1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids–blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 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?” 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.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. —John 5:1-9

At the heart of humanity’s problem is

I. Interpretative issue 5:3-4

• A. Most reliable manuscripts omit these verses
• B. Some include it but mark it as questionable
• C. This passage contains nearly half of the words in this Gospel that are foreign to John
• D. The rest of the passage makes no mention of Angels, and Jesus does not even use the pool to heal
• E. This passage is most likely a scribal gloss to explain the superstition and the presence of the lame and sick at the pool

Our world is seeking

II. The story of healing 5:1-9

• A. The setting 5:1-2
  
  1. A feast of the Jews
  2. Location – Jerusalem
• B. The circumstance – an example of human frustration 5:5-6
  
  1. Invalid for 38 years
  2. Inquiry by Jesus – “Do you want to be healed”
• C. The problem 5:7
  
  1. Perhaps depending on superstition
  2. Perhaps depending on self-effort
• D. The solution – Omnipotent Savior 5:8-9
  
  1. It was decisive – “Get up”
  2. It was complete – “take up”
  3. It was permanent – “walk”

God does not

III. Principles to live by

• A. We must accept our
  Reveal Answer
  ! “Do you want to be healed?”
  
  1. We can’t fix our problem
  2. Human effort can only get us so far
• B. We must embrace
  Reveal Answer
  , not
  Reveal Answer
  ! “I have no one to put me”
  
  1. This man was trapped by superstitions and physical effort
  2. Jesus provided power/a solution beyond human understanding
• C. What we look to
  Reveal Answer
  matters! “Get up, Take, Walk”
  
  1. Our circumstances can only limit us
  2. We can be liberated by taking Jesus at His word
     

Small Group Questions

1. What did God teach you through this passage and sermon? Share the work of God in your heart with the group.

2. What questions did this passage and sermon raise in your mind?

3. Why is it so hard to admit and accept our brokenness?

4. In what do you tend to put your trust in instead of God?

5. Share with the group some “only God can handle” circumstances you are praying about and spend some time as a group praying about them.