FEBRUARY
15, 2004 AM
Joh 5:1-16
(1) After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up
to Jerusalem.
(2) Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which
is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
(3) In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind,
halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
(4) For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and
troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water
stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
(5) And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty
and eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long
time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
(7) The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the
water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another
steppeth down before me.
(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.
(16) And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to
slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Bethesda means HOUSE OF MERCY.
An angel would come to this pool and trouble the water, for the healing
of the lame, at a certain season.
- Not all the time.
- And only one
person would be able to receive healing by stepping into the pool
of Bethesda when the angel's presence was indicated as being there by the
visible troubling of the waters there.
We read of a man who
was afflicted and impotent for 38 years.
Jesus approached him as he laid on a bed by the pool, gazing at the waters
in case he should be the first to notice them being troubled, that he might
be the first into the pool to be healed.
- Jesus asked him if
he desired to be healed.
God is trying to show
us that all we need is a desire.
- We do not need a certain
day of the year, or a certain event to occur.
- We need a desire coupled
with something very important.... FAITH.
The man replied and explained
that he had no man.
- He was helpless.
- It was as though he
felt rebuked by Jesus for not stepping into the water.
- He thought Jesus implied,
"What's wrong with you? How come you are impotent? Do you not
wish to be healed? Why have you not stepped into the pool?"
- He exclaimed that he
could not help himself.
- He looked to another
for help.
- But Jesus was not rebuking
him.
After Jesus speaks the
word to Him, saying, "Rise, take up thy bed and walk," the man is instantly
healed.
- And where do
we find the man?
- In the temple!
- This is very significant!
Being in the temple was
significant, because the Bible mentions something special about entering
the temple.
Sickness and crippling was associated with refusal to be allowed into
the temple.
Lev 21:21
(21) No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest
shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath
a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:17
(17) Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their
generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread
of his God.
Sin cripples.
- Sickness would not
be in this world if sin were not here.
- Sickness is simply
a mild form of death.
- And death came by sin.
- And so the healing
of a crippled man, allowing him to enter the temple of God shows us a picture
of salvation.
Hezekiah asked what would
be the sign that he could go up to the house of God.
- This is because Hezekiah
was sick unto death, and would not be able to go to the temple.
- But being healed, he
could go to the temple.
2Ki 20:5
(5) Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the
captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father,
I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal
thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
On the third day!
- The truth of
the cross is what saves us from sin and allows us to go into the temple!
- The temple represented
the GARDEN OF EDEN, from which man fell due to sin.
- So it's Back
to the Garden, for the temple had palm trees, pomegranates, lions,
cherubims, gold and lavers and 3000 baths of water in a molten sea, like
a lake (!), reminding us of the garden of Eden!
Luk 24:46
(46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
The third day is significant of salvation by His resurrection.
John 5:(6) When Jesus saw him lie, and knew
that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou
be made whole?
(7) The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the
water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another
steppeth down before me.
Let us recapitulate a point again.
- It seems as though
the man thought Jesus was rebuking him for not being healed, according to
the answer he gave Jesus, when the Lord asked Him if he wished to be healed..
- "Sir, I certainly do
wish to be healed, but I have done everything I can do. I need a
man to help me. I try to get into the pool first, but because I am
crippled, I cannot make it before someone else steps in before me."
Is not this a good picture
of mankind's helpless state, lost in sin?
- Man has done what he
could, and still cannot get back to where He should be!
And Jesus then spoke
to him to rise, take up his bed and walk!
Jesus' words of command imply that to act before one sees
healing will actually cause the healing!
- It's like praying for
someone who is hurt, and then demanding that they move the very part that
was hurting, before they are sure it is healed, only to find it then healed
AFTER IT IS MOVED!
- This demands faith
in Christ's words.
- If you are not healed
until you attempt to rise from your crippled legs, then seeking to rise
indicates you truly believe!
- Christ does not work
with the philosophy that says "seeing is believing"!
And this is especially
so with salvation.
- Jesus said that if
you want to know if He is right, then TRY IT!
- How much more fair
can He be?
- Forget conjecture!
- Don't take a rumour.
- DO IT, AND REMOVE ALL
DOUBT!
Rom 12:2
(2) And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Joh 7:17
(17) If any man will do his will,
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God,
or whether I speak of myself.
Man was cast out of the Garden of Eden because of sin.
- This man was crippled
because of sin, and therefore barred from the temple/Garden.
Joh 5:14
(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.
Jesus told him to sin no more, now that he was healed.
- This implies
that his crippled condition was caused by a sin he committed.
- And it also implies
that once God sets us free from sin, we need to deny sin and not think
it will no longer tempt us.
- God takes us back into
the Garden again, but he still insists we do not lose our places there
again by sinning.
Before Jesus came to
this world, the temple in which the healed cripple was found contained
a most holy place.
- This most holy
place was where God's presence
abode as in the Garden of Eden in Adam's day, and could only be entered
by one man once a year.
- The High Priest.
