1. To those who have lost hope

We are continue to focus on the Gospel according to John, who commenced his writing with these words: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12). When Jesus began teaching and preaching many people listened and observed Him, which encouraged some of them to believe Him to be the Son of God. However, others completely rejected him and his ministry. We must wonder what the elements were which caused people to react so differently. Today we will read portions of chapters 5 and 9 of John’s Gospel, in order to seek answers to the question. By describing human reactions to Gods’ merciful acts, these chapters raise the issues relative to physical healing and Salvation.

John presents the opening scene of chapter 5 like this: “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed” (John 5:1-3).

According to commentators and historians, this place was originally named “bet-zayta” in Aramaic or “house of the olives” in English, which later became “Bethesda” or “House of Mercy”. It was largely because of the colonnades which were surrounding a pool there, which was constructed as a kind of care center for disabled or sick people. The pool was well known for it’s curing effects of disorders. There is also another name “bet-za’atha” or “house of the movement”, which suggest that the pool was a intermittent spa, rich in healing minerals. Such places and pools are still widely known, like the famous “Lourdes” in the south of France, for example.

However, further to this overview of the place of need and care, we read that there was, “One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years” (John 5:5). Thirty-eight years indicates the seeming permanence of this man’s affliction. After trying every means, consulting doctors, taking medications or praying to no avail, he eventually became desperate with little hope of recovery. So much so, seeing Jesus, he thought this would surely be his last chance for healing. Jesus poses the question to the man: “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me” (John 5:6-7).

The man’s reply only reveals his feeling of hopelessness. Thirty-eight years was too long to maintain any hope of healing. He had become cynical and resentful of others who did not show interest or care for him. But, instead of asking for help from Jesus, he expressed his ill feelings. To gently persuade such people sometimes it becomes necessary to verbally force them into action, as Jesus did: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (John 5:8).

2. Get up and walk!

Jesus said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk”, to a man who had lost every desire to recover from his illness. Here, we find there are three key expressions: The first, “Get up!” which means “to be aroused from the sleep of death”. To move a man who was almost mentally dead, Jesus used a very a precise term. The second is, “Pick up your mat”, which signifies, “don’t depend on something but be self-reliant”. The last one is, “walk”, symbolizing, “Live!” Or, be willing to start a new life.

The lesson about this invalid man is a lesson for us too. The Bible often challenges us to keep the faith and maintain hope for the future. Even though many of us habitually attend Sunday services, read the scriptures, and listen to sermons for long periods of time, even decades, nothing may change in our hearts or mind. We continue to live in the same way, without feeling great joy, or even without hope. Thus Jesus poses the question to us, “Do you want to get well?” Direct confrontational questions like this should be enough to persuade us to seek and find hope and joy for a positive future.

Last week I visited a Christian friend who has lived in an aged care home for three (3) years. She is too weak to walk around and she stays in bed almost all day. She repeatedly said to me that only after her death will she be able to get out of the house. She thinks there is no future hope for her present living condition. I can do nothing but listen and remain silent. But, I would like at this time to share with you a story of a Japanese poet who has continually lived with paralysis and physical pain. Despite his harsh and difficult life, he wrote poems in praise of God’s will for allowing him to live. The hope of living is an important theme for the faith.

3. From Recovery To Salvation

The process of healing on the Sabbath day provoked the Pharisees who insisted on strict observance of the law. They accused the disabled person who was healed by Jesus: “and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat” (John 5:10). To that accusation he tried to be excused by putting the responsibility on Jesus: “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk” (John 5:11).

Jesus takes the initiative to find the man again: “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Jesus did not require faith before he healed the disabled man, so his words about sin do not link the man’s illness to sin. Rather, he now urges a response that would make the man spiritually well. Like many of us today, this man was slow to recognize and appreciate the significant healing ministry of Jesus.

However, there is another healing incident by Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John, in which the recipient’s reaction was completely different. Let us read together the relative verses, John 9:38-39, which should help us to see more clearly and understand the lesson: “Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:38-39). This passage tells a different story from the one in chapter 5 though the plots are very similar. In chapter 9, the blind man was able to see, thanks to Jesus. The crucial difference from the disabled man in Chapter 5 is that the formerly blind man, of Chapter 9, regardless of the risk of oppression by the Pharisees, immediately gave testimony of Jesus’ identity. “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened” (John 9:17). “He is a prophet. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John9:33).

The scriptures further reveals the conversation between Jesus and the blind man, which lead him to confess his faith in Jesus: “Jesus heard that they (the Pharisees) had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you. “Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him” (John 9:35-38).

I repeat today’s closing invocation verse, the words which Jesus said just after hearing his confession: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39). The formerly blind man had not recognized Jesus’ identity at first so he merely said, “he was a prophet” (John 9:33). However, through conversation, he eventually came to see that Jesus was the very Messiah - the Son of God.

We see now that his eyes were opened by Jesus two times, the first physically and the second spiritually, which guided him to salvation. Health problems and cures are simply symbolic acts of God, which may open the way to faith and healing. Whereas the Japanese poet I spoke of before wrote a poem which tells us: “I wouldn’t know the grace of God if I didn’t suffer a disability.” It does not mean he was cured, because he stayed disabled for the rest of his life. But he found God’s grace through suffering and spread the good news by writing poems, by winking with his eyes to communicate words to his mother. His case reveals to us the fact that the absence of physical healing, can still result in salvation and spiritual healing.

By comparison, the two stories from the Gospel of John helps us understand the message of John. Sin is being indifferent and refusing to understand the very meaning of God’s activity in the world, even though we sometimes witness events which are literally acts of God. So let us pray, by following in the footsteps of those who have received Him, we too will identify with Him, believe in His name, and be guided to full salvation.