John 5:1-9 | Do You Want To Be Healed? | Don Romano

My name is Don Romano. I'm the associate pastor here at Renovation Church, and I want to tell you something about our renovation. Renovation smacks. I mean, the very word sounds like making old things new. And our.

Our slogan, our catchphrase, is our stories that God is writing about Jesus making things new. The reason we chose the word renovation as the name for this gathering of believers in Jesus Christ is to remind us that if things aren't being made new, there's a problem. The problem is this. Let me ask you a question. I think this is common to every human being on the planet.

Have you ever said, you can show me your hands? Have you ever said that's not fair, that's not right, or it shouldn't be that way? Anybody, I think everybody. Everybody has said that. And that statement reveals something about.

About the world. It reveals that the world is a place that is broken and needs to be renovated, made new again. And that broken character of the world is the result of something that in theological circles, we call sin. Sin is the thing that is the characteristic of a broken world, and it is the reason why the world is broken. So if you remember nothing else about this message, remember this.

No matter what happens, remember this, that Jesus is going about the business of renovating not just our lives, but everything there is, all of creation. There are some things that won't be renovated, won't be made new again, won't be put back the way they were.

But we are the beneficiaries of his work. We can be made new, and we can influence those around us. So if you remember those things, no matter what else I say, you'll get it. So I want to ask a question. If I said the words it's bigger on the inside, would you know what I was referring to?

Yes, a few. Would you know what? It doesn't really matter what I'm referring to. But we know that with the laws of physics, there is nothing that can be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Right?

It just can't happen. On the other hand, the statement, with what we know about physics, nothing can be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. With that statement, we only understand it based on how we define the words physics and bigger and inside and outside. If we don't understand those words, the phrase doesn't make any sense.

So what happens if two people are speaking to one another in the same language and one of them uses words that the other one thinks means something different than what the person says? For example, let's Lets say you are in a conversation with a person from England. You're both speaking English, and in the conversation you use the word boot.

You know perfectly well that a boot is a little rubber shoe you put on over your other shoes to keep things you don't want on your shoes out. But to the person from England, boot is part of a car made out of steel, not rubber or maybe aluminium.

There you go, you're getting it.

You know, that happens between us and God all the time. God says something, God means something, and we think something completely different. That's the danger we're up against this morning. So if you remember, the thing about, you know, sin is the reason the universe is broken. And it's the thing that makes our lives a struggle sometimes.

If you remember that no matter where else we go today, you're going to get it, even if I talk about God's perspective and our perspective. But we need to pray and ask God to give us his perspective. So if you will please pray with me, Heavenly Father, you know your plan and the enemy of our souls has polluted the world and frustrated that plan. But you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to die and be raised again so that all those things that were broken can be restored, renovated.

Holy Spirit, we know that if you dwell in us, the same spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, if you dwell in us, then we can be made new, have new life, And we can walk through this life in a way that changes things. And so, Holy Spirit, I ask you to speak boldly this morning and to touch each one of our hearts. Help us to get past the things we struggle with and to the things, things that you desire. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Okay, Today we start a new series called Questions Jesus Asked. I'm the one who gets to let you know what this new series is about and set such a high standard that Alex is going to be in trouble from here on out.

So the title of this question I said is Questions Jesus Asked. And what we need to remember as we're going along in this series is that our goal is not just to explore these things that Jesus said, but actually to understand how the questions Jesus asked people led them to, to a relationship with himself. And so as we look at all these questions, we're going to be exploring, how do we invite people into a relationship with Jesus?

If you have your Bible with you or some device that allows you to read along, will be looking at John chapter five this morning, the whole chapter. But we're going to focus down on the first nine verses.

So let me read those. John 5:1:9. After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem, close to the sheep gate, a portal which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porticos. In these lay a number of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters.

For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water.

Whoever then, first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in, was made well from whatever disease with which he had been afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for 38 years. 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? Do you want to be healed? 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. Jesus said to him, get up, pick up your pallet and walk. Immediately, the man became well and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.

Hmm, the Sabbath.

That's a pretty simple and straightforward question. It really doesn't need any explanation. I mean, people laying around in this area, for some reason, they believe that when the water was disturbed, if they stepped down into the water, they'd get healed. And actually, people did get healed. That's why they got together in this place.

And there was this one guy who had been there 38 years, And Jesus encountered him and he became healed. So what I would like to talk about is the question that Jesus asked him.

I looked up 20 different translations, and here's what I found out. In those 20 different translations, there are nine different ways that this question is translated. It's do you wish to be made well? Do you wish to be healed? Do you want to be whole?

