Lesson 7 - John 5:2-3a, 5-17 - JESUS WENT UP TO JERUSALEM
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in John 4:39-54, we continued the story of the woman at the well and studied the overwhelming response of the Samaritan people to her witness about Jesus. From her excellent example, we learned that anyone can be an effective witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then after Jesus continued His journey to Cana in Galilee, we saw one of the greatest examples of Biblical faith when Jesus challenged a royal official to believe that He could heal his terminally ill son from a distance without any proof. From his example, we learned that Biblical faith is more than head knowledge but confident trust than Jesus can fulfill our most urgent needs. This miracle-showing that Jesus had the power to heal over distances-was listed by John as the Second Sign, which are actions specifically intended to prove that Jesus is who He claims to be-the Son of God.
This week, in John 5:2-3a, 5-17, we see Jesus return to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish feasts, where he heals an unidentified crippled man laying on pallet next to the pool at Bethesda. This lesson marks the time when the official Jewish reaction to Jesus moves from mere reservations about Him (e.g., Nicodemus in Chap. 3) to outright hostility toward Him.
Read John 5:2-3a - A MULTITUDE OF SICK, BLIND, LAME, AND WITHERED
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered,
Note 1: As we begin this new section today, we need to notice the change of perspective: In Chapters 1-4, the subject matter is reported from the point of view of spectators (e.g., disciples, Mary and the headwaiter at Cana, Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the royal official at Cana, etc.), who were all able to testify about what they had seen and heard when they encountered Jesus. But starting here, and continuing through chapter 10, we'll see the subject matter shift to Jesus' point of view, as he reveals things about Himself through both His actions and His words.
Note 2: Verse 1 simply reports that Jesus went to Jerusalem during one the feasts. Since the feast
isn't Identified, it implies that it bears no relevance to the interpretation of the lesson text. You also might notice, depending on which Bible translation you use, that verses 3b and 4 are omitted because they don't appear in the most reliable manuscripts and are thought to have been added later. Those add-ons attempt to make sense out of the unanswered questions raised by v. 3a.
v. 2: "Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes." - The "sheep gate" was a gate in the north part of Jerusalem's wall, just west of its northeast corner (see map). The "pool" of "Bethesda" (lit. means "house of mercy") was actually two pools roofed with columns on all four sides.
v. 3a: "In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered," - While this verse indicates that large numbers of sick and handicapped people came to immerse themselves in this pool, it doesn't clarify their reasons for doing so-for healing, bathing, or just to cool off?
Read John 5:5-6 - DO YOU WISH TO GET WELL?
5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 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?"
v. 5: "A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years." - Thirty-eight years would have been a major part of a person's life expectancy in those days. Although the exact nature of this man's affliction isn't clear, it's apparently crippling, maybe some type of paralysis. John's obviously included the long-term-"thirty-eight years"--aspect of the man's disability so that when Jesus healed him, everyone would know that it was a genuine miracle. John doesn't explain how this man got to the pool, whether he dragged himself there daily or slept nearby on his pallet. We don't know.
v. 6a: "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition," - Jesus already knew everything there was to know about this man-the cause, nature, and duration of his illness, his origins and life history, etc., but John does not explain why Jesus singled out this man from the "multitude" (v. 3) who were laying around this pool. We should keep in mind, however, that many of Jesus' miracles were not done so much for the individual but for those watching.
v. 6b: "He *said to him, 'Do you wish to get well?'" - There's no indication that this man knew who Jesus was or sought His help. He didn't come right out and ask to be healed. Scholars explain that in some cases, people don't wish to be healed because it would disqualify them from making a living as beggars. So in this case, Jesus, in effect, seems to be asking the man for permission to heal him. Why would Jesus choose Him out of all the other sick people lying around the pool? John's point seems to be that in this particular instance, all of the initiative needed to come from Jesus, rather than the recipient.
Read John 5:7-9a - GET UP, PICK UP YOUR PALLET AND WALK
7 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." 8 Jesus *said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." 9a Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
v. 7: "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.'" - Here, the man doesn't answer Jesus' question directly. He doesn't say, "Oh, Yes! I want to be healed!" Instead, he explains why he hasn't been healed: That he has had no one to help him get into the pool "when the water is stirred up"; that every time he tries to get into the pool, somebody else always get in his way. In short, this man accepts absolutely no responsibility for his circumstances. Note: This verse has generated some scholarly comment: Some say that the man's statement, "I have no man to put me," was an implied plea for Jesus' help, while others simply hold that, while faith is typically a perquisite for healing, it isn't absolutely necessary because Jesus' works aren't limited by human sin or shortcomings.
