A Cure at Troubled Waters

A Cure at Troubled Waters

(This sermon was delivered at First Baptist Church, Carney, Oklahoma. It was preached in a morning service. The exact date is uncertain; but it is believed to have been in 1977. I was the pastor of that church at the time.)

         Today I want to reaffirm to you that God is in the people business. Jesus was constantly encountering people and changing their lives for the better. I want us to examine, today, one of these encounters. But, I want to make this more than just another story. I want you to try to understand the humanness of the people encountered by Jesus. The story is told in John’s Gospel, the fifth chapter and verses 1 - 9.

         Some time later came one of the Jewish feast days; and Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market a pool, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

         For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

         And among them was a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you wish to be cured?” the crippled man answered Him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed. And while I’m trying to get there, somebody else steps in ahead of me.

         Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” And immediately the man became well; and took up his bed; and walked...

         There are many garden spots in this world. The ancients give us the account of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. In India, many believe the most beautiful garden in the world is found surrounding the Taj Mahal. Certainly, the most famous garden in Christendom would be the Garden of Gethsemane. All of these locations stir up visions within us which paint portraits of serenity, calm, peace, beauty, and meditation. Our text today finds it’s setting around the pool of Bethesda.

         Now, many people have the mistaken idea that this pool was a portion of a small garden. Rest assured, it definitely was not any garden spot. It was, in fact, one of the many entrances into the Holy City of Jerusalem. It was called Bethesda, which means “sheep’s gate”. It was at this gate the animals, more particularly sheep, were held until they were used for sacrifice in the Temple. Now, one could just imagine the variety of noises and odors which must have hung in saturated the air at such a place. Unless you have a strange idea of what a garden is, this would not be considered a garden spot.

         People have always had stories which touch the imagination and insist in becoming a part of the fabric of society. We call them urban legends. Perhaps this was one which circulated at that time. In any case, the legend goes that it was at such a place as the ‘Sheep’s Gate’ where, at a certain time of year, and year after year, quite a parade of hopelessness would assemble. Beginning early in the morning a host of unfortunate souls would creep in the darkness towards this small pool. That assembly of humanity included the blind, the lame, those afflicted with epilepsy, the leprous, and, on this occasion, the scripture tell us there was this man on a stretcher.

         Somehow the pool had become a special blessing to mankind. There are places today that hold special distinction with humanity, where miracles happen and lives are changed. At the time of Jesus, this was one of those special places. It was a place which provided hope, possibly the last shred of hope for those who had lost all hope. It offered a new chance for those who had long since despaired and given up on ever having a second chance. For the scriptures tell us once a year God, in the form of an angel, would intervene in the natural lives of men. The angel would trouble the water. Then, the first unfortunate soul who could plunge himself beneath the water would emerge cleansed, with a new life ahead of him. How unfortunate it was a thing, the troubling of the pool, which was sought for the blessing rather than a someone who gave the blessing. And how ironic it is that as the people sat and waited for the angel they never realized that the Master of the angel walked among them.

         I want to share with you, up front before we even begin, that there are some who contest this passage in the Bible. It is a fact that the oldest and most reliable texts do not have this story of the angel troubling the water. I myself have doubts as to whether it should be included in the scripture. I do believe, however, that often there is basis for the stories contained in our legends. It often does not take much for a legend to begin. A crippled man one day washes his feet in the water; and the next day someone sees him walking. News spreads that the pool has magical properties. Someone else adds the element of the angel moving the waters; and the supernatural element is added to the story. Years pass and occasionally someone with an ailment appears to be cured; and, in this fashion, the legend is perpetuated. Eventually, somehow, this particular legend found its way into the later, less accurate, texts of our Bible.

         I don’t know if anyone was ever cured at this pool. However, I don’t find it hard accepting the fact that these unfortunate souls believed that it was so. In fact, I would not doubt if the lame, diseased, and crippled who gathered there did not believe in the story; but they gathered there just the same because that was the only hope they had left to them. But, more importantly, I want you to notice that Jesus’ role in this story had nothing to do with the legend. The crippled, blind, and diseased were there because of the legend. Jesus was there because of the people. The crippled, blind, and diseased placed their hope in a legend. Jesus, who is our hope, placed His faith in the power of His heavenly Father, not a legend.

