John 5:7-13

⁷"Sir," the invalid replied, "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." ⁸Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." ⁹At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." ¹¹But he replied, "The Man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' " ¹²So they asked him, "Who is this Fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" ¹³The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

The man’s helplessness and Jesus’ effective response on the Sabbath. Based on the man’s answer to Jesus’ question, we can see clearly that the man didn’t get it. Just as Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman didn’t get it, this man doesn’t get it. When Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?” He’s asking, “Do you want Me to make you well?” It’s a “Yes” or “No” answer. And the man rambles on, complaining that no one can help him fall in the water and that even when someone is there to help him, another disabled person beats him into the pool. He fails to realize that Jesus can heal him without assistance.

Jesus, unsurprised by the man’s explanation of his misfortune, illustrates God’s forbearance when we limit God’s work to our own abilities. Take careful note of Jesus’ words: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” Jesus commands the man to do something that he is incapable of doing. This man – for practically as long as he can remember – has been unable to get up and walk. Yet Jesus tells him to do just that. It’s almost cruel. But then we remember that Jesus is the One speaking; Jesus is One without who nothing was made that had been made. Jesus is the One who spoke the universe into existence. By His word, “Let there be light,” there was light. By His word, the universe is sustained. And right here, by His word, this man who had not stood or walked in 38 years, stands and walks. “At once he was cured.”

It’s an example of sovereign grace. Does God command us to do what we cannot do? Yes. And He makes us able and willing to do it. And thinking about this event recalls my mind to C.S. Lewis’ argument about the Person of Jesus: He’s not just a moral teacher. He’s not a good man, if He says, “Get up,” to a man who cannot stand and cannot work in the man to make Him stand. He’s more than that. He is God Incarnate, or He’s a lunatic. You decide. “Do you want to get well?” Do you trust this Jesus? Do you want this Jesus?

Jewish legalism and blindness; the healed man speaks of Jesus’ authority with a wrong motive. Right at the end of v9, John shows us why this story is important part; this healing took place on the Sabbath; therefore, conflict unfolds between Jesus and the Pharisees over the nature of the Sabbath. Everybody in Jerusalem knows the man who was healed. He had been a city fixture near that pool for 38 years, and now he’s up walking around, no doubt with a smile on his face. And people are pointing, saying, “Wow! Look who it is!” But our friends, the Pharisees, they see this man, and look at v10 to see the first words out of their mouth. “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” Are they correct? What if they are? Jeremiah 17:21 says, “Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day.” You must not do any unnecessary work – no carrying loads to make a profit – on the Lord’s Day. But man was not made for the Sabbath; the Sabbath was graciously made for man – to enjoy and rejoice and bring joy. The Pharisees had no joy and brought no joy, because they knew nothing about grace. Law without grace equals legalism; and by condemning acts of mercy, even the overturning of sickness (which was a result of sin and the curse), on the Sabbath, the Pharisees demonstrated their misunderstanding of the true nature of the Sabbath. The true Sabbath will take place when, after the labor that characterizes this cursed world, God brings His children into a perfect rest in His presence, away from every sickness and disease. Jesus, of course, by healing this miserable man, was fulfilling the very heart of the Sabbath command, and giving a foretaste of the day when He would fulfill it completely and perfectly, in the eternal Kingdom. He also healed on the Sabbath, perhaps to make the miracle more widely known and/or to bring about the occasion to discourse with the Pharisees. We’ll focus more on this conflict as we look at v16-30.

Lastly here, notice in v11 the man’s response to the Pharisees shameful accusation. “But the Man who made me well said…” There are two ways to look at this. First and positively, the man recognizes Jesus’ authority over that of the Pharisees – even over that of the law (albeit misinterpreted). Negatively however, the man uses “the Man who healed him” – he doesn’t even know who it was – to shift the blame for his disobedience to the law. The Pharisees say, “You’re disobeying.” The man says, “It’s not my fault.” That reminds me of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam said, “The woman You put here with me – she gave me some fruit…” And Eve said, “The Serpent deceived me…” The reality is that this man is no better off now than he was as an invalid. He needed spiritual healing, not blame shifting. He needed Jesus, and to know that Jesus healed him, and he needed to tell people about Jesus.

In v12-13, John teaches us a subtle, but important message. Testimony is only useful if it helps others. “I was healed!” By who? How? “I don’t know.” Something’s missing there – the most important thing. How can God be glorified by a healing, by an answered prayer, by a healthy birth, by a peaceful death, if we cannot give Him credit for His blessing? How many people – believers or otherwise – do you know who cannot explain why or how they know they are blessed in some way? Do you ever hear, “I was so lucky,” “It was a coincidence,” “We are so fortunate”? All of these are poor word choices. Instead, we should be unashamed to say, “I was so blessed by the Lord,” “The Lord was watching over me,” “We are so blessed by God’s providence.” And we could probably take it further than this, but the point is Soli Deo Gloria – To God alone be the Glory.