He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)
Jesus was developing a reputation as a great teacher and healer. Not only did the Samaritans come out to hear him. We read of a nobleman from Capernaum who sought him out in Cana that he might heal his son who was at the point of death. (John 4:47) Not one to resist a teachable moment, our Lord said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe. (John 4:48) Do we need signs and wonders to believe in Christ? Is our faith in Him tied to what He will do for us, or do we believe because we recognize Who He is?
The great compassion of Jesus could not let the nobleman’s son die, so He healed the boy at a distance, so to speak. The apostle does not explain how he did this or tell us whether Jesus said something to cause the healing. Maybe he made a short, silent prayer for the Father to heal the boy. All we hear in the Gospel is Jesus telling the nobleman, Go your way; your son lives. (John 4:50) I find the response of the nobleman quite remarkable. I would have said, “How am I to be sure of this?” Could I have simply taken the word of Jesus for a miracle I had not yet witnessed? Yet the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
After the nobleman professed his faith in Jesus, the Apostle tells us how the miracle came about. His servants met him on the road back home, informing him that his son had been healed at the very time Jesus said your son lives. There was no long prayer or pleading with God. Jesus simply said the word and it was done. We often find ourselves working up our faith by many words in our prayers. We are cautioned not to do that, in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (Matthew 6:7) What matters is the faith behind our words. Do we really believe God will accomplish what he has promised?
Chapter 5 begins, After this. Jesus went back to Jerusalem. The Bible says Jesus went up because Jerusalem lies on a high plateau. We find him near the Sheep Gate amongst a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed by the pool of Bethesda. They were waiting for an angel to stir up the water, for whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. My first thought upon reading this is how silly it is. Possibly, John thought the same. But if we picture the scene, we can sense the desperation of those who gathered around the pool in hopes of being healed.
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. Jesus got right to the point, asking him, Do you want to be made well? We are not told what the infirmity might be. From the context, we assume he was a paralytic, for he was unable to get himself into the pool when it was stirred up. Yet, instead of replying yes to Jesus, of course I want to be made well, he made up an excuse for why he was still lying on his pallet. He could not see beyond the miracles he had witnessed at the pool when others were healed. He had not yet grasped the power of the Word of God.
So, Jesus spoke the Word, commanding him to Rise, take up your pallet and walk. More modern translations say a bed. This was a small sleeping mat commonly used by poor, sick people in Bible times. The paralytic trusted Jesus and was healed. His response was to obey His command to get up and walk. He stood in the power of the presence of God. By His Word, the man was made well.
Now it was the sabbath on that day. Too often, we fail to see the humor in stories about Jesus. The Jewish audience listening to this would surely have to stifle a laugh. It was not legal to carry about your pallet on the Sabbath. It was one of 39 Rabbinical categories of prohibited work, which forbade carrying a burden on the Sabbath. Jesus was thumbing his nose at the religious leaders, who he knew could do nothing to enforce their law because of the Roman occupation.
At the same time, Jesus would certainly have known that seeing the man carrying his pallet on the Sabbath would attract their attention, which it did. All the religious leaders could see was a man flouting the rules by carrying his pallet. I suspect they all knew who the healed man was, as he had been lying by the pool for 38 years. Yet, their concern was not for his life and health but for his disobedience of their arbitrary rules. Rather than rejoicing in the healing of the paralytic, they were likely angered by his boldness.
They were determined to get to the bottom of this insult to their authority. Who is the man that said unto thee, Take up thy pallet, and walk? They did not ask, Who is the man who has made thee whole? That is what I would have wanted to know. The paralytic had not paid any attention to who it was that healed him, he that was healed knew not who it was. All the healed man cared about was the fact that he was healed. He may have gone after Jesus, the story does not say. Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in the place. Even so, the paralytic was determined to do what Jesus told him to do.
Later, Jesus sought him out. Our Lord does not forget us. When we trust and obey, he returns to instruct us further, to walk us along in right paths. He never gives us more than we can handle. First, he told the paralytic to Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. Seeing that he did as much, Jesus returned to teach him more. Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee. It is the same message Jesus gives us when we are saved. It is the same message he gives us each day. It is the same message he is teaching us right now. We have been made whole. Sin no more.
But is it possible to sin no more? Jesus told the paralytic Take up thy pallet, and walk. The man at the well did so. He trusted Jesus and obeyed His command. This Word of God spoken by Jesus carried as much power in that moment as it did when He created the universe. When Jesus found the man again, he gave him another command, sin no more. Is there any reason this command carries any less power than the command to get up and walk? If the man could trust and obey Jesus for his physical healing, why would he not trust and obey him for his spiritual healing? Can we trust and obey Jesus?
