The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath Pt 1

Thank you for your singing. Please open your Bibles to John chapter 5, to the Gospel of John, chapter 5. I know what you're thinking. We had a baptism today and a longer service, and we have to trudge through the wilderness that we have before us for lunch. But I just invite you to focus on what's before us, on the text that's before us, and receive the grace that's found there.

So, John chapter 5, verse 1. After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, an Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roof colonnades. And in these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years. 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?

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'm going, another steps down before me. And Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your mat, and walk. And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat, his bed, and he walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jewish leader said to the man who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.

But the man answered him, Well, the man who healed me, that man said to me, Take up your bed and walk. They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, Take up your bed and walk? Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn as there was a crowd in that place. 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. So the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My father is working until now, and I am working. 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.

Let us pray. Oh, Father, we thank you for your word that is set before us, God. And all week long we've heard falsehoods from without and falsehoods from within. We know this world is steep in darkness and falsehood led by Satan. And we know, Lord, that we have this flesh that hangs on in which we even tell ourselves falsehoods. Indeed, we lie to ourselves more than the world lies to us.

So I pray, God, that we would put our eyes upon the truth and you would help us by your good spirit to respond in faith to Jesus. no longer in falsehood, not believing and following the tracks of what is false, but rather following our shepherd who loves our very souls. So much so that he gave up himself for us. And so God, let this be a time in which we delight ourselves in your truth.

And let this be a time in which we place our faith firmly in Jesus Christ who has promised us good things by this work of grace. and then may we, after hearing your word and seeing it, may we respond in belief and trust and obedience so that we would be living waters spread out for all the world to enjoy. Oh God, help us because we need your help daily, hourly, every minute, every second. We need you.

So help us now, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. it's interesting that throughout history we can look at different events that have happened events that no one can deny that they can see before their very eyes and yet there can be a billion different perspectives of that one event that has happened before everyone now think of even recently like charlie kirk and the murder assassination of that man it's Fascinating to see that one objective event that happened, and yet to see the perspectives of that event from different sides of the aisle, whether you're a liberal, conservative, or somewhere in the middle. You may think this was a terrible thing happened, and he's a martyr.

To the other side of he was a racist, and da-da-da-da-da, and he had it coming. Or you could be somewhere in the middle with different perspectives of that one event. Or I think of my favorite is our presidential elections. It is totally fascinating to see how when one person wins, there's the one perspective of it's the end of the world as we know it, or the other perspective of our republic is saved.

So it's a fascinating thing to see one objective event with different perspectives. I honestly I was really thinking more about this than perhaps I should but I was thinking the last time that there was a major event that everyone beheld and had a similar perspective was perhaps 9 in which I can think of another time in which something happened and then everyone had a very monolithic perspective of it and came together in light of that But then even then, whenever you saw the different videos across the world, there were many people that were very happy with 9-11. And so indeed, there can be one of that yet totally different reactions and perspectives.

And the reason why I got thinking on this is because this is what we have going on here in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John. We have Jesus healing a man at a pool, and yet we have different perspectives from the man himself, from the Jewish leaders, and the perspective that we ought to have that Jesus provides us in his teaching on that event. And really, this is the flow of the gospel with the first half.

You have a work or a miracle of Jesus. You have a certain perspective or a negative reaction that's not quite right. And then you have the teaching of Jesus in light of that negative or faulty perspective of that work. Work, reaction, teaching. And that's what we see going on. That's the cadence or the flow of this first half of the Gospel of John.

And so here we're going to see that. The different perspectives, the teaching of Jesus in light of it, and then, I hope, it challenges your perspective of not only this event, but how Jesus is working in your own life now. So let's begin this healing that happened in Jerusalem. In chapter 5, verse 1, after this, that is, after Jesus was in the north in Galilee and healed the official son, remember, that's what we went over last week.

After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And so there's a feast, a major feast, and Jesus goes up to Jerusalem. That is, he goes south up to the mountain of Jerusalem to engage in a major feast of the Jews. Those major feasts throughout the year, all the Jews, all the male Jews had to go to and to celebrate the feast. and there's a lot of ink that's shed over what feast is this what major feasts is it passover is it a feast of tabernacles there's different feasts that this could be and in fact when it matters john tells us what the feast is so look at real quick chapter seven and look at verse two now the jews feast of the booths was at hand so there john is happy to tell us what feast it is And that's because the teaching of Jesus in light of that feast is going to be in conjunction with that feast.

