The Gospel of John-27 – Do You Want to Be Healed?

John 5:1–9

"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed [waiting for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons 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]. One man was there, who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be healed?' The sick man answered him, 'Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me.' Jesus said to him, 'Get up, take up your bed, and walk.' And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath." Amen.

 

The End of the Old Era and the Dawn of the New

The content of John chapter 5 that we are examining today presents a different aspect from the flow of the previous four chapters. While the narrative thus far has focused on explaining the essence of the new heaven, the wine descending from heaven, and the living water, we now begin to see scenes where the old and the new clash violently, even while dealing with the same concepts of the new era. The latter part of verse 9 concludes with the phrase, "Now that day was the Sabbath." This event, which took place on the Sabbath, is at the core of today’s sermon, and we will examine the significance of this Sabbath in detail over this week and the next. Today, we stand at the beginning of that great unfolding. Through this event of healing the man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years on the Sabbath, the Lord entered into direct conflict with the Jewish leaders of the time, and from this moment, the history of opposition against the Lord began in earnest.

 

The Sole Authority Who Proves Himself

If the Lord had been merely an innovative rabbi with views slightly different from others, perhaps this incident would have been dismissed as a mere point of contention, or perhaps it might have served as an opportunity for Judaism to advance a step further. Just as the doctrines and ideologies of Judaism had developed through the teachings of numerous rabbis, Jesus' life and teachings seemed, at first glance, not so different from those of the Essenes or the Pharisees of that time. That is why the Pharisees, too, watched Him with no small amount of interest, seeking His teachings. However, Jesus was not like those rabbis. At the time, the Sadducees and the Pharisees were embroiled in a serious debate over the subject of resurrection, and through such processes, texts like the Talmud and the Mishnah were being compiled. Yet, Jesus did not remain as merely one of those rabbis.

 

There was something fundamentally different about Jesus. This is also true of the fact that He performed miracles. If the Lord had exercised restraint in performing miracles, wisely moderating the circumstances and timing, and logically explaining the reasons for His miracles, He could have grasped an immense level of popularity, power, and wealth—such as no one in history had ever enjoyed. However, the Lord did not come to do such things. He never used miracles to prove His popularity, nor did He use them to flaunt His authority. If He had set His mind to it, there would have been countless ways to prove Himself as God. But as the Gospel of John and the testimonies of the apostles unanimously declare, the Lord simply said, "It is not you who bear witness to me, but the Father and I." This means that human testimony is unnecessary for the Lord.

 

Ultimate truth rejects the logic of human reason. We know the mathematical axiom n + m = m + n. While it seems like a simple fact that everyone knows, it is a very important principle mathematically, often called an axiom. This proposition, which states that the result remains the same even if the order of numbers is changed, cannot be proven any further. This is because it is, in itself, the most fundamental mathematical fact. Likewise, God is not proven by anyone else or by any phenomenon; He is proven only by God Himself. That is why the Lord declared, "I am God," and "I am one with the Father."

 

Destructive Innovation Toward the Fulfillment of the Law

In any case, the Lord came to open a new era. Jesus did not come to this earth simply to promote a new reform. He did not come dreaming of secular revolution—the kind that would say, "I cannot work with the Jews or the Pharisees, so I will replace the kings of the world and tear down the Roman Empire." Of course, there is an aspect in which the Lord's new era came to destroy the old, but it is fundamentally different in that He came to fully fulfill the old. This reform is on a different dimension from the concepts we usually entertain. Pilate, not understanding the true meaning of this, asked the Lord, "If Your kingdom were of this world, why do You suffer such hardships?" but the Lord replied, "My kingdom is not of this world." The Lord is a mysterious figure, truly difficult for the people of that time—and even for us today—to fully grasp. Even looking at this single event we encounter today, while many questions remain as to why the Lord's work had to unfold in such a manner, this story provides us with profound insights into the Kingdom of God and His will every time we study it. Beloved, I urge you to remember that Jesus did not come solely for destruction, but simultaneously to fulfill it.

 

Let us turn together to Matthew 5:17–18: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." This is the Lord’s word. The Lord came to announce the dawn of a new era upon the old. Therefore, the Apostle John recorded these works of Jesus with great precision and care. As you read the Gospel of John, you will find that the background is described in great detail; one such example is the Pool of Bethesda, and the record that it had five porticoes is a product of that very precision.

