Do
you want to be made whole (well)? John 5:6
This
man had been lame and paralyzed probably since birth (38
years),
just as humans are spiritually lame and spiritually paralyzed since
birth. All of humanity are sinners and must come to Jesus for
healing both physically and spiritually. We must be covered by the
grace of God in Jesus if we are to be made spiritually whole and
well. Jesus said that we could do nothing without Him.
Jesus
had mercy and compassion toward this certain man that He picked out
of the crowd of the sick, but He must know that this invalid wants to
be made whole. Jesus will not go against this man's will. There are
those who don't want to be made whole! Some use their sickness to
get sympathy or attention. Others stay in their addiction and even
make excuses for their sickness. We can also stay in an abusive situation or in
the darkness of sin. We can stay in unforgiveness, bitterness, anger
and hatred and justify it. We have to walk away from these things and
walk toward the love of God in Christ. If we continue in these
things, the situation will only get worse. There are also those who
use their sickness to keep them from having to do anything. This
attitude can also happen in our spiritual life. Not every Christian
wants to do what it takes to reach the highest and fullest life that
Christ wants to give them. Gaining this higher calling and spiritual
life takes sacrifice, study of the Word and a willingness to allow
the Holy Spirit to bring us to our higher calling through faith in
Christ and obedience to His Word. Without these two things—grace
and truth -- we will be spiritual invalids.
Notice
that Jesus said “be
made whole.” This
is a process. The Word of God is mighty, living and active and will
never cease to do its work. Signs and wonders will cease, but the
Word of the Lord lives forever. Why? Jesus is the Eternal Word of
God from beginning to end. Jesus will show this paralyzed man that
His healing will come from Jesus not an angel. Jesus commands the
angels so all healing comes from Him.
You
would have thought that this man who had been in this condition for
38 years would have said “Yes” right away to Jesus' question, but
instead he started making excuses. He was hopeless and helpless!
“Sir,
I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.
While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
5:7 Jesus
will use the healing of this man to show all of the others around the
pool that He is the One who will heal them and bring glory to God.
God said in the Older Testament, “I
am the Lord who heals you.” Exodus 15:26 Jesus
who is God in the flesh will heal this hopeless, helpless man.
This
man had obviously seen the waters stirred several times but he had no
one to help him get into the pool. He needed the help of another
human to get him in so he could be healed and restored to wholeness.
No human can do for us what only Jesus can do. Followers of Christ
are to bring sinners to Christ and His living water (
Holy Spirit and Word) so
they too can be made whole but we must always give the glory to Jesus.
Jesus
didn't tell this paralyzed man to get into the water, nor did Jesus
carry him into the water. Instead He spoke His Word commanding him
to “Rise up, take up your mat, and walk.” In biblical
times, men would carry a rolled up straw mat upon their shoulder for
rest. It was light and not a heavy burden. This invalid was so weak
and crippled that he was lying on his mat, but soon he will be
walking and carrying it on his shoulder. Jesus said that His burden
is light! He had no sin. When we cast all of our cares upon Jesus,
our burden also is light. He carries our burdens for us and will
bring us to healing and safety.
This
helpless man had to have the desire to get well awakened within him.
Jesus' powerful, anointed Word gave hope to the hopeless and help to
the helpless. The powerful Word of Jesus gave this man the faith,
courage and strength to rise up and walk.
Step
of Faith
First
this paralyzed man had to hear Jesus' Word, believe it and then walk
it out in his life. This is an individual responsibility that all
believers in Jesus must understand. We have an individual
responsibility to listen to the Word of God, believe it and walk it
out in our lives. Others can bring us to the Savior, but it is the
responsibility of a believer to hear, see and obey Jesus for
themselves. Soon, Jesus will fill this man with the pool of His
powerful, healing, life-giving water – His Holy Spirit and Truth.
When this lame man acted upon Jesus' word by doing it, he was
instantly healed.