And we'll get to it more when we get to chapter 7. But the Feast of the Booths have certain things going on that Jesus is going to use to then teach the people how he is the fulfillment. But here, we don't have John telling us what feast it is. That's because it doesn't really matter what feast it was. And so actually what matters is that you understand that at these major feasts, no matter which one it was, there was a high Sabbath day for it.

So if you think of the Sabbath day in the Old Covenant with the religious leaders especially, you think of how concerned and careful they were to keep that holy and separate. And during the feast time, it was a high Sabbath time in which it was exemplified even more. And the reason why that matters for where we're at now is because Jesus, the negative reaction to this work that Jesus is about to do, is going to be centered on the fact that this is a Sabbath day, nay, a high Sabbath day.

And so we're going to see reaction, a negative reaction, an interesting interpretation of this work of Jesus centered on this high Sabbath day before them. Now, as we set up the narrative, I want to kind of paint it almost like you're watching a movie. When you're watching a movie, like a scary movie or maybe a really sad movie, have you ever noticed it starts off very sunshiny and happy?

I hate scary movies. I always have. I used to watch them because I thought I had to in order to be cool. And I remember the moment where I realized I don't need to do this anymore. And I remember I'd always want to shut off the movie after about 10 minutes because the first 10 minutes of a scary movie, everything is pretty cool and nice. Sun shines and everything.

Even in a sad movie, it's a similar situation. And I think this is what's painted for us now. This is a feast. This is a feast of the Jews in which the Jews would get together and celebrate. There would be worship to God. It would be a glorious time, a centerpiece for the Jews.

In fact, such a time this was that you remember the writer to the Hebrews when he's writing to the Christians who were Jews, he's saying, don't go back to the feast. It's tempting because it's filled with lights and beauty and fellowship and people and a great time. Don't go back there. He had to warn them. Because this is truly a good time for the Jew to come to the feast and celebrate the feast.

And so think of this as a movie, like a bright spot at the beginning of the narrative. It's a feast. Everyone's laughing and enjoying themselves in worship, sacrificing at the temple it's great but then it starts to get very cloudy and dark and sad in verse two there in jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool an aramaic called bethesda which has five roof colonnades then these lay a multitude a great vast number of invalids blind lame paralyzed So you go from the feast, beautiful worship, then not far from the temple, there is this multitude, multitude of invalids, a sad sight to behold.

And it was by the temple that it was called the sheep gate. The pool is by the sheep gate probably because that gate is where the sheep would go through in order to be sacrificed there at the temple And so there there a contrast Beautiful worship at the temple during the feast and then not far, there's a pool in which a multitude of invalids. Why were there so many?

Well, it's a feast, so there's a lot of people. Just like there's a lot of people at the temple worshiping, and it makes it a great environment, a wonderful thing to behold and be at, just likewise, only in contrast form, there's a great multitude of invalids at the pool because of the feasts. There's also a great multitude there because there's five roof colonnades.

And what that is, it's shelter surrounding this pool that would protect you from the elements. So it created a very good atmosphere for people to hang out and spend time because you were safe from the environment. So that added to the fact, or added, or that was a reason why, one of the reasons why there was a great multitude of these invalids. But there's another reason why there's a great multitude of this sad sight of these infalids, and that's because of what it says in your text.

Now, if you have a modern translation, look in your text. You see it goes from verse 3 to 5. If you don't believe me, look right now. Or look later, I guess. If you have a modern translation, it's going to go from verse 3 to 5. And if you don't know anything about this, it might be a little alarming.

What in the world happened to verse 4? And that's because in the early manuscripts, so what I mean by manuscripts, stay with me here for a moment, is that when the original was written, John the Apostle wrote the gospel, and it didn't just like, you know, that was it, and then hopefully this thing stays around for a while. It was copied and copied and copied and copied, copied, copied, a bunch of copies, right?

Monks, think monks with a candle in the room just copying constantly. That's what they did. And thank God they did it because we have the text now because of that. But the point is, in the earliest manuscripts or copies of the text, we do not get verse 4. But we do get it later on in later manuscripts, not much later, but later on. And so probably what that means is that somebody wrote a little commentary text to this point to say this is why this was going on, and then it kind of got added into the text.

