The Pool of Bethesda-- the place of mercy, the house of mercy-- was anything but a house of mercy.

Rather, by the time Jesus enters the scene is not a house of mercy, it's a hangout of misery.

We can describe the scene this day as there being a great multitude of people who are unable to better themselves-- unable to help themselves. And we find Jesus coming on that scene here.

Now, here's what's important to think about and remember as we go through John.

What happens here, on this day, is the turning point in Jesus' ministry. When I say turning point I don't I mean for the better, but I mean for the worse. It is the point at which the nation of Judea-- the Jewish nation-- formally sets themselves in opposition against Christ. And the opposition against him from this point onward mounts and continues to mount and rises higher and higher until finally they succeed in putting him on a cross and putting him to death. What causes such hatred? What causes such persecution? What causes such opposition?

Initially, it is this event that John will follow all the way to the end when Jesus is put on the cross.

So its important to remember as we go through not only this chapter but the entire book of John

As you'll see, all of the rumours they spread and all of the lies that they perpetrate and all of the secret conspiracies, it all stems from this incredible event.

So let's go back to it and get into it.

In verse one--

After this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

We don't know what feast this is in Jerusalem. We are not told, which is interesting, at least to me.

It's interesting to me because one of the things I've noted in John's writings that he carefully explains these things for us… But this he did not..

It could have been Passover or the feast of dedication in the wintertime-- Hanukkah-- or the Feast of Tabernacles…. It's depicted as just a feast.

Most scholars seem to believe it is indeed the Feast of Tabernacles as it takes place in the fall of the year but we're not told.

John just says, "After this, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem."

Why did Jesus go up to Jerusalem?

Well, it's interesting.

According to the law Jewish males in Judah were required to attend three festivals every year--

Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Now, if you lived in Galilee, you weren't necessarily required to make them all, but Jesus made this one because he wants to show mercy in a place that was filled with misery. Now, something that is also interesting to me is that Jesus-- though the Jewish leaders hate him and come to vehemently hate him-- Jesus works through the system that he was born into. He was born Jewish. He was circumcised as a child on eighth day , according to Judaism. He went up to Jerusalem as a child of 12

turning 13 to have his bar mitzvah in Jerusalem. He was in the synagogue for worship service on the Sabbath days.

He wore the tassels that Jewish males wore-- the robe with the colored tassels that marked them as men under the covenant of Judaism—having a relationship with God so likely, that the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment was touching the tassels that hung from that hem of his garment.

And he, himself, said do not think that I've come to destroy the law and the prophets. but to fulfil them.

So he goes up and he keeps the feast, he goes through the ritual. Jesus uses this feast to touch a man in great need. And we will look at this …

"Now there is, in Jerusalem--" verse two-- "by this sheep gate, a pool, The pool of Bethesda; The house of or the place of mercy.

Most people don't know where the sheep gate is but the sheep gate was a place by the wall of the city of Jerusalem where sheep were kept outside.

And why sheep? For the sacrifices in the temple. They would be taken to this pool of Bethesda which is believed to be about two to three feet deep.

So there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate having five porches. Which by-the-way has been uncovered or discovered archeologically and the pool is said to be exactly as described in this chapter of John having 5 porches.. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk-- sick people-- blind, lame, paralyzed.

Here's an interesting footnote—their waiting for the moving of the water. 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.

Now it was believed-- it became a legend because a subterranean spring fed this pool, evidently.

And the subterranean spring the fed this pool would let in water every now and then and it would bubble up. keep in mind, we're dealing with an ancient people, and in antiquity people believed all sorts of things..

So a legend developed that the bubbling of the water was due to an angel who would stir it up and whoever got there first would be healed. Which presents a problem if you're an impotent folk.

Because you can't sometimes get anywhere, let alone get somewhere first or fast.

So you have lots of people who can't help themselves-- now, what a cruel way to view God's power.

Can you imagine God saying, I'm going to do this miracle but I'm going to have an angel stir up the water. Whoever gets there first is only one that can be healed.

But It became a legend… They had to have some explanation for this stirring up of the water.

According to John, a certain man was there who had an infirmity for 38 years.

Let me tell you just a little bit about this pool as I understand it to be. If you can picture--

Now, can you imagine a porch-- a covered porch around all four of that rectangle area?

So that's four porches, one, two, three, four. And then another porch dividing it in half. So you have two pools, essentially, seen as one pool, But it's divided in two by a colonnaded porch, so you have the five porches.

And that is what they discovered by Saint Anne's Church in Jerusalem-- the Pools of Bethesda, from an archaeological dig.

It was used for a congregation of all sorts of diseased people. One scholar believes that there were about 300 people that would congregate under those covered porches around the pool of Bethesda on normal times-- during normal hours, normal parts of the year.

But during festivals like this, there may have been upwards of 3,000 people-- it grew to 10 times the normal population of sick people wanting to be healed…

I told this story because I want you just to imagine the site and the smell people who are diseased, who can't move, who have bed sores gathered in this humid area, the kind of disease that could spread. And you can understand that most people—especially the aristocratic people-- nobody would come to that area unless you were really miserable.

