Living Words
"Living Words" is a weekly podcast that explores the transformative power of scripture across a diverse range of Biblical books, guided by insightful devotionals from the author's own works. Each episode seeks to deepen faith and understanding, connecting listeners with the enduring wisdom and relevance of the Bible in their daily lives.
Living Words
In His Footsteps Week 7: The Healing of the Paralytic at Bethesda
In this episode of the Living Words Podcast, Charles Vance focuses on the healing of the paralytic at Bethesda, as recounted in John 5:1-15. He reads from the New King James Version and discusses the theological and symbolic meanings of the narrative. The story highlights Jesus' compassion and challenges legalistic interpretations of the Sabbath by performing a healing on this day, emphasizing that the Sabbath should be about doing good and liberating those in bondage.
Charles underscores Jesus' authority and the call for an active faith that responds to Jesus’ commands as an expression of belief. He also touches upon the importance of re-evaluating traditional interpretations of religious law to align with Jesus' teachings on love and mercy. The episode includes discussions about the significance of Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath and the implications of his healings and miracles, particularly in terms of spiritual healing and the need for repentance.
Throughout the episode, Charles invites listeners to reflect on several key aspects: the nature of Jesus' compassion, the challenge of traditional Sabbath observances, the relationship between faith and action, and the broader implications of Jesus' authority and his relationship with the Father. He concludes with suggested prayers focusing on compassion, obedience, and spiritual awareness.
Get a copy of the In His Footsteps devotional here.
Good morning, shabbat Shalom. I'm Charles Vance and this is week seven in his footsteps healing the paralytic at Bethesda. I'm Charles Vance, and this is the Living Words podcast. Thank you for joining us Now. The text for this week is John 5 1 through 15. This week I'm going to be reading from the New King James Version, chapter 5, starting at verse 1.
Speaker 1:After this, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, a pool which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches, and in these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water, and then whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had been in infirmity for thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been in that condition a long time, he said to him Do you want to be made well? And the sick man answered and said Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. But when I am coming, another steps in front of me and Jesus said to him Rise, take up your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked.
Speaker 1:And that day was the Sabbath, and the Jews therefore said to him who was cured? It is the Sabbath, that is not lawful for you to carry out your bed. And he answered them. He who made me well said to me Take up your bed and walk. And then they asked him who is the man who said to you Take up your bed and walk? But the one who was healed did not know who. It was where Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. And afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. And the man departed and told the Jews that it had been Jesus who had made him well. Let's pray Abba, father, we just praise your name. We thank you for your goodness, for your kindness, that you sent forth your son, yeshua HaMashiach, jesus the Christ, that he did make us well and that he will raise us from the dead. And he raised himself from the dead after the third day and the third night, and that he lives forevermore to bring us renewal and newness of life. We just pray that in this session today we'll have some moments of reflection and renewal, where the washing of the water of the word will give us some spiritual contact with your Holy Spirit, in Yeshua's name, amen.
Speaker 1:So before I get started into the actual text for the week, I wanted to just discuss a little bit about the feast in the context. This was a Jewish feast, it's an unnamed feast, and I think it's interesting to note that the people who hold to a three and a half year ministry say this is a Passover. But when you look at the chronology of the Gospels the Synoptics, matthew, mark, luke and then merge it with John Gospels, the Synoptics, Matthew, mark, luke and then merge it with John, following the same chronology set forth in the Synoptics, you'll see that this is actually a Shavuot, because there were two Passovers in John, just like there's two Passovers everywhere else in all the Gospels. So John 5, 1 through 15,.
Speaker 1:This describes another of the miraculous healings of Jesus, and this time at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, where he heals a man who'd been disabled for 38 years. The narrative is rich in theological and symbolic meaning, showcasing the authority of Jesus and challenging societal and religious norms. Here's a breakdown of the passage. So here's the context and overview. As I just discussed, this was a Jewish festival for which he had gone up, as he was commanded to do by the law, and he went to the Pool of Bethesda and here he encounters a man who's been unable to walk for 38 years and after learning of his long-term condition and after asking him do you want to be made well? He says get up, take your bed and walk. And instantly, asking him, do you want to be made well? He says get up, take your bed and walk. And instantly the man is healed, takes up his bed and walks. Now his bed was like not a, not a sealy mattress, this was a just a little, probably a little rice mat or that he could just roll up. But that was his bed and he got up and he carried it, but it was still.
Speaker 1:This was performed on the Sabbath, which was controversial because, especially among the Jewish leaders, that this was a considered work Carrying this little mat was considered work and it was prohibited and it led to a confrontation. And that confrontation underscores the deeper theme of his identity and his mission and the true nature of Sabbath. So the theological significance was his compassion and authority. So the healing demonstrates the compassion of Jesus for those who are suffering and marginalized. It also reveals his sovereign authority to heal and restore, pointing to his divinity, his position as God and his role as the bringer of the new creation. It's a challenge to legalistic interpretations of the Sabbath. So by healing the man on the Sabbath and instructing him to carry his mat, he challenged the Pharisees' legalistic interpretation of the Sabbath law. Jesus emphasizes the Sabbath is about doing good and liberating those in bondage. It's not about rigid adherence to rules to prevent mercy and compassion. So the man's response, his obedience, was immediate to Jesus. When Jesus said get up and walk, he got up and walked. It was a word-faith action. However, the later interaction where he identifies himself, jesus, as the one who healed him, reflects the complexity and understanding of the one who healed him. So it reflects a complexity and understanding of the responding of his work. So Jesus as Lord of Sabbath.
