The man by the pool of Bethesda hadn’t taken a step in thirty-eight
years. But that day, when Jesus walked in, the man walked out.
“Pick up your bed and walk” Jesus
said.
So, the man, picked up his bed and walked. Just.like.that.
But…there was a little more to it.
…And that day was the Sabbath. John
5:9b.
Jesus demanded a decision—not
religion.
At that moment, the man had to decide; do I obey
the rules, or, do I obey the command of this Man? You see, carrying his bed on
the Sabbath, was against the rules of his religion.
What would you do? What do you do? Are you close
enough to the Father to discern between manmade rules, and God’s? Are your religious
traditions, your denominational rules, from God, or man? Are you in a relationship,
or a religion? Huge difference.
We’re happy to see the man obeyed Jesus and
picked up his bed and walked.
Then, of course, the religious leaders rejoiced with
the man who was healed and they acknowledged Jesus as the Great Physician—
No? Oh?
What’d they do?
10
The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not
lawful for you to carry your bed.”
They rebuked
the man for breaking their manmade oral law about work on the Sabbath.
God simply
said to remember the Sabbath, keep it holy, don’t work. The word for, work, in the original text is melakah, and means: occupation, work. Exodus
20:8-10.
But rather
than interpreting God’s words as written,
the religious leaders added a bunch of, oral law, (opinions). Like, politicians
have done with the US Constitution.
The religious
leaders added thirty-nine edicts to the Sabbath work load. Things like:
Mud on your clothing
could be crushed by hand and shaken off, but not rubbed. Is that why Bond,
James Bond, says, “Shaken not stirred”?
Oh, and then
there’s the rule to not look in a mirror on the Sabbath.
Why?
Well,
because. If you look in the mirror, you’ll be tempted to work at what
you see. Like pulling that gray hair you never noticed before—and thus, you’d break
the Sabbath.
Make sure
you don’t wear false teeth on the Sabbath.
They had false
teeth back then?
Yep. Since about
700 BC.
Oh. Well,
why couldn’t you wear them on the Sabbath?
Because they
might fall out. And if they do, you’ll be tempted to pick them up…and break the
Sabbath law.
What? Why?
You mean there’s a law that says you can’t pick up your teeth?
Not exactly.
But it says you can’t carry anything heavier than two dried figs. False teeth weighed
more than that, evidently.
Their
legalistic laws countered the very reason God made them in the first place.
Their laws were unbearably hard—so hard that it was work just to keep the Sabbath
rest.
Jesus
teaches, Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27.
God’s law
was made to assist man, not enslave him.
Jesus said
of the legalistic, religious: They crush
people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the
burden. Matthew 23:4; NLT.
It cannot be
said enough, God is interested in relationship—not religion.
The letter kills, the Spirit gives
Life. 2 Corinthians 3:6.
Religion
stinks. Takes life. Robs joy. Distances people from a relationship with God and
enslaves them to mechanical methods and motions. Completely missing the heart—the
heart of the matter—which is what really matters.
Jesus says
it like this:
Come to Me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn
from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
As if to emphasize
the point, at the very moment I finished writing that verse, my phone rang. It was
my friend from the adjusting world, Paula May. She wanted advice, prayer, and just
to vent about a new certification she was obtaining. “It’s such a burden, they
pile on more and more, don’t help at all, and complain about everything…”
I simply
read those words of Jesus. His peace, His gentle burden lifting rest, saturated
her soul.
11
He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’
”
12
Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and
walk’?” 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for
Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.
“Who said that!?” the pharisees asked
the man who was healed. “Who told you to carry your bed!?”
The healed
man said he didn’t know. Which was true. Jesus healed him, and went His way. He
didn’t blow a trumpet, stand on a soapbox and shout, “Look how awesome I AM. I
just healed this man.”
For God to
use us, we must be willing to be used, anonymously.
For His glory. Not ours.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple…
Just
imagine. For the first time in forty years, you can walk. Where would you go?
He went to Church. The temple.
Lord, help
us to have a heart like King David, who said: “One thing I have asked of the
LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of
my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.”
Psalm 27:4.
Growing up,
my folks weren’t perfect. But one thing they did that made an indelible
impression on my soul was that whenever the Church doors were open—we were there.
If you dread
going to Church, if you only go for show, or compulsion, or guilt, or fear, or
obligation…you’re missing the point.
