Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] It.
[00:00:31] So John 4:43, 5:18.
[00:00:36] But to remind us, John's purpose in this book is to believe in the Word made flesh. He wants to convince you to believe in the Word made flesh.
[00:00:50] This is why he's recorded Jesus life and the signs that he performed. The first of these seven signs was when Jesus turned water into wine at that wedding in Cana. And today's text has the second and third signs, both healings.
[00:01:08] Jesus ministry has begun.
[00:01:11] We've seen that he has arrived and has been declared to be the Son by the Father and anointed by the Spirit.
[00:01:21] And last week we saw how Jesus even goes and seeks the lost, even among non Jewish nations, so that all might be saved through him.
[00:01:33] And in this passage he completes his trip back to Cana, right? He made that pit stop in Samaria on the way back. He completes the trip back to Cana and then he goes on to Jerusalem. And he does signs in these places, miracles. The main idea of John 4:43 5:18 is as Lord Jesus heals infirmities, warns against unbelief, and upholds the universe with the Father and Spirit. As Lord Jesus heals infirmities, warns against unbelief, and upholds the universe with the Father in spirit.
[00:02:15] Let's read this passage.
[00:02:18] So again, John 4:43.
[00:02:24] After the two days he departed for Galilee. For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his hometown.
[00:02:32] So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast, and for they two had gone to the feast.
[00:02:42] So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
[00:02:50] When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
[00:02:59] So Jesus said to him, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.
[00:03:06] The official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies.
[00:03:13] Jesus said to him, go, your son will live.
[00:03:17] The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better. And they said to him, yesterday, at the seventh hour the fever left him.
[00:03:33] The Father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, you son will live.
[00:03:38] And he himself believed in all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did. When he had come from Judea to Galilee.
[00:03:48] After this, there was a feast of the Jews. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem, by the sheep gate, a pool, an Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame and paralyzed.
[00:04:06] One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years.
[00:04:10] 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?
[00:04:17] 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.
[00:04:26] Jesus said to him, get up. Take up your bed and walk.
[00:04:30] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
[00:04:36] Now, that day was the Sabbath.
[00:04:38] 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. But he answered them, the man who healed me.
[00:04:47] The man who healed me. That man said to me, take up your bed and walk.
[00:04:52] They asked him, who is the man who said to you, take up your bed and walk.
[00:04:56] Now, the man who had been healed did not know who it was. For Jesus had withdrawn and there was a crowd in the place.
[00:05:03] 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.
[00:05:12] The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus. Because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
[00:05:22] But Jesus answered them, my Father is working until now, and I am working.
[00:05:28] 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.
[00:05:41] I once was told in college that if you want a crowd of people to quiet down and turn their attention to you, you go up and you move something on the stage.
[00:05:54] I bet people have done this to you at some point and you didn't even know it. So my friend Rob, he then went up to the stage. I did not believe him, by the way. I didn't believe him. He went up to the stage. There's a room full of college kids, probably like 400 college kids.
[00:06:08] And he moved a stool, one foot to the side for no reason.
[00:06:12] And then he kind of walked up to the middle. And everyone simmered down and immediately started finding their seats. And I was blown away.
[00:06:23] So I tried it too. I took turns emceeing these events over the summer for the college ministry, and it worked every single time. Now, I'm not sure it really works in here the same way.
[00:06:35] Maybe it's a you thing, but it worked every time.
[00:06:38] The moving of something on the stage, I think, just indicates to people that that person belongs up there. He's got some sort of authority. So we're going to turn our attention over to him.
[00:06:50] This makes me think of Jesus influence his power and his person, make him the subject of every scene. He enters these scenes where you can easily think this man with a dying child, this other man who has not walked for nearly 40 years.
[00:07:11] These seem to be the main characters. And yet Jesus consumes it all.