 

The Firmness of Truth Established on Historical Fact

In the past, some theologians studying the Gospel of John raised such questions as: "The person who wrote this book cannot be the Apostle John, for he would not know the topography of Jerusalem. There was no such thing as 'five porticoes' in Jerusalem at that time." Here, a 'portico' refers to a pavilion-style shelter built around a pool to create shade, where people could rest or view the pool. Their argument was that since Israelite pools were generally rectangular, there could naturally only be four-sided porticoes along the perimeter. Thus, based on the expression 'five porticoes' recorded in the Bible, persuasive criticisms were raised that the author of the Gospel of John was ignorant of the actual situation in Jerusalem or that it was written much later.

 

Furthermore, the discovery of numerous Gnostic elements in the Gospel of John, which flourished in Greece around the 2nd century AD, became a point of contention. Gnosticism is the belief that one can meet God by acquiring mysterious and secret spiritual knowledge; many critics believed that Gnosticism emerged in earnest only at the end of the 2nd century. They strongly argued for the late-recording theory of the Gospel of John, asking, "How could Gnostic content be included in the Gospel of John written around 95 AD?"

 

However, these critical views lost their force in the face of historical fact. Today, outside the northern gate of Jerusalem stands the 'Church of St. Anne,' and inside it, miraculously, there exists a pool with five porticoes, just as the Bible records. It was originally a structure of two pools side-by-side; by building porticoes on all four sides and on the side cutting across the middle, five porticoes were formed. In the face of such clear archaeological evidence, countless criticisms attempting to deny the historical nature of the Bible were forced into silence.

 

The controversy over the timing of the emergence of Gnosticism also entered a new phase. Many researchers were convinced that Gnosticism did not appear until the end of the 2nd century and doubted the date of the Bible’s recording, but historical records showing that Gnosticism had already been exerting considerable influence since the 1st century have been discovered one after another. With this, the theory that the Gospel of John was a late recording lost all persuasive power. Thus, the Bible is proving itself to be an unchanging historical truth that transcends human skepticism.

 

The Word of Revelation Read Through the Eyes of Faith

Of course, there remain facts in the Bible whose truth or falsehood we cannot clearly judge. This is because the Bible was recorded in the distant past, and there are limits to fully proving it from an archaeological perspective. However, the basis for our trust in the Bible does not lie merely in archaeological proof. Just as the reason you believe in Jesus is not solely because His historical existence has been proven archaeologically, we accept Jesus Christ as the Word of God and believe in and know the Lord through the illumination of the Holy Spirit granted by God. Of course, since we have reason, doubts can arise, and the Lord does not unconditionally reject such doubts. Diligently contemplating and studying the Bible to realize the Word of God more clearly is the duty and proper path of a saint.

 

However, we must remember that the Bible is not a science textbook. The Bible is a book of revelation, given to us by God using human language to inform us of the essence of faith, the meaning of our lives, and who God is. Therefore, when we confess the inerrancy of the Bible, it is not limited to the meaning that there are no arithmetic errors like 1 + 1 = 2. The true meaning of the Bible’s inerrancy is that this book stands on a solid foundation of truth that will never be shaken by any historical or academic verification.

 

In fact, even though two thousand years have passed since the New Testament was recorded, no one has been able to clearly prove that the Bible is an unreliable book. There is not a single instance among the countless events and place names in the Bible that has been proven incorrect. The reason the Bible stands on such a firm foundation is that God personally protected the Bible from those errors to convey the truth. The Bible was not written for the purpose of allowing humans to find errors, but because it contains the truth, God personally guarded that truth against error.

 

Also, the Bible is not a book where we simply took dictation of what God spoke directly. God gave inspiration to human authors to record His words, and in that process, the authors' personalities, attitudes, and states of mind were reflected intact. That is why, depending on the writing style, some parts are read as thrilling narratives, while others read like dry doctrine. This is because God recorded the Bible using the unique writing style, scholarship, and way of thinking that each author possessed.