Do you want to be made healed? Eight of those. I'm sorry, Eight of those nine different expressions of the question focus on what do you want?

What is your desire?

One of those nine different expressions focuses on volition. What does that mean? Jesus was saying this. Do you have the will?

Do you have the will to be whole? It doesn't talk about how he's going to get whole, just whole. Do you have the will, or are you willing to be whole? That's the question. Do you remember that bit about different people using the same words, but meaning something completely different?

That's what's going on here. That's what's going here. Jesus means one thing. The man who was lame for 38 years heard something completely different. See, are all these Translations good?

These 20? Yeah, they're all good. But I think it depends. It depends whether you want to know what Jesus asked this man, or do you want to know what this man heard?

I'm going to settle on this guy was lame, probably partially paralyzed. And I'm going to settle for this reasons. For these reasons, he had been that way for 38 years, right? Probably not just a cough. Because if he had had a cough for 38 years, he could see the water move and run down in there, right?

So it was probably not just some small affliction. The man said of himself, while I am coming down to the water, someone else steps in in front of me. So he had a way to move toward the water. He might have had to grab his crutches and hobble down there. He might have been paralyzed from the waist down and had to claw his way across the bricks or the stones in order to get there.

But somehow he was able to start moving in that direction. And then even if he could walk with crutches or something, it seems like he could have made it to the water sometime in 38 years. Because if he could move around even with crutches, he could reposition himself close to the water, right? But if he was partially paralyzed and had to claw and drag himself along the ground when the crowd is tightest against the water, he would have no place to lie there without being trampled. So my suspicion is he was probably partially paralyzed.

He had a way to get there without help. But if he was going to get there first, he needed somebody to help him.

So here's what's going on. Jesus meets this guy who had been probably paralyzed from the waist down for 38 years, and he asks him, are you willing to be whole?

The man does not answer Jesus question. He answers the question. He hears, do you want to be healed? Not will you be made whole? So why would Jesus ask about what's obvious?

I mean, it's obvious the guy's been sitting around there for a long time, and he's been there for one reason. When the water moves, I got to go down there and get healed. So yes, he wanted to be healed. Why would Jesus ask him that question about what seems obvious? People like this man came to this place to be healed.

That's why he was there. No, Jesus is not asking the man about what he wishes for or desires or wants most in life. What Jesus is doing when he asks the question is he's investigating this man's heart.

He's investigating this man's heart. Are you willing to be whole?

Jesus wants this man to consider the real situation. Not are you paralyzed? Not do you want me to help you get into the water when it moves? Not do you want to feel better?

Not do you want to be able to walk normally? Jesus didn't ask any of those questions. He's not asking this man about his hopes, his dreams, his desires, his infirmities, his abilities, his strengths or his weaknesses. Jesus is asking not about the man's body, but about his soul.

It's not, do you want to be made physically well, but it's are you willing to be made spiritually whole? You remember that thing I told you? Don't forget it about this world is a broken place and is broken because of sin. Jesus is asking this man, do you want to be put back together again where sin is concerned?

Are you willing to be whole? The answer, the answer to the question always depends on the question you hear, not the question that's actually asked. I will always answer the question I think you're asking me. The man did not answer the question Jesus asked. In fact, he didn't answer any question at all.

By the way, show me your hands on this one again. Has anyone checked out yet because you think I'm way off base?

Not yet. Be careful. Is anyone here frustrated that I seem to be going in some strange direction? I mean, it's a simple story about a guy who wanted to be healed, right? Hang in there, okay?

Hang in there. It might look like I'm running around the bases backwards, but I will get to home again and I think think the run will count.

So hang in there for a moment. So the man did not answer the question that Jesus asked. Actually, he did not answer any question. He simply said, I don't have anyone to put me in the water. Jesus didn't ask him, why aren't you healed?

Why can't you get to the water? But that's the question he asked. Or that's the question he answered. The man answered. Jesus was focused on the condition of the man's soul.

And so the answer didn't make any sense. If we understand the question Jesus was asking, Jesus was focused on the condition of the man's soul, and the man was focused on his weakness, his inability, and his victimhood.

If that doesn't ring a bell with all the news stories you've heard in the last Week. You haven't been paying attention.

See, that may have been part of the condition of his soul, that he was physically weak. Maybe he felt defeated or oppressed, but it was not the whole story. You see, this man did not leave the pool and go out into the street to beg alms. He stayed in that place because in his head, there was still hope for him to be able to get to the water and get healed. I'm sure he didn't know how it would happen.

