Let's open our Bibles this evening
to John chapter 5. While you're turning there, let
me remind us again that next Sunday, fifth Sunday lunch, let's
make plans to meet together next Sunday morning and eat lunch
after the service. I encourage everyone to bring
food and plan to stay for a time of fellowship after the service
and there will be no evening service next Sunday evening. John chapter 5. After this, there
was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now
there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is
called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these
lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered,
waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down
at a certain season 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. And a certain
man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When
Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in
that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The
impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water
is troubled, to put me into the pool. But while I am coming,
another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise,
take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made
whole, and took up his bed, and walked. And on the same day was
the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto
him that was cured, it is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful
for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, he that made
me whole, the same said unto me, take up thy bed and walk. Then asked they him, what man
is that which said unto thee, take up thy bed and walk? And
he that was healed wist not who it was, for Jesus had conveyed
himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus
findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art
made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus which
had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute
Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things
on the Sabbath day. The first verse in our text tonight
tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ went up to Jerusalem. After this there was a feast
of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. We have no idea
how many times the Lord Jesus Christ visited Jerusalem before
he began his public ministry. When he was baptized of John
the Baptist in the River Jordan He began his public ministry,
we believe, at the age of 30. But we have no idea as to how
many times he had gone to Jerusalem. We do know this, that when he
was about six weeks of age, about 40 days old, Mary and Joseph carried him to
the temple in Jerusalem when he was just six weeks of age. And it was there at that time
that that older gentleman there by the name of Simeon, he took
him up, the baby up in his arms, and he confessed, mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. You know we, or at least I do,
I mention this man Simeon quite often, but you know there was
another person in the temple that day also that we don't speak
about as often? A woman. Let's go back to Luke
chapter 2 just a minute and read what the scripture says concerning
her. In Luke chapter 2, beginning with verse 36. And
there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phenuel, of the
tribe of Aser. She was of a great age and had
lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and she was
a widow of about four score and four years. Just taking those
years that we've read there, that makes her 91 years old.
And she didn't get married the first year of her life. So this
lady was an older person. Her name was Anna. And she coming
in that instant, came into the temple, when she heard Simeon
say, mine eyes have seen thy salvation. She came in that instant,
she gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and notice this, and
spake of Him to all them that look for redemption in Jerusalem. Can't help but wonder if this
is a person who realized that redemption, because of all of
the Old Testament declaring this, redemption was to be by blood. You know, even the two disciples
of the Lord on the road to Emmaus, when He came and walked with
them and they did not recognize Him, they said, we had hoped
that He was Him who would redeem Israel. Their hopes had been
shattered because He died upon the cross. I wonder, even those
disciples, how did they think redemption would be accomplished
if it were not by blood? All of the Old Testament testified
by the shedding of blood. And without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. And the greatest type in the
Old Testament of redemption is the Passover, isn't it? When
God delivered Israel from Egypt. And what was it that was all
important that night when God passed over Egypt? The blood. When I say the blood. I will
pass over that house." This woman, she spoke of Him, of all who
looked for redemption in Jerusalem. So we know, my point is, we know
the Lord Jesus Christ was taken to Jerusalem when He was six
weeks of age. And then we know also when He
was 12 years old, He was taken up to Jerusalem. And there we
have his first recorded words. As the God-man mediator, his
first recorded words that are given unto us. And oh, how great
these words are. When Mary said something like
this, don't you realize that your father and I have sought
you sorrowing? And he responded like this, how
is it that you sought me? Now listen, wish ye not that
I must be about my father's business? He knew, he was conscious of
God as his father all of his life. All of his life. Joseph was not his father. His father is my father. His Father is your Father. His
God is my God. His God is your God, if you know
Christ and I as your Lord and Savior. I send unto my Father
and your Father, unto my God and your God. But this is the
second time in the Gospel of John that the writer tells us
that he came to Jerusalem. We're told that it was at a feast. We are not given the name of
the feast, but most of the writers believe it was one of those three
annual feasts. In the Law of Moses, every male
was commanded after a certain age to attend three feasts every
year. Remember what he said in the
Gospel of Matthew, think not that I am come to destroy the
law or the prophets. I'm not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. He fulfilled the law, and He
