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 had already 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  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.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 had 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 remaining two days with the Samaritans (see the readings from Saturday and Monday), He departed from there 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 also had 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 he 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.  We understand this feast to be the Old Testament Pentecost (which is also called the Feast of Weeks), celebrating the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses in this chapter are seen by tradition to affirm this interpretation.

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 was a double-basin pool, which has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this pool on high ground came from underground springs; it was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  My study bible notes that this pool functions as a "type" of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, it says, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But grace here is limited to the first person to enter.  Under the new covenant, baptism is given is given to all nations as direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), without the mediation of angels.  Therefore baptism grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body.  Its grace is inexhaustible.  Moreover, the stirring of the water by the angel is also a sign regarding the Feast of Weeks, as it is understood that Moses was given the Law through mediation by angels; whereas the Incarnation gave humanity direct contact and revelation by the Son.  As we read in the Prologue to this Gospel, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (1:17).

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Jesus singled out this man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance.  Also, it functions as a kind of judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.  Let us understand that for this period, thirty-eight years could well constitute a lifetime.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already 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.  My study bible lists several reasons for the relevance of Christ's question to the paralyzed man.  First, it made public the fact that this sick man kept his faith even in circumstances that were seemingly hopeless.  How could a paralytic be the first into the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water, and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This man is fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became human to heal all people.  Also, Christ asking this question illustrates that not all ill people truly want healing.  Some prefer to remain infirm for all kinds of reasons; such as, for example, the enjoyment of complaining, avoiding responsibility, or obtaining the pity of others.  This is true of spiritual healing as well; those who truly desire the grace Christ offers will also be called to the struggle of bearing of one's own cross in a particular way.

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.  My study bible says that the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath.  But it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22, and explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  Here again is an illustration of the difference between the Law and the fullness of the Incarnation.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is expressed by His command ("Take up your bed and walk") and by the man's obedience.  Once again, it must be noted that the term the Jews in John's Gospel is used like a political term, to denote the leadership and not to the people in general (all the people in this story are Jews).  What is most noteworthy is the malice of the leaders.  They focus only on the violation of the Sabbath, asking "Who is the Man who said to you, Take up your bed'?" and ignoring the good news of the man's healing altogether.

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 notes that the fact that this man was found in the temple shows his great faith.  He had gone there directly in order to thank God for his cure, rather than leaving for someone's home or the marketplace to reveal to all his good news.  Jesus tells him to sin no more.  My study bible explains that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), the connection isn't always direct or one-to-one.  The innocent often suffer in our world, and the guilty are frequently spared worldly sufferings (see also 9:1-3).  However, there are times when our own sins lead directly to our suffering in this world.   St. Chrysostom comments that this was the case with this paralytic.  But my study bible indicates that Christ's warning here is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a worse result than afflictions of the body.  The real hope is to flee from sin altogether.  There is an additional perspective on Christ's warning; and that would be that to sin in forgetfulness of God's mercy to him would be a spiritual rejection of his healing, a spurning of the gift given by God.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus had had made him well.  This man does not maliciously report Jesus to the leadership, but rather he is witnessing to the goodness of Christ.  Even though the leaders are 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 the command to carry his bed.

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.  In tomorrow's reading, the dialogue will continue with the leadership, as Jesus continues to express the unity between Himself and the Father.  This statement of equality with God, whom Jesus calls My Father,  is an outrage to the religious leadership.

The place where our healing comes from is truly the reconciliation of all things; that is in the Reconciler, Christ Himself.  In today's reading are elements of the Law and the giving of the Law.  The angel that stirs up the waters is a reminder of how the Law comes to be given to the Jews, as preparation for the fullness of the revelation of Christ, God and man.  In the Incarnation itself is the reconciliation of God and man.  St. Gregory Nazianzinus has written, "What has not been assumed has not been healed," referring to the Incarnation; that is, to the complete assumption in Christ of the full nature of human beings, in every dimension.  Therefore, in the Incarnation itself, we see the healing of human beings.  This paralyzed man, seemingly simply waiting for Christ, has been hoping for his chance of divine healing for thirty-eight years, a full lifetime for his place and time.  As preparation for the Christ, the Law was given.  This is the way the Church views the old covenant.  Moreover, as Scripture tells us that there are angels given to every nation, we can also in the same sense view whatever good, true, and beautiful teaching from every culture as a preparation for the fullness of the healing that is offered in Christ.  We await, the world awaits, as did this man for thirty-eight years, the appearance of the fullness of the manifestation of Christ -- not simply God, but God and human, God Incarnate.  That is, God who has become one of us in order to fully heal us and teach us what a unified life looks like.  He comes to give us grace and truth, and of all its fullness, an overflowing of grace for grace.  And at the same time He warns us, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  He teaches us not to take this grace for granted, and to ignore it at our own peril.  What has come near to us, this Kingdom in the Person of Jesus Christ, is not something to be taken lightly.  It is not an offer we'd be well off to spurn.  Moreover, the world may challenge us for our own healing.  Walking the pathway of Christ is not going to be easy or simple.  It is meant to be a struggle and a challenge, for we enter into His struggle and challenge He chose for us when He was born as human being, and walking in His ministry toward the Cross.  Perhaps it is partly for this reason that Jesus asks, "Do you want to be made well?"  When we are well, we may see things more clearly -- including the things in our lives that challenge that wellness, that may reach up in envy to snatch it away, belittle it, ridicule it, or tear it down because it challenges others also to choose wellness for themselves.  We may consider that in some sense we live in a sick world.  A sick world is one that can be healed, capable of living and supporting healthy life, and made for the good, for the peace and joy that Christ brings (14:27; 15:11).  To ask this question, however, asks us to step into a place where we carry our own cross, and take up the responsibility for being healed and made whole.  We will view things in a different way than those who do not seek nor cherish Christ's peace and joy within themselves, from those in whom irresponsibility results in tearing down what they cannot and do not wish to understand.  If all of this seems bleak, let us consider what life is like without Christ's mercy, without grace and truth.   In Mark's Gospel, Jesus responds to all of this Himself.  Pertinent to today's reading, He reminds us again of the mission of the angels, when He tells us, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:35-38).  All the witnesses of Scripture testify to the worthiness of the gift, and the struggle to cherish and uphold it by our lives and how we choose to live by His light.