I'm sure he was aware of his own physical limitations because he said so. But he stayed there, waiting for his chance again.

He worked toward his goal, no matter how overwhelming the task seemed. He was not whole, but he had Zoe.

He was very much alive. He had hope. He had drive. He had determination. He had desire.

But did he have the will to be whole? Hmm. Here's the gift that Jesus gave to this man. Jesus heard the cry of this man's heart to be filled, physically healed of whatever infirmity he had. I came to the conclusion he's probably paralyzed.

Whatever it was. Jesus heard the cry of his heart and told him, get up. Pick up your pallet, walk.

But check out verse 14. We didn't read down there, but check it out while you've got it open. Verse 14 says this. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, behold, you have become whole.

Do not sin anymore, so nothing worse happens to you. So let me ask your opinion. You can shout out your answer if you want. What is worse than being paralyzed for 38 years?

Death. Death. Okay. I would agree that that's worse. Yeah.

Yeah, that seems to be much worse.

But before we get to that conclusion, let's look at a little something. Jesus found the man in the temple. Jesus healed a lot of people in his earthly ministry. Very few of them ended up in the temple talking to Jesus afterwards. This man was devout.

He might have just become devout as soon as he could walk, but he was devout when he could walk. He. He went to the temple with his stretcher on his shoulder or tucked under his arm or something. And when he was there in the temple, Jesus found him and said, be careful. Something worse could happen to you.

And you know what? Sometimes worse things are a result of. Of the things we do. Sometimes the worst things that happen to us are a result of our own sin. But I'd like to point this out.

This man was looking for somebody to pick him up and carry him. When Jesus said, stand up and walk, the man believed him and stood up and walked.

Wow.

You know, if something worse than being paralyzed for 38 years is maybe dying, I would think that this man was looking forward to life. Just as he had hope before he was healed that there would be some future for him. He had hope. He hoped in a future. Now he stood in the temple in verse 14, Jesus talking to him.

And in the very next verse, verse 15, bearing testimony to what Jesus had done for him, the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Now, the Jews had asked him, just before this, how come you're carrying this burden through the. You know, you're carrying your pallet. It's the Sabbath, remember? And everybody knew the religious police were there to make sure you didn't carry any load on the Sabbath.

And this man was carrying his pallet through the temple where all the religious police were there to see him. In this passage, it calls those religious police the Jews. They're probably the Pharisees, maybe some of the scribes. But they confront this man and say, you're carrying your pallet on the Sabbath. Here's the answer.

The guy who healed me told me to do it, so I'm doing it.

You know what that illustrates? That illustrates that he had the will to do what Jesus told him to do. The benefit of doing what Jesus told him to do. I'm sorry, the benefit of choosing to do what Jesus told him to do. Choosing to believe Jesus and act on it meant he could walk.

So let me round third base. I think I'm running in the right direction around third base. And this is for you who've been hanging in there. Okay. To see if I might get it right.

And make sure you tell me afterwards if you think I. If I think the run scored. So how did I arrive at the point where I understand Jesus to be asking this guy, are you willing to be made whole? Well, the whole chapter.

The whole rest of the chapter, from verse 15 on through verse 47, the whole rest of this chapter.

Is about this same encounter. It's the context for this healing. And the context is not Jesus talking to this guy. The context is Jesus confronting the Pharisees about sin, belief, and the will to be whole.

Now, it was the Sabbath day. That day, Jesus commanded the man to do what tradition demanded that he not do, carry a load. And the religious police called him out on it. Whether this man was devout or not, we can't understand that, really.

But he did understand the traditions of the Pharisees. So this is where it gets interesting. I think the Jews confronted Jesus. And he doubled down on his authority to challenge their traditions. Their tradition was, you can't carry anything on the Sabbath, right?

And Jesus doubled down on you. Pick up your pallet and walk. And the way he did that. Let me look at verses 17 and 18 for a minute. Jesus answered the Pharisees saying, my Father is working until now, and I myself am working.

For this reason, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. Because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God, his own Father, making himself equal with God.

So this question, will you be made whole here on the Sabbath and do what I tell you? Believe me, this is a contest between Jesus and the religious leaders. And Jesus is saying this. And you can read the whole rest of the chapter and find this out. But Jesus makes several claims.

He. He says in this passage, and this is the way that the Jews understood it, I am equal with God.

I have his authority to do things.