[00:07:17] The official he's quickly eclipsed by Jesus power. The lame man is eclipsed by Jesus. And then the healing itself is even eclipsed by Jesus warning to sin no more, making the healing kind of an afterthought of the text. And all of this is even eclipsed again by the controversy that Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath.
[00:07:39] And Jesus again one ups the Pharisees by revealing that he and the Father are both working all the time, including on the Sabbath.
[00:07:50] The signs point to him so that he may eclipse the signs and show that he is gone.
[00:07:57] The signs are there, but they're not the main thing. They're pointing to the main thing. Signs are signs. They point to things. They give us direction. They're pointing to the sun so that we can see that as Lord Jesus heals infirmities, warns against unbelief, and upholds the universe with the Father and the Spirit, so we'll see the second sign here in a minute. Be encouraged and be healed through belief. We'll see the third sign and be encouraged to believe and sin no more. And we'll see the glory of what Jesus reveals about him and the Father and that Sabbath controversy at the end.
[00:08:36] So point number one then is believe and be healed.
[00:08:41] Believe and be healed.
[00:08:45] So again, returning to the place of the first sign, a government or a military official of some kind, he had an ill and dying son.
[00:08:55] We can immediately see that this man is one, at least in some sense, a loving father who cares for his son. And two, a man who believes that if anyone can help his son, it's this guy, it's Jesus.
[00:09:10] But still, his belief, I think, is still more like the people in John 2, do we remember? Or the end of John 1, and in John 2, the people to whom Jesus did not entrust himself their belief was in the signs, not in the person.
[00:09:29] They believed in the signs, but did not believe in Jesus.
[00:09:35] If the gospel of John wants us to believe in the Word made flesh, then it is critical for John to help the reader understand what true belief is. So he is going to continue to to hammer this theme as he has several times already. And so Jesus says to him in verse 48, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.
[00:09:56] And interestingly, this is not just a rebuke to the official, it's a rebuke to the crowd when he says, you, unless you see signs, you will not believe.
[00:10:10] This is a plural you. He's speaking to the crowd. Still, I think this official is included by saying to everyone that if you do not see signs, you will not believe.
[00:10:22] And his response, the man, the official's response is to further plead with Jesus to come down to heal his Son.
[00:10:32] And Jesus is just kind of declaring that the crowd does not believe.
[00:10:40] So maybe we might read this with a cynical eye or maybe a little confusion and think, is Jesus toying with the man? He's going to heal him. Why is he making this big fuss? Well, I don't think he's being cruel.
[00:10:52] I don't think that's what he's doing. See, Jesus knows that the Son will be healed. But more important than even the Son's physical life and health is the spiritual death that is creeping in toward the crowd, toward the official, and toward the official's household.
[00:11:09] Remember, the official in his household believe after this, they have a superficial belief. They don't really believe.
[00:11:18] This makes us think, what is the basis of your faith?
[00:11:24] What is the basis of your faith?
[00:11:26] We've talked about this. I want to remind us again, because John is reminding us over and over, do you want to be healthy? Do you want to be happy? Do you want to fit in with your family and your Christian friends?
[00:11:40] Do you just want to avoid eternal punishment in hell?
[00:11:47] These are not irrelevant things. And yet you need to believe in Jesus for Jesus.
[00:11:54] I cannot emphasize this enough.
[00:11:57] You need to believe in him for who he is, not for what he gets you or gives you.
[00:12:04] We're not commanded to worship the gift. We're commanded to worship the giver.
[00:12:10] We praise and worship the giver because of the gift, but we don't worship the gift.
[00:12:18] So verse 50, Jesus said to him, go, your son will live. And the man believed this belief is different from before.
[00:12:27] So he does not protest or insist that Jesus come with him again. He just goes home.
[00:12:34] And verses 51, 52, show us that the Son was recovering from the very exact moment that Jesus had declared that his Son will live.
[00:12:45] So we also see that this belief is different because it influences the official and his household. Verse 53 tells us so. He's transformed by this.
[00:12:57] This is why Jesus was making that point to the crowd, because this is the more important healing. The healing of their unbelief is far more important.
