A Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (Verses 1-15)

In this passage we have one of the few miracles of Christ about which John wrote. We can learn from the text the great misery that sin brought into the world. We read of a man who had been ill for 38 years. For this long time he endured pain, suffering, and grievous infirmity. He had possibly seen many healed at the waters of Bethesda and returning to their homes healed and rejoicing. This man had not been able to get healing. He was friendless, helpless, and hopeless. Many years passed by without any help. No relief from suffering came his way.

Sin was the original root and cause of every sickness, disease, and suffering in the world. God did not make man to suffer infirmity. These things are the fruits of a fallen world full of sin. There would have been no suffering in the world if our first parents had not sinned. Adam and Eve brought into the world, by their disobedience and by listening to the voice of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Mankind was created in innocence from which he fell.

When man was created, he was placed in a perfect environment and given a simple test and clearly warned of the consequences of disobedience. Man was not compelled to sin, but freely chose to disobey God. Eve was deceived but Adam sinned deliberately (1 Tim. 2:14). The disobedience of man resulted in the judgment of God and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This initial period of innocence is the first of seven dispensations found in the Word of God.

A dispensation as found in Scripture is a period of history during which a particular form of governing principals and testing operates, here it is Innocence.

This passage shows us the carelessness of man in his sin and his lack of awareness of personal sinfulness. Proverbs 14:9 says, “Fools make a mock at sin: But among the righteous there is favour.” The Bible states that the unwise make a mockery of sin. They have delight in sin and are pleased to practice sin, but the righteous on the other hand have favour before the Lord. The wicked love that which God hates, and hates that which God loves. The godly are the opposite, they love the ways of the Lord and delight in his commandments.

We are also taught in the passage how great is the mercy of Christ towards sinners. Christ knew by his divine knowledge how long this man had suffered. He spoke to him with words of gracious compassion. He healed him without any delay, and sent him home rejoicing in spirit. This is just one of many examples of Christ’s mercy found in Holy Scripture. Christ is far more ready and willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.

Let us not hold back from coming to Christ. May we come boldly and trust in Christ confidently. He who healed the man at Bethesda is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).

The last thing we learn from this passage of Scripture is that recovery from sickness ought to cause us to walk in the ways of Christ and to draw near to God. May the words of Christ ring in our ears, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” Every episode of sickness is the voice of God speaking to us. Each of them has its own message to us. Glad are they who not only hear the voice of God, but heed and learn the instruction therein. Nothing happens by pure chance. So, it is with sickness and recovery. Restored health should send us to the Saviour, the great physician.

Let us take the truths in this passage to heart. Let us praise God that we have such a Saviour as Christ. Are we ever sick? Let us remember that Christ knows our afflictions and can heal if he sees fit to do so. Are we ever troubled? Let us go to the Saviour and hear the voice of mercy, compassion, and love. Let us learn to hate sin and love righteousness.

Judgment Belongs to Christ (Verses 16-23)

The verses before us show us the Lord Jesus Christ asserting His own Divine nature, His unity with God the Father, and the high office that He is called to as Messiah. Often, we search the Scriptures for a clear explanation of the doctrine of the divine Godhead also called the Trinity. Here we have the Lord Jesus Christ handling the subject of His own Person and unity with the Father.

One thing we learn from the text is that some works are lawful to do on the Sabbath day. The Jews sought to find fault with Jesus as he had just healed a man on the Sabbath. They accused our Lord and Saviour of breaking the fourth commandment. Our Lord’s response to the Jews is worth taking note of. He says, “My Father worketh hitherto and I work” (verse 17). Jesus is saying that although God the Father rested on the seventh day from His work of creation He was still at work in other ways. For example, He never rested from his work of mercy in providing the daily needs of his creation. Jesus shows us that works of necessity and works of mercy are not breaches of the fourth commandment.

We also learn about the high dignity of Christ. The Jews sought to kill Christ because He made himself equal with the Father. When Christ said that God was His Father He made himself equal with the Father. This claim from Christ was enough for the Jews to accuse him of blasphemy. Jesus is no less than God manifest in the flesh.

