God Makes Choices

Lesson #81

We ended the last lesson at John 5:9 with the disabled man of 38 years being healed by Jesus and told to pick up his mat and start walking. The problem was it was the Sabbath and to be seen carrying his mat would surly cause a conflict with the Jews because that was not an acceptable thing, in their view, to do on such a day. Surely Jesus knew this would create conflict, but “Conflict in the ministry of Jesus is the furnace where the steel of his identity is forged. In the fires of conflict, his glory is made to shine” (John Pieper). Let us continue on with John 5:10 – 17 and see how this conflict develops and what we learn about Jesus from it.

“So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.”“ (John 5:10 NET). The conflict begin! The man who for 38 years lay by the pool, trying to be the first to enter its waters when it was stirred to receive healing, was healed by Jesus and is now in trouble with the Jews because he is in violation of one of the Jewish many rules; he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath. The man answers them by saying, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” (John 5:11 ESV). In an attempt to get himself out of trouble, he blames his behavior on the one who healed him. Wanting to know who to go after for giving such a command, the Jews asked the man, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” (John 5:12 ESV). This question creates a problem for the man because he didn’t know the name of the one who healed him.

At this point we need to use our imagination to fill in the details of what happened in the interval between not being able to give the Jews the name of the one who healed him to where Jesus found him in the temple. All we know is that “the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”” (John 5:13 – 14 ESV). There are two issues we need to look at in these two verses; first, “Why did Jesus quickly disappear into the crowd after healing the man without further conversation with him about spiritual matters?” and second “Why did he later find the man and speak to him about his sin?” We will finish this lesson by suggesting an answer to the first question and then leave the spiritual aspect of the second question for the next lesson?

Jesus had just performed a miracle in the midst of a crowd of people. He told the man he had just healed what to do and then disappeared before anyone else realized what had happened to prevent the turmoil that would surly result from many others wanting to be healed. Jesus had a specific mission in mind and it did not include a general healing of people, but was to focus on the sin aspect of this one man. Jesus chose this man to speak to his soul just as God chooses us out of the crowd of humanity to provide us with salvation. Salvation is by grace. It is a gift given by God just as this man was chosen by Jesus to be healed. The man did not seek to be healed by Jesus, but was simply a recipient of his grace.

Prayer

Father, I was simply a child confined in the orphanage of sin, but with such love you visited the orphanage and you chose me and you caused me to be born again. You passed over many others, but for some reason you extended mercy to me and by your grace you saved me. I had nothing to offer you because I was dead in my sin, but you made me alive in Christ for which I do not cease to give thank.