Receive Healing of the Soul

Receive Healing of the Soul
John 5:1-9
November 2-3, 2024 

     Today we are in the well-known section of the man at the pool of Bethesda. John gives us this specific snapshot of Jesus’ ministry to stir and strengthen our faith as it is applicable to all of our lives.

     Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem as it was time for the feast of the Jews where all the men had to attend. Jesus was entering Jerusalem through the sheep gate. Now this is thought to have been the gate through which they would bring in the sheep for slaughter to the temple during the feasts.

     As Jesus entered, he happened upon the pool of Bethesda that was at the gate.

     There was a tradition concerning this pool that whenever the waters of the pool moved, whoever got in first, would be healed. Because of this there were many who were sick, blind, lame, and withered at this pool.

     Can you imagine this sight? All these hopeless people, sick people, just grasping at the last straws of trying to have a better life.

     But that day something would be different. Because that day someone different was entering through the sheep’s gate. He who would be the Lamb of God who would be the ultimate sacrifice for sins and the healing of the effect of sin was entering through the gate.

     There At the pool, Jesus found a man with an issue who has been lying at this pool for 38 years. We can pick up from the discussion that he was in a place of hopelessness.

     Jesus has a crucial interaction with him. Jesus asks Him an important question, and it is ringing through the ages to us this morning as well as we are also confronted with this question.

     We can read the section this morning and say that we do not necessarily have a health issue in our bodies and as such, cannot relate to this story or to this person. But it goes much deeper than this.

     This story is also a symbol of the deep troubles inside, because we see Jesus not only addressing his physical ailments, but the questions that He asks points to something that is much deeper in the soul.

     Many today have issues and frustrations and problems in the soul. Some have a soul that feels sick, blind, lame, or withered. Many have gone through deep, traumatic experiences.

     
     Some feel like emotionally they have been lying next to a pool hoping for someone just to help them in. They put on a mask, suppressing it, even looking fine to those around them, but they know deep down there are things that need to be dealt with, ailments that need to be addressed.

     This morning, Jesus is at the pool of your life. I believe that this morning, through this word, God wants to proclaim truth into your life, and He wants to give you hope, and a new future, knowing that you don’t have to sit at the pool anymore.

I. Do You Wish to Get Well?

When Jesus gets to this man, he asks him a very strange question. “Do you wish to get well?

From a third person perspective this looks like a strange question. We would think that it is obvious. This man is sick, who would not want to get well?

But Jesus saw a deeper issue. He was going to the core of the problem. This man has been sick for so long, that it has become part of his identity, influencing his character, and is part of his nature.

I suggest to you that today all people, to some degree, walk around with hurt, insecurities, and rejection . I know this because we are living in a fallen world.

We are the result of the houses we grew up in, things we perceived, things spoken over us, things we read, and it shapes our paradigm and how we perceive the world, and also ourselves.

When we come to Christ, we know that we are saved, but our minds have super-highways of habits and ways of thinking that is directing the flow of our perceptions, and as a result, our lives.

Illus – We have all seen movies depicting or heard stories of people who grew up in a rough neighborhood, like the Bronx, that is flooded with gangs and violence. From an outside perspective, it might be easy to say, just don’t get involved in the gangs.. Don’t do it. Just get out. But remember the perspective of the person that is in the situation is that it is all they know. It is their reality. They cannot “see’ a different way, until they are challenged with it. How many testimonies are there of a grandma that would challenge a grandchild…

Illus – People sometimes ask me, “Didn’t you miss growing up without siblings?”, to which I would reply, “ I don’t know, I never had any to miss.”

The problem with these super-highways of thought patterns is that they become ingrained in us to such a degree that we think it is who we are. Some even think it is part of their DNA. Sometimes you don’t even know that you have a problem. You might see a correlating effect in your life, but still, you might think it is the norm.

Illus – Let’s say you know nothing about dogs. One day you get a little puppy. It makes a mess everywhere. You didn’t know you can train it.

In the same way, we do not know we need healing until we are confronted with the question.

A. Identify the issue

Before you can receive healing, you need to know what the issue is.

The response of this man is interesting. When Jesus asks the question, he doesn’t answer the question. He answers with an excuse on why he isn’t healed yet.

The excuse is twofold. Firstly, it comes from shame. When there is shame, one tries to blame shift. It is as old as civilization itself. Adam said it was Eve, Eve said, it is not me God, it is the snake.

False pride keeps people from receiving healing, because they shy away from the truth, trying to cover up shame and insecurities.

However, the moment that we are willing to accept the fact that there is a problem and are willing to surrender to God, He steps in.

Illus – It would be like walking around with a gushing wound in your side, and a doctor asks if you need help…

That is why the bible says that the humble will receive wisdom. It is wise to be humble, to receive help, to acknowledge the truth.

I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that we all have problems and we all need to change and it will continue until the day we die.

The good news is that we all have problems and we all need to change and it will continue until the day we die.

We are all in this together. Church is a hospital. But the wonderful truth is that the Spirit of God is right there with us, changing and transforming us into the image of Christ.