I have his ability to heal. Even as the Father has life in Himself, I have life in me. The Father gives life to whoever he wills. You know what? I give life to whoever I will.

And you know what you're going to see? You're going to see people in the graves get up when I command them to get up.

This is what Jesus is saying here.

If these are the Pharisees, they're looking forward to the resurrection. And Jesus just said, the resurrection will happen when I call people out of the grave.

This whole passage from 15 or from 17 down to 47, this talks repeatedly about eternal life in verse 21. Just as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes. Verse 24. Truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. Life.

And does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Verse 25. Truly I say to you, an hour is coming. And now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of Man, the Son of God. Sorry.

And those who hear will live. Verses 28 and 29. Do not marvel at this. For an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth. And those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Verses 39 and 40. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify of me, and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. Conclusion, are you willing to be whole?

Jesus just said, just said, are you willing to come to me that you might have eternal life?

He healed this man who had been lame for 38 years and he healed him. As an illustration that I have the authority to do these things. But he also identified witnesses, witnesses that could verify the statements he was making about being who he is, having the authority he has, and even calling the dead to life. Beyond that, giving eternal life.

In all the things that Jesus said to the Pharisees, he was pointing to this one truth. There is more in this passage, but this is the whole thing that reflects back to the healing of the man at the beginning. In Jesus mind, believing or being whole. In Jesus mind, being whole means believing him for eternal life. You are not willing to believe me that you might have eternal life?

Are you willing to be whole?

Now listen, there are people in this room who are suffering physical ailments for a long time. Some of them are life threatening. Some of them will result in physical death.

Jesus is not saying that you don't have the will to be whole.

Jesus is saying, wholeness is what I do in your soul. When you are willing to come to me for eternal life, I should have just crossed the plate.

Wholeness is what I do in you. When you come to me for eternal life, be careful. Make sure you cross the plate. Because something worse than whatever you're suffering right now could happen. And when you come to Jesus for wholeness, for eternal life, what he does is begin this work that we claim he's doing in us.

We are stories God is telling about Jesus making things new. That's all present tense stuff. It's going on. He didn't just make me new, and now I'm new and I never have to think about it. I still have to walk through life making choices every step of the way.

Am I going to trust Jesus and do what he calls me to, or am I going to do things my own way and suffer something worse?

I want the blessing that comes with being made new, step by step, all the way around the bases till I cross home plate.

Are you willing to be whole?

Here's the implications of the question for the man that was lame. Are you willing to lay aside all the things that you're trusting and just trust me?

Are you willing to lay aside your trust in somebody else to pick you up and throw you in the water? Are you willing to lay aside your trust in being healed in that water?

Will you allow me to make you whole? Are you willing to trust me to be whole? I'll heal so much more than your legs, your spine, your back, your spinal cord, whatever it was that was wrong with him. I'll do so much more.

You know that hope and that future you looked Forward to for 38 years while you struggled with this infirmity?

I can give you better. A greater hope, A better purpose.

So what?

Remember the thing at the beginning. Remember this and everything. No matter what I say, you'll be okay. Remember this, that Jesus is in the business of taking and dealing with the sin in the world in order to bring about his vision, the Father's vision.

If we have that perspective, then Jesus might bring physical healing, but he definitely brings spiritual wholeness. If you are suffering from sickness or disease, the deterioration of your body, even if it's for 38 years, remember it is so the work of God can be revealed in you. More than anything else, the suffering of this man for 38 years brought Jesus the opportunity to reveal something about himself.

The man may not ever have known the confrontation that allowed Jesus to speak to the Pharisees. But on the other hand, he may have become one of the disciples. We don't know who was this man, what happened in his life, we don't know.

When it comes to being made whole, it might not mean physical healing, but it will mean gaining eternal life.

And by the way, that's why we introduce people to Jesus in our lives. That's why we do it. The example Jesus set was to bring wholeness into the man's life and bear the cost of doing it himself. He asked the man, are you willing?

Will you choose it? When it's your choice, will you choose it?

So if there's one point, and then I'll end with that, it's this.

We have the mission. According to Matthew, we have the mission of being disciples of Jesus, followers of Jesus who bring other people into following Jesus. We are to make disciples. How do we do it? Why would they want to do that unless we can offer people the opportunity to be made whole?

Some of them are little children. They don't suffer any physical ailments.

Some of them are closer to the other end and have nothing but physical ailments. And there's everything in between. But what we all have in common is this sense that that's not fair, that shouldn't be that way. The world is not what it should be. And we carry this message.

Jesus is making that right.

And that's what we offer people.