[00:13:09] Now in a Christological sense, in a Christ centered sense, this passage shows us that not even fatal diseases are an obstacle to Jesus.
[00:13:19] Nothing is.
[00:13:20] This means that the worst, most fatal disease can be healed as easily as this one.
[00:13:28] Now what is the worst, most fatal disease?
[00:13:32] Of course I'm going to say sin.
[00:13:34] There's biblical precedent for this. Jeremiah 17:9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?
[00:13:45] Your heart is sick, it needs to be healed.
[00:13:48] And Jesus also says in Matthew 9, 12, 13, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. He's equating sickness with sin.
[00:14:03] That's what we need healing from.
[00:14:07] You are deathly when you are born and you live and you sin, you are deathly sick with sin, but Jesus has the power to cure it with his Word. And that is the only cure.
[00:14:22] You must believe in Jesus, believe and be healed.
[00:14:29] Now in another kind of moral sense, this passage shows us that equipped with the gospel, we can heal those who are dying.
[00:14:37] Equipped with the gospel and God's spirit as a believer, you can administer the medication that heals the disease of sin and then God can heal their heart.
[00:14:49] We, if you are in Christ, can participate in this. God can use you to bring the life saving, the sickness healing medicine of the gospel to people who need it desperately.
[00:15:05] And in a sense that looks forward to the return of Christ. We can see that all disease, both actual disease and the disease of sin, will be completely swept away, done away with over.
[00:15:20] You know, I know varying numbers of you or you have certain family members that have struggled health wise to varying degrees. But if you believe in Christ, then you can know that all of that will be gone when you're with him.
[00:15:36] All of that gone.
[00:15:38] Even a lifetime of sickness does not compare to an eternity of health and glory.
[00:15:46] So believe and be healed in your heart.
[00:15:50] Believe and be healed.
[00:15:53] Point number two, believe and sin no more.
[00:15:59] Now we're looking in chapter five, we're looking at this second or the second of these two, the third overall sign.
[00:16:06] Jesus goes back to Jerusalem Again for another feast of the Jews.
[00:16:11] And he goes to this pool called Bethesda, where the blind, lame and paralyzed wait for the water to be stirred because they believed it would heal them.
[00:16:23] So you can imagine a tragic scene of suffering invalids, as they're called, hoping to be healed.
[00:16:30] You know, one day, walking to a train station in Mumbai, India, I remember this distinctly over a summer, I saw a large family, they were poor, living on the street, eating rice off of old newspapers on the ground.
[00:16:48] There are many other people like this around.
[00:16:51] And when they would see people that look like us, they would often, their children would run up to us, tap us on the sides and ask for something to eat.
[00:17:05] And how can you not want to help someone like that? How can you not want to help when you are in such a place of poverty and need and sickness and disease?
[00:17:18] I think this is the sort of sense you might get walking into the pool at Bethesda. It is utterly tragic, people laying around languishing, hoping for some miracle in this water to heal them of this disease, this disorder, this disability.
[00:17:38] And then the narrative zooms in on one in particular, right? A man who is lame, unable to walk for 38 years.
[00:17:45] Again, it almost like on a cursory reading, maybe, it seems patronizing for Jesus to say, do you want to be healed?
[00:17:53] Of course he wants to be healed. Jesus knows this.
[00:17:56] He wants to draw something out.
[00:18:00] And so the lame man thinks he needs to explain. He says, yeah, I'm just laying here.
[00:18:07] I can't get into the magic water on time.
[00:18:10] I can't do it. I want to, but I can't.
[00:18:14] And then Jesus, kind of in a similar sort of abruptness, I think, to the response in the previous passage, he says the word, get up, take up your bed and walk.
[00:18:25] He just heals him.
[00:18:30] Now, interestingly, there's no indication, obviously, of belief from this man. So these are not the same story, just repackaged. There's no indication of belief. It doesn't say the opposite, does not say he does not believe.