 

The Reality of Grace Contained in Precise Records

The reason I speak at such length about the recording method of the Bible is that the writing style and recording method possessed by the Apostle John are precisely like that. Just as John’s personality was, the Gospel of John is a book recorded with great precision and care. It captures historical facts with such sophistication that we are often struck with wonder whenever we read the Gospel of John. This precise personality of John is also well revealed in the final part of the Gospel. When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, Peter, who was fishing on a boat, jumped into the sea and swam to Jesus without even taking off his clothes, true to his personality. In that scene where they let down the nets and caught fish according to Jesus' word, John precisely recorded the number of fish caught as 153. It is truly a 'John-esque' idea. He was a very precise person in this way, and such characteristics appear vividly throughout the Gospel of John.

 

Therefore, I urge you not to read the Gospel of John casually. The devices that appear today, such as the Pool of Bethesda, the five porticoes, and the 38-year-old invalid, were not recorded by the Apostle John by accident. He placed subtle clues so that the reader could discern the essence of the Gospel. I hope you remember the author’s intent and contemplate the text more deeply. The first thing that catches the eye is the 'Bethesda' pool located north of the city gate. The name 'Bethesda' carries the meaning of 'House of Grace.' It is a place that should properly be a place where everyone who enters experiences abundant grace, a joyful place where a marvelous history of grace occurs as soon as one enters the porticoes.

 

Beloved, I still vividly remember my first time coming to the United States and visiting Disneyland with my children. I was struck with admiration by the sophistication of that space, designed so that people could not help but be joyful, to the point where I wondered if such a place could exist in the world. Hearing the manager reveal in an interview that "the purpose of Disneyland is to make people forget all their worldly worries and play," I was able to understand why it was designed so thoroughly. But once you enter, what is the reality? There are countless rides, but you are faced with the reality of waiting in line for 3 hours to ride a 1 minute and 50 second ride. Many end up returning exhausted, having waited in lines more than they actually enjoyed themselves. It is truly a heartbreaking matter. Coming to enjoy grace but ending up only waiting in line—this holds a significant lesson for us today.

 

The Competitive Logic of Humans That Swallowed Grace

As mentioned earlier, Bethesda is, as its name suggests, the 'House of Grace.' Since grace is inherently given freely, that place should have been a place that naturally shared abundant grace with everyone. However, if we look at verses 3 and 4 of the text, we can see that the people gathered there had set a rule for themselves: "Whoever enters first when the water is troubled can be healed." Since the person who enters first monopolizes the opportunity for healing, that place must have been a chaotic scene of everyone scrambling to enter first. Beloved, can we truly call this a 'House of Grace'?

 

If the opportunity for healing is strictly limited to 'first come, first served,' it is no longer grace given freely. Even if the name is the 'House of Grace,' the people waiting for healing there are in a position where, instead of enjoying grace, they have to return after waiting in line amidst fierce competition. The 38-year-old invalid we meet today is the protagonist of that tragic scene.

 

As you read the text, you can see brackets from the latter part of verse 3 to verse 4. This is a mark used to indicate content inserted by later generations that was not recorded in the most reliable ancient manuscripts. It may be a part that is fine to skip, but it seems to have been included because it provides an important clue to understanding the flow of the text. The expression 'an angel of the Lord went down and troubled the water' can be interpreted in two ways. One could view it literally as an angel descending to perform a miracle of healing, or one could understand it as a facet of folk religion widely spread among the public at the time, like the hot spring healing myths common among the people.

 

I lean toward the latter. By mentioning the folk legends that people at the time blindly believed, the Apostle John intended to sharply contrast the false grace pursued by humans with the true grace given by God. Just as the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel in Athens by borrowing the inscription 'To an Unknown God,' John is explaining God’s truth by using the secular rumors of the time as a tool.

In the end, people came to the 'House of Grace' to obtain grace, but it became a 'House of Ability' governed by first-come, first-served competition. If the conditions for healing depend on human effort and skill—such as "how fast one runs" or "how nimbly one moves"—it is not grace, but thorough meritocracy. If there were people with the ability and skill to heal their diseases, why would they have come to that place in search of grace in the first place? We must face the contradiction that while it hangs a sign saying 'House of Grace,' it is, in reality, a scene where one must prove one's own ability.

 

Human Despair Standing Before Total Inability

Today’s text awakens us to yet another decisive problem. It is a contradiction to even discuss ability in a House of Grace, but even if one struggles to accumulate ability to heal oneself somehow, one inevitably hits a fatal limitation. In fact, those with the ability and skill to enter the water first were often not severely ill. Those appearing in the text are people suffering from blindness, lameness, paralysis, or withered limbs. What meaning does it have to command them to "run in first"?