1 Timothy 3:16 testifies to this truth, “And confessedly the mystery of piety is great. God has been manifested in flesh, has been justified in the Spirit, has appeared to angels, has been preached among the nations, has been believed on in the world, has been received up in glory.” Jesus asserts His own unity with the Father. No other meaning can be put on the words of Christ here. John 5:19 says, “Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of himself save whatever he sees the Father doing: for whatever things he does, these things also the Son does in like manner.”

Jesus not only asserts His own divine nature and unity with the Father, but He asserts His power to give life. He tells us, “even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” Jesus has the same power over life and death as the Father. Life is the highest and greatest gift bestowed, besides salvation. It is so precious that man cannot do anything to extend it. The greatest and best doctors cannot prolong life longer than God has permitted. In Him is life: He is life. John 1:4 says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

Jesus goes on to assert His authority to judge the world in righteousness. “The Father,” we are told, “has committed all judgment unto the Son.” All power and authority over the world has been given to the Son. He only is the Judge and King of mankind. Before Christ, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Writing to the Christians in Rome the Apostle Paul wrote, “God shall judge the secret things of men by Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16).

If we desire salvation let us learn to put our whole trust and hope on the Lord Jesus Christ. The saviour of sinners is mighty to save and His name is Jesus Christ.

The Privilege of True Believers (Verses 24-27)

We see in these verses that the salvation of the soul depends on us hearing the Lord Jesus Christ. It is he who, “hears Christ’s word” and believes that God sent Him to save sinners, “who has everlasting life.” Merely hearing Christ is not enough. We must obey and believe. This is the hearing that saves. To hear Christ in this way is just as needed today as it was two thousand years ago. To submit our hearts to Christ’s teaching and learn of Him is to hear Him. To hear His voice and follow Him: this is the way to eternal life.

We see in the passage the richness of the believer’s privileges in Christ. We learn that the one who hears and follows Christ will have everlasting life. Such a man is forgiven of all his sins. The man who trusts in Christ is no longer under condemnation. His sins have been dealt with by the blood of Christ. That man has passed from death to life. Let us never forget the great blessings and privileges we have in Christ as members of His body. May we come daily before our great God and King and thank him for all that He has done and will do for unworthy sinners such as we are. He alone has the power to give life to dead souls.

The last thing we see in these verses is a solemn prophecy in relation to the final resurrection. Our Lord says, “The hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” The words of Christ in this passage ought to be prayed over and considered by all Christian souls. The Lord tells us that all is not over when men die. All will come forth out of their graves and stand before the God of all the earth. When men rise again they will not all rise in the same condition. There will be two classes. Not all will go to heaven. Not all will be saved. Some will rise to inherit eternal life, and some will rise only to be condemned at the Great White Throne judgement described in Revelation 20.

There is a “first resurrection” and an implied “second” resurrection at the end of the one thousand year millennial reign of Christ. Believers in the church age will be raised at the rapture; and those who will be killed for their faith during the great tribulation will be raised when the Lord comes in glory. The resurrection of damnation will involve unbelievers at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:11-15).

Bearing Witness to Christ (Verses 28-39)

In these verses of Holy Scripture, we see the proofs of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ being the promised Messiah. He sets before the Jews four witnesses, and four kinds of evidence are offered – His Father in heaven; His forerunner, John the Baptist; the works He had accomplished during His earthly ministry; and the Holy Scriptures that testify of Him.

Christ gives great honour to His faithful servants. He speaks very highly of John the Baptist. Jesus says (verse 33), “He bare witness unto the truth.” It is likely that John the Baptist had passed away when these words were spoken. Our Lord and Saviour did not forget about the man who laboured faithfully for the kingdom of God. John the Baptist honoured Him, and Christ honoured John in return. This shows us that Christ does not forget those who work for Him and do so faithfully. Christians are forgotten and despised by the world, they are never forgotten by Christ. There are many great Christian men and women that the world has forgotten. Seldom, will we find the average person today who heard of such people? William Tyndale, George Muller, the Wesley brothers, J. N. Darby and C. I. Scofield are unknown to the general population. These men did great work for the Lord and society, yet they have been forgotten. Rest assured they are not forgotten by the King of Heaven.

