For those who are new or visiting with us, we are in the book of John. We’ve titled the series, in our great creativity, The Book of John: Bearing Witness. John stated this was the reason for his written gospel account, that he would bear witness to the work of Jesus, the Son of God, and others would enter into the fellowship of Christ (Jhn 21:24). Hope, this ought to be our joy as well — to bear witness to the work of God in our lives. As we move forward as a church, it is my desire that we have a culture of praising God, and bearing witness of His work in our lives. If you have a testimony of God’s goodness to you, of how he’s broken into your life, healed and restored you, I want to know! I want to rejoice with you, and encourage you to share that testimony, to bear witness to others, that they may be encouraged and come to deeper, lasting fellowship with Christ.

This morning, I invite you to view our passage in the context of the grand storyline, the grand plot, of scripture. Story-tellers identify these 5 main elements of a plot: Introduction or Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution. We are going to look at our passage under these headings. I believe it will help us to understand the passage, what John—and Jesus, meant to teach us. It will also help us find our place in the story of God as He continues to unfold History in the here and now, towards His perfect Resolution.

Would you open your Bible to John 5:1-18, stand and read with me.

Let’s read…

John 5:1–18

[1] After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

[2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. [3] In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. [5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” [8] Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” [9] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. [10] So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” [11] But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” [12] They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” [13] Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. [14] Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” [15] The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. [16] And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. [17] But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

[18] This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (ESV)

[pray]

Introduction/Exposition:

Protagonist: the main character of the plot. Jesus, Son of God, Word become flesh, glory revealed, full of grace and truth. He heals the sick, turns water into wine. He has done other miracles as well, but tends to do them in private. He knows the heart of man, and doesn’t entrust himself to them. He has divine knowledge of mankind. He’s not star-struck by religious hot-shots who could boost his approval rating. There is no celebrity-goggles with Jesus! He was baptized, and affirmed the ministry of a homeless preacher in camel-clothing. He broke cultural boundaries, having eaten and fellowshipped with outcast Samaritans. He came and revealed to them that He was the awaited for Messiah. He healed sicknesses 16 miles away, at the word of his command. He, truly, was more powerful than super-man. There is no super-hero that could encapsulate the person of Jesus. When people do that, they are flirting with heresy (Super-heroes can’t save you).

Antagonists: those against the main character, the protagonist. In the book of John, this is primarily the Pharisees, the religious rulers of the Jews. They were jealous of Jesus’ rising popularity with the people. They didn’t like his message, that all must repent and believe, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. They were offended that he would eat with sinners and tax-collectors - the people who didn’t deserve the attention. He taught Israel to love their enemies. He didn’t fit their mold of a Messiah who would free them from Rome. The Pharisees were the primary antagonist. However, we see evidence in scripture that there were no neutral characters, and the default of all of humanity was to be against the Son of Man. We are born that way. That would include all of Israel, all of Gentile Rome, and all of humanity in all of History, including you and me. We were born that way, and outside of an act of God, we remain in our brokenness and sin.

Setting: The setting is in Jerusalem. They were in Galilee in chapter 4, now we see Jesus and the disciples go “up” to Jerusalem for a feast, the city Israel gathers for their national religious celebrations. You will read in scripture that when the people go to Jerusalem, the direction us up, not north or south. Jerusalem is the holy hill of the Lord, the city of the Great King. It is the mount on which they worship, the place of the Temple, where priests sacrificed lambs to Yahweh. Our passage takes place at the time of a feast, which means Jerusalem was crowded with the people of Israel. Specifically, our passage takes place at a pool called Bethesda. It is a gathering place for invalids, those who are blind, lame, paralyzed. The broken outcasts of society gather or are dropped there like the children’s play-center at Fred Meyer. The responsible working adults need a few hours to do grocery shopping - stay here while we go do our errands, and we will pick you up in an hour— or eight! 

This drop-off is conveniently located in the North East corner by the Sheep Gate, a small opening in the wall, out of the way of the normal crowd, where cattle are brought into the temple for slaughter. If there were a place to tuck away the unpleasant, unwanted, the sinners who are suffering the consequence of their own choice or sin, it was by the Sheep Gate, next to the cattle. The main attraction here is not a slide, or a jungle gym, but a couple pools. Legend has it that an angel would come and stir the pool, and whomever jumped in first was healed of whatever disease they had. This is the context provided by the missing verse 4 in your Bibles. It was probably understood by John’s readers, and later added by an editor or transcriber. John didn’t include it, either because it was known or he didn’t want to emphasize the superstition of the day, but rather the God-man who truly heals. Notice, however, John’s continued theme of water? Water to wine, baptism, born of water and the Spirit, living water… 

Tone: In order to understand the tone, we must see this passage in the context of where John has been. Jesus routinely surprised both the disciples and the religious leaders with his words and actions. If Jesus were to make a grand entrance, he would not enter the sheep gate. He would enter the main gate, the Eastern Gate, or the Golden Gate. This is the gate he entered on Lamb Selection Day, or Palm Sunday. But in our passage, he enters not as the up and coming Messiah, but almost in disguise, as if to avoid the crowds. He enters where he knows there are myriads of hurting, lame, broken, and sick people— and they know it. John’s testimony thus far has recorded Jesus’ interaction with a skeptic, overzealous and naive believers, a pharisee, a prophet, a Samaritan harlot, a government official, and now a paralyzed man.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at the passage and it’s Rising Action. 

Rising Action: Scene 1

We pick it up in verse 5:

[5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” [8] Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” [9] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Can you imagine, maybe some here can, having an illness for 38 years? The passage did not say he was born this way, but this was the result of some event. There was an experience, however short-lived, of physical wholeness that this person knew. Now, 38 years had passed. He had memories of what once was, and those memories faded from reality to fantasy. The hope of healing was less than a lottery ticket; even among the blind, the paralyzed, the lame, it was survival of the fittest — who could get to the pool first! This was no promise of healing, it was instead a torturous tease, like a promised well in a desert that was a hologram, or a carrot on a stick that was always out of reach. You accept your lot. You look at the well, knowing it isn’t real, but continue to gaze at it because thats all you know, but you have no real expectation of satisfaction. Cruel…

Enter the Protagonist: Jesus. He came through the Sheep Gate. He entered the colonnades where the broken and outcasts lie. Jesus does nothing by accident; He is intentional with every word, every step, every moment. Here he is in a football field of physically sick people, and he chose one man. How? Why? We don’t know. What we do know is that this man didn’t ask to be healed. He didn’t come to Jesus, expectant. In fact, the conversation suggests he didn’t know who Jesus was, nor did he have an expectancy of healing at all. His faith was superstition at best; he was playing a lottery and didn’t have the $5 to spend. He’s already lost.

Listen as Jesus speaks.“Do you want to be healed?” 

Look at the man’s response. It is a justification, with possible hints of irritation. “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”  In other words, have you noticed I’m paralyzed? It’s dog-eat-dog, and I’m the chihuahua! 

Jesus teaches us something about healing. He teaches us something about sin and its consequences. He responds to the man, “Get up, take your bed, and walk.”

In his spoken command to the paralyzed, he healed. Jesus is sovereign over healing. He was foreshadowing the Kingdom to come, where all the poor, powerless, broken, will be whole. He was announcing the effects of the fall of man will be rolled back, life will be restored. But the coming of this Kingdom was not dependent upon man, but sovereignly carried out by God.

Do you see that Jesus was the initiator? The man didn’t reveal a faith, at least not in Jesus. He called him sir, not Rabbi. What we can see here is that Jesus decided, sovereignly of his own accord, for his own reasons, to heal this man. This blows up the idea that if we simply have enough faith, or confess every possible sin, that God would then listen and heal us. The healing of creation will happen in the same manner as the genesis of all creation: by the sovereign will of God. Again, Jesus was in a football field of the sick and lame - why didn’t he say a word and heal them all? Surely, this would add to his status as the Messiah? This would draw the crowds and all would listen to him, right?

No. Jesus knew, and demonstrated again and again that signs and wonders do not create faith. Faith is created by the speaking of the Word. Jesus spoke. His words would be what would ultimately heal him. This man rose and took his bed, but he was not yet whole.

The narrative continues and the action continues to rise. Scene 1 is over. Commence Scene 2. Enter the Pharisees. Look at verse 9b-15.

Now that day was the Sabbath. [10] So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” [11] But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” [12] They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” [13] Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 

Enter the Antagonist: When the Bible speaks of the Jews, typically it refers to the rulers of the synogogue, or the pharisees. Could it be that they didn’t understand who it was that carried his bed? Is it normal — in Jerusalem, not Portland, to carry your bed? Of all places, in a temple? Were the Pharisees not aware enough, for maybe they never slummed it in the colonnades, to know that the invalids are laid on a matt to avoid excessive bed sores? I don’t think so. They completely dismissed the miracle of the healing to play hall monitor in the temple. “NO RUNNING, NO SMILING, NO LEAPING, NO MATT-CARRYING! It’s SABBATH! LAW-BREAKER!!!!”The rules of the Sabbath had been expanded from the time of Leviticus to the time of the temple. The Mishnah was a set of oral laws the Jewish leaders created - to keep them from breaking the law.  The Decalogue characterizes the Sabbath as a day that: is holy and blessed, should be remembered and kept holy, belongs to the Lord, and requires abstinence from work for all people (Jews and Gentiles alike) and animals. During the exile, more laws were added —maybe in order to earn God’s favor and incite his deliverance, for the breaking of the law, specifically, the Sabbath, was a reason the prophets gave for their exile.

The accusations were flying. The man who had been consigned to a pool-side infirmary, with no view of the pool, was now able to take a tour of the temple. It was likely his first time walking through the temple of God on his own, hearing the sounds of people, smelling the incense, hearing the worship and sounds of prayer to God. And then from no-where, he’s caught with matt in hand. You can hear the matt drop as he responds to the Pharisees, “The man healed me, that man said to me, Take up your bed and walk!” I’m just doing what I was told!

