John 5:1-9 Do You Want to Get Well?Elderly Care Ministry

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 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. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “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.”

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. [John 5:1-9]

I want to start with a bit of background. This seems like a strange situation: Jesus comes to this pool, and around it are a lot of people suffering from various ailments. The verse says the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. This was probably anyone and everyone who was sick. People there could have some serious ailments, whether physical or perhaps psychological. Why were they there? The pool of Bethesda was a well-known place of healing. The Jewish people believed that an angel would come down and stir up the water in the pool, and the first person to jump into the pool after the waters had been disturbed would be miraculously healed.

There are 2 main characters to this story: Jesus and this man who is paralyzed—he had been there for 38 years. He suffered from this terrible condition for 38 years. I cannot imagine how he must have felt: wanting to move around, but unable to for so long. Wanting to get into that water for healing, but he’s paralyzed—how can he possibly hope to get into the pool first? It’s a sad picture.

· DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?

Verse 6 says that when Jesus learned of this paralyzed man’s condition, and that he was paralyzed for a long time, he asks a strange question: do you want to get well? It should be obvious—the man is here by the pool looking for healing. You would think this man would say, “Yes, please!”

But the answer the man gives is even stranger. He says, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.” He points to others who get in before he can. In other words, his answer is, “Yes, but no one is helping me.” Yes… but, which is the same as Yes… and no. He’s torn—he cannot say “yes, please!”

This is so true to life. This man was paralyzed for 38 years. He had gotten used to the fact that he was this way—he had lost hope that something could change. He saw others going into the pool before him for years—he felt like the situation was impossible. In a way, he had declared a truce with his condition. He got used to who he was and nothing was going to change anytime soon. He’s not just paralyzed physically—he’s paralyzed spiritually, paralyzed as a person.

Jesus’ question is much deeper than this man’s physical condition. It’s both physical and spiritual. Jesus’ question implies that he CAN heal this man—but does the man truly want to be healed?

This strange story is a picture of us. Some of us here have physical ailments, and I don’t mean to minimize them. But I know everyone in this room, myself included—we have a sin problem. We are all paralyzed spiritually by sin. All of us in this room can imagine at least one thing about ourselves that is wrong. Honestly, I think all of us can name many things about ourselves that are not right: I should be a more loving husband. I should be more patient with my daughter. I shouldn’t get lost in anger and my temper. I shouldn’t have so many complaints. I should be a better friend or roommate to the person next to me. I shouldn’t be so haunted by my past. We recognize these sorts of things inside—but what do we do about them? Our good intentions, we cannot live them out. We are paralyzed people. We are sinners.

Jesus comes to us with the same question: do you want to get well? Do we want to be healed of your sin problem? Do we want to be forgiven by God and free to change? He has a solution. We can be restored in a relationship with God through Jesus, and we can be reconciled to other people once that happens. The sins we feel helpless about—we can be forgiven and pardoned. That’s why Jesus would die on the cross and be resurrected on the third day—to forgive us.

It sounds wonderful. But I realize my own spiritual paralysis when I hear that this invitation and my response is something like this: I’m not going to change. It sounds too good to be true. I don’t want to get let down again. We may feel helpless and hopeless about our condition. I know not everyone in this room is a Christian: maybe you feel like it’s too late for me to change now: I’ve been set in my way of life for a long time. For those who are Christian—we get used to those ugly sins that don’t go away easily. My temper is never going away. My troubled past will never be wiped away. The hurts I’ve experienced are too deep. In fact, we become afraid: if I let go of my grudges and bitterness, what will my story be? We get used to being the victims and the tragic heroes of our own stories.

· GET UP

Jesus knows that we often feel paralyzed inside. His response to the paralytic speaks volumes: he heals him. The man never said, “Yes, Jesus please heal me!” He is paralyzed as a person. Jesus responds by telling him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” This is amazing. And when the man listens, even though he is torn inside, he is healed. He can walk again. Even in spite of his doubts, unbelief, cynicism, or sense of hopelessness, he experiences this miracle.

Jesus says that we can be restored in our relationship with God, that we can be saved—even if it feels impossible. He says that we can be changed. Salvation is this kind of miracle—we just need to respond. And then God makes the miracle happen: we are saved, we are restored to a personal relationship with God, we are freed from the power of sin. We just need to be humble and obey and ask—he does the rest. This is good news. It doesn’t take great faith to believe Jesus—it just takes humility and honesty and the tiniest amount of faith.

Jesus is looking for the blind, lame and paralyzed people—people like you and me. The promise and gift he brings is this promise of healing—spiritual restoration—salvation. Even if we have doubts, even if we feel hopeless, that is the gift that Jesus brings. We only need to respond to him and to his question: do you want to get well? He is asking that question to you and me today.

I know that not everyone here is Christian—for those who are not, Jesus is asking you this question today. Won’t you respond? Don’t you want to be healed from the inside? Even if you feel like your sin is impossible, Jesus can forgive you. And for those of you who are Christian—let’s thank God that he made this salvation miracle possible in our lives. And if there are any things that you are holding onto - sins and brokenness that you don’t think can change - Jesus wants to make you whole again. Let’s pray.