John 5:1-16: “Jesus Heals A
Crippled Man At The Pool Of
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 26-54 of chapter 4.
1.1.1. We finished up our study of Jesus’
discussion with the woman of
1.1.2. The woman of
1.1.3. Jesus ended up staying in
1.1.4. Jesus then left
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses 1-16 of chapter 5.
1.2.1. Jesus will go to
1.2.2. We will observe many
symbolisms and principles concerning how the Lord works in our lives.
2.
VS 5:1 - “After these things there was a feast of
the Jews, and Jesus went up to
2.1.
This was probably not a Passover feast since whenever
Jesus attended a Passover feast this is mentioned specifically in the
gospels. Over the course of His ministry
Jesus most likely attended 3 Passover feasts.
2.2.
According to Deut. 16:16 there were three feasts a
year which all of the males in Israel were required to attend in Jerusalem, “16
“Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He
chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the
Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.””
2.2.1. The “Passover
Feast” is also referred to as “The Feast of Unleavened Bread” and
was created for a remembrance of
2.2.2. “The
Feast of Booths” is also referred to as “The Feast Of Tabernacles”
or “The Feast Of Ingathering” and occurred at the end of the year as
everyone was bringing in and counting their yearly increase.
2.2.3. “The
Feast of Weeks” is also referred to as “The Feast Of Harvest,” “The
Feast Of The First Fruits Of Your Labors,” and “The Feast Of Pentecost.” This feast occurred exactly 50 days after the
Passover, at the end of the harvest.
2.3.
Some have argued that if this feast was not a Passover
feast, then Jesus’ public ministry lasted less than 3 years, but I’m not sure
how much weight that argument has.
2.4.
Arthur Pink makes a good case for this feast being “The
Feast Of Pentecost.” He even states
that the reason why he believes that the feast is not named is because it had
not as yet had its fulfillment by Christ.
This idea makes sense because the feast occurs 50 days after the
Passover, and the Passover feast was just mentioned by John in chapter 2 of
this gospel.
3.
VS 5:2-4 - “Now there is in
3.1.
This pool is believed to be the same place where the
Pool of Salome is also located. The area thought to be where these pools
exist today has a spring (perhaps a hot spring).
3.2.
It is important to pay attention to all of the names
of people and places which you encounter in scripture because doing so you
realize that the Holy Spirit has encoded much that supports the scriptures:
3.2.1. This pool is
called ‘
3.2.2. The pool is
by the ‘sheep gate’ which was the places that the animals were brought
into the temple for sacrifice.
3.3.
Here was the “lamb who takes away the sins of the
world” at the gate where the lambs were brought for sacrifice, and He is
going to perform a wonderful miracle of healing out of mercy at the “house
of mercy.” It is only fitting that
Jesus should perform this healing here because it is only through the mercy of
God that the Lamb of God would heal our souls by removing our sins through the
great sacrifice of Himself upon Calvary’s cross. All of Jesus’ healings symbolize the healings
that occur in the lives of God’s people through the healing of our sins which
He performs.
3.4.
These
verses mention that this Sheep’s Gate had ‘five porticoes’ (or porches)
and Arthur Pink writes the following about the symbolism of this number five in
the scriptures and in our passage, “The number of the porches here is also
significant. In Scripture the numerals
are used with Divine design and precision. Five stands for grace or favor. When Joseph desired to show special favor to
his borther Benjamen we read, “And he took and sent messes unto them from
before him: but Benjamen’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs”
(Gen. 43:34); and again we are told, “To
all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamen he gave three hundred pieces
of silver, and five changes of
rainment” (Gen. 45:22). Five and its multiples are stamped on
every part of the tabernacle. It was
with five loaves the Lord Jesus fed
the hungry multitude. The fifth clause in the Lord’s prayer is,
“Give us this day our daily bread.” The fifth Commandment was the only one with
a promise attached to it; and so we
might go on. Thus we see the perfect
propriety of five porches (colonnades) around the pool of Mercy, situated by the sheep (gate)”!”
3.5.
Many ancient manuscript fragments do not include the
portion of these verses that is contained here in braces. Most commentators I’ve read accept these
verses as part of the original writings however. If these verses are to be accepted, then it
appears that at certain seasons that an angel in fact did go down to the pool,
stir up the water, and then heal the first person who went into the water after
it was stirred up.