Like any good hall-monitor, the Jews sought to get to the source. It was double punch Sunday: they might catch two perpetrators in one fell swoop! “Who is the man who said to you, ‘take up your bed and walk?’”

The man had an easy alibi. Jesus was not in the business of public miracles. He wasn’t after the clamoring of the crowd. His aim was something far different. After the processing of name, license, and registration, the healed man was allegedly let go with a warning, and an admonition to report the perpetrator when found. 

Lights fade. Fast forward a half hour or so. Commence Scene 3:

[14] Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” [15] The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

In other stories, we see the healed return and seek out Jesus to show gratitude, and to worship. Here, we see Jesus seek out the one whom he healed! He found him in the temple, and sought to rejoice with him. “See! You are well!” We must acknowledge the character of God here. He rejoices in healing. He is not sadistic. He has no pleasure in the effects of evil, of physical ailments. But it is not the physical he is most concerned with. The physical will fade, and die. He can recreate that in a moments notice. His primary aim with this man, and with you and I, is the soul.

“Sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you.”

What was Jesus saying? Was this man’s ailment a result of sin? That’s possible. But that’s not a general rule from scripture. In fact, we see other sickness that Jesus heals, and the diagnosis was “not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." (Jhn 9:3 ESV). We are born in a world marred by sin, and we are affected at every level: physical, and spiritual. Our sin does have an affect on our life in the here and now. It’s simple— cause and effect. We observe this in science, we observe it in behavior. Continued sin leads to a life of destruction. It wears on the body, it brings death, hurt, and pain. God’s commands to us, his instruction that we live a life of holiness is for our own good!

The Westminster confession, which my son recently read to me, is a series of questions and answers. The question was: “What happened when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden?” The answer: “Instead of being happy and holy, man became sinful and misreble. That is the consequence of sin. Misery, even in the here and now. But Jesus wasn’t merely diagnosing the root source of this man’s physical ailment, but diagnosing and prescribing the cure for the ailment of his soul. 

What could be worse than being confined to an 8x3 mat? An eternity in horrid separation from God’s loving presence. An eternity that is more lifeless than the one he’s experienced the last 38 years. An eternity in a true hell, one that burns and torments. Jesus isn’t satisfied to give you a body that works, he’s only satisfied to make you completely whole in Him - body and soul. That is the aim for which he strives, and the direction he has moved all of history, and will until it reaches its resolution.

The man, after learning Jesus healed him, reported him to the Jewish authorities. We read this in verse 15. What’s important here is that we see the rising action, the conflict, which then leads to the climax. The conflict that ensues between Jesus and the Pharisees led the Jews to plot the death of Jesus. This leads us to the climax. 

Scene 4. The Climax

Climax. 

[16] And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. [17] But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

[18] This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (ESV)

The climax of this passage is the statement: “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

It is the statement that reveals the purpose for all of Jesus’ works: to display the work of the Father. And, to identify Himself as the Son of God. The Jews were persecuting their Lord because he revealed the truth about their Lord. Like all prophets before him, they did not honor Him, but killed him. 

Are your eyes open to the work of the Father? The primary aim was not to heal the man’s body, but his SOUL! To cleanse him from the cancer of sin that clings so closely, that chokes life out of the bones, that kills all that is good. John came, bearing witness that Jesus is the Son of God, revealing the glory of God the way only God can, for Jesus was and is both God and man. The passage ends here, but the story continues.

In the grand story of John, this passage is still part of the rising action. The climax of the gospel of John is the death and resurrection of Jesus. This was the pointed purpose of the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees and religious leaders. Their sin would lead to the death of the Son of God, which meant salvation for the world. This is the climax of the story of John for it reveals most fully the character of God. He became flesh and died, in order to heal the weak, invalid, brokken, lame, and paralyzed — like you and me. He came to heal our sickness, to take our disease, and take upon himself the eternal consequence of our sin. This is why the cross is declared to be glorious! For it displays the love, grace, mercy, and saving power of God.

And we now, all live in light of the cross. We live in the Falling Action.

Our response to the story of the cross, the story of the Bible, the story of Jesus is played out in our every day life. Every moment we live, every breath we breathe, is a receiving and pouring out of the grace we’ve been given in Christ, the healing we’ve been given in Christ. So the call to you and me is this: sin no more! 

Leave the brokenness behind! Carry your mat, and carry your cross, by the word and power of Jesus! Look to the cross, see the Son of Man, who died for your disease, who healed you and will heal you eternally when all of History comes to His resolution.

Resolution:

This is the end of the Book. This is the book of Revelation. Our promise is not merely that we have new life in the here and now, but that we will have life in its fullness, with the God of the universe. All pain, all sin, all infirmities, all shame, all brokenness will be banished forever, and we will live with our protagonist,  our God — Jesus, the Christ. This is the resolution of the greatest story ever told.