Jesus'
healing is available to everyone and so is His power – the Holy
Spirit. By faith, this man went from extreme weakness to strength in
Jesus and His Word. He didn't ask Jesus to heal him. As a matter of
fact, he didn't even know Jesus could heal him, nor did he know Jesus
or believe in Him. Yet Jesus healed him purely by His love and
grace. Jesus not only spoke about grace, He showed it through His
actions and miracles. Jesus, who is all-knowing, knew that this man
would eventually believe in Him. This was a physical healing, but
soon Jesus will reveal Himself to this same man and he will receive
spiritual healing and wholeness. The one who once was lame will soon
walk uprightly with Jesus. All believers must rise up and walk with
Jesus according to His Word if we are to be spiritually strong and
whole. The Word of God is mighty and will never cease to do its
work! Jesus is always calling us to rise up higher into the
spiritual realm with Him.
Jesus
did signs, miracles, healings and resurrections to show people that
He is indeed the Son of God who is God and came to save and breathe
spiritual life and healing into mankind once again. Jesus used His
Word to raise this man who was crippled with sin to newness of life
in Him. The Word of God gave this man the faith, strength and
courage to rise up and walk. Before Jesus, he was in a low place
laying on the ground. This is exactly where the devil wants to keep
us – earthly and in a low place. But Jesus wants to raise us up
and take us into the high places with Him. This earthbound, invalid
man will now walk uprightly with courage and strength in the power of
Jesus and His Word.
Every
believer comes to Jesus in the same spiritual condition as this
invalid man. Jesus finds us spiritually weak, helpless, hopeless and
in the darkness of sin without Him. We must come to Jesus the Author
and Finisher of our faith, hear His Word, believe it and walk it out
in our lives as we become new, spiritual creations in Christ. Our
spiritual cure is the result of this. Jesus wants to reproduce
according to His kind – little Christs in His image and likeness.
Sin will weaken our spiritual vitality and life. Jesus is concerned
about physical healing, but He is more concerned about our spiritual
healing which is eternal. “He sent His Word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.” Psalm 107:20 It
is the Anointed Word that raises us up so we walk uprightly with
Jesus.
This
weak, paralyzed Jewish man became a strong, courageous believer in
Jesus Christ because of Jesus' grace, love and His willingness to
heal a man not because of the man's worthiness but because of who
Jesus is – grace and truth. The depth of Christ's love and the
love of His Heavenly Father toward all of humanity was illustrated
through His words, actions and deeds.
The
Accusers
Jesus
has just performed an act of mercy and showed His unfailing love and
acceptance by healing this crippled man who didn't even know Jesus.
Along come the accusers! The Jewish religious leaders told the
healed man that “the
Law forbids you to carry the mat.” v10 The
Jewish leaders are referring to Jeremiah
17:21, This is what the Lord says, “Be careful not to carry a load
on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.”
Instead
of rejoicing and praising God that this man is healed, these
religious leaders focus on him breaking the Law. This man had just been set free from paralysis! Of course
we know that the one who fuels the accuser of the brethren is the
devil. These Jewish religious leaders are open to being tools of the
devil because they have rejected Jesus. Those who reject Jesus will
find that He will be a thorn in their side.
The
healed Jewish man responded to these religious leaders, The Man
who made me well said to me, “Pick up your mat and walk.” v11
In other words, “It isn't my fault. The man told me to do it!”
The healed man referred to Jesus as just a man. He didn't even know
who Jesus was because Jesus slipped through the crowd after healing
this man and disappeared. This healed man didn't even have a chance
to ask Jesus who He was or to thank Him. Jesus' Word was so powerful
that the man obeyed it. And Jesus will accept the blame for any sin
this man may have committed in the eyes of these religious leaders.
Jesus is above the Law. As a matter of fact, He gave the Law and
spoke through the Prophets. And, at God's appointed time, Jesus
became the Law and fulfilled it fully for all. The Law lives on
eternally in Christ making it everlasting in Him just as we are made
everlasting in Him. The Law was all about Jesus in hidden truth. If
a person is in Christ, they have obeyed the Law perfectly and fully
in Him because He obeyed the Law perfectly and fully for all.
