JESUS, THE LORD OF THE SABBATH

READ JOHN 5:1-9

1) After the events of Chapter 4, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem and His minstry is being narrowed down to just a few men. "Between chapters 4&5 of John, Jesus ministered throughout Galilee, especially in Capternum. He had been calling certain men to follow Him, but it wasn't until after this trip to Jerusalem (5:1) that He chose His 12 disciples from among them." (Tyndale handbook of Bible Charts and Maps)
Jesus was going to Jerusalem for Passover. This is the 2nd Passover mentioned in the Book of John. (1st Passover, 2:13) One year has progressed by this point. At the first Passover, Jesus cleansed the Temple, but at this Passover He will show the need for our hearts to be cleansed. (This will be shown as we continue into Chapter 5 but first I want to give you some insight into the Passover and the healing.)
What is Passover? The following information about Passover is taken from the book, The Feasts of the Lord by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal.
A)TIME: Observed each year on the 14th day of the Hebrew month, Nisan. (March/April)
B)RECORD: The lamb was the core requisite for Passover (Ex. 12; 34:25; Deut. 16:1-7) Passover and the lamb was used interchangeably, one could not exist without the other. Three symbolic foods were to be eaten: the lamb (depicting innocence), matzah (unleavened bread was to be eaten representing purity of the sacrifice since leaven was often a symbol of sin (1 Cor. 5:6-8), and bitter herbs (reminder of the suffering of the lamb). (Ex. 12:8)
C)IMPORTANCE: 1) There was only one Passover, when the Lord passed through the land in judgment. All other observances are memorials commemorating an occasion. 2) Oldest religious feast of the world and still observed by the Jews today. 3) Passover was so important that God allowed those who could not observe it on the proper day to observe it 30 days later.
D)SERVICE: Observed as a memorial forever (Ex12:14)
2-9) In this particular Passover, done on a Sabbath day (5:9b), Jesus heals a sick man.
A) SETTING: In Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate. The Sheep Gate is by the Temple area. The pool was a reservoir of water with five porches. "The excavations of a pool near the Sheep Gate have uncovered five porticoes or covered colonnades, confirming the accuracy of the description given here in the Fourth Gospel." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck)
B) SUPERSTITION: An angel from the Lord would come down at certain times and stir the water. The first one in was healed. This sick man had been hoping for a miracle for 38 years.
C) TRUTH: Jesus, accessing the situation, knew that the man had been in this hopeless state for a long time. Jesus chooses to show mercy, the same kind of mercy He has shown to us sinners who are in a hopeless state without Him, "While we are yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6) Undeserved mercy! What did Jesus ask the sick man? "Do you want to be well?" The man anwered, "There was no one to help me to become well." Wow, what a statement, for standing before him was the God of the Universe, the one who could make him well! Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your pallet, and walk."
D) MIRACLE: Immediately! The man was healed. 38 years of muscles that would not have worked anymore. Not only did he arise, but also he picked up his pallet and walked! Complete and total instant ability to move his body! This was an instantaneous healing, occuring without any perceptable duration of time! "When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou doest take thought of him?" (Ps. 8:3-4a)
THANK THE FATHER THAT CAN WE SERVE AND KNOW HIM, WHO CARES FOR US!