v. 8: "Jesus *said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." - Notice first what Jesus' doesn't do: (1) He doesn't allow Himself to be put off by the man's failure to answer His question in a more directl and positive way; (2) He makes no attempt to get the man to even admit that he really wants to be healed; (3) He doesn't ask the man if he has faith in His ability to heal; (4) He doesn't tell the man that God will heal him, if only he will believe; and (5) He doesn't touch the man to effect the healing. Instead, He accomplishes the entire transaction by ordering the man to simply, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." We should to notice that from beginning to end, all of the initiative in causing this miracle to happen came from Jesus; the beneficiary played no active role in any part of it. And this is the chief point that John makes.
v. 9a: "Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk." - This is amazing: Without so much as a "thank you, sir," or "praise be to God!," the man just gets up, takes up his pallet, and walks off. "Immediately" is a key word here: When the man walked away carrying his pallet, it testified to the totality of his healing. Normally, a person crippled for nearly four decades wouldn't possess enough muscular strength to get up, let alone pick up a mat and walk off with it.
Read John 5:9b-17 - FOR THIS REASON THE JEWS WERE PERSECUTING JESUS
9b Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." 11 But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'" 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk'?" 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."
v. 9b: "Now it was the Sabbath on that day." - John intentionally includes this "Sabbath" reference in order to set up the Sabbath controversy in the verses which follow it. Jesus did this purposely to show the Jews that He the same authority to 'work' on the Sabbath that God the Father had. And this will be the first open hostility of the Jews toward Jesus to be recorded in John's gospel.
v. 10: "So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, 'It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.'" - According to the prevailing Jewish interpretation of the Mosaic Law, it was unlawful as 'work' to carry anything from one place to another on the Sabbath. At maximum, doing so constituted a capital offense that could result in death by stoning! The Rabbis could allow an exception for compassionate reasons in the cases of a cripple needing to move something. We should remember that God's original intent in the 4th Commandment was to free people from having to work to earn a living on one day out of seven. In this instance, the healed cripple man was not breaking the intent of the law but merely violating a narrow rabbinic interpretation of it.
v. 11: "But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'" - Here, the healed man defends himself by casting all blame for the incident upon Jesus. Not a person of strong character to begin with, the man probably feared for his life. It seems amazing that the rabbis apparently took little notice of the fact that this man, who had been crippled for 38 years, was now miraculously up and walking, even able to carry his mat with him.
vv. 12-13: "They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk'? But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place." - Significantly, the healed man didn't even know who Jesus was. Conservative commentators say this confirms it was not the man's faith that had brought about his healing. This also suggests that a person can experience a miracle by grace without being saved by faith. Similarly, many people accept God's gifts-life, health, provision, etc.-but ignore the giver.
v. 14: "Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." - Soon after the healed man's encounter with the Jewish officials, Jesus found him in the temple, most likely in the precincts that stood south of the pool. Jesus apparently wanted to warn the man that, with his new found health, he should not sin any more-that he should regard it as an opportunity to make a break with sin. Some commentators suggest that this comment implies that his crippled condition might have resulted from former sins, possibly a venereal disease. Jesus also appears to warn him that there are worse things than being a cripple, i.e., eternal damnation in hell.
v. 15: "The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. - The scholars are divided on this one: Some say the man told them in order to glorify Jesus as his healer, i.e., that He was the Messiah; however, a majority of commentators believe that he informed the Temple officials to save his own skin, with zero regard for what Jesus had done for him.
v. 16: "For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath." - "[T]hese things" apparently include Jesus' acts of healing, in addition to His commanding the man to take up his mat and walk. So, instead of worshipping Him or, at the very least, carefully considering His claims, the Jewish authorities began persecuting Jesus for doing what they arbitrarily considered to be work on the Sabbath. And at this early stage, their persecution took the form of verbal opposition. It was only the start.
v. 17: "But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." - Jesus defended Himself by stating that He was doing God's work. Even the Rabbis regarded God as working on the Sabbath insofar as He was constantly maintaining the universe and continuing to sustain life, and for certain, they had never accused God of working on the Sabbath. Jesus simply claimed to be doing what God did: God didn't suspend his activities on the Sabbath and neither did Jesus.
APPLICATION-I Myself Am Working
Jesus' works-miracles-are not limited by human sin or shortcomings. When Jesus asked the crippled man by the pool if he wanted to be healed, his reaction was essentially negative: He didn't say yes or no but complained that he had been prevented from being healed so far because every time he tried to enter the pool, someone always got in his way. He displayed an attitude that accepted no responsibility for his dismal circumstances but placed all the blame on others. Although Jesus offered him grace in the form of a healing miracle, the cripple did not respond with either thankfulness or faith. Later still, when the man was accosted by the Jewish officials for carrying his pallet on the Sabbath, he simply placed all the blame on Jesus, who had healed him. Why did Jesus do it this way? Because He wanted to show that in this miracle, all of the initiative for the healing came from Him, not the recipient. By doing it this way, Jesus demonstrated that His works cannot be limited by human sin or shortcomings, because He is the son of God.