[00:18:47] And so that doesn't mean we have to guess. What it means is the focus is something different.
[00:18:52] The focus of the third sign is different. Look at verse 14.
[00:18:56] This later in the passage, it says, see you are well.
[00:19:00] Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.
[00:19:04] So I think we're supposed to look upon this as kind of the distinguisher between these stories.
[00:19:11] And honestly, there's at least two ways that you could take this.
[00:19:16] I think they're both legitimate.
[00:19:18] So first, it could mean that generally sickness Death and disease are a result of sin generally in the world. This is true. And then this man is being warned ultimately to avoid the sin of unbelief.
[00:19:33] He needs to believe if he wants this healing to be true and lasting and eternal. Otherwise something worse, eternal punishment, will happen to him.
[00:19:45] Now, second, we could take this as Jesus telling the man to cease a pattern of sin, which was the reason he was lame in the first place.
[00:19:54] Now, this doesn't mean that all sickness happens because of a certain sin you did, but just that a sin can cause can.
[00:20:06] And this is not unbiblical. We don't often think of this, but it's not unbiblical.
[00:20:11] Example is First Corinthians 11:30. Paul implies that some of the Corinthians were sick and dying because they were taking the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner.
[00:20:20] So because the Bible says this elsewhere and Jesus clearly connects the sin with his ailment, I'm leaning towards that second one. Both of these are helpful. For the first one, you can take from it that you need to believe in Christ.
[00:20:34] We can walk away knowing that ultimate healing that's lasting and eternal only happens through faith. And in Christ, you need to believe.
[00:20:43] Every minute you spend in unbelief, you get closer and closer to a worse punishment, much worse than being unable to walk, wallowing in pity for 38 years. It's an eternal punishment.
[00:20:58] This is a legitimate way to apply it.
[00:21:01] Now, as for that second kind of interpretation, that the man's sin caused his lameness, I think we can learn this.
[00:21:08] I think there's a real, genuine warning and application we could take.
[00:21:12] Keep watch over your life.
[00:21:15] Watch your life and ask, does a certain sin rule you?
[00:21:22] Is sin a pattern that would characterize your life?
[00:21:27] Some people in maybe different spheres of your life might think of you in association with something you do that is sinful.
[00:21:35] If your answer is yes, then listen to Jesus and sin no more, Avoid it, flee from it, trust in Jesus, or something worse might happen.
[00:21:48] And I do think that illness, even though frequently, maybe the majority of the time, is not the result of a specific sin you committed.
[00:22:00] It can be an opportunity for you to look at your life.
[00:22:03] I do believe that sickness, disease, disability is a reminder of the Fall.
[00:22:11] So take some time. Maybe next time you're laying in bed to reflect on your need for a Savior, that you exist in a broken world with a feeble body that is not perfect, that will not last forever, and you need his redemption. You need a new heart first, trusting that when he comes, he'll also give you a new body.
[00:22:36] This is an opportunity I think we often squander when we are sick or injured, but it's a real thing that we should do.
[00:22:44] But I also want to caution you in this, right? We can take this kind of too far.
[00:22:50] I think it was John Piper who, who said, for every look at myself, I want to take 10 looks to Christ.
[00:22:57] So as we do this and we look and reflect, is there sin in my life that maybe the Lord is using this to point me to repentance?
[00:23:07] Don't just wallow in pity, hating yourself.
[00:23:11] When sickness, disease or disability cause you to examine your heart and life, then you should immediately sprint to the cross to see the merciful Savior who died for you, that you might live with him for eternity.
[00:23:26] Run to the cross.
[00:23:28] Run to the cross. It is when you are face to face with your own mortality that you can really appreciate the gift of eternal life that Jesus offers you through faith.
[00:23:41] That's true when we're face to face. That's why if you've seen people walk through a disease that ultimately takes their life, or you've seen a grandparent or someone older pass away, if they're believers, oftentimes you see how godly they become in their last years.
