See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you

 

 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  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.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 remaining two days with the Samaritans, Jesus 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!"  So 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 that marks the setting of today's reading is considered to be the Old Testament Pentecost, which is also called the "Feast of Weeks."  It celebrates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  My study Bible says that this understanding is confirmed by the references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter.  

 

  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, and believed to have curative powers, as the text indicates.  My study Bible reports that this pool has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.   It is a high-ground pool, and its water came from underground springs.  It was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs prior to them being slain.  My study Bible remarks that the pool functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, there was a great multitude waiting to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters are special, it notes, because they were a way of indirect participation in the animal sacrifices of the temple, as the animals were washed in the same water.  But this grace is limited to the first person to enter.  In the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations and as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6).  This happens also without the mediation of angels.  So, my study Bible concludes, baptism grants healing of the soul and the promise of 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 cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary.  St. Chrysostom says that Jesus singled out the man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles which last 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 notes that Christ's question is relevant for many 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 person into the water?  Next, Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This need is fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became a Man to heal all.  Finally, not all people who are ill actually desire healing.  It is a sad statement, but true, that some might prefer to remain infirm for certain things experienced as "benefits."  It gives one license to complain, to avoid responsibility for one's life, or to continue drawing the sympathy 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.  My study Bible comments that although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22, and it is explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  It notes also that it's made clear that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath by Christ's command ("Take up your bed and walk") and also by the man's obedience.  (See also Matthew 12:1-8.)  As we will see frequently in John's Gospel, the use of the term the Jews here refers to the religious leaders and not to the people in general; all the characters in our reading are Jews, as is the author of the Gospel.  My study Bible asks us to note the malice of these leaders, who focus only on the Sabbath violation, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but they ignore completely his miraculous 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."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  My study Bible remarks on the fact that this man was found in the temple; it notes that this shows his great faith, as he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than leaving for someone's home or the marketplace.  Jesus admonishes him to sin no more:  my study Bible comments that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), this connection is not always one-to-one, as the innocent frequently suffer, and the guilty are frequently spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  But, nonetheless, there are times when our own sins lead to our own suffering in a worldly sense.  According to St. Chrysostom, this was the case with this man and his paralysis.  Jesus' warning, however, is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body; our hope is to flee from sin altogether.  Additionally, this man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a way that is malicious, but rather as a witness to His work.  Although these leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, this healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says 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.  Here my study  Bible comments that when Jesus declares God to be My Father, the Jews (that is, the religious leaders) quite clearly know that this implies absolute equality.  The discourse by Jesus begun here will continue in our following reading.

In today's reading we are given the third of seven signs in John's Gospel; they are signs of the kingdom of God being extraordinarily present in the Person of Jesus Christ.  My study Bible comments that this healing exemplifies the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.  It seems important to note that, once the man is healed of his paralysis, Jesus also teaches him, ""See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  This is a distinct warning.  To avoid sinning is to avoid a "worse thing" to come upon him.  One must pause to wonder why this is so.  We might think, in effect, that the grace of God is something that is given but that also can be taken away.  But Christ's words regarding sin indicate that such a "worse thing" would be due to a kind of spurning of grace.  After all, it is God and God's grace that has made this man well.  To therefore go forward not seeking to avoid sin would be in some sense to spurn and reject God -- even after this great grace of healing has been given to the man.  Therefore, to go forward without the effort to avoid sin would be not to set out on a path of righteousness, or a deeper relationship with God.  God has come to the man, but to go forward and resume a healthy life without seeking to avoid sin would be in a sense throwing away that relationship offered by God.  In this way, a "worse thing" could come upon him, for a deliberate rejection of what we know is good, of grace that has been given to us, will have consequences.  In this sense, we have to see Christ's healing as wholeness, and as making the man whole, for we are not only a material body divorced from soul and spirit, but to be understood as a whole person.  We need to see ourselves as whole in this sense of completeness.  If we divorce the notion of our body from all that we are, we remain a kind of abstract being, not whole and not real.  We ignore the true importance of our bodies as temples of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), and thus we lack an understanding of what constitutes our own "wholeness."  So when we think about what it means to be truly "whole" as a person, and to be truly healthy, we cannot exempt our journey toward God, our walk with faith.  For life goes on, even after a healing, and to forget about how we need to live our lives is to forget about what we truly need in life, and what it is that makes us whole -- even what it is to be a whole person.  We go forward and life moves on, and as Jesus indicates here, we always need to consider in what direction we are going.  For this is what gives us real health, and the wholeness of who we are.