It doesn't make it wrong. it's it's i think it's true and i'll tell you why but the point is is that verse four wasn't in the earliest manuscripts but it does provide help to understand what's going on and what does verse four say well it says for an angel this they're at there's all these invalids right and there's a group of them and he says for an angel of the lord went down at certain seasons into the pool that they're surrounding and stirred the water and whoever stepped first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. So that's what the little commentary text says, that the reason why they're there is not just because it's a feast. It's not just because there's five-roof colonnades that provided shelter, but there was a hope that perhaps I can be healed from my illness or issue if I can get into that pool when it's stirred up.

And so there's a hope that I could be healed. And so, and it kind of reminds me of like pathetic gamblers. They're all at that casino and none of them are going to win besides maybe one every now and then. But yet you have them all flooded there thinking I could win all sorts of money. You're not going to win money. It's foolishness.

And it reminds you the same thing. There's like this like tangible kind of of hope that maybe I could be healed from this distress I'm in, that once it starts to stir up, if I can get there first, I can be healed. It's really a pathetic situation to consider. Sadness and darkness, isn't it? A multitude of invalids, and they are hanging on this one by chance hope that perhaps I can be the first one in there when it stirs up.

Now, I'm not going to go into a bunch of detail, about whether or not this actually happened. John Calvin, before this modern era, has no problem saying that this actually happened, that God pretty much, he stopped sending prophets to Israel at this point, right during the two testament periods. Prophets stopped coming up, and he basically was quiet, besides perhaps these little things like this, where he would stir up the water every now and then and heal someone, to show that I'm not quite done with you yet.

That sounds nice. John Calvin said it, so you've got to respect it to some degree. And so perhaps that's what's going on, or perhaps it did get stirred up because it was a natural spring that fed it, and it had some kind of minerals in there that created a healing atmosphere. I don't know. And it's really not that important. What is important is that the people were there, and they had trust that if I can get in that water when it's stirred up, I can be healed.

So that's why there's a great multitude of them. A sad sight indeed. to be there. Sad and dark. And it gets even sadder when we see verse five. One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years. It doesn't say he was born an invalid.

It says that he became one 38 years ago, three decades or four decades, excuse me, almost four decades that he was an invalid and he is there. And so the scene, again, from the temple and the feasts, the happiness, the joy, the lights, then it comes down right next, if we're looking at this movie, right next to this sad sight of a multitude of invalids. And then it gets even sadder as you then hone in on that one man who's been like that for 40 years.

Now, I almost didn't say this next part, but I'm going to anyways is that this man is not only an invalid in his physical frame but he's kind of an invalid in his mental state and his spiritual state as well as we see Now I asked is that offensive in this modern world I asked my wife that She said it probably a little offensive because of how young you are You not quite old enough to say stuff like that but that was three days ago so I older now So we good This guy we'll see is, we're in the contrast, we'll see this with a man he heals, Jesus heals in chapter nine, is man, I can't wait to get there because that guy is fiery. When he's healed, He's fiery. And this man is just an invalid all over, we'll see.

And so it's just a sad scene. A sad scene. I want that to be burned in your mind right now, that this is a sad scene indeed of a multitude of invalids at a time that is supposed to be heightened happiness and activity with worship to God at the temple. But then all of a sudden, the movie goes from joy, happiness, to sadness, to then a ray of hope, a ray of light.

Why? Because look who's there, Jesus. In verse 6, when Jesus saw this man, what's Jesus doing there? It's just important to ask that question over and over again in the gospel. What is Jesus doing with all the invalids? No one wants to be there.

Think about whenever you're going into a baseball game in the city, you are trying to quickly get through the crazy city people just to get into your seats in the stadium. At least that's how it was for me in Detroit. I didn't want to be in Detroit, but I wanted to be in Comerica Park. So I got to just get through the crazies and get there. I don't want to be around them.

And here Jesus, and you imagine, the happiness is rooted in the fact that we can be close to God at these feast days. And Jesus is the son of God, deserves to be. He is God himself. And yet here he is, hanging out with the multitude of invalids. The brightness of the feast. And he's hanging out in the darkness of the darkness.