[00:24:01] As they are face to face with their mortality, they appreciate the eternal life that much more. Let's try to gain some of that wisdom while we're young, right?
[00:24:11] Believe and sin no more.
[00:24:14] Point number three then.
[00:24:16] Believe that the Son upholds the universe. Believe that the Son upholds the universe.
[00:24:25] So as we now look to verses nine through 18, we see first that this healing was done on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. Now the Sabbath itself. I believe it's not something just to disregard because it's in the Old Testament, Old covenant. That's not how we read the Bible. We don't just cut it off and say that stuff is cool but not important.
[00:24:47] But the Jews had applied to this command very specific rules of engagement.
[00:24:54] And even God's law to Moses outlined some others that were important.
[00:25:00] But by focusing on the minutia, the little details of how to obey the law, they missed the Spirit of the law.
[00:25:10] They were slaves to the letter and missed the heart.
[00:25:15] We don't want to do that.
[00:25:18] So the actual moral principle behind this Sabbath command is to set aside one day and seven for rest from worldly labors to worship the Lord.
[00:25:28] That's the heart.
[00:25:29] And Jesus was not violating that law.
[00:25:33] As the Jews are trying to figure out who commanded this Guy to violate the Sabbath.
[00:25:40] Jesus tells him to sin no more. The guy goes back to the Jews. We read this a little bit ago to tell them who healed him.
[00:25:47] Now, I don't think we should assume he's betraying Jesus or anything, but it does put Jesus under fire when they find out it was him that healed the man and told him to pick up his bed.
[00:25:58] So it's now revealed not just that the Jews are rejecting Jesus. We've known this. They have been rejecting him, but they were, verse 16, persecuting him.
[00:26:08] Their persecution, we then see in verse 18, means they were seeking all the more to kill him.
[00:26:15] The plotting against his life might begin with him having someone carry a bed on the Sabbath, but it's much deeper than that. It's not just that he told a guy to carry his bed on the Sabbath.
[00:26:30] They said verse 18. He was even calling God, his own Father, making Himself equal with God.
[00:26:39] But what he actually said in verse 17 is that my Father is working until now, and I am working.
[00:26:47] So we want to understand why did they assume when he says, my Father is working and I am working, how is that making Himself equal with God? I'm working right now, and so is the President of the United States. We're not equal by any stretch of the imagination, but with God it's different. This makes complete sense with God. Let me explain.
[00:27:12] Whatever God does all three persons of the Trinity do together.
[00:27:19] The Father, the Son and the Spirit work perfectly united.
[00:27:24] Now, we sometimes read that the Father does this, or the Son does this, or the Spirit does that.
[00:27:31] And based on how the Son is begotten of the Father and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, we sometimes attribute certain works to one or the other, but we don't want to divide them up, since the three persons are not three, but one God. And then everything one does, God does in unity.
[00:27:51] We can't separate his works. Like only the Son does this. Only the Spirit does this. Only the Father does this. We can't cut up their work.
[00:28:00] And God is working. And I think the Jews understood that God cannot be divided in this way. He is unique in his working.
[00:28:09] God is working. He rested on the seventh day from creation, Genesis 2:2.
[00:28:14] And he is still resting from that.
[00:28:16] But he did not stop upholding, supporting and providing for creation.
[00:28:22] This is what we call God's providence, the upholding, the sustaining of the universe, keeping the earth spinning, keeping life sustainable.
[00:28:33] So what Jesus is saying, bringing it home. What Jesus is saying is that he is doing the work of Providence.
[00:28:41] A distinctly God task. He is doing the only work allowable on the Sabbath, the work of God.
[00:28:51] And as Hebrews 1:3 says, Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power. He does uphold and sustain all things.
[00:28:59] And John has already. John 1:3 has already revealed that all things were made through him.
[00:29:05] So we have this testimony clearly that Jesus is the creator and the sustainer of the world because he is God and he created it.
