Scripture: John 5:1-18 (ESV)
“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, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
One of the great difficulties of being a believer is that if we know our Bibles well, we generally know what the right things are, but it is very hard to live accordingly. We know cognitively that it is right not to steal, but its another thing all together when your in an exam and you know you’re not doing well, and you can see the answers of the brainiac sitting next to you. The Jews in our passage had a slightly different problem. They thought they knew what right and wrong was, but it turns out they had misapplied the Sabbath laws, making it unlawful for people to help others on the Sabbath day.
We see in John 5:1-18, Jesus visits the Pool of Bethesda, where a multitude of disabled people wait for the stirring of the waters, hoping for healing. Now it was believed that if the water moved and you got into it you would be miraculously healed. Among the many waiting there was a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. It is ironic that when Jesus gets to the man and asks him if he wants to be healed, the man misunderstands. He is still looking for healing in the “magical” healing waters of the pool, when the true healer was standing right in front of him. Jesus heals him anyway and tells him “Get up, take up your bed, and walk”.
So far this is a wonderful miracle story, but notice what the Jewish leaders do when they find the man carrying his mat. Instead of rejoicing with him that after 38 years he had finally been made well, they accuse him of breaking the Sabbath law. That is shocking enough, but look at what happens next… when the leaders find out Jesus was the one who healed him, they start plotting to kill Jesus. Something clearly forbidden by the same law they accused the man of breaking!
This leaves us with a question: why did Jesus not chose another day on which to help this man? Why choose the Sabbath day? Because this happens in the “Book of Signs”. This section of the book of John is designed to help us grow in faith and help people believe in Jesus because they see the signs and wonders he performed. In the previous passage the royal official had faith without seeing Jesus’ miracle. He had faith without seeing the sign. But now these Jewish leaders see the sign, right there in front of them walking around, but refuse to believe. They refuse to believe because they have been enslaved to an ungodly interpretation of the law of God. They had completely misunderstood God’s heart of love for people. They chose clean-cut black and white rules over true love and compassion for people.
The question is: do we do the same? Do we get blinded by traditions in our spiritual lives which aren’t Biblical? Do we get enslaved with “laws” that hold us back from really showing God’s love to people?
Something to think about.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, you came and broke away from the traditions of your day to show people real godly love. Please help me see where I have fallen for the trap of the religious leaders. Help me to see your love heart through your law and then to act accordingly. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge
Today, identify a personal “rule” or habit that stops you from showing love or compassion. Re-evaluate whether it is truly biblical. If it is, keep it, if not, get rid of it.
Breaking the Barriers of Tradition to show Love