3.6.
These verses portray in symbol the pathetic state of
the nation of
3.6.1. ‘Sick.’
3.6.1.1.This word is translated from the Greek word “astheneo”
which according to Strong’s Greek Dictionary means “to be
weak, feeble, to be without strength, powerless. 2 to be weak
in means, needy, poor. 3 to be feeble, sick.”
3.6.1.2.Sin has brought about a terminal illness that affects
the heart, mind, emotions, and soul.
People suffer great heart ache because of the consequences of their
sin. Their emotions are affected causing
inappropriate passions, rages of anger and temper, depression, fickleness, and
even cold indifference. There is also no
rest for people’s souls because of their sin.
3.6.1.3.The Lord spoke to Isaiah in chapter 1 of his book and
told him how He perceived the state of His people Israel in their state of
rebellion of sin against Him, saying in Is. 1:3-8, “3 “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s
manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” 4 Alas,
sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons
who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord,
They have despised the Holy One of
3.6.1.4.In Romans
5:6, the apostle Paul wrote about our before Christ experience as being a time
when we were “helpless” , “6 For while we were still
helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
3.6.2. ‘Blind.’
3.6.2.1.Sin causes spiritual blindness. We do not see spiritual truth, understand
spiritual principles, do not perceive God’s truth nor see His hand at work in
the world, and do not perceive the true motives behind our own actions. This explains why everyone we read about in
the scriptures was so slow to catch on to spiritual concepts when they were
right in front of them.
3.6.3. ‘Lame.’
3.6.3.1.Sin causes a soul to be encumbered and completely
unable to walk and get around and be productive as he/she should. Instead of being productive, doing good, and
glorifying God as people were created to do, sin causes them to have
destructive lifestyles and be self-centered and self-serving and do harm rather
than perform good.
3.6.4. ‘Withered.’
3.6.4.1.This word is translated from the Greek word “karos”
which means “something that has dried up and withered away as a result.”
3.6.4.2.When muscles aren’t used they atrophy or wither. Hands and fingers curl up as do toes and
legs. This speaks of the fact that
people in this world are suffering the consequences of their sins which has
caused their natural and God-given capacity to think righteous thoughts and
perform righteous deeds to be rendered unusable.
3.6.4.3.Many people in our world can’t think a holy or
righteous thought if they tried with all of their might, their minds and heart
have become so twisted and corrupted.
3.7.
This
description of mankind in their sin makes us Christians realize that if the
Lord had not found us and drawn us to Himself, opening up our eyes to the truth
and giving us the ability to believe in Him, we would never have been able to
be saved through Christ.
3.8.
It is such
a wonderful thing when Jesus forgives us of our sins, makes us a new creation,
and regenerates (or gives new life) our hearts, minds, and wills. Truly, Jesus releases the one who is a slave
or captive to sin and sets him/her free to be able to live a holy and righteous
life that is filled with peace of heart and mind and the joy of the Lord.
4.
VS 5:5-6 - “And a certain man was there, who had
been thirty-eight years in his sickness.
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?’” - John
tells us that a certain man was at this pool hoping to be healed, a man who had
been sick for 38 years, and when Jesus saw the man he asked him if he wanted to
get well
4.1.
According
to Deut. 2:14, Israel wandered in the wilderness (a symbol of rebellion against
God) after exiting from Egypt for exactly 38 years, the same amount of time this
man had experienced his illness.
4.2.
Jesus of His own will is drawn to this place where
people are suffering greatly. He is also
drawn to this one who is probably suffering the greatest, a man who has been in
his condition for 38 years.
4.3.
Note that Jesus performs this healing without being
asked by anyone, not even the man. Jesus
had great compassion for all who were afflicted in any way.
4.4.
The sovereignty of God is seen here. There were many on this day who were in need
of healing, and indeed everyone all over the world is in need of spiritual
healing. However, it was to this one
man, this man who was an object of divine favor, to whom Jesus went and
performed this healing. Also, this man
did nothing to deserve this healing by Jesus.
