LESSON 10 “Carry Your Own Weight” John 5:2-9 START HERE€¦ · LESSON 10 “Carry Your Own Weight” John 5:2-9 1 START HERE How is your faith? Strong? Weak? Firm? Faltering?

LESSON 10 “Carry Your Own Weight” John 5:2-9

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START HERE How is your faith? Strong? Weak? Firm? Faltering? Faith is central to our spiritual experience. We are saved by faith, grow by faith, persevere and endure through faith. Faith is much more than intellectual assent. Faith is trust, dependence, confidence. We demonstrate faith in many ways in our daily life. We have faith in doctors, teachers, airline pilots, drivers on the road. Yet, we struggle to believe in the One who has given every evidence and proof that He is completely trustworthy and never fails - our Savior, our Lord, our Father in heaven. Thankfully, we are not required to have certain amount of faith but rather, to trust with the amount of faith we have. Today’s passage demonstrates that the power of miracles lies not in the amount of faith, but in the object of our Faith. Jesus, has all power and alone can perform miracles. The man healed doesn’t portray that he is a mighty man of faith, but just as human and fleshly as we are.

ASK 1. How do you measure faith? 2. When is your faith strongest? 3. When do you struggle most to believe? 4. How do you cultivate faith? 5. Which is more important: the level of faith or the object of faith?

READ: John 5:1-18

John 5:1–18 (ESV) The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there

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and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 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 am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 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.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

18 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.

REVIEW

Context/Commentary/Background

This passage described the third of seven signs that John recorded in his Gospel that was written to prove that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah who was prophesied to take away the sins of the world. John 20:30-31, 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The first two signs were the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee(John 2:1-11)and the healing of an official’s son in Capernaum(John 4:46-54). The first sign resulted in the belief of the disciples (2:11). The second sign led the official and his household to believe in Jesus. These two signs were more localized, but his third sign becomes more public, occurring in the region of the temple and on the Sabbath day. The four signs that followed were the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and their families with five loaves of bread and the two fish (John 6:1-15), Jesus walking on water (John 6:16-21), the restoring of sight to a man who was born blind (John 9:1-41), and raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Of course these seven signs led up to the greatest demonstration that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the son of God, when he was raised from the grave (John 20:1-18).

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Commentary:

Verses 1-2: John records that Jesus attended a feast in Jerusalem. It could have been the Passover but there were two other feasts it could have been as well. “There were three annual feast days which were mandatory for Jewish males to attend if at all possible (cf. Lev. 23): (1) Passover; (2) Pentecost, and (3) the Feast of the Tabernacle. If this refers to a Passover, then Jesus had a four year public ministry instead of three (cf. 2:13, 23; 6:4: 12:1). It is traditionally held that Jesus had a three year public ministry after John’s baptism. This is ascertained by the number of Passover feasts mentioned in John’s Gospel.”1 The location of this event is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate where there was a pool called Bethesda. “When you visit St. Anne’s Church in Jerusalem, they will show you the deep excavation that has revealed the ancient Pool of Bethesda. The Hebrew name Bethesda has been spelled various ways and given differing meanings. Some say it means “house of mercy” or “house of grace,” but others say it means “place of the two outpourings.” There is historical and archeological evidence that two adjacent pools of water served this area in ancient times.”2

Verses 3-5

There is some debate whether the last part of verse 3 and all of verse 4 were included in the original manuscript. Warren Wiersbe argues for the inclusion, “While it is true that some manuscripts omit the end of John 5:3 and all of verse 4, it is also true that the event (and the man’s words in John 5:7) would make little sense if these words are eliminated. Why would anybody, especially a man sick for so many years, remain in one place if nothing special were occurring? You would think that after thirty-eight years of nothing happening to anybody, the man would go elsewhere and stop hoping! It seems wisest for us to accept the fact that

1 Utley, R. J. (1999). The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John (Vol. Volume 4, p. 50). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 304). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