The other good news is that it is a process. It doesn’t all happen or have to happen at once.

Illus – There is an interesting observation one can make when teaching your kids how to drive…

App – In our faith-journey, thankfully God doesn’t show us all our failures, flaws, hurts, issues, and wrong mindsets all at once…

B. Look to Jesus

The second thing about his answer is that it gave him a reason to stay passive and reactive. I must wait for the water, or I must wait for someone to help me in. All the while he was kept from healing.

Granted, up until that point he had challenges, but the difference on this day, was that Jesus was there. He didn’t have to wait for the water to stir again. He could look to Jesus. That is where the answer lies.

Hebrews 12:2, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.

There is a great truth that really impacted my life. Between stimulus and response, we have the ability to choose. We see it in the fight/flight principle.

It is also the same in our lives on many levels, especially emotionally. We can choose to stay passive, reactive, or become pro-active. Even doing nothing is a choice.

Living passive and reactively is comfortable, but it slows down growth and progress.

Illus – Let’s say you have child that needs to do homework, but he can’t find a pencil…

There is great wisdom found in the deep philosophical movie, Madagascar. In the words of the penguin: Don’t give me problems, give me solutions!

The wonderful truth of the gospel is that in Christ we have the answer. We have the solutions. We have His Spirit as our comforter, strengthener, dynamos power that changes us from glory to glory.

We have the opportunity to look to the answer and make a choice. A Choice to believe and trust.

II. Pursue Change

The question is, ‘Do you want to get well?’ It is an invitation to hope. He has given us the hope and ability to change our perspective. If we accept the challenge to change and start to be pro-active, we can move on to the next step.

A. Identify the Lie

Verse 3- … a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered.

We all start off as part of this multitude. Spiritually we all have one or, most probably, more of these things we need to deal with.

But Christ is the answer for all of this. He can bring healing in every circumstance. He can turn it around.

Some are sick. Sickness can be chronic or acute. Many times, attacks on the soul results in acute sickness that, if it is not dealt with, can become a chronic problem.

Illus – Lets say you have a child that grows up in a house broken, toxic house where there is verbal abuse…

Some are blind. Some are blind to the truth.

Many have grown so comfortable in coping with their blindness that they cannot discern their blindness in a situation anymore.
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 2But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

If your ‘truth’, what you hold on to for life, is a lie, it is very dark. That is why the light has come.

Ephesians 1:18, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Our prayer should be, Lord let me see, what you see, let me see as you see. Open the eyes of my heart.

Some have grown lame. Some have lost their strength. Lost their ability to stand. Maybe they have been tripped up by this world, tripped up by experienced, and just cannot stand anymore.
Hebrews 12:12, Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Isaiah 61:1, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.

Others are withered. Dry shriveled up. This is what the world does.
Isaiah 42:3, A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.

B. Act on His word

I just love the fact that Jesus didn’t get into the weeds with this man. He didn’t start to debate with Him the validity of his answer or excuses.

Some want to keep debating the problem. It keeps you stuck.

In the end, if you know the answer there is no point in debating the problem.

Jesus was the answer and knew what the result needed to be. This man must get up and walk.

The answer to all the problems, sick, lame, blind, withered is Jesus and every promise that is our inheritance in Him.

So Jesus gives the command. Stop sitting in your situation. Get up and walk.

And this is where the choice came in. Whatever the excuses, whatever the condition, whatever the background, that is now in the past.
This man chose to stop looking at His condition, to take Jesus at His word, and to stand up.

I know we all have experienced hurt in the past. I know we all have had setbacks in the past. Some more than others. I am not trying to minimize that.

But after all is said and done, and all the cards have been put on the table, there is a choice to be made.

Jesus knows your past. He has seen your mistakes. He has seen your hurts.

The difference is that He is not only one that hears and says, “I’m so sorry to hear that” without being able to do something about it.

He has the ability to change everything. He tells you to get up and walk. He tells you to take Him at His word. He tells you to leave the past behind and move towards the future.

It all starts with a choice. Not a choice to pick yourself up and change yourself, A choice to look forward in expectation of what God will do, and act on His word.

C. Walk in your healing

This man gets up and walk, but have you ever thought of the challenges He might have faced now? Although there was a miracle, everything has changed.

Most probably his living arrangement changed. Because of his condition he might have been a beggar, so now his income stream needed to change. He might have had to go and find employment.

He could have chosen to say, ‘this is all too different. I am used to sitting next to the pool receiving alms from people. This is my life.’

He had to choose to continue walking in his healing.

This is the challenge of our Christian Walk. Whether you have been following Christ for 1 month or 30 years, we will always have things that he is stretching us towards, growing us into, shaping us in.

We can choose to say, God, I am comfortable enough, or we can walk in our healing, taking Him at His word.

Remember, His word is not to condemn you, but convict you of the truth so you can walk in it by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7, …for we walk by faith, not by sight.

It will be different for everyone, God brings different growth challenges for everyone. Whatever happens, keep an attitude of moving towards God’s best life.