The Struggles of the Ordinary

 

·         The Man Who was Lame for 38 years – John 5:1-16   July 22, 2007 ………...PP Web Presentation

·         A Crippled Woman – Luke 13:10-17                                     August 19, 2007 ….…PP Web Presentation

·         The Feeding of the 5000 – John 6:1-15                              September 23, 2007 .PP Web Presentation

·         Peter Walks on Water! – Mat 14:22-32                               October 21, 2007 …...PP Web Presentation

·         Bartimaeus - The Blind Beggar – Mark 10:46-52             November 18, 2007...PP Web Presentation

·         Malchus – John 18:2-12; Luke 22:47-53                                    December 23, 2007...PP Web Presentation

·         Peter Disowns Jesus – Mark 14:27-72; John 21:3-17           January 20, 2008….....PP Web Presentation

·         Pilate, the Relativist – John 18:33-38                                    February 17, 2008…..PP Web Presentation

·         The Blind Man’s Courage - John 9:23-41                            March 23, 2008……….PP Web Presentation

·         The Killers See the Light! – Mat 27:54; Mark 15:39            May 18, 2008……….….PP Web Presentation

·         The Friends of the Paralytic Man – Mark 2:2-12            June 22, 2008……….….PP Web Presentation

·         A Desperate Father – Mark 9:14-29                                       July 20, 2008………..….PP Web Presentation

·         The Widow’s Offering – Mark12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4

·         The Samaritan Woman at the Well – John 4:5-29, 39

·         Doubting Thomas – John 20:24-31

 

The Man Who was Lame for 38 Years – John 5:1-16

 

John 5:1-16 ESV 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 called Bethesda (house of mercy), which has five roofed colonnades.  3 In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed [waiting for the moving of the water; 4 for 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.] 

 

1.      Jesus visits a place where usually no one wants to go

a.       Where the invalids brooded (felt sorry for themselves)

b.      Where the blind groped (fumbled about)

c.       Where the lame lay (for lack of mobility)

d.      Where the paralyzed hoped (in the stirring of the waters)

2.      The people here had come because there was hope in the water

a.       An angel stirred the waters at certain seasons

b.      Whoever stepped in first after the stirring was healed of whatever disease they had

c.       It was a miraculous healing – a manifestation of God's mercy

d.      It was a ray of hope in the grey, languid life of those who were considered subpar by the world around them

 

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." 

 

1.      This man had been lame for a long time

a.       We don’t know what caused him to be lame, or if he was lame since birth

b.      The man was lying there for a long time! Maybe he had lost hope of being healed!

c.       He had no friends to even help him

d.      He had accepted his condition and limitations with some bitterness, probably harboring some jealousy towards those who were “whole”.

2.      Jesus wants to know if he wants to get well

a.       Perhaps the man thought it couldn’t be done

b.      Perhaps the man was not interested in resolving his problem any longer

3.      He made excuses for himself

a.       He talked about what he wanted to do

b.      When it came time to act, he was bogged down by his limitations and dependencies

c.       He had defined himself by his disease

d.      He was a slave to his disease – he had succumbed to it

4.      When the Son of God asks you if you want to get well there are no excuses to be made! Either you want to get well or not! It is entirely up to you!

 

8 Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk."  9a And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

 

1.      With Jesus there are no valid excuses or dependencies

a.       What matters is weather you will believe Him at His word

b.      What matters is your trust in Him

2.      Healing is immediate and thorough!

a.       There is no weaning off of your crutches or dependencies

b.      There are no follow-up visits

c.       It is not a temporary feeling of well-being

3.      If the story of the lame man ended here it would be a nice positive happily ever after story

a.       There’s more to this story

b.      Let’s see what we can learn from the man after he was healed

 

9b Now that day was the Sabbath.  10 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."  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. 

 

4.      The healed man did not really know Who healed him

a.       He had believed Him

b.      He had followed His direction

5.      But the man did not really know Jesus

a.       He knew of Jesus

b.      He still shifted blame