- Similarly, only
one person each season of the troubling of the waters could enter the pool
and be healed.
- But Christ came to
open the way for everyone!
- He removes the very
thing that crippled us and threw us out of the garden of Eden... which
was sin.
- He could not enter
the Garden beforehand.
- Sin had crippled mankind.
- But Jesus came and
spoke the WORD and thereby healed the man!
- Notice that Jesus simply
SPOKE!
He did not say, "Rise
and walk into the pool," as though the pool was still necessary.
Jesus then spoke about
these words:
Joh 5:21-25
(21) For as the Father raiseth up the
dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
(22) For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment
unto the Son:
(23) That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the
Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath
sent him.
(24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
(25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that
hear shall live.
There is a word of faith that we must HEAR and believe,
in order to come into eternal life.
- This also points
us back to the garden!
- We pass from death
to life!
- God said Adam would
die if he sinned in disobeying God.
- And being cast from
the Garden caused him to be removed from life into death.
- We're crippled by sin
and dead in sins when we are not saved by God's word!
So Jesus turns this whole
scene of the healing around, and speaks of general salvation!
- This shows us
that the man's healing represents the salvation of a soul.
- Hearing the words of
Jesus Christ is being quickened and saved, and passing from death to life.
- People are dead in
sins and need to hear the WORD of Jesus, as the crippled man did, and be
healed of their SINS, so they can enter the relationship with God that Adam
had in the Garden again.
Rom 8:1-2
(1) There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit.
(2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death.
Condemnation, life and death, are mentioned in Romans 8,
just as in Jesus' words after the crippled man was healed.
- When we are truly saved
by Jesus, we are "in Christ Jesus".
- And once "in Him",
we have an obligation to walk after the Spirit.
- Notice that we do not
read that those simply in Christ have no condemnation, but rather those
in Christ who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,
have none.
- You can be in Christ
and yet walk after the flesh!
- That is why the true
story of the crippled man's healing, that parallels salvation, involves
Christ telling the man to sin no more lest a worse thing come upon him.
Rom 8:5-6
(5) For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the
things of the Spirit.
(6) For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace.
Rom 8:13
(13) For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live.
To be in Christ is to be privy to LIFE.
- "Law of the Spirit
of LIFE in Christ" is mentioned after we are told
to be in Christ and not walk after the flesh.
- But we must not walk
after the flesh.
- That is the point.
Gal 5:16
(16) This I say then, Walk in
the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:25
(25) If we live in the Spirit, let
us also walk in the Spirit.
The narrative goes on to speak about fruit of the Spirit.
- A life will result
when you walk after the Spirit.
- It will produce
fruit.
- It's called FRUIT because
these things will GROW from our lives.
Mat 25:23-30
(23) His lord said unto him, Well done,
good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
(24) Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord,
I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown,
and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
(25) And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth:
lo, there thou hast that is thine.
(26) His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful
servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I
have not strawed:
(27) Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers,
and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
(28) Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which
hath ten talents.
(29) For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that
which he hath.
(30) And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Notice that saints who DO NOTHING for the Kingdom of God
are saints who are in deep peril!
Its not that WORKS save our souls.
- The fact of the matter
is that one who is really living for Jesus and walking after the Spirit
WILL WORK.
- If the talents are
not multiplying, then there is no walking after the Spirit.
- FAITH THAT SAVES WILL
WORK.
I want to ask you:
What you are doing, more than attending a church service each week, for
the kingdom of God?
And how much are you involved in this church that you have chosen to
call the congregation of which you are a part?
It's not their lack of works that damn them, but rather their lack
of relationship with the Lord, which gives cause for their lack of works.
- The point is that if
one IS SAVED, one WILL WORK for Him.
- The lack of works do
not damn the soul.
- The lack of salvation,
that causes lack of works, will damn the soul.
In other words, if one
DOES NOTHING for the Lord, then one does not have a living relationship
with God that saves us, and one is thereby lost.
It's like James' words about works.
- If we SAY we have Faith,
then works should accompany it.
- Or, the faith that
saves WILL WORK.
- If we have no works,
we are lost.
- Not because of the
lack of works, but because of the lack of the faith THAT WILL MOVE US TO
WORK.
Realize that your faith
is DEAD, and therefore useless, if you are doing nothing constructive for
God in association with the church body you attend.
- For saving faith WILL
WORK.
Get back in the Garden!
- Get saved!
- And if you are saved,
and once you are there, STAY THERE by producing FRUIT.
- And do not commit sins
that will cause you to once again be removed.
- How do you produce
fruit?
- Continue top reach
out to the Lord for strength and direction!
- This is what it means
to WALK AFTER THE SPIRIT.
- Do not just attend
a church and watch a "show."
- Reach out and learn
to depend upon God's strength in faith for EVERYTHING IN LIFE!
- This will grow and
grow until you ultimately walk after the Spirit all the time... which means
that you wholly have faith in God for your strength, and you are ever aware
of the need to LIVE BY HIS POWER and NOT YOUR OWN!
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