Rise, take up your bed and walk

 

 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 a 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  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.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 that after the two days with the Samaritans, Christ 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.   The feast to which Jesus goes in this chapter is traditionally understood to be the Old Testament Pentecost (which is also called the "Feast of Weeks).  It is a celebration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this fifth chapter of John confirm this interpretation.  

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 a 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 was believed to have curative powers.   My study bible reports that it has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.   The water for this high-ground pool was from underground springs.  It was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  My study bible adds that the pool 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.  These waters were special in that they offered a way to indirectly participate in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But that is a limited grace, only for the first person to enter.    Under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), without the mediation of angels.  Baptism, therefore, grants healing of the soul and the promise of the eternal resurrection of the body, and its grace is inexhaustible.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  My study bible says that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus singles out this particular man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance, and also as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.

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."  My study bible comments that Christ's question is relevant for several reasons.  First, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation that was seemingly hopeless, for how could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Second, the Lord draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This was fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became human in order to heal all.  Third, it says, not everybody who is ill actually desires to be healed.  Some sadly might prefer to remain infirm for various reasons, such as in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to attract the pity of others.

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.  The Law itself doesn't specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, but it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22, and also in rabbinical teachings.  My study bible explains that it is made clear that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath by His command to "Rise, take up your bed and walk," and also by the man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  As we have noted before in John's Gospel, we must keep in mind that the term Jews often is used as a political label, and refers to the leaders (as in these verses) and not to the people in general.  My study bible suggests that we notice the malice of these leaders, for their focus is solely on the violation of the Sabbath, asking the man specifically "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but altogether ignoring his miraculous healing, and after so many long years of infirmity. 

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 comments on the fact that this healed man was found in the temple, and that it shows his great faith -- for he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than leaving for someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him to sin no more:  although there is a connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), my study bible says that this connection isn't always one-to-one, for the innocent frequently suffer, and the guilty are also often spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  But nevertheless, there are times when our own sins lead to our own suffering in this world.  St. John Chrysostom indicates that this was the case with this paralytic.  But Christ's warning is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  The only hope is to flee from sin altogether.  

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   My study bible indicates that this man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to the goodness of God.  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 saying nothing about carrying 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.   That Jesus declares God to be His Father is a clear implication of absolute equality, which the religious leaders recognize.  

Let us think about this man who was healed by the side of the pool at the Sheep Gate.  Can we imagine waiting someplace for thirty-eight years in the small hope of being healed by the water?  That is, in the small hope of being healed at that sometime point when the waters are stirred, and also needing someone to help us get to the pool when we are unable to walk, and so there are always people in front of us?  Imagine needing to be first into that pool, at that specific time, and with an infirmity that makes us unable to walk on our own.  You have then a picture of what my study bible calls the faint hope of healing under the Old Covenant, as compared to the New, which is offered for all.  What does it mean to us, as modern people in our own time and place, that Christ becomes that Person who is there to help this man to become whole?  He doesn't help him into the water, but He heals with a word, with a command for this man to "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  One might wonder that possibly at the mere command of Christ the impossible becomes possible:  at the call or command of the Creator all creation responds.  But this healing is permanent, not temporary.  But we must note what happens later on in the temple, when Jesus tells this believing man, who is grateful to God, that he must not sin:  "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   To my mind, this tells us a great deal not simply about faith, but also about the very "way we walk" in our own lives.  In order to retain the healing Christ gives to us, the forward movements in our lives, we need to be in a certain place, spiritually speaking.  We need to occupy a place in which we earnestly seek to remain aware of that love of God always pulling us into a particular place of faith, a prayerful connection to God.  What Jesus is essentially telling this man is that he must remain mindful of who he is, how God healed him, and also of the place into which Jesus has pulled him, in a communion of faith with Christ.  Jesus is saying to him that he must remain aware of his connection to God in order to continue to walk in a healed way.  To allow sin to come back into his life will be somehow dangerous; it will be to open back up to the forces that made him infirm and which debilitate our lives and distract us from God.  It will be sliding backward from the road upon which Christ has put him by having compassion on him and healing him.  It is to take God for granted, and to forget that although we are healed by grace, there is also our own part to play in our healing.  It seems to be a great metaphor in the story for our own lives, that no matter where we have come on our journey of faith, there is no such thing as backsliding for us as believers, that God will always call us forward.  Christ does not just give us one command, but asks to walk with us continually.  Our attention and our prayer is necessary.  Our communion with God might be the most important thing that keeps us on a road to physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual health.  Our communion with God always calls us deeply into participation in something that demands our attention, asks us to make room for God, and to try to keep out whatever it is that would pull us off course.  Grace is not a cheap gift:  it is a living and true reality in which we participate.  Lent is simply the time for us to pay attention to that gift and to delve more deeply into it.  It's for this reason that we practice fasting at this time, and we increase our prayer.  We set aside time to dive into our faith, to plunge within more deeply into relationship to renew our communion with God, and to live again with Christ the story of His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  What ails you?  What are you going through?  Or what are you healed from that you don't want to come back?  How is God calling you?  Set aside time for God, and let whatever needs to be played out in your own life take shape by participation in His life, as we look toward the Resurrection.