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  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.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 

 

 Now after two days following Christ's reception of the townspeople in Samaria, 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.   So far in John's Gospel, Jesus has attended one festival, and that was the Passover (see this reading).  According to patristic teaching, this feast is the Old Testament Pentecost, which is also called the Feast of Weeks.  It celebrates the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter, my study Bible comments, 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 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 double-basin pool, my study Bible explains, was believed to have curative powers.  It has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.   The water for this high-ground pool flowed from underground springs.  It was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  My study Bible comments that this 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 [stirred up the water].  These waters were special in that they were a way of participating indirectly in the animal sacrifices of the temple, as the animals were washed in the same water.  But, my study Bible notes, the grace was limited to the first person to enter.  But 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 thus 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, who teaches that Jesus singled out this man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance; it's also a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in far 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."  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 comments that Christ's question to this man is relevant for several reasons.  First, it makes 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 first into the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water and focuses it toward the need we have for a man to help us.  He is that Man; and fulfills this human need, as He became Man to heal all.  Finally, not everyone who is ill actually desires healing.  My study Bible notes that sadly, there are some who may prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to provoke the pity of others.  

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.     John, the author of the Gospel was himself a Jew, as were all of Christ's disciples and Jesus as well.  My study Bible comments on this passage 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.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear by is command ("Take up your bed and walk") and also by the man's obedience as he immediately did so (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  We should note once again that the term the Jews is most often used in John's Gospel to designate the religious leaders in the temple, and not the people.  My study Bible asks us to notice the malice of these leaders.  They focus only on the violation of the Sabbath, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, Take up your bed'?"  -- at the same time, they completely ignore the 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."  My study Bible remarks upon the fact that this man was found in the temple.  It shows his great faith, it notes, because this man had gone there directly to thank God for his cure, rather than departing to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells the man to "sin no more."  My study Bible comments upon this that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), the connection is not always one-to-one.  The innocent frequently suffer, and often the guilty are spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  Nonetheless, sometimes our sins lead directly to our own suffering in this world.  According to St. John Chrysostom, the latter 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, my study Bible says.  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.    This man does not report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a malicious way, my study Bible comments, but rather he is a witness to Christ's goodness.  Even though the religious leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, this healed man give emphasis to the fact that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing to them 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.  Jesus declares God to be My Father, and these religious leaders clearly understand the implication of absolute equality.  As our readings continue, Jesus will give a discourse in the following verses regarding this relationship of Father and Son.  But let us note for now the emphasis on working, and Christ's particular mission in working the work of the Father as well.  

