PASTOR’S CORNER, David Hoffman, First Church of the Nazarene, Liberal

In March 1987, my wife, Barbara, and I anticipated the first few days of Spring Break. We both taught full-time as well as held administrative responsibilities at Nazarene Indian Bible College in Albuquerque, NM.

We had the first three days off of Spring Break to rest, so we decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. We packed our luggage and snacks and headed west to Arizona.

I felt congested and tired, so I took some Tylenol. I shrugged away the weakness thinking it was just sinus or a cold. It was late when we arrived at Winslow, Ariz., so we checked into a motel. After I brought the last suitcase to the room, I felt very warm inside and began to perspire. I laid across the bed, then I ran a high fever. No medicine we packed touched the fever. I hardly slept all night. The next morning Barbara called the local hospital, and they told her to bring me to the emergency room. The nurse drew blood, and a few minutes later she began to wheel me down the hallway to a room. Barbara asked, “Where are you taking my husband?

The nurse replied, “Ma’am, your husband has acute double pneumonia! He will be in the hospital for a few days.”

I was placed under an oxygen tent for four days. On the second day, I told the doctor I needed to get out of the hospital and go home. I had too much work to do!! He asked me point blank – “Sir, do you want to get well?”

I had only been under that doctor’s care for 36 hours when we had that conversation. However, the disabled man invalid at the pool of Bethesda had been in his condition for 38 years!

Let’s consider four elements of observation:

Coincidental circumstances, v. 1-5

Coincidence may be defined as a situation in which “God chooses to remain anonymous.”

The scene begins with Jesus attending an unnamed Jewish festival in Jerusalem. (It could have been Passover, Pentecost or Tabernacles. The tone of the feast for the people would be one of joyful celebration. Nevertheless, for the disabled people at this pool it would be the tone of confusion and tension. The exact location was at the Sheep Gate in the east wall of Jerusalem; it’s also called “Solomon’s Porch.” Through the entrance sheep were brought into the Temple for the sacrifices conducted by the priests.

Bethesda has a variety of translations due to its special emphasis: House of Mercy, House of Outpouring, House of Olive Oil, House of Healing & House of Bubbling. The site consisted of two rectangular adjacent pools, 55 feet long & 12 ft. wide. The pool is deep enough to dive into and lacks a shallow end. One approaches by a winding and steep set of steps. As a water reservoir it was surrounded by five covered colonnades - four around and one in between.

A hot spring or warm subterranean stream lies beneath the pool. Every now & then it bubbles like a jacuzzi! An angel would stir the water, and people would rush to enter the water to take advantage of its medicinal value due to a secret healing agent. Only the first person receives the healing benefits.

Imagine the despair, disappointment, sense of hopelessness and helplessness the disabled people felt as their “dream cure” would vanish before their eyes.

People had remorse as they wept, “I missed it again!” The paralytic felt “My ship just never came in for me.” Maybe he had muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis. Have you ever felt that life just passed you by? That is a crippling feeling in itself!

Compassionate Confrontation, v. 6-9

The man at the pool was desperate and frustrated. Jesus initiated dialogue with the question - “Do you want to be made well?” The words well or whole occur 6 times in John chapter 5. Jesus approaches us first. He asks this man if he is willing to be cured. The will is the element of human nature that makes decisions or choices. It responds to the Holy Spirit. It is open to change with an intense desire. Jesus commands him to “pick up your mat and walk.” The paralytic did not ask him to heal him. He did not express faith for the healing. Similarly, we can feel aimless, numb, empty and crippled. He was carried by others for so long that he became too dependent on the wrong source! Maybe he depended on charity or he just lost the will to be healed any longer. Assistance became his “crutch” to lean on. He felt entitled to it. Or, he was lost in self-pity. Initially, lame man did not recognize it was Jesus. The world does not know Jesus is the Son of God with power to heal them. “Why me?” He was so preoccupied with himself that he did not realize HELP even when he was staring Him in the face.

Careless Controversy, v. 10-12

Due to the healing being on the sacred Sabbath, opposition from the Pharisees or religious leaders arose. They complained that the Law, or their interpretation of it, was broken. They overlooked the fact that the broken man was now healed. By carrying his bed or rolled-up blanket, they claimed he lifted a burden and did work. They thought one could not carry a needle in a robe, etc.)

Christ’s Caution, v. 13-15

Jesus told him “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

The eternal consequences of sin are worse than a physical ailment. Don’t doubt the love of God, His mercy, compassion to heal, and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit.

Those who leave everything in God’s hands will eventually see God’s hand in everything! Don’t dig up in doubt what God has planted in you by faith.