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1. Healing of the paralytic at Bethesda (John 5:1-16)
JOHN 5:10-13
10 So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.” 11 He answered them, “He who made me well, the same said to me, ‘Take up your mat, and walk.’” 12 Then they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat, and walk’?” 13 But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
Those present in the porches of Bethesda were delighted, except the fanatical legalists. These bigots were madly envious, especially as the healing took place on the Sabbath. Not only had Jesus healed the invalid, but also ordered him to carry his bed through the lanes of the city. This they felt was a sin against God and the Sabbath ordinance, when all work had to cease on the day of rest. Any transgressor of this law was liable to death (Numbers 15:32–36). The Jews reckoned that the Messiah would not come, unless the whole nation observed the Sabbath meticulously.
These Jews would not have stoned the man bearing his bed on the spot, for a warning had to be given before sentence was passed; the protest was meant as a threat. The healed man defended himself by mentioning Jesus’ order for carrying the bed was a condition for the complete cure.
The legalists were furious and felt no pleasure in the healing act, nor did they discern the authority of love that Jesus showed in the cure. They began to discuss with envy and hatred the person of the healer for He had dared to command the invalid to carry his bed on the Sabbath. So Jesus, in their opinion, was a transgressor worthy of death.
The healed man did not know the healer, since Jesus was a stranger. This was his first visit to Bethesda. After healing he seemed to vanish. Jesus did not want faith in himself to be based on miracles, but on his loving person.
JOHN 5:14-16
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
Jesus sought the healed one to complete the cure by freeing him from his sins. He found the man in the temple praising God. He was fearful and joyful at the same time when he saw Jesus. We know what Jesus said to him:
You are healed. Realize the extent of the marvel that has come to you for you had been sick for 38 years. This was a divine deed, not a human act. The Incarnate God has Himself opened the eyes of your heart.
You know your sins. Life without God has caused this calamity. By my healing you, your sins are all pardoned. For healing to cover his inner being, Jesus asked him to obey and not to sin. Receiving pardon requires a decision not to return to the same sin. He who accepts Christ’s powerful word, and repents in sorrow, receives divine power, and can overcome evil with God’s help. Christ does not ask the impossible from us, but gives us the Spirit for that power may overcome our bodily temptations and our pet hates. The Spirit of truth enables us to avoid and resist evil.
Sometimes maladies and injuries are chastenings from God’s loving concern to bring us back to Him. At other times wealth and luxury may become divine punishment for our hardness towards God. A man becomes demonic, ending in eternal loss. Do not flirt with sin, but admit your bondage to a particular failing, and ask Christ to free you. Do not adopt a neutral stand between Jesus and your sin. Break down your sinful bent. Promise your Savior in a covenant and He will save you to the uttermost.
What a surprise! After getting advice from Jesus the healed man ran to the Jews, and told them that the Nazarene had healed him and led him ‘astray’ from the law of the Sabbath. The legalists may have hoped he would spy on Jesus to make an arrest more likely.
The hatred shown by the priests when Jesus cleansed the temple was not as fierce as the Pharisees’ hostility against Jesus after this healing. Christ had deflated their ‘righteousness,’ and shown that righteousness does not rest on law keeping from selfish motives. God requires mercy and love. Holiness without love is false. God looks for mercy in us, not ritual. Thankfully God has freed us from thousands of legalistic rules, giving us love as the sole commandment.
QUESTION:
- Why did the Jews persecute Jesus?