Don’t be
like George.
His wife
said, “It’s time to get ready for Church.”
George
pulled the pillow over his head. “I’m not going.”
“Yes, you
are. Now get up.”
“I don’t
want to.”
“Come on
George, we need to go.”
“Why? Give
me one good reason.”
“Well,
George, for starters…you’re the pastor.”
Don’t be
like George.
…and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come upon you.” John 5:14b.
Jesus found
the man in the temple and literally said, “Stop sinning, or you’ll be worse
off than before.”
Did sin
cause the man to be sick?
An accurate
answer is: Yes. No. Maybe.
Yes, indirectly. In the beginning,
Adam’s sin, caused sickness, disease, corruption. Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12.
No, not directly. Sin can’t be blamed for all sickness.
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his
parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed
in him. John 9:2-3.
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He said: "This sickness will not end in death.
No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through
it." John 11:4.
Maybe, resultant of a sinful lifestyle.
Corruption breeds corruption. You reap what you sow. Galatians 6:7-8.
Sin no more, lest
a worse thing…
What’s worse than forty years of being impotent? (Cripple, lame, unable to care for self).
An eternity
without the Omnipotent. That’s what.
Whether
healing physically or morally, body or soul, the corresponding command is the
same. Go and
sin no more.
The woman
caught in adultery. When Jesus said, “He who is without sin, cast the first
stone,” in essence, was saying to the stone holders, “Go and sin no more.” Once the accusers dropped
their stones and walked away, Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no
more.” John 8:11.
Healing of
body, which is temporary, should trigger healing of soul, which is eternal.
The Goodness of God leads to
repentance. Romans 2:4.
The goodness (not the niceness) of God,
leads to repentance. Notice Jesus didn’t tell the man, congratulations, I’m so
happy, happy, happy, for you, sorry it took so long.
No, Jesus
tells him; stop sinning, or you’ll be
worse off than before.
Tell the
Truth, in Love, even if it hurts.
The
man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:15.
We hear no
response from the man. Nothing. Not a thanks. Not a please forgive me. No plea
for help to sin no more.
I hope to
see this healed man in heaven, I hope he was healed, not just physically, but
eternally.
The pull of
religion is powerful. Jesus said, of their religious rules and rituals: "by
your tradition you make of no effect the word of God." Mark 7:13.
I want the
next verse to say, “The man departed and told everyone that Jesus had made
him well.” Like the Samaritan woman at the well had done, and much of her
town came to know, “this is indeed the
Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4:42.
Or, like the
nobleman from Capernaum, whose son was healed, and he believed and his whole household. John 4:53.
Or, perhaps
it could say: "and the man who was healed fell down and worshipped
Jesus."
Or, like the
man lame from birth, at the gate called beautiful, "he went in the temple
jumping and leaping and praising God." Acts 3:8.
Something
like that is what we want to hear.
But alas,
the next verse doesn’t read like that. It simply says: The
man departed…
Jesus will use that same sad word (depart), when speaking to the hypocrites who claim to know Him in the last days. “Lord, Lord…” they will say. “We prophesied in Your name, cast out demons, and did many wonders…” Yet He will sadly say to them, “Depart, from Me, I never knew you.” Matt. 7:21-23.
Jesus found him, saw him, knew him, loved him, healed him.
The man had a decision to make…
He departed from Jesus, and went to the religious.
Jesus told him to go and sin no more, not, go and tell the Jews.
For this reason, the Jews persecuted
Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.
John 5:16.
The word, persecuted, is in
the present imperfect tense. They persecuted and kept on persecuting
Him.
This was a turning point. From this moment, the religious establishment
waged a full-fledged war against Jesus; with one goal—kill Him
Notice, it says they sought to kill Him because He had
done these things on the Sabbath.
With the next sentence, Jesus will raise the stakes, and turn the
trajectory of His life on earth toward His Divine Destiny...the cross.
If you have a red-letter Bible, what follows is a sea of red. Jesus launches
a dissertation articulating four ways why He is One with the Father, and follows
up with four witnesses to prove it.
Lord willing, next Wednesday we’ll conclude this powerful message.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we decide, here and now,
on purpose, to follow You. Help us, to desire You, despise sin, and long to
live in Your presence, forever.
We love You.
Amen.
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