And no doubt, many people who gathered there to die..

It says ‘So there was a certain man who was there who had an infirmity for 38 years.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that he had already been in that condition a long time he said to him,

Do you want to be made well? Wilt thou be made whole?

So Jesus comes in-- he's a stranger to all those people gathered. He's surveying the crowd-- all of these sick people. They've had diseases of different kinds ,for several years probably. but his eyes land on one person.

A man who for almost four decades had been in a very miserable condition.

Now, there's a principle here. I just don't want you to escape from seeing it.

Mercy toward others begins by how you see them. Jesus saw him and he knew something about him--

he knew his medical history, knew his physical history. But Jesus looked him-- and it all begins with a look. In Matthew, chapter nine, Jesus saw the crowd. It says he had compassion when he saw the multitudes. They were like sheep without a shepherd-- they were weary, they were scattered. And when Jesus saw them he had compassion on them.

Mercy toward others begins by how you view them.

I don't always view a crowd with compassion. I sometimes am guilty by viewing a crowd of people as a nuisance. I hate lines.

I want to get here first before all the selfish people do. That's my human nature.

But if I just take a step back and ask myself, how would Jesus view them?

These are like scattered, weary sheep-- they have no shepherd.

And I could, by God's grace, decide to see people differently and have a heart of compassion.

Jesus saw him. He knew what had been his condition. And then listen to the question Jesus asked.

Hey, do you want to get better? It's an unusual question.

hey, do you want to get better after lying there 38 years?

If you were a bystander you might immediately think how cruel to ask a question like that.

Can you imagine walking up to somebody who any kind of disease-- cancer, couldn't walk, some kind of handicapped person and, say hey, you want to get better?

So it sounds like a cruel question, but it actually is a fair question

Jesus-- I believe-- is getting this man to focus on his issue, his problem, his helplessness, how bad the condition really is.

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." And Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."

Now, let me make another suggestion.

Not only is Jesus getting the man to focus on how impossible his situation is before he heals him-- to show him mercy. But is asking if he is ready to accept a new life and the responsibilities that go with it…

This man for 38 years has been an invalid. Until this moment in time He has been living off whatever gratitude he could get-- the free will offerings of anybody who had some kind of mercy.

Up on the street there were people who were working, carrying heavy burdens for pennies.

So we can see if he gets better his whole life is going to change.

This change will take on a whole level of responsibility that he had have never known before.

The question is for him….Do you really want to change? Do you really want that kind of responsibility? This is true spiritually too isn’t it? True for us.. True when God speaks to us and asks do we really want to change??? Do we want to shoulder the responsibility for Christ?

Jesus is highlighting the impossibility of asking the man to search his own heart if he really wants to see a change in that.

But he says-- focused on his problem-- "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." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." Again picture yourself-- you're there, you're that person visiting a friend who's and you're overhearing this conversation. Hey, you want to get better? Sounds cruel?

But here's the deal.

When He gives you a command to do something he always gives you the power-- the strength-- to do that command.

It may sound impossible. And it may well be impossible, but when Jesus gives you the command it's no longer impossible-- it's possible.

So we must listen closely when God speaks to us and put our hopes ,trust and faith in Him.

The Lord might be telling you, love that person in your life that you're having difficulty with.

And you think…..Oh, I can't-- it's impossible. I don't feel any love toward them.

Jesus didn't say feel love toward them. He said love them, and love is an action-- it's a verb.

Demonstrate love to them. It's not about how you feel. And you will discover something . When that seemingly impossible command come to you then it becomes possible. The Lord gives you a love you never knew existed in you—

Maybe He is whispering “ I want you to serve me.”

And you think …Oh, I can't do that—I’m happy with my life… I don’t want to make a change…I can’t do it…

Remember, the Lord told Moses, Moses, I'm going to call you to be a spokesman before Pharaoh.

I-I- I-I- I- I-I- I st- st- st- stutter.

It's effectively what he said. I'm a man of uncircumcised lips, I can't speak.

The most unlikely person to be the spokesperson did it.

Jesus said, Peter, get out of that boat and come and walk. Well, it's impossible for a man to walk on the water but Peter started to do it.. He found that in obeying the command he found the capacity. But he became afraid.. Matthew 14 - 28“Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.” 29“Come, ” said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”…

What is the Lord telling you that's impossible? Listen to Him…Go for it. Do it. Take the step, watch what happens. All things are possible with God and if we are with God the impossible tasks set before us become possible and are testament to our journey through life with Christ….

Lets pray…

Lord, Thank you for the opportunity for us to gather here again, to share fellowship with one another and to digest your Word. Help us Lord to apply these truths to our lives so that we may walk in your footsteps , follow in your example, more closely.. Bless this humble bible study and all who study or hear your word. We ask that we may be given the strength to obey your commands as well as your commandments. Guide our steps daily. We thank thee for prayers answered and we know that you have heard all. Help is to do our work with humility, to put aside our prideful ways, to love more and step forward toward righteousness….

We ask these things in Jesus’ name

Amen