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  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.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

 

 

 

 

 

My Father has been working until now, and I have been working

 

 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 extra days with the Samaritans who received Him, 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!"  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.  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.  My study Bible explains that this double-basin pool, 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 it was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  It adds 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.  These waters were special in this sense that they were a way to indirectly participate 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.  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.  Therefore 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 the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Jesus singled out the 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."   Christ's question is relevant for the several reasons, according to my study Bible.  First, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation that was seemingly hopeless; how could a paralytic ever be the first one into the water?  Next, the Lord takes attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became Man to heal all.  Finally, not everyone who is ill truly desires healing.  Most sadly, there are those who prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to pursue 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.    This healing is the third of seven signs in John's Gospel.  My study Bible says that it exemplifies the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.  In patristic literature, it is referred to as the Old Testament Pentecost (also called the "Feast of Weeks"), which celebrates the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  This interpretation is confirmed by the references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter.

 

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."  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 explains 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 is explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  This passage makes clear that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath through His command ("Rise, take up your bed and walk") and the man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  Once again, my study Bible reminds us that the term the Jews in John's Gospel most often refers to the leaders, and not to the people in general.  It is meant more in a political sort of sense than religious, as all the people in the reading, including Christ, are Jews.  My study Bible asks us to remark upon the malice of these leaders:  they focus solely on the Sabbath violation, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but ignore altogether the miraculous healing of this man who was infirm for thirty-eight years.  

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 the healed man was found in the temple shows his great faith; my study Bible says that he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure, rather than departing to someone's home or the marketplace.  On Christ's command, "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 often suffer and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).   Nonetheless, there are times when our sins lead directly to our own suffering in the world.  According to St. Chrysostom, the latter is the case with the paralytic.  Christ's warning, however, my study Bible adds, 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.   This man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a malicious way, but my study Bible says that he is a witness to Christ's goodness.  For 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 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.  My study Bible explains that when Jesus declares God to be My Father, the Jews clearly understand this as an implication of absolute equality, as we see from their response and their reasoning. 

I am intrigued by the notion that Jesus once again mentions work, when He says, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."   In the recent readings that involved the Samaritan woman, when Christ's disciples came upon Him and urged Him to eat, He replied, "I have food to eat of which you do not know," and added, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (see Thursday's reading).  Here again in today's reading, following so soon in the Gospel afterward, Jesus mentions work again.  It gives us pause to consider what work means to us, and what it means to Christ.  In the previous reading, He said that His work was His food, implying that a true work feeds us, a work that comes from God for us to do.  This is certainly the case for Jesus.  In today's reading, He emphasizes as part of His equality with the Father that His Father has been working until now, and He has been working.  This equality to God the Father, therefore, is not simply a matter of power or being, but apparently also of "sameness" in the sense of what God does.  God is working until now, Father and Son, and we can presume also, the Holy Spirit.  Part of this absolute equality involves God's will and nature, inseparable from what God does.  So if we really think about work, once again (as we reviewed in Thursday's reading), then we have to think about Christ's way that He frames and pictures work for us.  We so often think of work as laborious toil, or something we just have to do to take care of ourselves and our families, to get somewhere in life.  In a modern society, work can also be a status symbol; we chase after jobs or job titles that will identify us with a social status of some sort.  We might value what a person does for work because of how much money it commands, or the importance of the job within the community.  There are jobs which are looked down upon, as if there isn't dignity in whatever labor we do or is available to us.  It comes to mind that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. put a great deal of emphasis on the value of work, and there are several quotations of his on this subject.  One is, "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"  He put a great deal of emphasis on service, and the grace to do it.  So, in this respect, Martin Luther King teaches us that what Jesus did in majestic dignity as God, so we can follow Christ's example in work in our own comparably limited ways; even a small effort, or something that to others might not be significant or great, becomes great if we are following in faith and love of God.  King also said, "No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence," and, "Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service."   It comes to mind that the greatness of Christ was often expressed in ways that no one else at the time saw or knew; often He chose to remain hidden or told those whom He had healed not to speak of it to others.  One thing that is often missing in a modern understanding of valuable work is the aspect of our own humility added to the mix:  King hints at this when he speaks of service, and encourages us to see whatever we do in terms of what we can bring to it.  Ultimately, to serve, asks of us first humility -- for even Christ served the will of the Father and not His own, so this remains consistent truth for us to follow in our own lives, and relying upon God's grace and faith no matter what we do.  This is true not only regarding how we do our work, but also prayerfully seeking that work we can do which will please God.  There might be something right in front of us we've been blind to, like a man waiting thirty-eight years for someone to help him.  This sense of work that Christ elevates to a property of God becomes profoundly another way in which He brings salvation and healing to the world.   In describing the effects of Adam's sin, and the fallen nature that results, Genesis 3:17 tells us that God said to Adam, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life."  Work, in this exile from God, becomes toil.  But Christ's words rehabilitate and heal even work for us.  In a time when those of upper classes, wealth, and authority were marked by their capacity for leisure, Christ dignifies the notion of work by thus characterizing the action of God.  Let us consider the grace and dignity we can bring to what we do with our lives, what is before us to do, in prayerful service and devotion and faith.  Sometimes even a work for which one receives no money may be the greatest service of all in the sight of God.