Speaker 1:The controversy over the Sabbath leads to a broader discussion about the authority of Jesus over the Sabbath, emphasizing that he is the Lord of the Sabbath, which points to his authority to interpret and fulfill law, presenting himself as a true source of rest and healing. And I want to also inject here that we know through the chronology of the Bible and that we can now know exactly which Sabbath, which full moon, which feast, to the ten thousandth of a day, mathematically, through the Julian calendar and through computer analysis of that calendar. We know that Jesus rose on the Sabbath. He was in the grave on a Wednesday night and he got up on Saturday afternoon just before sunset. And he is the Lord of the Sabbath, lord of the Sabbath, raised on the Sabbath. And he's telling us that the Sabbath is not for some legalistic set of rules. It's about doing good and it's never wrong to do good on the Sabbath.
Speaker 1:Now the lessons we can glean from this passage is the significance of faith and action in healing. So the healing miracles of Jesus illustrate that faith often necessitates action as a demonstration of trust, illustrate that faith often necessitates action as a demonstration of trust. The dynamic relationship between faith and works emphasizes that genuine faith is active, responding to the command of Jesus as an expression of belief. John 5, 8, and 9, he says. Then Jesus said to him Get up, pick up your mat and walk At once. The man was cured, he picked up his mat and walked, so re-evaluating traditions in light of the teachings of Jesus.
Speaker 1:The healings of Jesus on the Sabbath challenge traditional interpretations of religious law. They invite his followers to re-examine their practices and beliefs in the light of his teachings on love and mercy. This underscores the need for tradition to reflect the core values of his message, focusing on compassion over legalism. There's a verse out of Mark Mark 2.27,. And then he said to them "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath". The next is Jesus' authority. In the true Sabbath rest and through his authority over illness and religious customs, he reveals his divinity and lordship over all aspects of life. By healing on the Sabbath, he demonstrates that he is the fulfillment of the true Sabbath rest, offering liberation from sin and legalism, inviting believers into rest and peace in him. Matthew 12.8,. For the Son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Speaker 1:Now let's discuss some questions for reflection and discussion. Reflect on the compassion of Jesus, an initiative in approaching the paralytic. How does this shape our understanding of his character and his concern for individual suffering? Well, he could have just passed by, he just ignored him. It wasn't on him. It wasn't his responsibility to heal that man. Poor guy had been there for 38 years. One more year wasn't going to matter. He didn't have to stop, but he did. He saw him, he had compassion on him. But you know what he asked him do you want to be made well? I mean, the guy's been sitting here 38 years. Maybe he doesn't want to be well. He says, yeah, I'd love to. But every time I try to get up to go down there, somebody gets in front of me. So what did he do? He healed him. That's his character, his compassion and mercy.
Speaker 1:So how does the healing on the Sabbath challenge traditional understandings of rest and work? What does it teach us about the nature of his work? Again, the Sabbath was a day you didn't work, but based on the laws of the Sabbath, you rested and they were very strict. But he showed a new way that there's more to life than law and legalism and that it's about doing good. In what ways does this miracle encourage you to respond in obedience to his word, even when it challenges your expectations or circumstances? We see that we should. He says obey me. If you love me, you keep my commandments. When he gives you a word you act in faith, response, trust. It proves the trust you have in him when you act on the word that he's given you.
Speaker 1:So consider the broader implications of the discourse of Jesus on his authority and relationship with the Father. And how does this deepen your understanding of who he is and his mission? He said I came not to do my will but to do the will of the father. He said if you've seen me, you've seen the father. So he was a reflection of the father through the spirit. And his warning to the healed man about sin points to a deeper spiritual healing. And how does this aspect of the story influence your perception of his healings and miracles? He says go and sin no more. Basically, that's what he told the woman in adultery Go and sin no more. So he said to this man go and sin no more lest something worse come upon you. And so I think the imperative, the lesson to be learned there, is that when you receive a healing, act on it and use it as a trigger for repentance, and repentance in your life.
Speaker 1:So the suggested prayers for this week here's a prayer for compassion and healing. Lord Jesus, you who showed boundless compassion at the pool of Bethesda, we pray for your healing touch in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Teach us to see beyond our limitations and societal boundaries, trusting in your power to restore and make whole. May your compassion flow through us, that we might be instruments of your healing love in a broken world. Guide us to act with mercy and kindness, reflecting your heart to those in need. Amen.
Speaker 1:Here's a prayer for faith and obedience. Heavenly Father, in the example of the man who was healed, you have shown us the power of faith coupled with action. Strengthen our faith that we may respond to your call with immediate obedience, even when your ways are beyond our understanding. Help us to trust in your word and to move forward in faith, believing that you are at work in our lives for our good and your glory. May our actions reflect our trust in you and bear witness to the transforming power of love.
Speaker 1:Amen, and a prayer for spiritual awareness and rest. Gracious God, open our eyes to see you at work in our lives Beyond our expectations and understanding. Like the man waiting by the pool, may we not miss your presence among us. Amen. Understanding and the busyness of life Remind us to seek you first, resting in your sovereignty and grace. Amen. I'd like to thank you for joining me in this brief. Respite of your weekly toils, I hope you find renewal and a pathway for repentance and receiving of compassion and mercy in your life. It'll help you to grow spiritually and make connection with God. Now it's my prayer for you to go forth this week that you'll have all good things. Blessings upon you In Yeshua's name, amen.
