Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
John 5:8-9
May you renew your hope in the gospel message of mercy and grace that brings people in from the fringe of life to Jesus and defeats the legalism that attempts to keep them there.
In John 5:1-17, the narrative of the fourth Gospel describes a lame beggar who was situated attentively at the Pool of Bethesda waiting for his healing. Jesus came upon the scene to discover at this unique place a very large gathering of infirmed, and the Messiah’s eyes caught the distraught face of this one who sat listlessly starring into the water.
No scene could be more desperate than this, especially during such a holy day as the Sabbath day of the feast of the Jews (John 5:1). The lame man was fixed on the waters of this pool through the influence of a story of angels stirring the water to bring healing to all who will step into its rousing.[1] However, his condition seemed hopeless as he had no one to assist him into the waters. Jesus observed his hopelessness and asked, “Do you want to be healed?”
Now, most would quickly respond, “of course he wanted to be healed.” But there is something much deeper than a simple inquiry. Jesus pressed beyond the exterior of a man accustomed to his place at the pool to the deeper issue of faith. Jesus’ question revealed that the lame man had treated the observation of the pool like a holy ordinance where he ritualistically sat for most of his life, and Jesus offered to take him away from a useless practice to a real encounter. The question was actually an invitation to know the only true source of healing. The lame man’s response to Jesus’ question revealed the extreme hopelessness of his case:
“I have no one to help me into the water, but while I try to enter myself, someone steps in front of me.”
With this condition of hopelessness and helplessness pronounced, Jesus surprisingly instructed, “arise, take up your bed and walk.” The lame man stood at the words of Christ completely restored, for the Son of God had displayed his authority. Through the tender words of Jesus, Heaven moved, and true healing had come.
In severe contrast to the healing words of Christ, the Jews present that day told the lame man that he should not carry his bed on the Sabbath. The “Jews” referenced were the temple authorities and caretakers of the law who attempted to impose constraints on the freedom that had come through Jesus’ healing. The authorities knew of this man’s crippled condition yet chose to forego the joyful worship of such a miracle in exchange for legal protests against Jesus’ instruction. This event was a very public and noted display, and as the lame man later confirmed Jesus’ identity as the one who had brought healing on the Sabbath, the Jews further built their case against the Son of God. This occasion became the first reference to the open hostility against Christ recorded in John’s Gospel. Yet, on this particular day, the Sabbath, Jesus’ act of compassion set forth the issue of His grace and mercy over against enslavement to the law. Jesus defied the legal requirement of the Sabbath in order to restore a hopeless life, thus proving His authority as the Son of God. And, this revelation became obvious as Jesus simply said, “take up thy bed.”
From John’s temple narrative of the lame man healed, note three specific observations that should alter our course of faith and ministry, especially in the confines of our own temple (our own religious framework or routines). First, the name “Bethesda” (from the Hebrew meaning of “two pools” and the Greek meaning of “house of healing”) signified a place where healing was expected.”[2] Within a setting framed in superstitious healing, Jesus demonstrated ultimate healing through mercy and grace. We must never minimize man’s greatest need and the believer’s greatest testimony: true restoration can only come through the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the gospel message, and this must always be the paramount focus of any denomination, church, small group, or individual testimony. When the gospel is prioritized, true ministry is always the result (be it in the form of discipleship, missions, or both).
Second, within this narrative, there was a real personality (the lame man) in a real place fixed upon a meaningless ritual. There are meaningless routines and traditions that can cause one to gaze upon a false portrayal of the “healing fount”, instead of intimately acquainted with the life giver, Jesus Christ, who alone can bring complete healing. Do not be satisfied with those you know who seem stuck at the fringe of the Christian faith, but love them, minister to them, witness to them, and ask that God’s mercy and grace would draw them in to know complete restoration.
Third, the Jewish leaders continued to impose their legalism by accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath – when Jesus asked the lame man to pick up his bed and walk. But Jesus responded, “the Father is working until now, and I am working” (verse 17). Jesus rebuked the Jewish legal system that attempted to indict Him for fulfilling the work of God on the Sabbath. There was no discrepancy in Jesus’ mind between His daily activity and the work of God, and His attitude was constantly, “I must do the work of Him Who sent me.” Every activity or attitude of the follower of Christ should in some small or large way express that activity of God’s work.
Today, having revisited this familiar story, remember our Savior’s passion for those in the margin of life. Notice how His mercy and grace become the greatest gift and the only hope of complete restoration. Witness his desire to leave no one stuck at the fringe of false hope. Realize His priority to the missional activity of God in the face of religious legalism. And, may this story give you hope. May you renew your hope in the gospel message of mercy and grace that brings people in from the fringe of life to Jesus and defeats the legalism that attempts to keep them there.
Today, let’s recommit to doing life according to the way of our Savior. Let’s live in the power of the Gospel.
Blessings.
READRead John 5:1-17, and allow this story to change your perspective of ministry, missions, religion, and those who are on the outside needing a touch from Jesus
[1] J. Finegan, Archeology of the New Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969) has found archeological proof that this pool was as double pool, as the Hebrew form of “Bethesda” is plural, meaning two pools. The location was near the sheep gate, a most prominent place in Jerusalem. Therefore, the size and location of this pool became a noted place for crowds to gather, and more particularly for the needy to gather in large number seeking healing from the folk tale of angels stirring the water for healing, as well as hoping for handouts from those who would pass by.
