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Volume 18, Number 3 July Spring 2023

The Sovereignty of God and the Helplessness of Man

John 5:1-16

Part II

“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.”

God’s Sovereignty Chooses the Recipients of His Mercy And Grace

v. 8-9

This story in our text, actually gives us an illustration of our salvation encounter with Jesus Christ. Jesus healed this unnamed “man” and then gave him the ability to “rise … and walk,” just like it is with salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) when the Holy Spirit first gives us new life in Christ and then grants us faith to believe and repentance to turn from our sin to the Savior. Jesus didn’t tell him to do something so that he could be healed, but He healed him and then told him to “rise … and walk” in demonstration of his healing. So it is when people want to argue over which comes first, “faith” or “regeneration?” It’s impossible for a depraved sinner to pump “faith” and “repentance” out of his wicked heart, because both can only come from God as a “gift” of His “grace” (Acts 5:31). Like the healing of this “man,” we are first spiritually healed {“born again” (Jh. 3:3)} and then given “faith” and “repentance” at the same time in evidence of “regeneration” (Titus 3:5).

Furthermore, we see our Lord being “moved with compassion” (Mat. 9:36) as He tells the man to “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (v.8). From the “great multitude” of physically sick people present on this occasion, Jesus chose this particular “man” upon whom to demonstrate His power and compassion in a very personal way (Rom. 9:15-16). Notice that I said in a personal way, because this “man” is the only one to whom Jesus spoke and his healing was not in response to anything that the “man” said or did. Others were at the “pool” waiting for healing from the “troubled … water” and some were “made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” Jesus didn’t question the healing remedy of this “water” and in fact asked this “man” if he wanted to get well (“be made whole”).

Why should we sit around arguing about receiving medical treatment for our good and God’s glory when the Lord is the One Who has made it available to begin with? There are a lot of unanswered questions about the healing “water” at this “pool of Bethesda” along with the limited time frame that it was available. These questions cause us to think about those who had access to this “pool” with some being healed when the “water” was “troubled” and others were to late getting in for it to be benficial. I guess we could say, that it’s similar to two people going to see the same doctor, but both not having the same results. Nowhere in this passage did Jesus question the healing remedy of this “water” nor rebuke the “man” for wanting to get in. However, some received benefit, while others did not.

The answer to all healing lies in the Sovereignty of God and His prerogative as God. In this case, God gave this “man” the ability to take up his “bed and walk.” God may choose to heal by direct command, or He may choose to heal by various methods, but it is He Who does the healing regardless of the surgeon that does the surgery or the doctor who diagnosis the illness and prescribes the medication (Matt. 9:12).

On this occasion the healing of the “man” took place “immediately” which meant that he didn’t have to get into the “pool” or take another course of action as some did when Jesus healed them. We may be asking WHY Jesus heals some people by different methods and some never recover from their illness. Sometimes we bring a particular sickness upon ourselves, but we must remember that every human being is under the curse of sin, sickness, and physical death inherited from Adam in the Garden of Eden and that death is the most common means that God has of taking His saints out of this world to their eternal Home to be with Him in Glory (Jh. 9:2-3). For that reason, no genuine Christian has any reason to fear “death” (I Cor. 15:55-56). As to WHY God allows some to live longer than others, the answer is very simple, but one that the natural man doesn’t like, and it has to do with God’s sovereignty.

The length of our days are numbered and it is God Who has established them (Job 14:5). Jesus is God and He can do anything that He pleases, anytime He desires, and upon anyone He chooses. This includes the saving of a poor lost helpless soul like you and me which this miracle depicts (Eph. 1:3-9). Or, it could refer to His divine plan for our lives known only unto Him in granting us healing in times of sickness. But this one thing is for sure, He often uses sickness and sorrow to draw His people closer to Him like He did Job (Job 19:25).

God’s Sovereignty is Not Understandable by the World v. 10-16

It was no accident or mistake that this event recorded in our text happened on the “sabbath day,” because Jesus makes no mistakes. In fact, Scripture makes a special point to record how Jesus would often heal on the “sabbath day” and went so far as to tell us that the “sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath: Therefore, the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Mk. 2:27-28).

