Jesus’ Supreme Authority – John 5:1-17

Good morning, church! A warm welcome to all who have joined us today. As we move on ahead, I wanted to ask everyone if we’re prepared to hear from God’s Word this morning ? Even as we say “yes” (good thing) let’s also remember that hearing God’s Word also means being prepared to have our hearts examined. Are we ready for that?

Hebrews 4:12

[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Are we ready for God’s Word to do that in our hearts this morning? Are we ready for God’s Word to discern our hidden thoughts and intentions of our hearts? If you truly want to know the Lord, then I hope your answer is yes.

If you’ve been tracking us as a church, you’re probably aware that we are going through a series titled Believing and Knowing Jesus from the Gospel of John. John’s entire purpose in writing this gospel book is so that we may believe (commit and entrust our lives to Jesus) and know Jesus (not surface-level knowing but knowing Him intimately and personally).

Today, we will study the third out of the seven signs mentioned in the gospel of John. As we discussed earlier, what’s the point of a sign? Right outside on the street, there’s a sign of Mukti Manch. Why is that there? To point us to this hall. In the same way, John carefully curated 7 signs in the Gospel so that we may be pointed to something about Jesus.

The sign that we’re going to study today will point us to Jesus’ Supreme Authority. Jesus as God’s Son has got power and authority. But before we go ahead, I would love to pray for us.

Let’s jump into our text for today in v1.

[1] After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John sets up the context in which the sign takes place. There’s a festival of the Jews and Jesus decides to go to Jerusalem where all of this is taking place. So we can imagine large crowds. Jews travelling from all over to be there in Jerusalem. Especially the Jewish religious leaders who would have been really involved and out there at that time.

[2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.

Interestingly the Sheep Gate had huge importance for Jews because that’s the entrance from where they would bring in the sacrificial lambs to the Temple. Ironically it was Jesus – the perfect and ultimate sacrificial lamb who was walking through Sheep Gate.

Right beside the gate was a pool called Bethesda which means House of mercy. And this Bethesda pool was covered with a roof or a shade held together by five pillars.

[3] In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.

Under this shade right next to the pool there were a multitude of people with disabilities. Some were blind, some didn’t have limbs and some were paralyzed.

[5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

Among all of these people with disabilities, there was one man who was disabled for 38 long years! That’s a long time. A better part of his life was already spent with that disability.

You can just imagine how a long term disability could have taken a toll on his life. Let’s keep in mind that this is not 2026 but first century AD. Not just affected physically but spiritually (viewed as cursed by God forever), mentally & emotionally (you’re experiencing more lows than highs), relationally (they are social outcasts) and economically (they can’t earn an income, most would resort to begging).

His whole life had been defined by his physical disability. Even as John is describing this man’s condition, he wants us to know that this man had an unbelievably difficult life. Whatever we think is difficult, this man’s life was much harder than that.

[6] 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?”

It’s so interesting that out of all the multitudes in that place, Jesus took special notice of this man. And the verse tells us that Jesus “knew” that he had already been there a long time. Not only did Jesus know the number of years that he was disabled for, Jesus knew Him from the time He was formed and knitted together in His mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).

Jesus fully knew and understood all that He suffered over the years. Nobody else knew him the way Jesus knew him. So when this verse says Jesus knew him, let’s know that it’s not just factual, surface level knowledge of the person. It’s not just his medical history like a doctor knows his patient. Jesus knows him from the inside out.

In the same way Jesus knows us from the inside out. So when we approach the Lord we don’t need to go to Him pretending to be someone else. We don’t need to go to Him with a long explanation of our background history. He knows us. He is our Creator. He is our Redeemer. So we can approach Him with honesty and sincerity just like a small child is with their parent.

So Jesus knew the man from the inside out, yet why is Jesus asking him if he wants to be healed? Didn’t Jesus know that he really wanted physical healing? Off course Jesus knew. Then why did He ask? We see that often in Jesus’ conversations. He probes further to draw out what’s there in people’s hearts.

Jesus already knows what’s in our hearts but He probes further so that people can themselves realize what they’ve been trusting in. Maybe they’ve been trusting in their own strength or other people’s strengths or maybe they’ve been trusting in the things of the world.

All of that comes to surface when Jesus asks those pointed questions. Do you really want to be healed? Are you prepared to live a different life post healing? Or have you become comfortable with the way things are right now?

[7] 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.”

Instead of answering Jesus with a yes or no, what does the man do? He puts the blame on others for his condition. It seems like there was some superstition that this pool had some magical powers. There was a belief in that day that an angel of the Lord would come and stir the pool at a certain point of the day, and whoever jumped into the pool first would get healed.

And so this man is complaining and blaming others for not supporting him to jump into the pool without realising that right before Him stands someone who has the authority to do whatever He wishes to do in the manner He wishes to do and nobody can defy that command.

 [8] Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

Sometimes I think we get so familiar with stories like this in the Bible that we may end up missing the impact that it’s supposed to create in our hearts and minds. Jesus is telling a man who has been disabled for 38 years to simply get up, take up his bed and walk!