[00:29:16] So don't let people tell you that Jesus never claims to be God. He's clearly doing that.
[00:29:22] Even when he says, my Father is working until now and I'm working, he is claiming to be one with the Father.
[00:29:31] If he weren't, then why would they be so outraged so as to seek to kill Him?
[00:29:38] We must believe that the Son upholds the universe.
[00:29:44] So this man that we've been studying, he upholds the universe.
[00:29:49] He's the Word made flesh. We've seen him talk about belief, offering living water new birth, and he upholds the universe.
[00:29:59] One of my favorite hymns is what a Friend we have in Jesus, which says in its third verse, are we weak and heavy laden? Cumbered with a load of care?
[00:30:15] Precious Savior still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you?
[00:30:23] Take it to the Lord in prayer.
[00:30:25] In his arms he'll take and shield you. You will find a soul there.
[00:30:32] Take it to the Lord in prayer.
[00:30:35] This Lord upholds the universe. You can take it to the Lord in prayer. If you trust in Christ, you trust in the Creator and the Sustainer of the entire universe.
[00:30:50] Are you weak?
[00:30:52] Pray.
[00:30:53] Do you have no friends or friends that have abandoned you? Pray.
[00:30:59] Are you enduring trials or temptations?
[00:31:02] Pray.
[00:31:04] Jesus, equality with the Father and the Spirit as one God should not lead you to rage and plot against Him.
[00:31:12] No, it's an invitation to come to him and find solace, comfort and eternal healing.
[00:31:21] And in fact, along with prayer, we can tell that this passage teaches us to rest.
[00:31:28] So they might be accusing him of violating the rest command. I think this passage is teaching us to rest.
[00:31:35] The Jews were enraged that a man was carrying his bed on the Sabbath. But we have a better Sabbath.
[00:31:43] You can rest from trying to find God and make yourself worthy of him because Jesus did that work for you.
[00:31:52] He was raised on the Lord's Day 2,000 years ago. And now you can rest from your worldly labors each week and even each day and come together with the church to spend a day worshiping Him.
[00:32:05] This day is for us to rest and have Solace and comfort, worshipping with the church and making that the prime priority of your weekly routine and is actually how we should obey this command. We can have the command serve us, benefit us, rather than trying to benefit and worry about the minutiae.
[00:32:31] The Lord offers us rest as the sustainer of the universe. We need to not worry about anything else.
[00:32:39] But you can only follow it through Jesus.
[00:32:42] And Jesus gives you the church that you might be refreshed.
[00:32:47] So maybe practically reconsider if you're committing to things that draw you away from worship on the Lord's Day on Sunday.
[00:32:59] Now, sometimes in life it might be a necessity to be traveling or working a job like one in a hospital or something.
[00:33:07] But I think just too often, too often, church becomes something we do when there's nothing else on the calendar. I don't think that's sustainable.
[00:33:18] But the bottom line is that faith in the One who provides for the whole universe is the only way to genuinely rest and be healed and sin no more. So rest in Him.
[00:33:32] Worship him on the day he's given us sin no more. Because by His Spirit he gives you the ability to not sin.
[00:33:41] Believe in him and he will heal you of the disease of sin.
[00:33:47] It no longer chokes out your life because he gives you new life in Him.
[00:33:52] As Lord Jesus heals infirmities, he warns against unbelief and he upholds the universe with the Father in spirit. Let's pray.
[00:34:07] O Lord, we praise you for your Son who gives us rest from our labors. The One who upholds the universe is you, O God. We can take all our cares and worries to you in prayer. We can rest trusting and knowing that you can handle them and you can handle all our sin.
[00:34:27] God, help us to flee from sin, help us to believe.
[00:34:32] Remove unbelief from our hearts.
[00:34:35] Heal the disease and sickness of sin within us that we might come to you in holiness.
[00:34:42] We pray this in your Son's name.
[00:34:45] Amen.
[00:34:52] It.
