Surviving Is Not Enough—John 5:1-13
Introduction: In the text Jesus does some unusual things that I think merits our attention. It’s the time of the feast and Jesus has come to celebrate the feast. In this scene we are introduced to a pool called Bethesda; surrounded by five porches. This pool is by the sheep gate, which is the gate where the lambs and sheep were brought for the sacrifice that gave you access to the temple during the feast.
This place was full of contradictions. The pool of Bethesda existed in the midst of a city full of health, wealth, and prosperity. Yet this pool had five porches that were full of the halt, lame, and blind. They congregated there each on their own porches, surviving in the midst of a completely paradoxical situation. One side is moving and commerce is going on in the sheep market. People are living and enjoying life on one side and on the other side these people are stuck in a state of survival.
1. Surviving Is Not Enough: The people on the porches don’t share the same reason but they are left with the same result. One is blind, one halt, and the only thing they have in common is some malady, physical infirmity that keeps them in this place. There were no hospitals so this was a holding place for people who were not dead but not alive. Not quite well enough to enter into commerce and life but not dead enough to be in the cemetery. And everyday that they lived they enjoyed the fact that they had survived. Because in an environment that lends itself to people who have been through catastrophic situations it isn’t uncommon to lose somebody everyday. So to some degree the very fact that you are alive is celebration within itself. Their pathology has become how to make the best of a bad situation.
2. Change Your Environment: It doesn’t matter how anointed you are you can’t escape the subculture that you develop around the dysfunction that holds you a prisoner. If you want to know where you are look at your cell phone. The numbers on your phone will tell where you are. You can’t surround yourself with blindness and expect to see. You can’t run with angry, bitter women and expect to be fulfilled. You can’t hang out with mamas boys wanna be men and expect to get a fresh vision from God. The people on these porches defined themselves by their dysfunctions.
3. Learn The Words Goodbye: I don’t mind being around people who don’t have anything but God deliver me from people who don’t want anything, I’m afraid that it’s contagious. If you hang around dead people you will be adversely affected by it. How bad do you want to be free? You have to determine how bad do you want it? Exceptional desire gets exceptional results. Some of the worse people become so successful. Because the same thing that made them very bad made them very good. Because when they want something they go all out to the extent of their being to get it. Jacob, David, Moses, Rahab, Noah, Saul, Now that you are in the church, the enemy will always bring people around that remember when...divorce the devil; he charges too much. I drank, smoked, and partied with the best of them, but now….
4. Do Something: So it’s into this textual, cultural environment that Jesus comes. He walked through all of the business, past the mall, all of the commerce and came down to the pool of Bethesda. The bible says He saw him lying down. He saw how long he had been lying there. He asked the question, do you want to be healed. When he saw the mans behavior He saw nothing in his actions let Him know that he wanted to get up. He survived the storm but Jesus was saying if survival is all you want don’t waste my time. Some people don’t like better or want to be made whole. You can develop an addiction to your affliction. Do you want to change or do you want Jesus to make your porch more comfortable.
5. No More Excuses: He explains the system and tells Jesus I’m like this because of what I didn’t get (daddy, economy, love). He says I have no man to take me into the pool when the water is troubled. He said I had the opportunity but I didn’t have the support when I had the opportunity and somebody got in front of him. He said I’m like this because I have nobody to carry me. Any time you justify your condition you have given it license to stay. It’s too easy to find an excuse to stay down but we’ve got to find a way to get up. Time out for excuses, time to get up. He had 364 days to position himself to receive the miracle.
6. Change The Game: Jesus came when it wasn’t the right time or season but God said I’m going to bless you anyway. It might have been better when you were younger and in the way you wanted it to come. But Jesus said I’m going to give it to you out of season, and in a non traditional way. Somebody has been waiting for their miracle all of their life but the wait is over. Jesus is here to take you out of the waiting room to the delivery room. The strength of the pregnancy is in the struggle of the delivery.
7. Challenge Your Limitations: Jesus challenged the mans limitations and challenged him to get up. He said take up your bed and walk. He was showing the man his strength was in his struggle. He challenged a lame man who was lying on his bed with a word. He told him to get up, take the thing that was carrying him, and told him to carry it. You know you’re delivered when you start carrying the thing that used to carry you. You turn from lender not the borrower, from patient to nurse, defendant to plaintiff, etc.
8. Get Up! For 38 years the church folks didn’t have any problem with the man. But as soon as he gets healed they got legalistic on him. Legally they were right that he shouldn’t be healed or carry mats on the Sabbath day. But when the anointing hits Jesus isn’t concerned about the day, time, laws, or traditions we hold to. You need to get up to show the enemy what you’re working with. The enemy is terrified of a person who gets up because you give him a flashback. Because the last time somebody got up on him he suffered the worst defeat of his career.