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something extraordinary kept all these handicapped people at this pool, hoping for a cure.”3 The Bible Knowledge Commentary gives textual evidence that it was not in the earlies manuscripts, “The earliest manuscripts omit these words which appear to be a late insertion to explain why the pool water was “stirred” (v. 7). People believed that an angel came and stirred it. According to local tradition, the first one in the water would be healed. But the Bible nowhere teaches this kind of superstition, a situation which would be a most cruel contest for many ill people. No extant Greek manuscript before a.d. 400 contains these words.”4

What is clear and undisputed is that there was a great need, “…a multitude of invalids—blind, lame and paralyzed” were laying there. This describes the spiritual condition of people then and now. Warren Wiersbe writes, “John described these people as “impotent, blind, lame, paralyzed.” What havoc sin has wrought in this world!”5 Edwin Blum wrote, “The great number of disabled people pictures the sad spiritual plight of the world.6

Verse 5-6 Jesus didn’t choose to heal all the people but chose avman who had been there thirty-eight years and asked him what might seem to be an odd question, “Do you want to be healed?” The question was “designed to focus the man’s attention on Him, to stimulate his will, and to raise his hopes. In the spiritual realm man’s great problem is that either he does not recognize he is sick (cf. Isa. 1:5–6; Luke 5:31) or he does not want to be cured. People are often happy, for a while at least, in their sins.”7 “Exactly why Jesus chose this particular man is unknown to us. There is little faith required on this man’s part. Apparently Jesus was trying to initiate a confrontation with the Jewish leaders. This gave Him the opportunity to assert His Messianic claim.”8

Verse 7 Rather than an enthusiastic response the man gave excuses for why he could not get into the pool. “He had been in that sad condition for so long that his will was as paralyzed as


4 Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 289). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.




8 Utley, R. J. (1999). The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John (Vol. Volume 4, p. 50). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

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his body. But if you compare John 5:6 with verse 40, you will see that Jesus had a spiritual lesson in mind as well. Indeed, this man did illustrate the tragic spiritual state of the nation.”9

Verse 8 “Jesus then said … Get up! Pick up your mat and walk. His command carried with it the required enablement. As with dead Lazarus (11:43), Jesus’ word accomplished His will. This illustrates conversion. When people obey His command to believe, God works in and through His Word.”10

Verse 9 “God’s supernatural power was evident in the man’s instantaneous cure. He picked up his mat and walked. Muscles long atrophied were completely restored. Isaiah prophesied that in the days of the Messiah the lame would “leap like a deer” (Isa. 35:1–7). Here in Jerusalem was a public sign that the Messiah had come.”11

Verse 10 The most amazing miracle has just occurred publicly and yet the thing that captures the attention of the Pharisees is that it occurred on the Sabbath day and this man is breaking a sabbath ordinance. “Our Lord certainly could have come a day earlier, or even waited a day; but He wanted to get the attention of the religious leaders. Later, He would deliberately heal a blind man on the Sabbath (John 9:1–14). The scribes had listed thirty-nine tasks that were prohibited on the Sabbath, and carrying a burden was one of them. Instead of rejoicing at the wonderful deliverance of the man, the religious leaders condemned him for carrying his bed and thereby breaking the law.12

Verses 11-18 The remainder of this passage reveals that Jesus claims to be not only a great teacher or prophet, but his deity as the Son, the Messiah, sent by the Father. Jesus does have a personal encounter with the healed invalid that is important to the overall miracle and Jesus’ purpose in this man’s life. Edwin Blum writes about verses 14-15. “Jesus later found the healed man in the temple area. This implied that Jesus sought him out in order to speak to him. The ex-paralytic seemed to have no gratitude to Jesus: his conduct put him in a bad light. Jesus’ warning (Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you) does not mean that his paralysis was caused by any specific sin (cf. 9:3), though all disease and death come ultimately from sin. The warning was that his tragic life of 38 years as an invalid was no




12 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 304–305). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

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comparison to the doom of hell. Jesus is interested not merely in healing a person’s body. Far more important is the healing of his soul from sin.”13

Content

1) Make your faith matter.