         So whether the stirring of the water by the angel be legend or fact, the first thing I want you to consider is that it’s in the depth of hopelessness we become fully aware of our needs. Turn your attention, if you please, to the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda. His condition was one of total incapacitation. Rest assured he was well aware of his condition. No one had to remind him of the state his body was in. For thirty-eight years he had lived in that condition. I suppose, as a young boy, he had watched the other boys grow tall and strong. He had watched from the sidelines as they played the games all boys play. As a young man, he had seen sweethearts walk the paths of his village and eventually marry and raise families. And so now at the mid-point of his life those very friends, that he watched grow strong, probably carried him to a sheep’s gate to wait for a miracle. Yes, my friends, I believe that he was hopelessly aware of his needs.

         And so it was, because of this total awareness of his hopeless condition, he resorted to the only thing which he could do. He waited. He waited. He waited for a chance in a million. He waited for a miracle. I wonder if this is so unlike people today? Many of us are aware of our needs. We know the desperation of our soul’s needs; and out of that desperation we wait. We wait for some ecumenical decree that will change doctrine so our lifestyle may be accepted. We wait for a miracle to happen. We wait for the church to become what we wish it to be so that so can feel comfortable in church. We wait for God to conform to our idea of what and who He should be so that we can accept Him into our lifestyle.

         My dear friends, I pray that that does not describe you, because I am here to tell you that waiting can be very disappointing. Waiting can be a hopeless business. Consider the crippled man of our text. Out of all the people who waited by the pool, the story tells us only one was cured. As the waters began to stir, I can imagine a mad rush being made to the pool. I can envision the blind, crippled, and diseased pushing and shoving their way to the waters edge. And, after the multitude hurls itself into the pool only one of them comes up from the water healed. All others remained exactly as they had been.

         The sad thing about this mad rush to the healing water of the pool is that God doesn’t work that way. You see, God does not play favorites. There is no competition for God’s favor. God’s blessings are available to everyone who stands by the pool, not just the one fortunate victor. It isn’t necessary to enter the water. There is no race for God’s favor; there is no competition. The simple truth is there is no way to merit God’s favor. God’s blessings are given according to His grace. Unearned, unmerited grace.

         You may say to me, “But Dan, at least these unfortunate souls did something by rushing into the water.” What they did was a waste. They waited for untold hours by a pool doing nothing but waiting; and then on some signal, maybe false, they hurled themselves into a sheep’s drinking hole for absolutely no reason at all. Is this your idea of doing something. It is not mine. No my friends, even this mad rush to the water was part of the waiting game.

         There are two kinds of people who are found waiting. There is the Christian who waits. This one waits for the kingdom. He doesn’t do much else but wait. He waits while loved ones and friends around him lose any chance for the Kingdom and perish in hell. He waits as the world around him cries out for help; and, instead of reaching out his hand in help he pulls the false security blanket of mere church activity around him and sulks in the pews of the church. God does not need people to fill churches with Christians. God needs Christians who are willing to fill people with Christ, wherever they may be. Now that very well may be within the church building; but, it has got to be done in the cold world beyond the security of the church walls.

         Now you may say, “That’s not me!” My friend, if all you do is sit in the pew and wait for the church to do something for you, or simply play church games, never touching the lives of others for Christ, then that is exactly you.

         The other man who waits is the lost man. Beloved, if that is you, I want you to understand that is a dangerous game. Oh, you may be waiting for the right time. You may be waiting for the right preacher, or the right sermon, or even the right mood or feeling. You may be waiting until you can rationally explain and understand the teachings of the Bible in accordance with modern technology and scientific reasoning. I don’t know what your reason for waiting to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior is. However, my understanding of what God has told us in His scripture is that if you wait and do not receive Jesus as your personal savior, that when you die you will perish in eternity with all the others who waited too long.

         Charles Hadley Spurgeon, the great English preacher of the 19th century, said this about the lost man who plays the waiting game: “What right have you to expect that if you wait another thirty years, you will be different from what you are now? Are not the probabilities most strong that at sixty you will be as graceless as you are at thirty?” Yes, my friend, it is a most dangerous thing to wait.

         But for the cripple at the pool there was no other choice except to wait. For you see, Jesus had not yet walked his way yet. Have you ever thought of that? Living in a world that had never known the love and grace of Jesus. This man had never heard the Gospel message, and so therefore waiting was all the hope he had. But it doesn’t have to be that way you. Twenty centuries have come and gone and the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has been proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Jesus has walked your way. You need not wait for the miracle to cure your pains, your hurts, or the aching in your soul caused by sin. My friends, Jesus walks your way today, now.