There is Jesus. in verse 6 when Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time how did Jesus know that this man had been there for a long time we don't know perhaps again he's true God he just knew there's times in the gospels where that's the case other times Jesus asked questions and and and learns just like we do in his human nature about certain things so perhaps he asked some question who has been here a long time it's like Jesus is trying to find the most pathetic person to do this light or this beautiful work to. Whether he knew just because he's truly God or he found out in his human nature, it doesn't matter. He finds someone he knows about this person who has been there for a long time and he asked him, do you want to be healed?

Seems like a silly question, doesn't it? Do you want to be healed? And we see this question from Jesus a few times. You remember Bartimaeus in the Synoptics Gospel? Remember the blind beggar? And he's saying, Jesus, have mercy on me.

Yelling, screaming, people telling him, shut up. And Jesus says, let him come up here. And he goes up there and he says, what can I do for you? Imagine he's blind, Bartimaeus, he's trying, you know, he's being led to Jesus and he can't see. And Jesus asks him, what do you, well, I'll give you a couple guesses. The point is, Jesus isn't like legitimately saying, hmm, I don't really know.

This is genuine inquiry here. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus, and with Bartimaeus, wants him to express his desire for Jesus's help and his faith to do so. And here we see Jesus understands that he wants to be healed, but he's getting him to express certain things that displays his heart. That is this man by the pool. Jesus asked him, do you want to be healed.

And again, Jesus knows he wants to be healed, but he just wants this man to express what's in his heart with his words. And we can see what he says, what's in his heart. And when you read verse 7, think of bitterness, sadness. He's angry. He's frustrated. Whenever he says in verse 7, he answered him.

He doesn't even answer, yes, I want to be healed. He says, yeah, the The assumption is yes, but sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. And while I'm going, another steps down before me. Can you feel the frustration there? He's been an invalid for 40 years. He's been there a long time.

Can you imagine? Just in your mind right now, the water gets stirred up. And this pathetic man is like crawling to it or whatever way, trying to get there slowly. and every single time someone else jumps before him. Can you imagine that happening once, twice, three times, four times, beyond? And you can imagine his frustration and his anger, and he's done with it.

This is a dark situation. Sad. Depressing. And this man is fed up. He's like, yeah, I want to be healed, but I have no one to put me in there. It's fascinating, right?

In order for this man to be healed, he had to do something that he couldn't do. You get what I'm saying? He was an invalid, so therefore he couldn't move very well. In order to not be an invalid, he had to move well to get to the pool so he couldn't be an invalid. So the very thing that caused him to want to be in the pool is what causes him to not receive the healing of the pool.

And you see how that is like the law of God? You see the connection there? That we are unrighteous sinners with shame and guilt. plagues us and as we look at the law we say okay that's what i have to do in order to be righteous and no longer be filled with guilt and feel the shame involved with that and so you give yourself to the law of god and because you're a sinner you cannot do it and it's a frustrating cycle we need help from someone this man needs help from someone and he's so fed up at this point because nothing is happening but then not only is there a ray of light because jesus is there but then jesus acts jesus commands the son of god is displayed and the power he has to heal when he says in verse 8 he says to him get up take up your bed and walk And look at the text, what it says, and at once the man was healed.

And he took up his mat and walked. This would be like just a little simple mat that you could carry around with you. It wouldn't be much to pick up. But the point is, is this guy goes from needing it in order to be comfortable laying down all the time, to now not only can he get up and stand up and walk, but he can carry that same thing with him. And so it's revealing a completeness to this healing and a suddency to it. or the, that's a word, right?

Suddency? Maybe not. It might not be a word, but you get what I'm saying. To the work, to the miracle. This is what Jesus is commanding, and it is done, and he is healed. And so we might think at that point, hey, great, the story's over, right?

Light of the feast, sadness of the darkness of the invalids, and especially that man. And then he's healed. And then, closing scene. It's like a 30-minute movie, kind of weird, expecting an hour and a half, but nevertheless, great, wonderful. This is great. It's over.

But it's not over. Why? Well, look at the next few words. And this is supposed to be a major transition in the narrative. Now that day was the Sabbath. Now again, hear the words dun-dun-dun.

