The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
February, 1956
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Thirteen)

THE HEALING OF A CRIPPLE MAN

The Apostle John gives the account of seven signs, or miracles, which Jesus performed during His ministry. He called them "signs" because they have special significance. The case which we have to study today is the third of the series of these seven signs.

Throughout our Lord's ministry, Jesus laid special emphasis upon the spiritual side of life and less upon the material. He did not engage in healing campaigns such as are common today. When He healed a person, as a rule, He told him to be quiet about the matter and to say nothing. In striking contrast to the example of Jesus, the faith healers of today flash, as a rule, before the public eye the fact that they have healing campaigns and, upon that basis, appeal to the people to patronize them. There is, therefore, a wide difference between the healings which Jesus performed and the healings that are claimed to be done in His name today.

The Historical Setting of This Case of Healing

According to John 5:1 there was the feast of the Jews. At that time Jesus was at Jerusalem. While there, He healed a cripple man. Since the expression "the feast of the Jews" occurs in this passage, most conservative scholars are of the opinion that this feast was one of the Passovers occurring during the ministry of Jesus. The first one is mentioned in John 2:13; the third one in 6:4 and the fourth in 12:1. If the feast in 5:1 was a Passover, the ministry of Jesus lasted three and a fraction years. Assuming this position to be correct, we would say that one and a fraction years of our Lord's ministry had passed when we arrive in our study at this chapter, John 5.

A Superstition

There was in Jerusalem, near the sheep gate, a pool called Bethesda, which had five porches. To them great multitudes of sick people were brought. Among these sick folk was a certain man who had been a cripple for thirty-eight years. As Jesus passed by him, he asked him this question, "Wouldest thou be made whole?" Immediately the sick man responded, "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."

The popular superstitious belief was that there were medicinal properties or healing powers in the water of this pool. According to this tradition an angel at times would come down and agitate the water. The first one then who could get into the pool after it had been stirred by the angel was the one who would be healed. All of these people were as close to the water as they could get, hoping that, when the waters were troubled, they could, by themselves or by the help of others, get into the water. Of course, there was no scriptural ground for such a crass belief.

Along with such a heathen tradition of that day and time, there are others just as ridiculous that are being held today. In some quarters there are those who believe that, if they can perform some physical act, they will be put in touch with the divine power, which will bring healing and blessing to them. Unfortunately, for those who hold such views, the power is not present and there is no healing—unless it be by the power of the evil one, who would duplicate the work of God and counterfeit it.

Jesus Healing the Cripple Man

After the man said that, whenever he attempted to get into the pool, another went before him, Jesus commanded him saying, "Arise, take up thy bed, and walk." The man believed that Jesus had the power and authority to command him to do so. Like Noah and all the faithful men of God, this man acted upon his faith, and God restored him to perfect soundness of body. He was healed instantly, picked up his pallet, and walked away.

If we only had the faith to act upon any command or exhortation found in the Scriptures which is applicable to us, we could obtain many blessings and would be spared innumerable sorrows and distressing heartaches. The Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. His heart is just as sympathetic and His ears open to the cries of His people as much now as they were when He was upon the earth in the flesh.

There is nothing too hard for the Lord. This man had been in his infirm condition for thirty-eight years. It was as easy for the Lord to heal him as it would have been to heal one that had been cripple only a few days. The Lord Jesus never fails. Whenever there is a failure, it is due to our imperfections, short comings, or sins.

Jesus Healing on the Sabbath Day

In verse 9 we are told that it was the Sabbath upon which the Lord healed this cripple man. As soon as the Jewish authorities saw him walking and carrying his bed, they accosted him and asserted, "It is not lawful for thee to take up they bed." God had at Mount Sinai commanded Israel to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy—to do no work on it. But the legalists of Jesus' day had their interpretation of this Sabbath command and had spun many theories and enacted numerous hair-breath regulation regarding it. According to them this man, in carrying his pallet, was violating the Sabbath law. There was nothing that the poor man could do except to take his pallet home. He could not leave it where he was when he was healed because it would be stolen. He needed it for another time. He had to go home. He therefore was not violating the spirit of the Sabbath law in the least. Nevertheless his critics thought that he was.

The healed man, in the simplicity of his sincerity, informed these legalistic enemies that the man who healed him had commanded him to take up his bed and to walk. They could see that he was telling the truth. They therefore asked who it was that had given him such a command as that one on the Sabbath. The man did not know who had healed him. Probably he had never seen Jesus before—and now Jesus had gone elsewhere. Doubtless, because of the joy welling up in the healed man's heart, he failed to get the name of his benefactor or to learn who He was.

Later the Lord was in the temple. Then he recognized Jesus as the man who had healed him. To him the Lord said, "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee." From this statement of the Saviour one would judge that the man's infirmity was the result of sin, a personal sin. Knowing that a man reaps what he sows, Jesus warned him not to sin again lest a more severe punishment come upon him. As to what the man's reaction to this advice was, we cannot say. But of this fact we may be certain, that it never pays to sin and to do wrong. Let us remember that a man's sins will find him out, as Moses declared.

The Leaders of the Jews Persecuting Jesus

After Jesus warned the man not to sin anymore, he went and informed the Jews that it was Jesus who had commanded him to violate the Sabbath law. Some think that the man was very ungrateful in reporting Jesus to the authorities. There is however nothing in the text to indicate the motive which prompted hm. Pressure may have been brought to bear against the man, and he felt that he could not do anything except to inform the bitter opponents concerning Jesus. On the other hand, he may have thought that Jesus, who could heal diseases, could take care of Himself against any opposition.

After they learned from this man that Jesus was the one—as they thought—causing him to violate the Sabbath law, they began to persecute Jesus. In the discussion which followed, Jesus declared, "My Father worketh even until now, and I work." When He spoke of God as being His Father in a special sense—in a way that none of them could claim—they sought to kill Him. The thing which enraged them most was the fact that He not only, in their estimation, had violated the Sabbath, but that He had made Himself equal to God by calling God the Father. The use of the word "Father" does show the unique relationship that existed between the Lord Jesus and God the Father. The Jews were correct in interpreting His statement on this occasion. The fact that He did make this declaration was no justification for their opposition. They should have listened with open hearts to His message and prayed God to lead them to understand who Jesus was, and what was their relationship and duty to Him.

But Satan had blinded their eyes in fulfilment of such passages as Isaiah 29: 9-12. A perusal of the Scriptures—both Old and New Testaments—shows that, when one rejects light and refuses to be given any more, God always blinds his eyes in order that the judgment of God might come upon him justly. It never pays to reject light. It pays great dividends to accept any new truth and light regardless of the source from which it comes.