was just noticing some things in John last night as our 'through-the-Bible-in-a-year' group had read through it this week, and a friend was pointing this out --
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-- Jesus did not say anything to this man about his faith. in fact, the man didn't seem to have faith - he was thinking of the pool, not of God, and not of Christ having the power to do anything for him other than help him get to the pool ((of course, Christ had not done but 2 miracles before this, so the man had probably not heard of him))
Jesus told him more or less the same thing as He said to the woman caught in adultery, to 'go and sin no more' - but He added that a worse thing may happen to him if he didn't. does this mean sin had caused his condition? he'd been invalid for 38 years - ((NIV & others say 'invalid' specifically, but exclude verse 4, so i quoted HCSB which includes that verse which isn't found in all manuscripts, but seems awfully important as an explanatory footnote)) - what could he have done, and what could be worse? obviously, death, or eternal punishment, or something more painful.
i also noticed that this man had not asked to be healed, but Jesus sought him out, and that again there is no mention of his faith or anything else - perhaps Jesus simply had compassion on him, but perhaps also, i thought, Jesus is beginning to 'stir the pot' with the pharisees, knowing full well that it is the sabbath and that they would gripe about him carrying his mat - since Jesus specifically told him to do this. i thought, here is the Lord making it clear that these teachers of the law were more concerned with these niggling regulations than with the fact that this man - invalid for 38 years, whom they surely knew and often saw at the pool - had been miraculously healed and strength in his legs and arms restored so that he could walk and carry a mat in the first place!
a third thing i see here, relevant to some other current discussions on the forum, is that regardless of the lack of faith found in the man or anyone around watching - it is entirely missing from the text - the word of the Lord alone healed the man. it did not require power from anyone else to 'move the hand of God' as the WOF movement would have us believe. Jesus did not touch him or ask him if he believed, nada -- actually did not even say 'be healed!' just simply gave the command of His word, and the man was immediately empowered to carry out Christ's command. that is an encouraging and significant observation, in my mind!
just thought this was relevant here, since he also told him not to sin
maybe not full of deep wisdom -- or maybe it is(!) -- hope it blesses someone to think about. anything you could add to what i got from this i would really like to hear.
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John 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Third Sign: Healing the Sick
5 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. 3 Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”
8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.
Now that day was the Sabbath, 10 so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.”
11 He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Third Sign: Healing the Sick
5 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. 3 Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”
8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.
Now that day was the Sabbath, 10 so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.”
11 He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
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-- Jesus did not say anything to this man about his faith. in fact, the man didn't seem to have faith - he was thinking of the pool, not of God, and not of Christ having the power to do anything for him other than help him get to the pool ((of course, Christ had not done but 2 miracles before this, so the man had probably not heard of him))
Jesus told him more or less the same thing as He said to the woman caught in adultery, to 'go and sin no more' - but He added that a worse thing may happen to him if he didn't. does this mean sin had caused his condition? he'd been invalid for 38 years - ((NIV & others say 'invalid' specifically, but exclude verse 4, so i quoted HCSB which includes that verse which isn't found in all manuscripts, but seems awfully important as an explanatory footnote)) - what could he have done, and what could be worse? obviously, death, or eternal punishment, or something more painful.
i also noticed that this man had not asked to be healed, but Jesus sought him out, and that again there is no mention of his faith or anything else - perhaps Jesus simply had compassion on him, but perhaps also, i thought, Jesus is beginning to 'stir the pot' with the pharisees, knowing full well that it is the sabbath and that they would gripe about him carrying his mat - since Jesus specifically told him to do this. i thought, here is the Lord making it clear that these teachers of the law were more concerned with these niggling regulations than with the fact that this man - invalid for 38 years, whom they surely knew and often saw at the pool - had been miraculously healed and strength in his legs and arms restored so that he could walk and carry a mat in the first place!
a third thing i see here, relevant to some other current discussions on the forum, is that regardless of the lack of faith found in the man or anyone around watching - it is entirely missing from the text - the word of the Lord alone healed the man. it did not require power from anyone else to 'move the hand of God' as the WOF movement would have us believe. Jesus did not touch him or ask him if he believed, nada -- actually did not even say 'be healed!' just simply gave the command of His word, and the man was immediately empowered to carry out Christ's command. that is an encouraging and significant observation, in my mind!
just thought this was relevant here, since he also told him not to sin
maybe not full of deep wisdom -- or maybe it is(!) -- hope it blesses someone to think about. anything you could add to what i got from this i would really like to hear.