He had no special faith, no admirable character, no habit of doing
charitable deeds, etc. There was nothing
in this man’s life that should have in any way warranted Jesus to come and to
heal him. It was merely because of the
grace and mercy of the One who healed him that this man was chosen for healing,
and chosen for salvation through Christ.
4.5.
People usually prefer to be healed of physical
ailments which they have, however there are some who do not want a physical
healing because they would then have to begin to work for a living and would no
longer be able to beg. Thus, Jesus asks
this man a fair question, whether or not he wanted to be healed.
4.6.
People often do not want to be healed of their
spiritual ailments either. Jesus would
heal all men and women of any time of their spiritual ailments, if they would
just allow Him to heal them. Many though
don’t want to get better and prefer to wallow in their sins rather than have
them forgiven and removed, and they make the lives of those around them
miserable as they destroy their own life.
4.7.
Do you realize that Jesus has compassion and cares
when you suffer and He wants you to come to Him so that He can give you
healing, comfort, or deliverance that you may be needing.
4.8.
When you are suffering, you should be willing for the
great physician to effect your cure. He
knows how to heal every illness, physical or spiritual, but you have to be
willing to get better in order for Him to bring His healing to you.
4.9.
You should remember that the temporary pain brought
about by the physician’s scalpel, is only necessary so that a much greater and
more sustained suffering will not be experienced by you, the patient. The healing that is brought, especially when
Jesus is the surgeon, is well worth the pain of surgery that is incurred.
5.
VS 5:7-8 - “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’.
Jesus said to him, ‘Arise, take up your pallet, and walk’. And immediately the man became well, and took
up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.” - The man
answered Jesus that he had no one to help him into the pool should an angel
stir the water, Jesus then tells him to take up his pallet and walk, the man is
then healed and takes up his pallet and begins to walk
5.1.
This verse
pictures the sad condition of mankind.
Many need healing but few ever receive it. Everyone around this pool, all of whom are
desirous of being healed, are just looking out for themselves. The strong take advantage of the weak if the
waters happen to get stirred for healing, and thus those with the greatest need
are despised and ignored and knocked out of the way. However, standing by the pool of humanity is
One (the Lamb of God) who is able to remedy every affliction yet few notice or
even care that He is there.
5.2.
When asked if he would like to be healed, the man
replies to Jesus that there is no one to place him in the waters if they get
stirred. The sick man’s answer to Jesus
reveals that he understood his inability to help himself, and it also entices
the pity of Jesus for him.
5.3.
This man does not know who Jesus is nor that Jesus
could heal him just by speaking the word.
He is only thinking of healing coming through the waters of the pool.
5.4.
Yet, note that when Jesus commands this man to take up
his pallet and walk he begins to respond to Jesus’ command and is subsequently
and immediately healed and enabled to do what Jesus commanded him to do.
5.5.
Notice also in this miracle that just as with all of
Jesus’ other miracles that a complete and wonderful miracle occurs. This man was completely and immediately made
100% well on this occasion and even though he hadn’t walked in 38 years the
atrophy of his muscles is even reversed and he is enabled to stand and walk
normally.
5.6.
Notice how this man responds to Jesus’ command to him
to take up his bed and walk, and thereby he is healed, and note that Jesus’
command required responsibility and faith on the part of the man:
5.6.1. First, Jesus
tells him to do the very thing that he is not able to do, to stand up and
walk.
5.6.1.1.Jesus did
this same sort of thing of commanding people to do the impossible on other
occasions. For instance, He asked the
man with the withered hand to stretch out his hand, and thus he healed
him. On all occasions, the people
responded to His words in faith and thus were healed.
5.6.1.1.1.The Lord’s
commands are also His enablings, for whenever a man or woman responds to the
Lord’s commands in faith the Lord enables them to do that which they are being
commanded to do.
5.6.1.2.Jesus, when
He healed, often asked the person He healed to do something to show to everyone
that only a miracle could account for his cure, and in having the man stand and
walk away with his bed, the man demonstrated to everyone the miraculous
completeness of his healing.
5.6.1.3.Many and
perhaps most in this man’s situation would have been reluctant to attempt to
stand at Jesus’ command, after all he has been in this condition for 38 years
and why should he put his trust in a man he doesn’t know, Jesus, to heal
him? (Remember that Jesus told us that
His sheep hear His voice and He knows them)
Also, if the man stands and tries to walk and then falls down he will
most likely end up being a town laughing-stock.