did so on the part of those that He represented. The law that
you and I. I was reading this morning when,
in the passage of Scripture in Matthew, where the man asked
the Lord Jesus, which is the great commandment? And he said,
the great commandment is, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy strength. And the second
is, like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbors thyself. Now,
many people, when they hear that, they think, is that all there
is? Is that all there is? Yes, that's
all there is. And not a son of Adam is able
to obey. I didn't come to destroy the
law. I came to fulfill the law. John mentions the Passover feast
three times. Let's look, if you will, in John
chapter 2 and verse 13. And the Jews Passover was at
hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now that's the first time. The
first time that the Lord Jesus Christ, after he was baptized,
went to Jerusalem. And John tells us in this place,
it was then that he cleansed the temple. Then again in John
chapter 6 and verse 4, We read, And the
Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. And then in John chapter
12 and verse 1. And this was the
Passover at which he was crucified. John chapter 12 and verse 1.
Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany. Remember,
Bethany was just a short distance from Jerusalem. And then He entered
into Jerusalem and was crucified. So if this feast in our text
tonight, if it was the Passover, there were four Passover feasts
that the Lord attended after He entered into His ministry. But more than that, this is the
third of the seven miracles that John records. The gospel of John
is built around these seven miracles. And remember his purpose, he
tells us at the end of the gospel, his purpose for each one of these
miracles. He said if all the things that
Christ did had been recorded, the world couldn't even contain
the books. But these, he said, are recorded. These are written that you might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that believing,
you might have life through His name. And that's our purpose,
isn't it, in looking at this miracle tonight. That you might
believe, that every person in this building might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that believing we
might have life through His name, through His person and work. I have three things I want to
point out to us this evening that the Lord Jesus Christ found. when he visited Jerusalem this
time. Three things that he found. First,
the Lord Jesus found in Jerusalem what sin has caused. A great,
notice verse 3, a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt,
and withered. He did not need to go to Jerusalem
to see this, for there's no place no place on God's earth where
sickness, disease, and suffering does not exist. The site is universal
because of Adam's sin, which brought death into God's creation,
is universal. Adam's sin concerned all of his
descendants, all of us here tonight. have descended from that first
man, Adam. And that's the reason the apostle
in Romans chapter 3 says, for all have sinned at one particular
time, at one point, all sinned. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. And that was when our representative,
our federal head, when he disobeyed God. We all sinned in Adam. We are all polluted with sin,
and we are all condemned for it, and we all have our own transgressions. Forget about the sin of Adam.
Think about your sin, my sin. We all have our own sin. Yes, we fell in Adam, but when
we came into this world, we have followed, we have been on a course
of sinning from the very beginning. Actually, David said, in sin
did my mother conceive me. From the womb we went astray,
speaking lies. And sin, we know, brought upon
man the possibility of every disease. There are so many hundreds,
yea, thousands of diseases in this world. And we thank God
for the scientists and the knowledge that God gives them when they
discover cures and medicine which helps. But just as soon as one
disease is discovered, another ten are found. And it's all in
this world as a result of sin. Of sin. Sin brought upon man the possibility
of every disease. There's no disease, I don't suppose,
that is known to man that we are not liable to, all of us
here tonight. Well, there may be a few exceptions
because of male and female. I'm not sure about that. But
the physical problem ultimately will end in our death, the death
of our bodies. And as awful, as very, as awful
As these physical infirmities and maladies are, there's something
worse. There's something worse. Sin brought spiritual death upon
all men. What is worse, you say, than
sitting in a doctor's office and the doctor telling you that
you have some incurable disease? What is worse than that? Sin. The fact that we have sinned
against God. And not only is there physical
death, but there is eternal death that awaits every person that
leaves this world without Christ as their Lord and Savior, that
awaits everyone who leaves this world without the forgiveness
of sins through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ,
our Lord. What is mentioned here of physical
problems, they all have their spiritual counterparts. Let's
look at these that are mentioned here. First, it says in verse
three, and these lay a great multitude of impotent folk. The word impotent means to be
without strength To be without strength. Didn't the Apostle
Paul tell us in Romans chapter 5, when we were without strength,
Christ died for us. And doesn't he also say in Romans
chapter 8, the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is
not subject to the law of God. Now listen, neither indeed can
be. The carnal mind. We're impotent. We do not have the strength,
not spiritual strength. The carnal mind is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are
in the flesh, a person who has not a new nature, who has not
been born again of the Spirit of God, is in the flesh, and
only in the flesh. They in the flesh cannot please
God. That's impotence, isn't it? Without
the strength, without the ability to please God. Do what you can,
do everything you can, but know this, without Christ, all of
us come into this world without the ability to please God. The second thing we read blind. Blind, of course, is to be without
sight. What did our Lord tell Nicodemus?