Today's reading gives us the third sign of seven in John's Gospel.  My study Bible states that it exemplifies the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.  It is interesting to consider this in light of Christ's attitude toward healing which is expressed in today's reading.  Let us note that it gives us pause to think about what wholeness means exactly.  In a modern context we often think of healing in purely material terms.  When we come down with a certain malady, we take the prescribed medicine for it and expect to be cured.  But the truth is that even modern science must recognize there is more to healing than simply physical ailments healed by material medicine.  The level of stress a person is under, for example, is widely understood to influence all kinds of physical ailments, their degree of intensity, and our ability to heal.  This emotional core as one pillar of well-being certainly affects everything else.  Add to that the spiritual element of healing and we start to take in a recipe for wholeness, for surely spiritual well-being is part of the key to emotional health as well.  We cannot really separate any of these components one from the other, when it comes to the wholeness and health of a human being.  Environment plays a role too, as beauty and our capacity to enjoy it certainly plays a role in overall health and healing, and so does our attitude, particularly one that encompasses an active power of gratitude deliberately sought and cultivated.  There are endless ways in which these components of health can influence and be augmented in order to help healing within another dimension of our whole being:  we're not divided into separate pieces, but rather each has some influence upon the other.  But Jesus today ties in healing with the spiritual state of the soul, and in particular our relationship to or participation in sin.  It makes sense if we think of our participation in the life of Christ as participation in God's energies, which is another term for grace.  At the same time, we might consider what kind of energies we participate in when we engage in sinful behavior that cultivates bad habits, addictions, practices that are harmful, isolating, self-destructive, or socially harmful.  This subject is tied to today's reading, for Jesus suggests that this healed paralytic's future well-being is dependent upon his attitude toward sin and his own participation in it.  In many ways, sin is likened in theological or spiritual terms to paralysis.  We're said to be "stuck" in our spiritual path when sin becomes a habit we can't break, similar to addiction.  It becomes an inhibition to spiritual growth and maturity; we cannot progress in terms of our participation in the life Christ desires for us.  Without our own repentance of some kind and on some level, we don't go forward into the well-being Christ has for us, and the next step we might move onto in the journey of our faith.  In this sense of journey, sin sets us back.  An indulgence in a bad habit, such as gossip, can inhibit a better life, a better outlook, progress in terms of spiritual well-being.  Self-destruction is a long, long road with a lot of detours and possible outcomes, none of them taking us to real wholeness, and each a part of that "wide way" Christ warns about in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14.  Let's note that part of the positive signs of healing of this man in today's reading is his practice of gratitude, that he was found in the temple to thank God for his healing.  It is in this context that Jesus also warns him not to go backward or invite trouble back into his life, by telling him, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  Perhaps we should also take into account the notion that by forgetting about God, by indulging again in some sin in that forgetfulness, he will in fact be practicing ingratitude, and losing his spiritual ground he's gained.  If it's true that we reap what we sow, perhaps we all might consider what we sow and how we sow, and what outcomes we want in this spiritual sense that does indeed touch upon all other things in our lives.  Consider also how common it is that we encounter those who face their own ailments with faith and the practice of that faith.  It's not so much about a physical outcome as it is about our spiritual place in which we find ourselves.  Illness can also be a metaphor for spiritual struggle, and a very real place to struggle for faith regardless of material outcome.  If we in the Church recognize the martyrs of periods of persecution for our faith, perhaps we should come to terms also with modern martyrdoms in the often heroic struggle for faith midst the difficulties of illness and suffering of a physical sort.  Spiritual struggle around illness, and even death, in my experience, is a very real and powerful thing.  There is no time in which we forget about God, and how we are to go through the moments of our lives, and the best choices we can make for spiritual well-being through it all -- and even how such choices affect others.  Let us strengthen our spiritual lives at all times, and help others who may be struggling to do so as well.  Perhaps our most important choice is to continue the spiritual struggle midst the setbacks, hurts, and difficulties of life in an imperfect world -- and maybe this is the real crux of our faith.  In this context, the question, "Do you want to be made well?" takes on all kinds of meanings and possible responses.  Let us consider all the ways it might be answered, at all times. 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

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.  

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.

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.

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 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 him, '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 spending two days with the townspeople at Jacob's well in Samaria He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet had 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 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 in this chapter is considered to be the Feast of Weeks, the Old Testament Pentecost, which celebrates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter confirm the 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 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, believed to have curative powers.  My study bible tells us that it 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.  This pool functions as a "type" of Christian baptism, my study bible adds.  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 were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But this grace was limited to the first person to enter.  In the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as direct participation in Christ's sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), without the mediation of angels.  Thereby, baptism gives healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, with a grace that 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.   This is the third sign of seven in John's Gospel.  According to commentary by St. John Chrysostom, this man who had waited for thirty-eight years was singled out by Jesus in order to teach us perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles that last a far shorter time.  Jesus asks, "Do you want to be healed?" for several reasons.  First it makes clear to all the fact that this man kept his faith even in a situation that seemed hopeless.  How could a paralytic be the first into the water?  Secondly, Jesus draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for someone to help us.  This "someone" is fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became Man, says my study bible, in order to heal all.  Finally, and importantly, not everyone who is ill actually desires healing.  There are those who prefer to remain infirm in order to complain, avoid responsibility for their lives, or continue exciting the pity of others, each a kind of "currency" in itself.   The question also invites a kind of prayer; regardless of the fact that Jesus knows all about us, and knows better than we do what we actually need, we often find in the Gospels that He asks of those who benefit from His grace to state exactly what they desire.