 

 

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 the two days He spent 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!"  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 healing that takes place in today's reading is the third sign (of seven) in John's Gospel.  My study Bible says that it exemplifies the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.   Patristic tradition teaches that 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 chapter five confirm this interpretation.  We note Jesus behavior that fulfills all righteousness; He faithfully attends east feast in John's report of His three year ministry.

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.   My study Bible tells us that this double-basin pool, 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.  My study Bible further explains 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.  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 the grace was limited to the first person to enter.  Under the new covenant, however, baptism is given to all peoples as a direct participation in Christ own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of angels.  Baptism, my study Bible concludes, 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 comments 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 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 says that the Lord's question (Do you want to be made well?) 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, Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This is Christ Himself, who became a Man in order to heal all.  Finally, not everyone who is ill actually desires healing.  There are those who may prefer to remain infirm for various reasons:  to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to excite 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'?"   The Law itself, my study Bible explains, did not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath.  But this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22 and explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.   It is made clear that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath by His command and also by the man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  As is frequently the case in John's Gospel, we must clarify, the term Jews here refers to the hostile leaders and not to the people in general.   And the malice of these particular religious authorities is made clear in the Gospel, as their sole focus is on the Sabbath violation, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" while they ignore altogether his miraculous healing.

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."  My study Bible comments that the fact that the man was found in the temple shows his great faith, as he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than departing to someone's home or the marketplace.  Jesus tells the man to sin no more:  My study Bible comments that there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), but that connection is not always one-to-one, for the innocent frequently suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly suffering (see also John 9:1-3).  Nonetheless, it is true that at times our sins do lead directly to our own suffering in this world.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who comments that this was the case with the paralytic.  Christ's warning here, according to my study Bible, is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  Thus, 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 comments that the man does not report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a malicious way, but as a witness to Christ's goodness.  Even though 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 does not speak 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.  My study Bible comments that when Jesus declares God to be My Father, the Jews clearly understand this implies absolute equality. 

Jesus teaches this healed man, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  My study Bible comments that while there is a general correlation between sin and suffering, there is by no means a sense that this is always the case, as often the innocent suffer and the guilty do not.  While St. Chrysostom comments that this connection existed for the paralytic, my study Bible nevertheless says that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than his bodily affliction.  But I feel that there is yet another aspect to Jesus' teaching here we must also add, and that is the importance of gratitude.  It seems that if this man were to go out now and lead a profligate or evil life in which God and his faith did not play a key role to guide him forward, then this would be a kind of spiritual spurning of the great gift of healing he's been given.  At this time, he is in a high good state:  he is not only healed of his affliction, but his faith has set him on a good road.  He was found in the temple giving thanks, and moreover he has found Christ.  But to turn away from this and begin to lead a dissolute life would lead him to a state worse than the first, as the life of willful sin would now be a spurning of the great gift Christ has given, and the enlightened state possible for a person in his position.  Therefore to ignore God and the commands of God would be to turn his back on a much deeper awareness of the goodness of God than he had before.  He has kept his faith all this time through his illness; now that he is well he is in a new state of life, and it is therefore all the more important to be aware and persistent in his faith.  As we commented in yesterday's reading, it is often the case that when things go poorly for us, we seek out faith to help us.  But when things are going well, that is when we are tempted to forget about God and rely upon ourselves and our good fortune instead.   It seems to me that this is the great lesson in Jesus' teaching to this man to "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   We often have a tendency to attribute good fortune to ourselves, and to rely on that good fortune as if it is something we personally own, a part of us.  In this case, the healed man clearly knows who healed him; nevertheless Christ finds it prudent to give him a warning about his future conduct.  Let us consider the power of gratitude, for whatever good thing we have, and how this very consciousness of gratitude keeps us in a good place, and stands us in good stead for our future.