If you or I were to tell this to someone who has had experienced physical suffering for so many years, it would be considered a terribly insensitive joke. We just don’t say that and yet Jesus goes ahead and says these words.

[9] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

And guess what? Not after a few hours, not after a few days, what does this verse tell us? At once he was healed! Instantaneous healing. Even long term diseases, illnesses and disabilities – the Lord has the power to heal that instantly. That’s His Supreme Authority!

But does that mean that Jesus will always choose to heal all our diseases and disabilities? Sometimes we forget that there were a multitude of invalids who were at the pool that day. Jesus could have healed all of them. He has the supreme authority to do that but He didn’t do that. Why? Because Jesus’ ultimate goal was not to deliver physical healing and deliverance. Jesus’ ultimate goal was to deliver us from God’s wrath because of our sins.

It’s like asking a fireman – when a building is on fire, what is your main goal? Is it rescuing people or preserving their valuables? Rescuing people from getting burnt and dying is their number one priority.

Jesus’ No. 1 priority is rescuing you and me from God’s wrath. That’s why He came and went up on the cross and died for us. He died and was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead so that whoever repents and puts their full faith in Jesus (holds on to Jesus to rescue them) will be saved not just for this life but for all of eternity. And gift us and eternal relationship with God forever!

[10] 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.” [11] But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” [12] They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” [13] Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

It’s such an interesting response of the Jewish leaders. They’ve just witnessed a person with disability for 38 years being instantly healed and instead of marvelling at the miracle, instead of moving toward Jesus in faith, what are they doing?

They are more concerned about their Sabbath tradition being observed. Now let me clarify that the Sabbath law which was ordained by God and part of the 10 commandments did not prohibit people from being healed or carrying their bed and walking.

The Sabbath was designed by God to free His people from the burden of daily labor. The Egyptians forced the Israelites to work everyday. By giving the Sabbath, God wanted to give His people rest from their labor. God was telling them “Now that you’re under me, you can take rest and enjoy that rest”.

But the Jewish leaders made their own rules on top of this, and basically defined what constituted as work – carrying a load of this much weight and travelling this much distance is not observing the Sabbath according to them. And so the Sabbath became stifling for people rather than freeing and life giving.

I sometimes wonder how am I presenting the Sabbath to my children. Am I presenting it to them as a burden – something that they have to do as an obligation? Or something that is freeing so that they can be refreshed and freeing for them?

And so observing the Sabbath man made tradition was what the leaders were more worried about and they kept questioning the man who was healed. The man didn’t know who Jesus was, and so he just replied with an “I don’t know” to the Jewish leaders.

[14] 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.”

It’s a fascinating follow up conversation that Jesus has with the man. Jesus basically tells him that he shouldn’t go back into that pattern of sin or something worse would happen to him.

In this case it does seem like Jesus is connecting this man’s physical suffering to his sin. There was some connection with sin in his life. However, this is not a blanket rule for all physical suffering. We can’t look at this passage in isolation. There are many other instances where Jesus clearly explains that suffering and personal sin are not connected.

Let me share a few examples of the other side:

John 9:1-3

[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

So in this case, physical suffering was there in this person’s life so that it would more clearly display God’s power and goodness.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 ESV

[7] So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. [9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

In Paul’s case physical suffering was in his life not due to sin but to instead to guard his heart from sin, keep his heart humble and help him desperately rely on God.

And so biblically speaking, it wouldn’t be right to associate every physical ailment, disease or suffering to a sin cause. Sometimes it’s related, other times there aren’t. In fact that was the predominant thought in biblical times, that suffering and sin is always connected. Jesus had to correct that way of thinking.

Coming back to this story, why does Jesus feel the need to have this follow up conversation on sin? After all, he had a physical disability problem which was solved right? Shouldn’t this be the end of the story?

Again, this should tell us that Jesus is more concerned about our spiritual eternal wellbeing than of our physical well-being. Jesus knows that although this man is physically okay now, that doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be okay in eternity. His physical healing is not an assurance of spiritual security. And we see this in his response to Jesus after this conversation.

[15] The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. [16] And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. [17] But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Unlike some of the other healing passages, where healed persons have shown gratitude, trusted in Jesus and followed Him, this man instead goes and tells the Jewish leaders about Jesus. This begins the face off between the Jewish leaders and Jesus. There’s no indication of saving faith in the life of this man and that’s what makes this sign so astonishing.

That Jesus would still use His Supreme Authority to physically heal someone whom He knew wouldn’t reciprocate in faith. Why would Jesus do that? That’s His mercy which is not dependent on how we will respond but despite our response. He will show mercy on Sabbath and non-Sabbath days. He will show mercy to those who don’t deserve it. Because that’s who He is.

The question we need to ask is : what is our response going to be to His mercy? Are we going to respond just like the disabled man? Or is it going to be of gratitude and love?

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ESV

[14] For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; [15] and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.