5.6.1.4.Many others
in this man’s situation would have stood up however after standing for a few
seconds and maybe taking one or two steps would have sat back down since they
preferred the comfort level of a life of begging instead of working.
5.6.1.5.This man
stood up and then took up his bed and just kept on walking, just as Jesus
commanded him to do. The man took no
thought of failure, and never looked back at his previous life so as to be
ensnared by it (had he looked back he would have returned to the pool), and
scripture warns us against looking back at our past life after we have become
God’s people, for instance:
5.6.1.5.1.When the
angels were attempting to drive Lot and his family out of
5.6.1.5.2.Luke 9:62, “62
But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting
his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
5.6.2. Secondly,
Jesus commanded the man to take up his pallet and walk off with it, which meant
that the man would break the Sabbath law.
5.6.2.1.The man knew
that if he carried his bed on the Sabbath that he would break the Sabbath laws
of the Pharisees. Yet, the man assumed that
if Jesus commanded him to do this, and thus healed him, He must also have
authority to command him to do something that would break the letter of the
law.
5.6.2.1.1.There is
only one reason that we should ever break man’s laws, and that is if Jesus
tells us to do so, if to keep man’s laws would be to break the laws and
commandments of God.
5.6.2.2.Jesus taught
in another place that the letter of the Sabbath law should not be so important
to keep, that in keeping it one neglect the opportunity to do good for others. On yet a different occasion, Jesus taught that
‘the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ However, these Jews are more concerned about
what appeared to be a breaking of the letter of the law, than the wonderful and
miraculous healing of one who had be sick for 38 years.
5.7.
Whenever we read or hear God’s word, we have the
choice of whether or not to believe His word or not. God’s word commands us also to make difficult
choices, many of which are contrary to what we have previously been disposed to
doing. We should obey His word though
and step out in obedience and faith to do His will when He has revealed it to
us, regardless of the consequences we may face, and then when we do walk in
faith upon His word, He will bless us greatly and perform in us the work that
He has promised to perform.
5.8.
So many of us as people though are double-minded. We always make backup plans, if the Lord doesn’t come
through. We are like a man who would
only pick up the top mattress and carry it so that the bottom would remain in
case we need it. Then, when the going
gets tough, we bail out because we don’t trust God’s word and that He has our
best interests at heart. Sadly, many
times God’s promises to us are not enough for our faith, we must see how He
will work things out before we will trust His word. Not this man, however.
5.9.
This man even broke the letter of the Sabbath law,
knowing that he could face consequences, and he did so just because Jesus told
him to do it. We ought to trust Jesus
and His revealed word in our lives, as this man did.
6.
VS 5:10-13 - “Therefore
the Jews were saying to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath, and it is not
permissible for you to carry your pallet’. But he answered them, ‘He who made me well was
the one who said to me, ‘’Take up your pallet and walk’’’. They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to
you, ‘’Take up your pallet and walk’?’’
But he who was healed did not know who it was; for Jesus had slipped away while there was a
crowd in that place.” - The Jews begin to rebuke the man who had been
healed for carrying his pallet as Jesus had commanded him to do when He healed
him
6.1.
Jesus
leaves the man immediately after healing him, and this caused the man to enter
into a time of temptation and even persecution.
Whenever someone first comes to know the Lord, we Christians must
realize that the person is going to encounter temptations and persecution
because the Devil is going to try to draw him back to his life of sin. That is why follow up of new Christians is so
important to perform for those who have born into this new life as Christians
and are babies in their faith. A baby
needs a mother or a father to watch out for it, protect it, feed it, and even
change it. So also do new Christians
need follow up and care after coming to salvation because they don’t know how
to help themselves nor what they really need.
6.2.
Many have tried to read things into the motive of this
man in telling the Jews that the reason he was carrying his pallet was because
the one who healed him told him to do it.
6.2.1. I think that
the man carried the pallet because Jesus told him to do it, so he is simply
being truthful in what he told the Jews.