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Cannot perceive the things of
God. The third thing, halt. Without
ability to walk properly, halt. And I thought about this scripture
in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon speaking. And he said,
rejoice, O young man, in thy youth. A man is young, healthy,
and has strength. The last thing he thinks about
is halting, not having the ability to walk correctly. Solomon said, rejoice, O young
man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days
of thy youth, and walk walk in the ways of thine heart, and
in the sight of thine eyes, but, but know thou that for all these
things God will bring you into judgment. And He will. He will. You just go on and think you
don't need God. You're physically fit. You've got all the world before
you and all your future before you. You don't need God. Go ahead,
but know this, Solomon said, you will one day be brought into
judgment. And then what will your strength
do in that day without a mediator, without a representative, without
a savior? And the fourth thing he says,
withered, withered, without moisture, without life. And he said this,
no man can come to me. He didn't say no man may come
to me, did he? The Gospels present the Lord
Jesus Christ as a willing Savior. He didn't say no man may come
to me. He said, no man can come to me
withered, without moisture, without life. We were speaking a little
while ago in the study and one of the brothers mentioned the
fact we come willingly. We do. But we come willingly
because He makes us willing in the day of His power. Well, here's the second thing
the Lord Jesus found this time in Jerusalem. First, He found
a great multitude of impotent folk. And my point is, He did
not need to go to Jerusalem to find that, because that's everywhere. Number two, the Lord Jesus found
in Jerusalem an object of His special mercy. A certain man,
notice in verse 5, a certain man was there which had an infirmity
thirty and eight years. Do you notice that in this, there's
five porches. It's a big hospital. Not near
as big as what we have down here at the Texas Medical Center.
But it's a big hospital. Five porches and it's filled
up with sick folks. And the Lord Jesus Christ went
to one individual. He had to walk by several. He went to one individual, a
certain man. He came to where this man was. This man was lying on a pallet
called a bed. Aren't you thankful tonight that
the eternal son of God was made flesh that he might come to show
mercy upon you? He came, the story he told, the
parable he told about the good Samaritan, you remember, there's
so much there that pictures Christ, but that man was down in the
ditch and the scripture said he came to where he was. He came to him. Christ came. The eternal Son of God came into
this world, was made flesh, that He might show His saving mercy
to certain men. God's general and His tender
mercies, the Scripture says, are over all His works. Over
all His works. He makes His Son to rise on the
evil and on the good. He causes the rain to fall upon
the field of the evil as well as upon the unjust. But His saving
mercy, His saving mercy, He shows to whom He will. to certain men, to certain individuals. Look with me to Romans chapter
9. Romans chapter 9, beginning with
verse 10. The apostle says, And not only
this, but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by her
father Isaac, For the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say
then? This is what many people say.
Are you saying that God loves some and He doesn't love others?