Faith involves trust and obedience. Scripture calls faith, “…the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) In this story, Jesus is asking the man to do something that he had never done before or that he was capable of doing by himself. It required a lot of faith. Getting up and walking is a task he knew he couldn’t do alone. He needed Jesus. He didn’t need the Pool of Bethesda, but realized all he needed is Jesus. The lame man risked failing, having faith he put it into action.

We must all learn the same lesson as the lame man. We must be willing to take responsibility for, and own our faith. We must be willing to make our faith matter by acting on it.

ASK 1. What is your greatest faith struggle? 2. How does Jesus’ healing of this lame man encourage you? Challenge you? 3. How does this story of Jesus healing a man who was crippled and unable to walk for 38

years affect your faith?


Faith is only expressed as a verb because faith never exists apart from action.

-Pastor Glynn

When it comes to our faith, we’re accustomed to having someone else laying it all out for us. It’s time to carry our own weight. -Pastor Glynn

-Pastor Glynn

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2) Make your day better.

Jesus told the man to pick up his mat (v. 8). After being healed and standing for the first time, the man could have been so overwhelmed that he ran off leaping for joy, but he remembered the command of Jesus to pick up his mat. Faith requires an action and we must take personal responsibility. Think back on the stories where God used a common man for His glory in unbelievable ways. Each time this happened, God required faith from them. He required them to step into action and take personal responsibility.

In 2014, Admiral William McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas in Austin as the Commencement Address speaker. This message, which is now known as the “Make Your Bed” speech, went viral over the Internet and social media immediately following its release. His message of personal responsibility was clear and simple. Admiral McRaven was able to verbalize how doing the small things, like making your bed, and doing them well can eventually impact our world in a huge way.

We all need to own our faith a little more each and every day.

ASK 1. What part of life do you find it most difficult to exhibit faith? 2. How does taking care of the little things in life (personal responsibility) eventually turn

into what shapes the bigger things?

3) Make your life count.

After laying there beside the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years, there is no doubt that the lame man questioned the purpose of his life. He didn’t know Jesus. He only knew his disability, mat and hopelessness. Everyone around him saw it too. Day-after- day they knew him as the lame man that had been there for years. By his words, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up…,” it seems he didn’t have many friends either.

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” Psalm 118:24

Spiritual maturity is not about how much we know; it’s about how much we obey. Waiting is the test God invariably uses on the servants he intends to use most. You can't skip endurance on the way to character development. -Pastor Glynn

“If you want to change the world … start off by making your bed.”

-Admiral William H. McRaven

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Jesus knew him and He loved him. Jesus was the only one that could help him. The lame man was living without purpose and Jesus wanted to give him the ability to walk and the purpose for living.

What about you? Do you know why you are here? Why you have been created? Why you are living now, in this time and in this place?

In his book The Purpose Driven Life, author and pastor, Rick Warren begins his book with the words, “It’s not about you.” Later he goes on to say, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

May we keep our eyes on Jesus and never give up. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

REFLECT 1. Why might people with deep personal problems not want to be healed? 2. When is hope a threat that frightens rather than a blessing that excites? 3. What in your life might feel threatening if you knew it could be healed? 4. Do you feel more hopeful or hopeless as you think of your greatest challenges? 5. How would you encourage a brother or sister who seems to be struggling in their

faith based on this story?

RESPOND Ponder the three points from this week’s lesson. The challenge is simple, think about 2 or 3 action steps that will require a dependence and faith on God. Begin to live those out.

Jesus saved you to be a contributor not a consumer. There is responsibility for us to lean into our faith. -Pastor Glynn

Documents

LESSON 10 “Carry Your Own Weight” John 5:2-9 START HERE€¦ · LESSON 10 “Carry Your Own Weight” John 5:2-9 1 START HERE How is your faith? Strong? Weak? Firm? Faltering?