Smoodock's Blog

In John 5:6 Jesus asked an impotent man if he wanted to be made whole. On the surface, this is almost a silly question. Why wouldn’t the man wish to be made whole? Well, Jesus’ question goes much deeper than this simple observation. The man was crippled for 38 years. He claims he had no one who would help him (John 5:7), but obviously his basic needs were met by someone.

Jesus asked: “Do you want to be made well?” He was pointing out that wholeness would bring with it the new responsibility to care for oneself. Wholeness would bring with it great and, probably, unanticipated changes. “Do you want this, or are you content with others caring for you?” is what Jesus is asking. The question can be turned to us: “Do we want to be made whole?” It doesn’t make sense for me to judge this man, because in the spiritual sense of the story, I am the man!

John begins by pointing out that all this occurred during the Feast of the Jews (John 5:1). In John 2 we find Jesus celebrating the Passover at Jerusalem. Since he spent some weeks in Judea baptizing, we can assume he also spent Pentecost there as well, because in John 4:35 Jesus makes a reference to the harvest being yet four months away. Since Jesus’ ministry began during a sabbatical year, in which nothing could be planted or harvested until the following seventh month (the sabbatical year was measured from one harvest season to the other), the feast mentioned in John 5:1 must, therefore, refer to the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles (John 5:1) reminds us of time the Jews spent in the wilderness, where there is no sure path. We need guidance to find our way. The Jews spent 40 years in the wilderness, because of disobedience and unbelief. This man according to Jesus was impotent for 38 years due to his own sin (John 5:14). Coming into the Promised Land involved great national change for Israel, and this man’s healing brought just as great a personal change in his own life that taking the Promised Land meant for the nation of Israel.

Next, John tells us that the man lay on a mat at Bethesda, meaning house of five porches. If a building has five porches, it implies it also has five doors or gates. This implies our own five physical gates, whereby we know our world. They are sight, sound, touch, scent and taste. We know nothing of our world that does not come through these five gates. Yet, in the spiritual sense none of these gates are able to bring us to God. We are just as impotent as this man in our spirits. What we need is Jesus to make us whole, if we are to be able to participate in the life of the spirit!

How do we react when Jesus suddenly bursts into our lives? Do we want to be healed in our spirits? This man claimed his stalled condition was not his fault (John 5:7). He tried to respond to the troubling of the waters (the spirit), but he was unable to bring about the desired result all alone. We often use this excuse, when our spirits are troubled through death, loss of work, friendships etc. It simply is not my fault, and woe is me. I would rather pity myself, than allow Jesus to bring me into a closer relationship with him, during these sensitive periods of my life.

Next, John tells us that the man was simply beside himself with joy over his newly discovered freedom (wholeness), yet he didn’t even think to find out Jesus’ name (John 5:13). If I respond to Jesus and allow him to make me whole, but I don’t take the time to get to know him, I will have no Root (Jesus) I my heart. My foundation will not be built upon him but upon the fleeting feeling of the joy that I may experience in my newly discovered freedom in Christ.

Jesus tells us of this kind of heart condition in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:5, 20-21). The problem is my heart retains some hardness (the stones), in so far as I permit competing interests into my heart, where only Jesus belongs. If Jesus doesn’t fill my life, I will be offended, when trouble arises, which is what occurred to this man, when he was questioned by the Jewish authorities and accused of wrongdoing (John 5:10-13).

Then John shows Jesus addressing the man’s sin (John 5:14). If it is sin that separates me from God, then sin must be addressed and eliminated from my life—as Jesus, not human authority—brings it to my attention. The problem with human authority is that often it works in opposition to the work of God. Jesus told the man to take up his bed and go home, yet human authority found fault with this—but who was at fault, really? It is more important for religious men in authority to simply preach the word of God and let Jesus take care of sin in the lives of his people. We are commanded to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), so it is to be expected that sin, in the lives of newly converted people, will be uncomfortable for brethren, who are already addressing sin in their lives. Nevertheless,we are simply not fit to be the Judge of another brother. If sin becomes disruptive in the Church, that is another matter, and such would be satisfied by putting the unruly brother outside the church, where he will be judged by God. Nevertheless, this is the exception, not the rule. Human judgment of sin should never be the norm of how new believers are received into the Body of Christ.

Finally, John points out that this man’s ingratitude for Jesus making him whole (John 5:15-16). Remember, it is not my point to simply expose this man’s sins, because, according to the spiritual implication of the story, I am the man. I am the one who is ungrateful for Jesus for making me whole. Each time I choose to please men rather than God, I ignorantly provide the way for Jesus within me to be persecuted by the demands of men. These demands may come in the form of irresponsible church authority, judgmental brethren, family members who are jealous of my new life in Christ, or even friendships that cannot abide the competition for the time that is demanded of me, if I wish to know Jesus. My relationship with Jesus cannot grow, ifI show greater respect for the interests of men. If I stand up to men, I will be the one persecuted for my attitude toward human authority—authority which I have given men, which is expressed through family, friendships and the church environment. If I cave in to human authority, I allow the life of Christ within me to be persecuted, evidenced in my guilt in choosing the respect of men over the honor of God. May God give us peace over the choice we make in this regard.