This morning, I read chapter five of the gospel according to John and was struck by the story of the healing at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15). This is a strange incident because of what we are told about the background. Depending upon which Bible version we read, verse four may be missing – this is the one that explains about the water of the pool being stirred by an angel. There seems to be no Biblical context for this verse, the suggestion being that the idea of an angel of God disturbing the water was nothing more than superstition. It appears that the oldest manuscripts of John’s gospel don’t have this element of the story, implying that it was a later, mistaken addition. We should also note that nowhere else in either the Old or New Testaments do we find angels associated with healing.
Expectation
Whatever we may think, it seems that many people of that day had this belief and, one must assume, had some basis for believing in the healing attribute of the water once it had been stirred. Maybe it was more about hope than reality, but hope is a powerful thing. The man in question obviously expected some benefit were he to be able to get into the water before anyone else, but he never managed this. We don’t know how long he had been trying. We might assume that the stirring of the water was an irregular occurrence and not on any schedule; otherwise, those seeking healing could, and surely would, be prepared to enter the water much like an athlete waiting for the anticipated starting pistol to be fired.
Healing
Given the dubious premise of the story of the pool of Bethesda, perhaps it is no surprise that Jesus didn’t direct his disciples to help the man into the water, but rather turned to heal him directly himself. In verse six, we read that Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time. Maybe it was this awareness that prompted him to single out this particular invalid and ask if he wanted to be healed. The man himself didn’t give a direct answer to that question, but rather explained his predicament about being unable to enter the water before someone else got there first. Despite this, Jesus offered him the healing that was sought.
Faith
There are two things to note here. Firstly, there is no evidence that the man knew who Jesus was, as is indicated in verse thirteen when the Jews asked who had done the healing, but the man didn’t know. The second thing is that this healing required a step of faith on the part of the disabled man. Although Jesus had asked the man about his desire to be healed, he said nothing directly about healing when giving the instruction to “Get up, take up your bed, and walk”. In the following verse (9), we find that the man was immediately healed and went on to do as Jesus had instructed him.
Sin
The ongoing narrative relates to the reaction of the Jews to the man carrying his bed on the Sabbath. I want to draw attention to verse fourteen. This is where Jesus finds the man in the temple and, addressing him, says: “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” Have you ever wondered what sin it was that Jesus referred to? Whatever it may have been, it seems that Jesus himself was aware of it, as was the man. We don’t actually know if this was a specific sin or a general warning that the man needed to live righteously if he wanted to remain whole, but the latter certainly applies to you and me. We can’t expect wholeness and health if we are careless about our sin, and especially if we permit ourselves to knowingly continue to sin.
Relationship
We tend to think of sinning as breaking rules, which it is in one respect – breaking God’s rules. But I want to suggest that to sin is essentially a relational act, a betrayal. When Adam sinned, he made a decision to disregard what God had said. In doing so, he showed disrespect, if not outright defiance. The result was a breaking of the relationship that had existed between God and mankind. When Jesus submitted himself to a gruesome death on a Roman cross, he did the exact opposite of sinning. Despite having every good reason to walk away, he was obedient, even to death (Philippians 2:8-11). This was an act of ultimate submission to God, the display of total obedience, submission and love – it was relationship-affirming, and made the way for our own relationship with God to be restored.
No excuse
When we sin, which each one of us does, we might do so out of ignorance of how God expects us to behave. We may do so inadvertently, slipping up as it were. But, we might have made a deliberate choice to do as we wish, rather than behaving as we know God wants, similarly to Adam, who liked the prospect of eating the fruit and chose this over faithfulness to God’s instruction. All three scenarios constitute sin. The last is a deliberate act of defiance. Tripping up may be seen as carelessness, a deliberate choice not to take care in our behaviour. Ignorance may be genuine, but it can also be a deliberate choice if we turn away from opportunities to increase our awareness of how God would have us behave; if we neglect to spend time reading the Bible or fellowshipping with other Christians, for example. There is a saying that ignorance is no excuse – see Leviticus 5:17.
Consequences
There are consequences associated with sinful behaviour, just as Jesus highlighted to the man whom he healed at the pool of Bethesda. There is a parallel passage in Luke 11:24-26, related to the return of demons from someone who has been cleansed, resulting in the state of that person being worse than how it started out. Those of us who have received salvation, being cleansed of our sin, need to be mindful of how God wants us to live, and wholehearted in our commitment to follow his leading in our lives. There is no halfway house, no middle ground, no excuses to be made. If we belong to him, then we must belong completely, not just in part, or only when it suits us. Some have come into salvation but have only a half-hearted commitment to living for God, but are you one of these? I hope not.
The title of this post is ‘Have you been stirred?’ We are not thinking about the water of the Bethesda pool, but the challenge of God to live for him and serve him alone. That is surely what he has called us to – will you be wholehearted?
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