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 him, '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 does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, but this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:27.  It is also explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is clear from His command ("Rise, take up your bed and walk") and by the man's immediate obedience.  (See also Matthew 12:1-8.)  We note once again that John uses the term Jews to refer to the leadership and not to the people in general (after all, all the characters here, including Jesus, are Jews).  My study bible points us to the malice of these leaders:  all they focus on is the Sabbath violation, wanting to find "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but ignoring altogether this man's extraordinary and joyous 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."  That this man was found by Jesus in the temple shows his great faith, says my study bible.  He had gone there directly to thank God for his cure, rather than departing to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him, "Sin no more" as a way of affirming the divine help he's been given, and maintaining this communion with God.  My study bible adds that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), it's not always one-to-one, because in our world the innocent often suffer and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings.  Sometimes, however, our sins do lead directly to our own suffering in the world.  For St. John Chrysostom, this was the case with the paralytic.  But Christ's warning also teaches us that the sins that destroy the soul give us a worse result than affliction of the body.  Our 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.   This man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to the goodness of Christ.  Even those these leaders were only interested in the violation of Sabbath, the healed man asserts that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.  The leaders understand that Jesus' words imply absolute equality with God. 

Here we have a miraculous pool, with a sort of "enchanted" quality to modern ears, one in which the sheep are bathed for the sacrifice.  There are many who desire to go down into it; all are waiting to be first, because it is only the first who is said to be healed.  We are given an image of the desperation of mankind for help and assistance, some kind of holy water or bath which can help them, available in this basin only once in awhile -- and only for the first one in.  There is competition here, and limitation, and loss, and heartbreak, and even a kind of injustice.  (Why are not all healed?)  But Christ comes offering the living water He spoke of to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (see readings from Saturday and Monday).  He comes with a grace which, as my study bible says, is inexhaustible.  It's for all people.  He offers a kind of faith, a steadfast love that won't let go.  It's also important that we think back to something else He told the Samaritan woman, that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."  In this kind of relationship, this kind of worship in spirit and truth, one need not be only in one particular place and at one particular time.  Rather it is God who determines those times and places, and God is limited by nothing.  The grace of the living water that Jesus brings into the world in not only inexhaustible, it is unlimited by any worldly reality.  It is reliant only on God and on our communion with God.  It's important to note that Jesus asks the man in today's reading if he wants to be healed.  Certainly a man waiting there for decades seems to want to be healed!  But being able to articulate what we want from God is part of our communion.  Jesus lets us know this is not a one-sided relationship:  we have our part to play, we must engage with God ourselves, we must seek dialogue.  It is in that communion that we know God's love, and that we find ourselves.  Let us remember the inexhaustible grace that comes from this love, that the One who is sent to us brings.