Hear the thunderstorm going on, the clap of the thunderstorm. That is supposed to be like all of a sudden, this was the real darkness. That although this great thing has happened, it is going to be misconstrued or it's going to be misunderstood because of the fact that it is the day of the Sabbath. This is the very thing that's going to cause this great light-filled event to be shrouded, or at least attempted to be shrouded in darkness because it is the Sabbath.

In fact, it's a high Sabbath. and so we thought that the issue was the invalid and now he's healed but the real issue was the way that it is perceived the erroneous way it's perceived in which Jesus is going to correct with the following teaching after we see the error of the pharisees so the real problem here the real darkness is the way that the religious leaders take this wonderful work of Jesus now the day was the Sabbath. So, in verse 10, the Jews, that is the Jewish leaders, said to the man who had been healed, it is the Sabbath and it's not lawful for you to take up your bed. Imagine, the tears of joy have not even ceased to come down from his eyes because he's received this healing and the Jewish leaders say, wait a fine moment, you picked up your mat on the Sabbath.

Now, Now, they, that is the Jewish leaders, there is in the law a certain way that you are supposed to treat the Sabbath day. And that is you are not to work on the Sabbath day. This is a day in which you worship explicitly God in the temple, in the synagogues, and you do not treat it like any other day in which you carry a burden or, again, you work just like the rest of the week.

And we see this. Let's take a look at this because it's worth seeing where they're coming from. In Exodus 20, verse 10, we see the Sabbath command, right? The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall do no work. You shall do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your livestock, the sojourner who is within your gates.

And then we get commentary on that in Jeremiah 17. Go there real quick. Jeremiah 17, verse 19. We see there is a prohibition to carry a burden on the Sabbath day. Jeremiah the prophet says in Jeremiah 17, verse 19, And thus said the Lord to me, Go and stand in the people's gate by which the kings of Judah enter, and by which they go out in all the gates of Jerusalem.

And say, Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates. Thus says the Lord, Take care for the sake of your lives and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy as I commanded your fathers.

Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffen their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction. But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne, Verse 1 they and their officials the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and this city shall be inhabited forever And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem from the land of Benjamin and Shephela and the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord on the Sabbath. But if you do not listen to me to keep the Sabbath day holy and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

So the point is, you ought to be carrying your sacrifices to the temple and worship to God, not carrying a burden or the typical activity of work that you do throughout the week. You get the point there. You ought to bring in sacrifices to worship Christ or God on the Sabbath. You ought not to be carrying a burden like as if it's any other day of the week.

Now, think about it for a moment. Think about it real quick, right? This is where we get, do not carry a burden, right? And then we get back to where we're at in the Gospel of John, and this man is healed from his illness and is able to walk, and he picks up his mat in celebration of the healing. That is not really the same thing, is it? This man is not doing this as like an act of working like the rest of the week in which he is not worshiping God with sacrifices like he should be.

This is not the same thing. But yet the Jewish leaders are so inflamed with the law in which they then build more laws on top of it in order to keep the original thing that's said in scripture. So if you are not to carry a burden and work on the Sabbath day and go and worship at the temple, if you're not to carry that and do that, then you better not carry anything.

And so this man receives healing he's told with in light of this healing reveal the healing work by carrying your mat and they say how dare you break the sabbath this is what their mind is inflamed with that you would keep the sabbath holy and not carry the mat now the thing you need to keep you need to see in this is that they are blinded to the work of healing from jesus and we're going to see that explicitly later on in the Gospel of John where Jesus says, you guys are blinded. You're blind. You can't see what's being done before your very eyes.

And we're seeing an example of it here that Jesus heals a man and they are so blinded to the healing that they can only see that they have, he has failed to keep their version or their way of keeping the Sabbath. And we see this played out. Again, look at verse 10. So the Jews back in John 5 said to the man who had been healed, it is a Sabbath and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.

So the man replies, he answered them, the man who healed me, that man said to me, take up your bed and walk. Notice this man who is healed, he says, the guy who healed me told me to do this. And notice how they respond to him. They asked him, who is the man who said to you, take up your bed and walk? Do you see the irony there? They refuse to mention the healing at all.

