The Gospel According To John

by Richard St.James

Jesus Christ Made Me Whole

John 5:1 “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 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.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 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?
7 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.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
14 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.
15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.”

Verse one: “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”

In the book of Exodus the Jewish nation was commanded to keep three feasts. By the time of David, Jerusalem was the place for the keeping of these feasts. “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.” [Exodus 23:14-16] These three feasts were:

1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread [Passover]
2. The Feast of Harvest [first fruits]
3. The Feast of Ingathering [end of the year]

It was for one of three feasts that Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [Jerusalem being 2625 feet high in elevation means everyone traveling to Jerusalem goes UP. See how accurate the King James Bible is. It’s precision and perfection is unmatched by any book on the face of this Earth! Amen!]

Verse two: “Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.”

Verse three: “In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.”

Isn’t this a picture of man after his FALL in Genesis. The five porches and a stagnant pool create a picture of a scene of dying people. There are five porches. Five is the number of death! And a pool with no movement of the water is a certain prescription for death. Stagnation leads to DEATH. We were dead in our sins and unable to free ourselves from the bondage of sin.

Verse four: “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.”

It takes the Holy Spirit to TROUBLE the stagnate water which is our life. “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” [John 16:8]. The troubling work of the Holy Ghost is accomplished by the teaching of THE LAW [SCHOOLMASTER]. Turn to [Galatians 3:24]: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” Without the Holy Spirit working us over with the Schoolmaster we would just rot in our stagnant pool till the day we died and went to HELL.

Verse eight: “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”
Verse nine: “And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.”

The supernatural power of God’s word is able to perform the sanctification and cleansing of the sinner. What the first Adam lost the second Adam regained. Simply Jesus saying [WORDS] “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” accomplishes what no other man will ever be able to do. Jesus Christ applies by the washing of the WORD of God on the sinner and gets him every whit clean. See it for yourself! Amen! [Ephesians 5:26] “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”.

Verse ten: “The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.”

Everything seems to be fine up to this point. But all a sudden the dust just fills the air and threatens to choke us all. What is the problem? It is the self righteous Jews standing before Him. In their jealousy and envy [because of their greed for power over the people], they become snake bitten when they witness on the SABBATH a sinner saved by grace. “It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.” There are many people in this world that will be derailed from that which is the most important thing in life [THE ETERNAL] and be sidelined over the trivial things of this life [THE TEMPORAL]. The DEVIL is very happy with this situation. The Jew is hung up on the SABBATH. This is because they are hypocrites!

Sabbath A Sign To The Jew

Turn to [Exodus 31:13-17] for the teaching on THE LAW: “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”

The Sabbath a sign to the Jew.

The Intent Of Keeping The Sabbath

Clearly, what we have, here, is this. Keeping the SABBATH for the Jew, in regard to [THE LAW], was not doing any work to earn a buck or to richen their pockets. It was meant to be a sign, between the LORD and Israel, and was intended to point to the Jew the need to pause or [REST], and to reflect or [WORSHIP GOD], and to cease from all [SELF] richening activity or [WORK]. But Israel missed the point! Read the Scripture! Hypocrites always will get hung up on OUTWARD details and miss the main thrust of a thing [THE LAW].

Over and over the Lord tries to get through to them [THE JEWS] but to no avail. Jesus Christ as [THE GIVER of THE LAW] understands [THE LAW] and tries to show them the MEANING of [THE LAW]. Their hard hearted hypocrisy was REVEALED in another tangle Jesus had with them in Luke chapter fourteen verse five and six: “And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things.” [Luke 14:5-6] They could not answer him! A hypocrite is a worst case! “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” [Matthew 23:23] The keeping of the Sabbath does not preclude one doing good unto another person. Showing someone mercy on the Sabbath [healing] without anything going into your pocket … does not break the Sabbath! Amen!

Verse eleven: “He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.”

The three needs shown here are:

1. We need to come to a point in life and realize we are a crippled folk [HALT -WITHERED].

2. We need to realize we are powerless [IMPOTENT] folk.

3. We need to realize that we are blind folk.

If we can get to this point in our lives, then, we are in a place to get HELP. In our text [in verse five] that “certain man” was ready for HELP.

1. He had an infirmity for “thirty and eight years”.

2. The water was getting “troubled”.

3. He needed someone to get him into the water while it was being troubled.

Again, he had come to THAT POINT in his life, realizing that he was crippled, powerless and blind. He was very ready to get healed [SAVED]. He certainly was ready to meet Jesus. “Wilt thou be made whole?”

[John 1:12] “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”. RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST!

Verse fifteen: “The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.”

Now, go and tell others WHO made you whole! Amen!

The Mystery Of Christ

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The Gospel According To John

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

John 5:4 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.

John 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

John 5:6 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?

John 5:7 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.

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

John 5:10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

John 5:11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

John 5:13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

John 5:14 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.

John 5:15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

John 5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

John 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

John 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

John 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

John 5:32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

John 5:33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

John 5:34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.

John 5:35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

John 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for 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.

John 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

John 5:38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

John 5:41 I receive not honour from men.

John 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

John 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

John 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

John 5:47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?