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 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 Jesus spent with the Samaritans from the region of Jacob's well (see readings from Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), 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 can 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 traditional interpretation of this passage holds that Jesus goes to the feast of the Old Testament Pentecost (or "Feast of Weeks"), called Shavu'ot in Hebrew (see these readings).  This commemorates the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses found later in the chapter affirm 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 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 is a double-basin pool which was believed to have curative powers.  It has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate, says my study bible.  The water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs.  It was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  It functions as a type of Christian baptism.  My study bible teaches that under the old covenant (as portrayed in the text), a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special in the sense that they were a way of indirect participation in the animal sacrifices of the temple, as the animals were washed in this same water.  This grace was limited to the first person who entered.  The new covenant gives baptism that is given to all nations as direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of angels.  Baptism thereby grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, and grace inexhaustible.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  Let us consider what we're told here:  thirty-eight years of suffering.  My study bible cites Chrysostom's commentary, that Jesus singled out this man in order to teach all of us to have perseverance.  It's a kind of judgment against losing hope or patience, particularly 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."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  This is the third sign in John's Gospel.  My study bible tells us that Jesus' question ("Do you want to be made well?")  is relevant for several reasons.  First, it makes public the fact that the sick man has kept his faith even in a situation that was seemingly hopeless.   How could a paralytic ever be first into the pool?  Secondly, the Lord takes attention away from the water itself and focuses more on the need we have for someone to help us ("I have no man to put me into the pool," says the paralytic).  This person is Christ, who became human to heal all.  Finally, not everyone who is ill truly desires healing.  Sometimes there are "benefits" to illness to which we may become attached.  For instance, it gives "license" to complain, or to avoid responsibility for one's life, or to continue exciting the pity of others.  It is even possible that avoiding healing becomes a way of ignoring the disease itself and avoiding discovery of what (and Who) we truly need.

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'?"  My study bible says that although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:27, and specifically forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear by His command to "take up your bed and walk" and also by the man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  We note once again that in John's Gospel, "the Jews" here refers to the leadership and not to the people in general.  The Gospels really tell us, as so much of the Old Testament does, about the failure of leadership to be true shepherds to the people.  Here, their concern is with their own authority, looking for a violation with which they may accuse.  They want to know who told the paralytic to "take up his bed and walk," and yet ignore completely his 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 says the fact that this 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 the marketplace.  To "sin no more" seems to me to be an injunction regarding the true honoring of God particularly in response to this healing by grace.  His report to the leadership that Jesus is the one who heals him isn't done maliciously.  Rather it's as witness to Christ's goodness, says my study bible.  Even though the leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well -- he 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.  This will become the basis for further persecution of Jesus; it is clearly understood by the leadership that His statements imply equality.  In our next reading, Jesus' discourse will continue, elaborating on the cooperative nature of His divine "work."

As in yesterday's reading, which gave us the healing of the nobleman's son, in today's reading we are also taught about faith.  This paralytic has been ill for thirty-eight years.  He awaits, with the others by the Sheep Gate, the stirring of the waters.  Perhaps all this time he's only been waiting for Christ, the One who truly helps Him, as my study bible pointed out.  He shows His faith in returning to the temple to thank God for his healing.  And he's a witness, who testifies to Christ's gift to him.  This is a good example to us, an understanding of right relationship to Christ.  He seeks the glory of God first -- not to celebrate or use the gift for some form of personal gain.  Perhaps it is just in our capacity to understand our lives and the good things in our lives as true gifts is a great clue here.  If we begin to understand "gift" then we start to relate properly to Christ in the sense that we begin to make real sense of grace.  There are countless self-help articles, psychology suggestions, and studies affirming the power of gratitude for our health.  But it's important also to know that gratitude gives us the capacity to recognize not only what is at work in our lives, but also to shift our perspective to know the nature and right relationship we need to what is really all around us.  In this is contained a world of wonder and beauty and delight, something that adds infinitely to our lives.  To honor our Creator is to begin to know love and grace.  That this man is found in the temple is a way of understanding his gratitude for life, for the blessing of being healed, and the glory of the God of Israel.  He isn't confused about Jesus; the fact that Jesus healed him draws him closer to God.  There may be a tie with sinning and this man's past; perhaps this is why Jesus teaches him to sin no more.  But certainly it is not the point of view of the Gospels that sinning is always the direct cause of suffering.  However, to "sin no more" is a part of the appropriate relationship to God, a proper way to honor grace.  It is the stuff of faith.  So let us consider the patience with which we bear affliction, just as the nobleman who was desperate for a cure for his son.  Let us understand what it is to accompany all our affliction with constant prayer, what that means and what that does for our relation to God and to the world.  Grace may be there for us in so many ways.