John 5 Vs 1 – 18 The Healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda
Three thoughts on the passage read and acted out this morning!
First of all Bethesda means “house of mercy” or “house of grace” – How cool is that! This was a great place for Jesus to show mercy and grace!!
Vs 6 – When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him Would you like to get well?
I love the fact that the Holy Spirit revealed to Jesus that the man had been there forever (38 years) – he was the one man who needed a miracle perhaps more than anyone else! If it was not for Jesus the man would never have been healed as he himself said – “When the waters stir I cannot get there in time – someone always gets there before me!” Jesus didn’t use what was available – he could have waited until the waters stirred and thrown him in but he didn’t – he supernaturally healed him on the spot – How often do we look at what surrounds us and our circumstances and think there is no way out? Its hopeless!
Remember what God challenged me about in my work situation – They have all the aces – WHO HAS ALL THE ACES - It’s impossible – there is no way out – what is God going to do? Wait on God – he does the things we cannot even see or imagine!!
Ephesians 3 vs 20 – “Now all glory to God who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think!”
Vs 8 – Jesus told him Stand Up, Pick up your mat and walk
This is a huge step of faith – he has been there for 38 years and not been able to walk –The Greek work here for paralysed is “XERON” which means all dried up and withered – His legs were useless! Jesus arrives and says take up your mat and walk and he does – straight away – are we like that or do we question God with our situation and circumstances? Faith has to be exercised for the miracle to be realised – It’s the same in our lives – We have to exercise our faith and step out /step up to see what Jesus can do – don’t limit him by what you can see and the normal – we have a supernatural God that transcends the normal!!
Vs 14 – Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you!
The man was miraculously healed but his heart needed to be changed as well – Jesus tells him to stop sinning – we may be healed physically but there needs to be a changed heart as well – Only Jesus can do this – and this was the point that the Jewish leaders could not cope with – Who is this man that says he can forgive sins as well as do miraculous signs? They didn’t recognise who he was and were not interested in him being the Messiah – he challenged their interpretation of the law and they had no grace to give to either him or those he healed.
They take no joy in the healing at all and care nothing for the man who has been healed and whose life is transformed forever – They had hard hearts and just wanted to catch Jesus out – so different from Jesus who speaks to the man who would never be healed in the natural – but Jesus comes and changes everything! Let that be your testimony – Let Jesus come into your life and change everything – This man had new legs and a new heart – you may not need new legs but you can have a new heart this morning!
Ezekiel 36 vs 26+27
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart, And I will put my spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations”
This was God’s promise to Israel but it is his promise today as well – he is here to take our hard hearts and soften them through Jesus.