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10-John-C5-True_Bethesda.hwp|
John 5:1-18 Key Verse: 5:8 Jesus, True Bethesda "Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.'" In today's passage Jesus heals a man who had been sick for 38 years. The man was helpless and in complete despair. Jesus came to him and saved him with his word. Through the passage today, I pray we may know better only Jesus is our true savior. I pray we may get up and walk by the power and grace of Jesus. I. Bethesda, a piece of straw It was a feast of Jews. Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the feast. There were many people in Jerusalem and they were joyful and cheerful. However, on this happy day, some people were in grief and despair. There was a pool which was called Bethesda. Around the pool, many people gathered, who suffered from all kinds of disease and disability, such as the blind, the lame, or the paralyzed. The place was full of complaints and laments from the patients. Then, why did they lie around the pool? It was because of a strange legend to the pool. From time to time an angel would come down and stir up the waters. When the water was stirred, the first one into the pool would be cured of whatever disease he had. They stayed around the pool, expecting it to save them as the legend said. A Korean proverb says, "A drowning man tries to catch a piece of straw." To the patients around Bethesda, the water was like a piece of straw. We understand their desire to be healed by any means. However, the pool could not cure them of their sufferings, just as a straw cannot save the drowning man. The pool was a piece of straw because the legend was not a real fact but a kind of superstition. It was a lie which human beings faked. We have many legends of 선녀탕 in Korea. 선녀탕 is believed to give sons or healing to the one who takes a bath in it. There is no difference between washing bodies in 선녀탕 and jumping into Bethesda. The Jewish people had believed in God and learned the Bible for thousands of years. It was a big irony for the chosen people to hold on to the ridiculous superstition. There is one more reason why the pool was only a piece of straw that could not save them. The pool was supposed to heal the first one into it. Then who can jump into the pool first? The lame?, the blind?, or the paralyzed? The one who runs and dives fastest into the water is the healthiest among them. In fact, he is not a patient at all. Maybe his illness is catching a slight cold. Really, the Bethesda is like a crazy, unreasonable doctor. It takes care of healthy people, while the really sick one is out of its concern. Certainly the patients around Bethesda had an earnest desire to be healed. However, they made a critical mistake to choose Bethesda as their saivior It was so superstitious. It was not gracious to sick people. The patients were very miserable. It was not only because of their disease. What made them more miserable was the wrong doctor that they had chosen for their treatment. II. Do you want to get well? Look at verse 5. "One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years." There was a patient at Bethesda. According to the verses 6 and 7, he lied and could not move without someone's help. He had been this terribly sick for 38 years. 38 years of suffering!. Can you imagine what it was? Thirty-eight years ago, it was 1972. Most of you here were not born yet. Now I am father of a primary school third grader but in 1972, I was a third grader myself at Moo-hak primary school. On his sickbed, the man saw president 박정희, 전두환, 노태우, 김영삼, and 김대중 pass by. When he went to see a doctor first, he listened to 윤형주 and 송창식 on the radio. But now as a senior patient at Betheda, he is watching 카라 and 포미닛 through the Internet. For a long time, he had seen many doctors, but no one could cure him. Finally he flowed into Bethesda, hoping that it would be his savior. However, Bethesda was the worst doctor he had ever met. Bethesda told him to jump into the water first. But no matter how much effort he made, he could not do it. In the distance, he had to look at the healthiest diving into the water. But today, a wonderful thing happened to him. Jesus came to the patient for 38 years. Bethesda gave special treatment to the healthiest person, but Jesus turned his eyes to the sickest man. Now, what did Jesus tell him? Let's read the verse 6. "When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'" At first, Jesus asked him, "Do you want to get well?" Jesus did not ask this question to know if the patient had desire to get well. By asking this question, Jesus wanted to turn the man's attention to him from Bethesda. "Do you really think you can get well by the pool? Is the pool really the way to your salvation?" This is what Jesus meant in his question. As soon as hearing this question, the man surely reflected on his mistake to choose Bethesda as his doctor. Also he paid attention to Jesus, the new doctor to save him. Now, how did the man respond to Jesus' question? Look at verse 7. "Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." The man's answer sounds as if he had blamed others who did not help him. It also seems that he still held on to the Bethesda superstition. However, these are not what the man really meant. What the patient wanted to say was his complete despair. "Sir, Bethesda told me to jump into the water first to get salvation. But I am too sick to do it and I have no one to help me. Now I do know I cannot be saved at this pool. So I ask your help. Pease do something for me." This is the implication contained in the man's answer. At the point of complete despair, the man met Jesus as his savior. At the end of human effort, stood Jesus as true Bethesda. III. Jesus, the true Bethesda Now what did Jesus do for the patient? Look at verse 8. "Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.'" The meaning of Jesus' words is this. "I have already healed you. So get up. If you get up, pick up your mat and walk." Jesus' word is not just a word, but the great power to make a miracle. As soon as his words came out, the breath of life was put into the man's body. A once, the paralysis was driven out. His muscles were suddenly strong. His bones became like steel. His heart began to beat like a train. Finally he recovered what he had been 38 years ago. Now with great joy and surprise, he got up following Jesus' words. According to Jesus' words, he picked up his mat and walked, saying good bye to Bethesda. With one word of Jesus, the invalid for 38 years was healed. He got up and walked. How amazing and how wonderful the miracle was! Then, who is Jesus that made such a miracle? Really Jesus is the true savior. Jesus is the very healing pool from which mercy and power flows out. He is a true doctor for the sick. He is a almighty doctor who can cure every disease. This time, let's praise Jesus, the true Bethesda. Let's praise Jesus who is our true savior. In Jesus' time, the Jewish people were like the patients at Bethesda. They believed they would be saved by keeping Moses' law. Moses' law was their Bethesda where they had to jump in order to achieve salvation. However, they could never keep all the laws, just as the patient could not jump into the pool. So they could never get salvation but had to die eternally. However, so amazingly, the new way of salvation is opened to the sinners who have to die. Jesus died on the cross to redeem their sins. He gave his life as a ransom to save them. Just as the patient at Bethesda was healed for free by Jesus' mercy, the sinners can be saved by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Truly, Jesus is the saving pool for the sinners. Jesus is the true Bethesda from which living water wells up. Anyone suffering from sins can jump into this pool of amazing grace. Everyone in the pool is forgiven and saved from their sins. They all get up and walk into the light of God. These days, there are many other Bethesdas around us. Making money, doctor degree, stable job, or good marriage, all of these seem to give us true happiness. I do not say they are not blessings. They are all good things worth our effort. However, if we regard those things as our savior, we are not different from the patients at Bethesda. We will surely fell into despair in the end just as the patient at the pool did. Then, where can we find our ultimate joy and happiness? It lies only in Jesus. Nothing can take place of Jesus. Only Jesus makes us truly happy and satisfied. I thought the university would give me salvation. I thought I would reach happiness if I lived in the campus. So despite my severe headache, I studied hard to jump into the pool called university. However, contrary to the belief, my life on the campus was chaos itself. I could not study at all. It was not only because of the headache. It was also because I could not find the reason why I had to study. There must be something really important and meaningful, but I didn’t know what it was. I tried other things such as music, physical exercise, or political demonstrations. However, those things still did not satisfy my soul. The more I tried, the more confused I was. It was when I was in such deep trouble that I went to CCC summer BIble conference. (CCC is another Christian student society.) For the first two days, I didn't understand at all what they said. However, on the third night, with help of a missionary candidate, I confessed my sins and accept Jesus as my savior. I prayed, "God, please forgive me. I have not believed in you. I have hated many people for a long time. Now I accept Jesus as my savior. Please come into my heart and my life, and be my master." At the time of prayer, I did not feel any change. However, on the way back to my tent, I felt a mysterious joy flowing into my heart. It was a great joy I had never expected and experienced. After that, I began to attend a church. My life became more and more stable and balanced. In the university, I lost my way, but in Jesus, I could get up and walk. Sometimes I tumbled down when I met hardships. However, soon I could get up again and find my direction in Jesus who is my wonderful compass and my true Bethesda. Today, Jesus is still asking to us, "Do you want to really get well?" To his question, I pray all of us may devote our confession like this. "Lord, we know we can get well only in Jesus. Only Jesus is the healing pool for our soul." I pray that in Jesus, we may all get up from our sins and troubles, and that we may walk into the light of God. |
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