Do you want to be made well?

 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, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 

- John 5:1-18

Yesterday we read that after the two days He departed from Samaria and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in His own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they had also gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 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, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This feast is considered to be the Feast of Weeks, or the Old Testament Pentecost.  It is a celebration of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter confirm this interpretation, my study bible tells us.  It notes that the double-basin pool referred to here, which was believed to have curative powers, has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs and was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  One understanding is that it functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, as the animals were washed in the same water.  But the grace was limited to the first person to enter.  However, under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), and is done so without the mediation of angels.  Baptism therefore grants the healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body.  Its grace is inexhaustible.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   St. John Chrysostom cites that Jesus singled out this man, who had waited for thirty-eight years, in order to teach all of us perseverance, and also as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.  Jesus asks the man, "Do you want to be made well?" for possibly several reasons.  First, it makes public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation that seemed hopeless.  How could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need that we have for someone to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ Himself, my study bible says, who became human in order to heal all.  My study bible also notes that not everybody who is ill truly desires healing.  Sadly, some may prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, or possibly to avoid some particular responsibility, or to elicit the pity of others.  This miraculous healing is the third sign given in John's Gospel.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, my study bible says, it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:27, and also explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear by His command ("Take up your bed and walk"), and also by the man's obedience.  We make note again that, as is most often the case in John's Gospel, the term Jews here is used as a sort of political term, and refers to the leaders and not to the people in general.  All of the people in the story are Jews, including Jesus and the healed man (and John, the author of the Gospel).  The malice of the leadership is noteworthy; they focus only on the violation of the Sabbath, quizzing the healed man only about who told him, "Take up your bed."  They ignore altogether his extraordinary healing.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   My study bible tells us that the fact that the man was found in the temple shows his great faith.  He had gone there directly to thank God for his cure, rather than departing to someone's home or to the marketplace.  To sin no more is an admonition which we can take on several levels.  First of all, this man is the recipient of the grace of God; to further sin would be like a rejection of the gift, an unawareness of where his healing comes from.   My study bible notes that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), it's not always a one-to-one event, as the innocent often suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings (see in addition 9:1-3).  But there are times when our sins do lead to our own suffering in this world.  According to St. John Chrysostom, such is the case with this healed paralytic.  Christ's warning here seems to be suggesting that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  In any case, our great hope is to flee from sin altogether.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.   The man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to Christ's goodness, my study bible says.  Even though these leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.   To declare that God is My Father implies that Jesus is equal with God, which the leadership clearly understands.

 Elements of today's reading give us a sense of some responsibility in terms of our own lives and healings.  That is, Christ seems to indicate to this man in various ways the responsibility that he bears within his own condition, and even within the relationship to Christ.  He is first of all asked, "Do you want to be made well?"  It might seem rather obvious in the context of the story that the man wanted to be made well -- he'd been waiting there presumably for decades for someone to help him into the water.  But, as my study bible points out, it isn't obvious at all.  There are all kinds of ways in which we may somewhat paradoxically benefit (perhaps in "hidden" ways) from remaining in an unhealed condition, whether that be spiritual, mental, physical, or emotional.  There are hidden perks to situations that are seemingly impossible to reconcile with well-being.  The question itself conveys a kind of responsibility for making up our own minds what we truly want, and for asking that of God.  It is a way to be shaken into taking inventory, to be made conscious of where we stand, so to speak.  After Jesus heals the man, He next finds him in the temple.  This conveys another kind of responsibility:  the man has gone to the temple to thank God for the gift of his healing.  He knows where grace has come from, he knows what dependency he has upon God.  This is another stage of responsibility; had he not been in the temple, Jesus would not have found him again.  It is a level of acknowledgement of the reality of his circumstances that this healed man has come there to the temple.  But Jesus also builds on that choice and responsibility by telling him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  There is a level of spiritual responsibility that Jesus conveys to this man, that he is in a place where he must take responsibility for actions and choices -- and even for his own health and well-being.  In some sense, to continue to sin would be to flaunt God's help and grace, to slide into a place of forgetfulness and apathy about his condition.  The grace of God -- Jesus' help and healing -- should have a way of waking him up to the urgency of the time, of the moment, and the need to stay awake and focused.  We could liken it to the consciousness required in recovery for all kinds of issues and problems.  Jesus' words are not just an idle warning.  He never wastes words, and certainly not commands such as this one.  They are a call to awareness.  Have you had a wake up call?  Do you know when grace has been active in your life?  Have you ever been given a second, third, or fourth chance?  May we all awaken to His warnings and commands, and take our lives as seriously as He indicates we must.