John 5:1-18 The Healer in Action

According to John 5:1-18:
The Healer in Action
1. After these things 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 porticoes. 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.] 5. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 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.” 9. Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11. But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12. They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” 13. But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15. The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17. But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 18. For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

COMMENTARY
Verses 1-9a
1. After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Once again, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem for the Passover. Remember the Passover is the 'most important Hebrew feast, commemorating their deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Holman Bible Dictionary, 1991, p. 1076)." John records Jesus previously being in Jerusalem on Passover in Chapter 2 of this gospel. Remember that traveling 'up' in the Bible always refers to Jerusalem. It is not necessarily meaning that you travel northward. According to Nestle-Aland Greek-English New Testament, this sentence stands alone separated from Chapter 4:54 and verse 2 of chapter 5. Regardless of its stand alone paragraph stature, it should cause us to pause and reflect on the preceding before proceeding. Chronologically, this is the end of the first year of Jesus' public ministry. As we walk with John through his gospel, we have witnessed Jesus as eternal, compassionate, willing to reveal Himself, working behind the scenes, healing, challenging and forgiving. At this point, Jesus is turning His attention more to the those in Jerusalem and their need for forgiveness and healing. 2. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. This pool was named after the nearby town of Bethesda or Bethsaida. Skeptics doubt the validity of John's gospel and attribute his description to some other who did not have first hand knowledge of the city of Jerusalem. Thereby, lending all location references to the metaphorical or symbolic interpretation, rather than applying their actual literal significance. Then, in the nineteenth century, archaeologists discovered the remains of a pool exactly matching the description in John's Gospel. Once again, it is confirmed that the Bible refers to real people in real places. 3. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; The bracketed section beginning in this verse continuing through verse 4 is not included some translations due to it not being in many minor manuscripts (mss). This, the pool of Bethesda, was a place that attracted the sick wanting to be healed. The questionable text refers to an angelic visitation upon the pool. 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.] First one in the angelically moved waters was healed. All others, where left to wait until next time. If you were sick, blind, lame and withered, you chances of being the most attentive and most agile were slim. Hence, 5. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. How long have you been sick? I know that some of you are ill from your birth. Jesus has compassion on you. However, in this account, we are not told that this man was sick from his birth. At this man's point of 38 years being ill I think that we would be well beyond the so-called 'sick and tired' of being 'sick and tired." The Greek word translated 'ill' is τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ meaning weakness, frailty from the root word ἀσθενής meaning 'feebleness (of mind or body); by implication, malady; morally, frailty -- disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness'. The 'ill'-ness is a broader than some commentators limit the 'ill'-ness to paralysis. 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?” Are you sick? Jesus, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, asks you that question. He knows you, your illness and how long. He doesn't want to hear about those more than He wants to know, 'Do you wish to get well?' The Greek word for 'wish' denotes a purpose of your will with a reflection on intention. In other words, 'Do you intend or make plans to get well (whole or healthy)?' The man was so ill for so long that he could not make it out of his bed. Ever been in bed for a long time? Upon erecting yourself for the first time, your joints will scream in pain. I had this pain as a 13 year old when trying to walk down the hospital hallway after being on my back for 3 weeks in traction. Remember the old "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie with Gene Wilder? Remember the 'miracle' of Charlie's grandfather getting out of bed for the first time in years? That is the dramatic expression of the affect of sedentariness. The man at the poolside simply could not move quick enough. 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.” A simple 'YES' would have sufficed. But, like many of us, the man reasoned his way away from answering Jesus by giving Him excuses and previous failed methodicalness. Just answer the question! Do you want to be well? When posed with this question, forget all other attempts. For no human medical method stands to the WORD of the Lord. 8. Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” What?!!? The Greek word here for 'get up' is also translated as 'Wake up.' An Imperative command from the Lord, when obeyed, is like waking up. Darkness becomes Light. Heaviness becomes Light. Bondage becomes Freedom. For you find yourself transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the Kin9dom of His dear Son. 9a. Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. What can I say that this verse does not make clear?