May we also draw our attention to the fact that Jesus points to the miracles He did as evidence that He is the Messiah. He said, “The works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (Verse 36). The miracles of Christ ought to receive much of our attention. In the days in which our Lord walked the earth His miracles drew much attention from the people who not only heard about them but also were eyewitnesses of them. Not all the miracles of Christ resulted in the conversions of souls to the truth, but they did result in an earnest inquiry about who Jesus truly was. They were so amazing, so public that even the enemies of Jesus could not explain them away. By denying that they were God’s work through the Saviour they had to conclude that the miracles were done by Satanic influence and power. The plain truth is that the chief seat of unbelief is the heart. Many do not want to believe and therefore remain doubters, mockers, and unbelievers: blind to the evidence before them.

The last proof that the text draws our attention to is the Scriptures themselves. Jesus refers to the Holy Scriptures. Our Lord and Saviour said, “Search the Scriptures: they are they which testify of me.” The Scriptures that Christ spoke of is, of course, the Old Testament. Every part of our Bible teaches us about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not merely found in the four Gospels and the New Testament Epistles. Christ is found directly and indirectly in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. He is found in the promises made to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David. He is found in the types and symbols found in the ceremonial law. Jesus Christ is found everywhere in the Old Testament. Indeed He is found throughout the Holy Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

If we do not see this clear fact it is because we do not, “search the Scriptures.” Regular reading of the Bible is the essential daily joy we must commit to. If we desire to be well-established men and women of Christ then reading and studying our Bible must be our chief priority.

Why Are So Many Lost? (Verses 40-47)

Let us mark the reason why so many souls are lost today. The Lord Jesus Christ says to the unbelieving Jews, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” It is a lack of will to come to Christ for salvation that keeps men and women away from eternal life. It is lack of will that keeps souls shut out of Heaven. It is not merely sins: all manner of sins can be forgiven. It is not by any decree of God. We are not told in the Bible of any whom God has created to be destroyed. It is not a limit to Christ’s work of redemption. He has paid a price sufficient for all mankind. It is something far more than this. It is man’s own unwillingness to come to Christ, to repent and believe the Gospel. It is man’s own pride, love of sin, and lack of desire to seek life in Christ that keeps them away from salvation.

This is the whole reason why many of the lost are not saved. This is a solemn truth, one that the Bible makes abundantly clear throughout Holy Scripture. This is a chief principle of Christian truth and theology.

Millions of souls throughout every age labour to shift the blame for their lost condition away from themselves. They talk of their incapability to change. They tell you that they cannot help the way they are. Such talk will not stand before the Judgement seat of Christ. The unsaved are what they are because they have no heart, no desire, and no eagerness to come to the Saviour. The Scriptures tell us that, “light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light” (John 3:1). Sinful mankind loves the darkness because in the darkness of the world evil deeds are hidden and to others in the darkness they are celebrated and promoted. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 23:37, “I would have gathered you, and ye would not.” May the words of the Lord Jesus Christ silence many who object to the truth of the Gospel.

There is one principal cause of the unbelief that the Lord Jesus Christ speaks about in the passage. He says to the Jews, “How can ye believe which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh of God only?” Christ is saying that they were not honest in all their dealings regarding faith and practice. They cared more about pleasing man than giving glory to God. In this state of mind, they were never going to learn and believe the truth of which Christ spoke.

True faith does not merely depend on the state of man’s head and understanding, but on the state of his heart before God. The mind may be convinced: conscience pricked, but unless there is a conviction of sin in the heart man is lost and will be so forever. A heart conviction of sin is central to the message of Christ. May we make sure that we are honest and really desire to seek the Lord.

The last thing that Christ draws on is the words of Moses. He says to the Jews, “Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.” The writings that are ascribed to Moses in Scripture were written by Moses himself. The facts recorded in them are worthy of all credit. Our Lord’s testimony is an unanswerable argument. The simple fact that the writers of the New Testament refer to the Old Testament is an undoubtable proof that they are true and worthy of our attention. Let us stand fast, and not doubt. Every word of the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, was given by the inspiration of God.