I'm not saying that. I'm reading what Paul said. Well,
that's not fair. That's not righteous. That's
unrighteous. Is there unrighteousness with God? Are you going to accuse
God Almighty of being unjust, of being unrighteous? Many people do when they hear
the truth. Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid! God forbid! For He saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this certain man to have compassion upon him. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Look back here in our text. Notice
the question that the Lord Jesus Christ asked this man. He's been sick for 38 years. Now the scripture doesn't say
he's been at this pool for 38 years. We usually assume that.
We don't know that, but we do know that he had been halt for
38 years. 38 years is a long time when you're
sick, isn't it? When you're laying on a pallet,
you can't go to work, can't support your family, can't do those things
that we all love to do. 38 years, that's a long time. And Jesus asked him a question.
Notice, Wilt thou be made whole? When you look at this question,
and I have for many times, many years. When you look at it, what
it does, it allowed this man, this question that our Lord put
to him. It allowed this man to answer
in such a way that he calls for mercy. He calls out for mercy. Wilt thou be made whole, sir? I am not able, and I have no
man to help. What's he saying? Have mercy
upon me. What did the publican pray in
the temple and go home justified? God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Wilt thou be made whole, sir?
I am not able, and I have no man to help. I am not able to
put myself into the pool to be healed, and I have no man to
put me into the pool to be healed. In other words, I cannot save
and I cannot heal myself. There's nothing, there's nothing
that I can do to blot out my sin. Do you not see the situation
I'm in? I'm not able. And I don't have
any man to help me. I cannot save myself, nor all
the men in this world, and all of their ceremonies, and all
of their rituals, and all of their rites. I have no man to
help me. Job said it like this. If I wash
myself with snow water, and they believed that snow water was
the purest, cleanest water on the face of God's earth. If I
wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean,
yet thou wilt plunge me in the ditch, and my own clothes shall
abhor me. I cannot save or heal myself,
I have no man to save or heal me. There's nothing that I can
do to blot out my sin. I see the record, and it's filled
to overflowing with my sins. And I have no one, I'm not able,
and I have no man to blot out my sin. There's no ceremony that any
man can come up with. And men have had a lot, and have
a lot, right? They've invented a lot of ceremonies,
a lot of rituals. What did the prophet say? Micah,
he said, Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? If I
offer a thousand rams, shed the blood of a thousand rams, or
with ten thousand rivers of oil, Shall I give my firstborn for
my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Will that do it? No. No. The Lord Jesus healed this man
with his word. Rise, take up thy bed and walk. God through Isaiah said, I have
blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a
cloud thy sins. Return unto me, for I have redeemed
thee. Don't even imagine that you have
to be so sorry for your sins. You have to feel your sins to
such a degree. Anytime you do that, You're adding
something to the work of Jesus Christ. Just as I am without
one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, O Lamb of God,
I come. The third thing the Lord Jesus
found in Jerusalem was the hatred and the persecution of religious
lost men. Verse 16. And therefore did the
Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done
these things on the Sabbath. You know, it was prophesied of
him before he came into this world. The prophet David, in
one of the Psalms, he said, They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of mine head. These lost religious men
that hated Christ without a cause. You notice they never mention
His healing. They recognized Him. They knew
who this man was. He'd been sick, been paralyzed
or whatever for all of those years. They never even speak
about that. No, it's all about carrying your
bed. Who told you to carry your bed? Their one concern was about him
carrying his bed, his pallet, on the Sabbath day. They did
not understand that the Sabbath was made for man and not man
for the Sabbath. Our Lord said that, didn't He?
They didn't understand that. They were all taken up with their
ideas of how you should observe the Sabbath. They never realized
That the Sabbath was a day of rest was a picture of Jesus Christ. Where will a sinner find rest
for his weary soul? Only, only in Christ. He said,
come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will. He didn't say, I might. He said,
I will give you rest. And I pray that the Lord would
bless this message this evening to all of us here.