Verses 9b-18
9b. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. Oh my, here we go. I feel the religious elite coming to question the validity of a long awaited, much needed miracle. Anytime something in the Gospels mentions the Sabbath, you must remember the historical religious significance of this day. It was simple in the beginning. But, it became very legalistic as men abandoned it original intent. For Jesus, the Word made flesh, said that the Sabbath was made for man, not that man was made for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). 10. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” Naughty, naughty! Exodus 16 lays the foundation for God's Sabbatical instruction to His People. This text finds us in the middle of the wilderness with the nation of Israel needing food just after being delivered from the Egyptians through the Red Sea. YHWH delivered them. Now, YHWH will provide for them. He has some pre-Ten Commandments (given at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20) instructions for His People: (vv. 24-26) "So they saved (the manna) until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any” -NIV. Through the years preceding the event of John 5, the Jewish religious leaders added to their interpretation of this seventh day rest. Let it suffice to say that they added to the point where it was not rest if you carried your bed. Therefore, be careful of those with good religious intentions that lead you away from the intent of God's good instructions. There is a difference between religion and Christianity. In fact, I am of the belief that Satan loves, endorses and propagates religion and religious activities. Beware. 11. But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” Ah, what a refreshing response. the man knew that if he answered their question, he qould foudn guilty. So, he rightfully deflected to the reason he was carrying his bed on the Sabbath. When pinned down by religiosity you may always find rest by directing your interrogators to the One who made you well, made you free, and made you whole. Jesus, you may be sure, can be trusted to reveal the intent of His Father's Law without adding any religiosity. 12. They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” According to John, this is the first time Jesus performed a miracle in Jerusalem. In John 2, we have Him cleansing the Temple of what I see as adulterated worship. Therefore, they simply do not know who said this. Interesting "Who ... SAID..?" rather than "Who made you well?" Religious people are blinded by religiosity when a walking talking miracle is right there before them. 13. But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. No pomp and circumstance needed for the One who is ... our Healer. 14. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” Jesus found the man. It is interesting that the man did not find Jesus. This simple truth reflects the basis of Christianity: Jesus finds us. Great response on behalf of the man made well. He is in the temple doing what he has been taught to do. Jesus takes the man one giant leap farther than what was required in the temple. Jesus gives the man an imperative: Sin no more (μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε). Jesus' imperative gives way to the view that this man's sin caused this illness some 38 years ago. Yes, a sinful lifestyle can make one physically ill for a long time. One sin can make one physically ill. Do not sin anymore. 15. The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Now that the man knows, he cannot help but to answer the questions. The man was not looking to tattle on Jesus. He simply wanted to make sure that the Jews had the answer to their question while figuring that they might welcome a genuine healer. 16. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. Instead of welcoming him and celebrating His gifted-ness, they sought to 'persecute' Him. The Greek word translated 'persecute' is ἐδίωκον having the meaning of 'pursuit, cause to run, set in quick motion, put to flight. They did not want Him around anymore. 17. But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 'But' is my favorite Greek word (δὲ) which denotes a contrast. Whatever was said before is about to be contradicted. Thought patterns are about to be changed. Behaviors are about to be redirected. Beliefs are about to be reborn. Faith is about to be validated. This time the contrast regards how we see Jesus. Apart from using the 'I AM' known throughout John's gospel, Jesus states that if He heals on the Sabbath, then my Father heals on the Sabbath. 18. For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. They got they picture. But instead of yielding and experiencing a 'but' moment of belief regeneration, they put a death warrant out on Jesus. This one issue will be the death of Jesus. For He cannot deny His Father. Do you?

SUMMARY
As we leave the first part of Chapter 5, we have the issue of Jesus identity revealed to the Jews in Jerusalem resulting from the healing of man at the Pool of Bethesda. This man who is healed is interrogated regarding a religious law. Jesus, who did not initially reveal himself to the man, finds him and gives him further instruction regarding his life: Do Not Sin Anymore. The Jews up their Jesus alert status from 'persecuting' to 'seeking all the more to kill Him.'

What about you? Is your lifestyle sinful? Are you sick as a result of it. Be healed. Obey the imperatives of Jesus. Do not sin anymore.

The next section of John's gospel deals more with Jesus identity and His relation with His Father.

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