From the very beginning of the New Testament church, legalism and false teaching have been Satanic weapons against us, and Jesus didn’t fail to expose them both as identical twins. Just as the “Pharisees” of Jesus’ day interpreted Scripture their own way and added additional laws to the Old Testament, the same thing happens today when we depart from the sound exposition of God’s Truth. Therefore, we need to bury ourselves in the Word of God and be so knowledgeable of it that we can readily recognize error when we hear it and run from it like a scared rabbit. One of the “sabbath” prohibitions that the “Pharisees” instituted back in the time of Christ was not allowing anyone “to carry” their “bed” which Jesus directly ordered this healed “man” to do. It’s been said there were perhaps hundreds of these laws, such as the silly legalistic restrictions of how many steps one could walk on the “sabbath.” It’s true that the Old Testament believer was taught to worship the Lord on the “sabbath,” but after Jesus came, He proved Himself “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8). When His disciples were rebuked by the “Pharisees” for plucking “ears of corn” on the “sabbath day,” Jesus made it clear what He thought of people distorting the Word of God (Matt 12:1-8) and infiltrating legalism into the church (Matt. 12:8-30).

The very doctrine of God’s Sovereignty is one of the most hated doctrines in the modern-day church and is rejected, ridiculed, and resented by even preachers and church goers of today just as it was in the day of Christ. How many people attend a church service Sunday after Sunday with their eyes so focused on themselves that they never glean any truth from Holy Scripture. It’s like the old saying, “you can’t see the forest for the trees” meaning that the truth of Holy Scripture is right in front of you, but you can’t see it, hear it, or recognize it (Matt 11:15). That’s the way it was with people who saw Jesus heal this “man” who had been unable to walk for “38 years.”

Instead of rejoicing along with this “man,” they wanted to criticize him for carrying his “bed.” Not only did they criticize “Jesus” for healing on the sabbath day (v.16), but also the “man” who was healed. Jesus never violated the Law Of God, but he did violate the human legalistic law of the “Pharisees” that was added by the self-righteous religious “Jews” just like you find in religious circles of today within the ranks of Christendom.

The dialogue that took place between the “Jews” and the man that was “cured” is truly amazing as we see him asked by the “Jews” who it was that healed him and the “man” said that he didn’t know who it was. Immediately after the healing, Jesus simply faded into the crowd and later saw this “man” whom he healed and “said unto him, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (v.14). With that, this “man” experienced the most important healing of all and the Bible says that he “departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole” (v.15). This is clear indication of not only his physical healing, but his salvation because dying without Christ is far “worse” than suffering and dying with a diseased body.

Closing

Instead of rejoicing over God’s Sovereign Work of Grace, the world continues to do the same thing today that the religious “Jews” did during the day of Christ, “persecute” and seek to “slay” those who follow Christ and proclaim His Word (v.16). Don’t ever forget what Jesus told His disciples of His day and is still applicable today. The world hated Jesus and they will hate us also if we follow Him (Jh. 15:18-20). Following Jesus is costly because it means to “deny” yourself and take up your “cross and follow” Him (Matt. 16:24-28). Through all of life’s ups and downs, good days and bad days, health and illnesses, we must do as the songwriter says, “I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God, I’ve learned to depend upon the Lord.”

One of Jesus’ devoted followers was a physician that was used of the Lord to pen the Gospel that bears his name. That man is known to us today as “Luke the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). Jesus didn’t speak against the use of earthly doctors, but reminded us that the most important healing that we need is spiritual which He alone can accomplish in our lives. For that reason, the Lord Jesus Christ is also recognized as The Great Physician (Matt. 9:12-13). Not only do we see His healing power demonstrated numerous times in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament as we remember that Jehovah in Hebrew is translated Lord in English. His Name Jehovah-Rapha, means the Lord Who Heals (Ex. 15:26, Jer. 30:17, Hos. 6:1, Ps. 147:3). Our God is Creator, Lord, and Savior Who has promised His people an eternal home through repentance of sin and faith in Christ where there will be no more suffering, disease, sorrow, and death (Rev. 21:4). The Lord our God specializes in healing broken bodies, relationships, and sinful souls. Therefore, we must never forget how helpless we are without Him, and how totally dependent we are upon our Sovereign God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.