 

Even if the opportunity for healing is given, the blind do not know the direction, the lame cannot take a step, and the paralyzed cannot even stand. To those who cannot even reach the starting line, the 'first-come' rule is merely a cruel punishment confirming their despair. Nevertheless, the 38-year-old invalid cannot leave that spot, remaining in the same place. The Bible captures this scene with astonishing sharpness. It shows us that this is not a one-time event from 2,000 years ago, but a tragedy that is repeated endlessly within us today, in a parallel manner. The figure of the 38-year-old invalid is not a relic of antiquity but has become my own portrait, projected onto our lives today.

 

We know all too well how to obtain grace. We know that we must rise before others, secure a spot at the front of the line, and run faster than others to jump into the water first. But even though we know that method by heart, our bodies do not budge. Let me tell you a classic illustration. There is a man standing in front of a wide river, stamping his feet in order to get to heaven. Someone approaches and advises, "Build a boat and cross it." But if he had a boat, he would have crossed it already. Another says, "Build a bridge and cross it." But if he had the ability to do that, why would he be stamping his feet by the riverbank? We have learned countless prescriptive methodologies since kindergarten—that we must build a boat, build a bridge, live kindly, and become great people. We try hard to become decent people, but we often sigh, "Why is it so impossible?" as we watch ourselves marking time in place. We despair not because we do not know the method, but because we lack the ability to carry out that method.

 

In such a situation, what kind of figure is Jesus to us? He is not one who says, "I will teach you how to build a boat" or "I will give you the blueprint to build a bridge." Jesus is the One who instead embraces us and dives into the water Himself. He is the Lord who carries us, jumps in with us, and causes us to swim across by His power. The world is overflowing with great teachers and saints, and there are many who teach us what the truth is. Yet, no one can declare, "I am the way," or "I am the truth." That is a declaration that no human in their right mind could ever make; it is something only God can do. In the image of the invalid who could do nothing for 38 years but stamp his feet, we discover our own existence, which cannot achieve anything by our own power. The Lord has come directly to that place of despair.

 

A Portrait of Fundamental Despair and Loneliness

Please examine verse 6 of the text carefully. Jesus saw the invalid who had been lying there for a long time and asked, "Do you want to be healed?" Does this question sound like it might hurt the person or tease him? But there is a clear intention in the Lord's question. It is to reveal where the custom of the old era and the power of the new era collide. But the answer that comes back is truly unexpected. Instead of an earnest confession saying, "Yes, I want to be healed," the invalid complains, "I have no one to put me into the pool." He is murmuring only of the pessimistic reality that his healing is dependent solely on the help of others. This is the reality of a human being trapped within the limitations of the old era.

 

Thirty-eight years symbolizes despair itself. Even calculating the minimum duration, he had endured a life without hope for that long time, which would already have well exceeded his sixtieth year. Can you look at this invalid and confidently say, "I am different from this person"? I, too, am led to look back at myself at this point. How different are we, who cannot properly master even a single bad habit that we have been unable to fix since our childhood, from this invalid who has held his place for 38 years? If we count the results we have truly achieved by setting goals and striving on our own, we are all bound to stand before despair.

 

Also, the invalid is deeply in despair over the fact that there is no one to help him. At first, you might think, "I am different from this invalid because I have friends, church colleagues, and family by my side." But you soon realize that thought is a hollow delusion. When I would return home carrying gifts when my children were young, they would run to the gift bags rather than to me, their father. The 'loneliness of life' felt in that moment is a painful truth. Even the devotion poured out by our parents, as we form our own families after marriage, tends to lean more toward my own wife and my own children rather than the love toward our parents; this is the way of the world.

 

It is not that we do not love our parents, but we know that the depth of the love toward our own children and the love toward our parents cannot be the same. In the end, a human being is a being who stands alone. No one can suffer in my place, and no one can die in my place. Loneliness is the name of our lives, and we are all beings who carry our own burdens and walk across the river alone. The loneliness of the 38-year-old invalid is our own portrait. There is no one in our lives who can bear the pain in my place or live in my place. We are all living out the same lonely existence as that invalid.