Jesus
did acts of mercy on the Sabbath. A holy Savior did holy acts on the
holy Sabbath! He is the holy Lord of the Sabbath. This healed man
couldn't earn Jesus' grace and love by obeying the Law. It was
freely given through Christ's love and compassion. Jesus picked out
the one who was least worthy and the most needy. After all, He
picked you and me! All whom Jesus has sought and found when we were
like this weak, invalid at the pool should thank Jesus everyday for
His love and saving grace.
Sabbath
Many
times in the Gospels, the Sabbath was an object of contention. To
Jesus, everyday is a Sabbath day because He is the holy Lord of the Sabbath and about His
Father's business. And, His Father never slumbers or sleeps. (Psalm
121:4) In the beginning at creation, the Bible says that God
rested on the 7th day. He rested because all of His
creation was holy, perfect and complete. There was no evil or sin.
He declared all good. It was rest based upon the Godhead's finished,
complete and perfect work. Unfortunately, sin entered His holy and
perfect creation. Because of this, all who were involved in the
original holy and perfect creation – God, Jesus/Word and the Holy
Spirit – are now busy working to restore it back to its original
condition. They will not rest until the Day of the Lord comes at the
end of the age! The Godhead is working even on the Sabbath until the
final and complete Sabbath rest for all eternity has come.
At
the present time, believers are to rest upon the finished work of
Jesus at the cross. Jesus said, “It is finished.” What
is finished? The salvation, redemption and restoration of all who
come to Jesus and believe He is the Savior and Lord. Jesus' main
purpose of His first coming was to proclaim the Truth, call people to
His grace and truth, die for the sin of the whole world and be
resurrected to eternal life. At His second coming, He will complete
and restore all back to its original holy condition. Then all who
are with Jesus and the Father will be at peace and rest for all
eternity. In the meantime, we can rest in the fact that Jesus is
all-powerful, cares about our every need and will help us defeat the
enemy of our souls. On the Day of the Lord, the Sabbath rest will
indeed be holy. It will be the work of the Godhead alone in the
hearts of those who obey and serve God out of love in their hearts,
not through demanded rules and regulations. To Jesus, human need
takes precedence over the Sabbath Laws. Jesus does the “good”
works of His Father in heaven at all times no matter what day. His
love, mercy and compassion never stop.
Jesus
is the fulfillment of the Sabbath. He is holy. He doesn't have to
keep the Sabbath holy because HE IS HOLY every day. As the Lord of
the Sabbath, He must be holy. Exodus 20:8: Remember the Sabbath
day and keep it holy. In Mark 2:27 Jesus says that He is
Lord of the Sabbath. He is the holy Lord over the holy day. No one
can keep the Sabbath holy unless they are in Christ. Our holiness is
the fact that we are the holy Body of Jesus because of Him and His
shed blood on the cross. As Lord of the Sabbath, our rest is now in
Jesus Christ and His finished work. There will be a final Sabbath
Day – the Day of the Lord – when all will be at peace and rest in
the finished and completed work of Jesus. On that Day, we will have
eternal rest – Sabbath Day – and all will be holy once again as
it was in the beginning.
According
to the Law given to Moses by God, no labor was to be performed on the
Sabbath. But Jesus let His disciples pick grain for food in Matthew
12:1-2. Jesus believed that feeding the hungry was lawful on the
Sabbath. He reminded the Pharisees that David went into the house of
God and took the showbread that was reserved for the priests only and
fed it to his hungry companions. This was not “lawful” for David
to do. He was a king not a priest! But David understood the mercy
and grace of God. Jesus also reminded these religious leaders that
the priests in the Older Testament desecrated the Sabbath and yet
were innocent! 12:5 Nehemiah spoke about this in chapter
13. Grace was extended to them. Jesus desires mercy, not animal
and grain sacrifices. The Lord of the Sabbath – Jesus – did acts
of mercy and good on the Sabbath. The work of Jesus and the work of
God are the same. Every day should be a Sabbath Day in Christ just
as He made every day a Sabbath Day because He is holy and only did
the work and will of His Heavenly Father who is also holy.
(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment