November 2, 2016
STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN'T DO AND FOCUS ON WHAT GOD CAN DO!
John 5:1–18
Carl Littrell
Central Truth
When we focus on OURSELVES, we think about what we CAN’T do; when we focus on GOD, we remember what He CAN do! So focus on God, pick up your mat, and walk out your faith!
Key Verse | John 5:8–9
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. (John 5:8-9a)
John 5:1–18
The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic 1 5:2 Or Hebrew called Bethesda, 2 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 3 5:3 Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?” 7 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.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews 4 5:10 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed Jesus in that time; also verses 15, 16, 18 said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well!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.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Jesus Is Equal with God
18 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.
Footnotes
[1] 5:2 Or Hebrew[2] 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida
[3] 5:3 Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had
[4] 5:10 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed Jesus in that time; also verses 15, 16, 18
Dive Deeper | John 5:1–18
Jesus is in Jerusalem and approaches the pool of Bethesda where it was believed that whoever could enter the pool first after the water was rippled would be healed. Many sick and hurting people were by the pool, waiting for their chance to get well, including one man who had been an invalid for 38 years!
Jesus asks the man if he wants to be well, and how does he respond? By saying, “Yes, Jesus! Please heal me!”? Nope, not even close. Instead, the man deflects Jesus’ question with the reasons he couldn’t be made well.
This man’s focus was in the wrong place—on himself instead of on Jesus. This man understood that he was completely dependent on someone to help him be healed. Jesus simply speaks, and instantly the man can walk again! What this man was incapable of doing on his own, Jesus was able to accomplish with a single sentence!
Not only does Jesus tell this man, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk” (verse 8), but later Jesus tells him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” (Verse 14) Jesus was able to heal this man’s physical illness and wanted to heal his spiritual illness as well, which He would later do by dying on the cross!
Can you imagine waiting for 38 years to get well? Honestly, some of you don’t have to imagine because you've lived it—struggling your whole lives with an area of sin or a broken relationship with a friend or family member; or maybe it's the loss of a loved one, the pain of which lingers in your heart. Maybe it hasn’t been 38 years, but if you're like me, perhaps however long it's been is long enough that you can’t imagine what it would be like to be well. Look to the cross! Remember that God did what we weren't capable of and is able still to do what we never could! Where will you fix your eyes: on your inability, or His ability?
Discussion Questions
1. In what areas of your life are you currently waiting on the Lord to heal? Answer this honestly to yourself: have you given up hope because of your inability to change? Pray to God that He would give you a renewed sense of His strength and faith in His ability to bring healing in your life. Consider sharing this with a trusted friend or pastor.
2. Is there a particular sin that you have given up battling because you’ve stopped focusing on God’s ability to change you and instead have gotten caught up in your inability to change? See Romans 12:2 for how God changes our desires.
3. Do you know that Jesus cares not only for your present life to be healed, but also your spiritual life to come? How are you still trying to heal yourself and earn your way to God? Pray that God would open your eyes to your inability to heal yourself and put your faith in the healing power of Jesus Christ. If this is your first time to put your faith in Jesus, we would love to know about it in the comments!