 

Comparison with Others, The Discovery of the Blackened Self

More heartbreaking is the final sigh of this 38-year-old invalid: "While I am going, another steps down before me." In this one phrase, the shameful nakedness of our lives is exposed. Have we not lived our whole lives competing and constantly comparing ourselves with others? I, too, as a pastor, pride myself on aiming for a righteous life and have even given advice to colleagues, saying we must preach the Word of God rightly. However, the day another pastor said to me, "Our church grows by 20 members every week," despite what I said to congratulate him outwardly, a sense of jealousy—"What trick did he use?"—arose deep within my heart. It was then that I realized. I had only comforted myself by thinking I was relatively cleaner by comparing myself to others, but in fact, my inner self was a sinner filled with blackened desires.

 

The reason we can seem moral and honest enough to live without the law of the world is simply because we look slightly better than others when compared. When we lie awake at night and face ourselves, how often do we fall into wretched self-loathing, thinking, "Is my life really only this much?" or "What on earth have I achieved?" The pride we barely hold onto is nothing more than a product of comparison, such as 'better education than others,' 'more property,' or 'a house that looks bigger than others.' We are so lacking in pure faith that is grateful and joyful even when we have nothing.

 

The duality of humanity is also this naked. In my college days, I once felt disgusted while waiting in line to buy movie tickets as I saw a chaotic crowd not waiting in line and cutting in. But when an acquaintance who worked at the theater recognized me and suggested, "Pastor-to-be, come this way. You can enter immediately without needing to cut in," the heart that had criticized the injustice vanished, and I, saying "Yes!", enjoyed that privilege. We are frail beings who find it difficult to move beyond that level. The 38-year-old invalid perfectly represents this naked face of humanity and our pathetic figure, trapped in the framework of competition and comparison while claiming to seek grace.

 

A New Life Opened by Unconditional Grace

Beloved, do you know what is actually more frightening? It is that even while seemingly realizing this human limitation, we cannot discard the lingering attachment that "I can do it if I try just a little harder." It is the arrogance of thinking, "I can become a decent person if I study a little more, exert myself a little more, and prepare a little better." Even though he must have felt for himself that it was impossible even after lying there for 38 years, he still does not stop blaming the outside, saying, "I could go if someone helped me just a little, but I cannot go because no one helps me."

 

Knowing the method does not mean that the method will automatically be realized in your life. This is precisely why the Lord asked, "Do you want to be healed?" But why cannot he boldly answer, "I want to be healed"? It is because he is still trapped in the inertia of the old era. Through the invalid’s answer, the Lord clearly reveals who a human being is and what the reality of the old era is. Humans are beings who, rather than acknowledging their own inability and corruption, crave help from others or changes in the environment until the end and expect merit-based rewards. Even after 38 years of suffering, rather than grabbing hold of the true Healer, he is still trapped in the chains of self-centered thinking, shackled to the logic of competition, saying, "I can live if someone helps me."

 

The Lord came to open a new era on the ruins of that old era. The Lord is not One who only tears down the old things. He asks, "Do you truly want grace? Do you know that you are currently relying on the law, your pride, and your own strength?" and tears down our false reliance. And the Lord declares: "Get up!"

Just as we have seen how the new era dawns in Jesus Christ by tearing down the solid stubbornness of the old era, and how that meshes with the original meaning of the Sabbath to give us true peace—we will examine that marvelous narrative of grace together next week.

 

Let us pray.

Loving Lord, thank You for allowing us to face our own reality once again through the story of the 38-year-old invalid today. Even though You ask, "I have come for you, do you want to be healed?", we still reply, "No, Lord. I can go on my own if You just help me a little more," and we are striving to find a path where we can be righteous even before God. Please forgive this arrogance and foolishness of ours.

 

Even though You, the true Master of grace, have already come to our side, we are still quarreling over who will enter first to seize healing within the House of Grace. Please help us lay down this pathetic logic of competition, and help us fully behold and realize Jesus, who is grace itself, who has come to the House of Grace.

 

Please let us meet the Lord who comes to us without any conditions and says "Get up," and grant us the faith to hold onto Him alone. Open our eyes, which were trying to rise by comparing ourselves with the world, and let us see only the Lord, the source of life.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.