6.2.2. Secondly, he
didn’t at this point know who the man was who told him to do this so he
answered their query as best as he could.
6.3.
It is obvious that the man was very grateful to Jesus
for healing him in such a remarkable and complete way.
7.
VS 5:14-16 - “Afterward
Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘Behold, you have become
well; do not sin anymore, so that
nothing worse may befall you’. The man
went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus that had made him well. And for this reason the Jews were persecuting
Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.” - Jesus later found the man whom He had healed
in the temple and told him to sin no more that nothing worse might happen to
him
7.1.
This man’s sickness would have kept him from the
temple for the last 38 years, however now to his amazement and with joy he is
able to go to the temple, and he probably goes immediately there to worship the
Lord.
7.2.
The man surely realizes that it is God who has healed
him, because if a man has been in such a condition as he had been for that long
of a duration, only God could perform a total cure. The man probably also wants to give God
praise and thanks for using this man to perform this incredible healing upon
him.
7.3.
Jesus knew that this man would go to the temple, and
so He immediate goes to the temple to tell the man who He is who has healed
him.
7.4.
Jesus also
comes to warn the man.
In warning the man, Jesus reveals that this man’s sickness has been
caused by his life of sin. Jesus tells
the man that He had better cease his sinful activity or that a worse thing than
this illness will occur in his life.
7.5.
No matter how deep one falls into sin, there is always
a place where he can go even deeper.
Jesus knows the future and He knows what really could happen to this man
if he were to continue in his present lifestyle. In the scriptures we see that Christians
are given many grave warnings against continuing to live in sin, including:
7.5.1. Col. 3:25 :
“25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong
which he has done, and that without partiality.”
7.5.2. Galatians
6:7 : “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a
man sows, this he will also reap.”
7.5.3. When asked
if the sin of some people caused the Tower of Siloam to follow on them, Jesus
responded with the following in Luke 13:3-4, “ I tell you, no! But unless you
repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in
Siloam fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the others
living in
7.6.
A further consideration in this warning by Jesus
involves the fact that there is also an eternal destruction in hell awaiting
all who refuse to turn away from their sins.
7.7.
Having been made well, there is also a possibility
that this man may now be tempted in ways that he had not been tempted in years,
and that he may fall afresh into a new snare of temptations.
7.7.1. After the
Lord begins to work in our lives as Christians and bring healing to us, we need
to beware lest having received some of His healing we may be tempted in new
areas that we never experienced before.
For instance, when Christ’s character begins to be formed in our lives,
the opposite sex may suddenly become attracted to us, and temptations may open
up totally unexpected to us. We need to
always be on our guard, and not put ourselves in vulnerable positions
concerning sexual temptations.
7.8.
Jesus healed men and women physically, but when He
healed them He also brought a spiritual healing to their lives as well. This man realizes also that his sins have
been forgiven him though the text does not specifically tell us this.
7.9.
When this man leaves Jesus, it appears that he goes
straight back to the Jews in the temple who had questioned him about who had
healed him and told them that it was Jesus who had made him whole. Since he had been accused of breaking the
Sabbath laws by carrying his bed, a crime punishable by death, he could have
kept silent about who it was that had healed him and told him to carry his
bed. However, the man goes to these
Jewish leaders and gives glory to the one who deserves it. He has new information now and so he tells
them that it was Jesus who had done this, and that they ought to check Him out.
7.10. We
Christians may have maladies that occur in our life because of the sin in our
life, though not all maladies are the result of sin. You need to realize, that if you do not cease
from sinning in our life, you may fall into a much worse state than you have
ever been in before.
7.11. You who want
to continue in sin, whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, you will
continue to your own eternal destruction unless you repent and ‘sin no more.’
8.
CONCLUSIONS:
8.1.
As we consider this study and how that we ought to apply it to our
lives, I would ask you first of all what kind of deliverance or healing that
the Lord might want to perform in your life?
And, do you want to be delivered?
8.2.
Are you willing to let Jesus into the tiny corners of your life and are
you willing to let Him take control and truly be Lord of you?
8.3.
Today, won’t you surrender your life to the Great Physician and let Him
make you completely whole? He can do
that work if you are willing to let Him do so.
8.4.
I encourage you today to go your way and sin no more also.