They refuse to mention the healing at all. He says, the man who healed me told me to do this. And instead of saying, who's the man who healed you? They said, who is the man who told you to take up your mat and walk? They're so blind by the law that they have, that they fail to see that this man was healed by a man. And they have no taste or sight to see that work being done.

I asked them, who is the man who said to you, take up your bed and walk? In verse 13, now the man who had been healed and did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn as there was a crowd in the place. And so the man doesn't know who he is. Now, we could pick on him a little bit here. How do you not know who he is? Wouldn't the first reaction be to grab hold of his feet and say, I want to follow you now?

We see that throughout the Gospels, right? Let me go with you now. And I know it's a little bit of a reach here, but this man, again, remember, he's an invalid in more than one way. And it just seems like he's completely oblivious to the fact that the Son of God just healed this man. He doesn't even know who he is. We could give him the benefit of the doubt.

There is a large crowd, like John said. Perhaps it's just Jesus quickly, right away, got out of there. But throughout all the evidences of this whole text, I think he just simply didn't have much of a care to know who healed him. He was healed, and that's what matters. So he doesn't know, right? In verse 13, he would draw on, he doesn't know who it is.

But now, and look at verse 14, we're going to see a perspective of this healing that this man who is healed does not have that he ought to have. Look at verse 14. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple. We don't know how much long after, but it was after some time. And he found him in the temple. This man has gone from being a beggar or an invalid by the pool, and now he is in with the festivities in the temple.

And Jesus says to him, see, you are well. Sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you. I think what going on there is Jesus is providing a perspective of this healing that this man did not have and I don think he had afterwards either as we see And that is that this man was an invalid and this pointed to the fact that he is a sinner and going to receive final judgment from God If there's one thing that this man should have understood about this thing, this illness that he had, is that there is a final bad reality that's coming to me because I'm a sinner, and I need to repent, and I need to find forgiveness, I need salvation.

And Jesus is bringing this to mind on him. He says, see, sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. That is judgment itself. And I think what Jesus is doing is he's saying there's something more behind your illness that you never have bothered to know. That this is a picture of the final reality when you're judged by God because of your sin that you don't seem to care too much about.

And he's saying, and you need to care a lot about now. The fact is, is that he never, the text never says that he stopped to worship Jesus. never said any kind of belief upon Jesus, never made any inquiries. He seemed to have no understanding that his illness here was pointed as something worse that he needs the same Messiah for, that is salvation. And so Jesus is telling them, you're missing it.

You're not seeing the full picture, man. You need to stop sinning and believe upon me for salvation or you're going to receive something worse. You're going to receive judgment. Jesus is challenging this man to have a proper, a better perspective of this work of Christ. Does he have it? Does he receive it?

Does his perspective change? Ah, I see now. I see what my illness was showing. And I see my greater need now. And I see how you can provide my greater need just like you provided the lesser need of my illness. Does he see it?

No. Look at verse 16. and this was, oh I'm sorry, in verse 15, the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him. There's a great contrast here with the other man that gets healed in chapter 9, where that man, the guy who's healed in chapter 9, goes toe-to-toe with the religious leaders and identifies and glorifies Christ. This man quickly, no profession of faith, no response to what Jesus is saying to him, he just goes to the religious leaders and says, hey guess what, I know who it is now.

It is Jesus who's done this work. His perspective is corrupted. And now, as we are finishing up here, we're going to see another perspective of the Jews being corrected by Jesus. Look at verse 16, and this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. Here in the Gospel of John, this is the first time that the Jewish leaders are explicitly said to be against Jesus.

And it is because he's doing these things on the Sabbath day. Now, Jesus could respond with this by saying, listen, you got the Sabbath day kind of wrong here. You have a misunderstanding of what it means to keep the Sabbath and you're shrouded in legalism that's not helpful at all, that does not love your neighbor. He could talk about how the Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath.

He could talk about their own hypocrisy, how they'll help people out or they'll help their own sheep out, their own goat. He could go into all these things, and he does in other Gospels. But instead, what Jesus says, he doesn't respond with teaching of saying that, listen, you got the Sabbath wrong. Instead, he gets to the heart of the issue, and he says, the reason why you don't understand is because you don't understand that I am the Son of God.

