“Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people––blind, lame, or paralyzed––lay on the porches.
One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’
‘I can’t, sir,’ the sick man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.’
Jesus told him, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!’ Instantly, the man was healed!” —John 5:1-9 NLT
expectations.
“Crowds of sick people––blind, lame, or paralyzed––lay on the porches.” —John 5:3 NLT
“One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’ —John 5:5-6 NLT
our
“My God, my God, why have You abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to You, my God, but You do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in You, and You rescued them. They cried out to You and were saved. They trusted in You and were never disgraced.” —Psalm 22:1-5 NLT
“John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! He is the One I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me Who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me.’ I did not recognize Him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that He might be revealed to Israel.’
Then John testified, ‘I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him. I didn’t know He was the One, but when God sent me to baptize with water, He told me, ‘The One on Whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the One Who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that He is the Chosen One of God.’” —John 1:29-34 NLT
“John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘Are You the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’” —Matthew 11:2-3 NLT
“Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen––the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf dear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.’” —Matthew 11:4-5 NLT
“And He added, ‘God blesses those who do not fall away because of Me.’” —Matthew 11:6 NLT
God blesses those who don’t
Discussion Questions
Can you think of a time when your experience with Jesus didn’t match your expectations of Him? How did that impact your faith?
In Matthew 11:2-3, John the Baptist sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Why do you think John, who had previously identified Jesus as the Messiah, now seems unsure?
How do you think John felt when Jesus didn’t immediately rescue him from prison, especially knowing that he was the one preparing the way for Jesus?
Jesus responds to John’s disciples by pointing to the miracles and the fulfillment of prophecy as evidence of His identity. How do these responses address the expectations people might have had of the Messiah?
How can we maintain our faith and trust in God when things don’t go as we expect or desire? How does this passage encourage us to persevere in our faith even when we face disappointments?