Healing the Sick

 

Healing the Sick

 

John 5:1-9 After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate there was a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, which had five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed [waiting for the stirring of the water, for an angel of the Lord went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. The first one to step in after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever disease he had.] A man was there who had been infirm for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been in this condition for a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ The man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, someone else steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your mat and walk.’ Immediately the man was made well; he took up his mat and walked.’

"The purpose of Jesus going up to Jerusalem for the feast" was to show what Israel was like. Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. [They waited for the stirring of the water, for an angel of the Lord went down at certain times and stirred the water; whoever first stepped in after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.] This statement shows how serious superstition was at that time. This is the situation of Israel.

Jesus says that Israel is the image of the Jews who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. The man who had been sick for 38 years refers to the period in Deuteronomy 2:14, "From the time they left Kadesh Barnea until they crossed the brook Zered, thirty-eight years had passed until all the generation of the fighting men perished from the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them." The man who had been sick for 38 years represents Israel who abandoned God's promise at the entrance to Canaan. All the soldiers died after wandering in the wilderness for 38 years. Since the period from the Exodus to Kadesh Barnea was about two years, it is said that the period from the Exodus to entering Canaan was 40 years.

Jesus tells Israel, "You have been an invalid for 38 years." Just as Israel made the golden calf in front of Mount Sinai, he shows that they believe in idols and superstitions. When Jesus asks, "Do you want to be healed?" the word "be healed" is the Hebrew word "hayah," which means "alive." So he is asking, "Do you want to live in resurrection life?" That means, "You are dead." The invalid does not ask to be healed, but answers, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am coming, another steps down before me." Israel does not know the Messiah who came to save them, and they rely on superstition. Their superstition shows that they believe in the Messiah they think he is.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." Immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked, for it was the Sabbath." Your bed (where you had been sitting for 38 years) represents Israel. In Amos 3:12, "Thus says the Lord: 'As a shepherd takes two legs or a piece of an ear out of the mouth of a lion, so the children of Israel who are sitting on the corner of a bed or on the cushion of a couch in Samaria will be taken away."

The prophet Amos speaks of Israel being scattered among the nations, and of the future restoration through Christ. Therefore, the bed of the "four seats" is "Israel as expressed by the prophet Amos." It speaks of the future salvation of Israel by Jesus Christ in the midst of tribulation. However, before the restoration of Israel, Israel will be destroyed and scattered. A man who had been sick for 38 years was healed on the Sabbath.

Sabbath is not a concept of resting, but rather entering into Christ (resurrection life). It is God’s promise to give rest to the man who had been sick for 38 years. Sabbath (resurrection life) is not only given to Jews, but also to Gentiles. Jesus is the Lord of rest. Those who are not united with Jesus cannot receive resurrection life.

In Mark 1:15, “And he said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel (the death and resurrection of the cross).” What is the time? It is the time of rest. Jesus died on the cross, fulfilling the requirements of the law, and giving rest (resurrection) to those who repent and come into Christ. The man who had been sick for 38 years represents Israel, but it also refers to all those outside of Christ.

When Jesus said, “The Jews said to the man who was healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.’” The man who had been sick for 38 years said, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ So they asked him, ‘Who is the man who told you to pick up your mat and walk?’ But the man who was healed did not know who it was.” However, even though the man was healed, the Jews and Gentiles still did not know the meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus met the man after this incident. And he told him not to sin again. The man who had been sick for 38 years met Jesus in the temple. Jesus reveals the temple (resurrection life). All who enter into Christ become participants in the resurrection life. The resurrection life is not something that is obtained when the body dies, but it is the kingdom of God, eternal life, that is obtained in Christ while we are alive.