Look at verse 17. But Jesus answered them, not you have the Sabbath wrong or you do all these things, But my Father is working until now, and I am working. This is Jesus saying, I am the Son of God. I am God. And how that is showing that, revealing that, is because there's an understanding in Jewish culture and Jewish thinking that God created in six days and rested on the seventh, in which he was enthroned over his creation, and yet he still works to maintain creation. whereas man is to rest, God is still working, maintaining his creation, or it will all just fall apart.

And so Jesus is taking that common Jewish understanding, which is providence, it's a true understanding, and he's saying, as my Father is working, so I am working always too. But the work that he's revealing, or the work that he's doing, certainly is maintaining creation, by the way, Colossians, But it is a recreation of salvation that he's always doing, especially on the Sabbath day. Just like he told that man, you need to be saved.

And my work of healing is to reveal salvation to you. And now he's telling this religious leaders, I am the son of God, true God, who works just like God works on the Sabbath because I am always working recreation or salvation. so instead of getting in minor scruffs fighting about the sabbath he identifies himself with god saying i am doing a re work And that is what that healing pointed to In verse 18, the Jews catch on to this. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.

Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he even called, he was calling his own father, he was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. You see, they understood that he was claiming deity. Jesus was claiming to be doing a work of deity, of being God, a recreation work, a salvific work, and he was claiming God. He was claiming equality with God.

But the thing where the Jews mix up is that they would think that he's claiming to be God in opposition to God, when really Jesus is claiming to be the son of God, that is, son with God, like nature with God, but yet as a different personhood as a son to do the work of salvation. So in conclusion, we have these perspectives of this healing, right? And even in our own perspective, we can see that's just a nice little cute picture, a story of a man being healed.

And that's true, that's what it is. But this is the Son of God, true God, true God, revealing his salvific work that he is doing in creation. His ability to take someone who is ill and sick and invalid and make him whole again. That is what's being revealed by this God-man before us. And our perspective can forget that, and we can forget that he is revealing his work of salvation in all that he does.

And whenever we have those kind of compartments where we forget those things, we then do the same thing with our own lives. And we forget that that same tenacity of the Son of God to work salvation and all that he does is happening now in your own life as a Christian. So then, do you believe that Jesus is at work, always, recreating salvation even in your life right now?

And we can fall into the trap of the man healed, that Jesus' purpose is to make my life easier by making my circumstances better, and that's it. Or like the Jewish leaders, when he doesn't act according to our standard, we are blinded to his wonderful work in our lives. We can't even see it because he's not doing what I want him to do. And so we fail to see the work of salvation that he is doing, despite the fact that it's not according to our standard.

And that's when murmuring and complaining happens as individuals. But our perspective of the work of Jesus in our lives needs to be one of salvation. Constantly, he's working salvation. Forgiveness of our sins and enjoyment and relationship with God. That is what's happening in this healing. That's what he calls on the people to see.

And now in the following verses, he's going to teach that he is the son of God who has the authority and the right to bring salvation to whom he pleases, even on the Sabbath day. Let us pray. Oh, Father, thank you for Jesus Christ the Lord. I thank you, Lord, that he is faithful to do the work that is set before him. He's faithful to reveal your salvation and the healing of the man at the pool.

He's faithful to reveal that he can make us whole and perfect by his great, powerful command. and I'm thankful, Lord, that this is exactly what he's doing even now in our own lives. Oh, forgive us, God, for so often we can be like the Jews and be blinded by the work that he's doing because it's not according to the standard that we have. We can murmur, complain.

Whether or not we want to admit it, we can at least implicitly deny that this is truly the Son of God who does his work. forgive us that we would have a heart of unbelief lord for the people before me that are struggling with murmuring and complaining as they look to jesus and yet he doesn't act in an exact way that they would like i pray lord that they would be reminded that jesus is always at work to do salvation and he's doing it even in our lives even as he allows hard circumstances to happen And Lord, I pray that as Jesus works good circumstances in our lives, we wouldn't be like this man who is healed that doesn't have a taste or an eye for Jesus, doesn't understand that there's a revealing here of something greater that we need to grab hold of. I pray that in all things we would see Jesus' hand of salvation taking place in our lives. And we would respond with worship, with belief, with awe of the Son of God who has done all things well. thank you for his powerful work thank you for his salvation and may we believe upon the son and have life in his name it's in Jesus name that we pray amen