         And. I want you to know that Jesus said nothing to the lost about waiting. If Jesus had said, “Sit in those pews and wait!” Then, that would be the Gospel which I would preach. On the contrary, Jesus did not say, “Wait!” Jesus said, “Seek ye the Lord. Look for me. Don’t sit there. Search your heart. Open the door and let me in.” If you hear his voice as He walks among us today, I pray that you will delay no longer. For Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”

         The cripple was hopelessly aware of his condition. Just as you may be now. And that presents a stabbing question. Jesus made and inquiry. In verse six He asked simply, “Do you want to be cured?” Seems like a foolish question, doesn’t it? After all, the man had waited thirty-eight-years to be cured. This was the moment he had dreamed about. His whole existence had led to this very moment. Of course he wanted to be cured. Didn’t he? Or did he? Think about it. Thirty-eight years is a long time to wait and never receive a blessing. Thirty-eight years is a long time to wait and not be any closer. Thirty-eight years is a long time to wait and keep despair from creeping into ones soul and to keep hope from dying. Thirty-eight years is a long time to be an invalid. In thirty-eight years a man can get used to misery. In thirty-eight years a man can learn to adjust to his state. In thirty-eight years a man develops a sense of security, no matter what the misery may be. Why, if this man is healed, then shoulders that never before held a burden of responsibility will be loaded with all the responsibility that being an active member in society brings.

         No, Jesus does not ask any foolish questions. He only asks questions that we need to work out and be ready to answer if we are to carry the responsibilities which He has for us to shoulder. Jesus calls out to his people today and says, “Do you want to be healed? Do you want to serve me? Do you wish to be useful to the Kingdom?” It is a question that we are all going to have to answer.

         And, this brings me to the final thing that I want us to consider this morning: the response of the crippled man. I would wish that he had said, “Yes, Lord.” But he did not. In fact, he did not recognize that Jesus had the authority to heal him. The crippled man was still focused on the pool, because his response was associated with how he could beat the crowd. To the crippled man the obstacle which loomed paramount before him was a physical one. He was not fast enough to be first into the pool. His real test, however, was did he possess the faith in Jesus to heal him.

         Jesus asked, “Do you want to be healed?” The crippled man said, “I’m not fast enough.” Then Jesus said, in effect, “That does not matter. You are healed. If you believe me then get up. Pick up your bed and leave this place.” The real test of the crippled man is at this moment. Will he attempt to rise on legs that have not functioned in years? Or will he respond, “Why do you ask this of me? Can’t you see that I am crippled? Don’t you understand that I can’t do what you ask? Go away and leave me alone. Don’t make ask me to do something that I am not capable of doing.” Did he have the faith to get up?

         I don’t know how much time passed while the man considered what Jesus had asked of him. I know the scripture says that immediately the man became well. In my heart, I know the crippled man said, “Yes, Lord.” Today what will you say? Will you say “yes” to the Christ of the cross? By saying “yes” to Jesus, you are saying that you will carry the cross that is made especially for you. Carry it up Calvary’s hill if necessary. By saying “yes” you are saying that you will do what Christ bids you to do, even if those around you laugh and ridicule you. Saying “yes” to Jesus, means much more than “fire insurance” against the fires of hell. It means you now have a guide through life. It means you have someone who gives you strength, hope, and love in the midst of all that a world without Christ would be.

         At the climax of the battle for Scotland, Robert Bruce was killed. The Scottish soldiers turned in fear and began to retreat. One brave soldier, seeing the body of his hero on the ground, raced forward and cut out the heart of Robert Bruce with his sword. With blood dripping from his hand, he held it high in the face of oncoming British troops and cried, “There goes the heart of Bruce. Who follows after?” In one triumphant moment, the Scottish armies turned, flinging themselves against the fury of enemy swords, and followed the heart of Bruce. Scotland was saved.

         One day, two thousand years ago, because God so loved the world, He held a heart high, dripping with blood on an old rugged cross from the body of His own Son. Looking at this action we may say, “Here is how God loves”. Here is the heart of God in a man, Jesus Christ. Who will follow him? Jesus told the crippled man to get up; and he did. Christ tells this church to be a dynamic force in the world. We have no choice. We must be. My friends, what are you waiting for. It is now time to follow the Master. May God bless you and keep you.