So you want to be healed?

Picture a courtroom scene On the prosecution we have the Pharisees and the Sadducees . On the defence we have the Apostle John representing Jesus Christ. The charge is that Jesus is claiming to be the Son of God. John 5:16 tells us that he was being persecuted by the Jews. On the one hand there is no argument with this “charge” after all Jesus IS the Son of God but what they didn’t accept that he was , only that he CLAIMED to be him and what they were really worried about was that men and women would follow him. They want the people to follow their way but many were showing signs of following this Jesus instead. John’s desire is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” John says that this Jesus has invaded the earth and lived among men and women for three years. In that time he showed the way to God and it was a different way to that of the religious powers. By way of evidence he presents John the Baptist who says that this Jesus, who came after him in history, was more important than he was - even though he came after him he was “before him” He calls him the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” He also introduces the reader to the disciples who lived with Jesus for three years and whose conclusion was that he was exactly who he claimed to be. Then we are introduced to Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman and the whole of the Samaritan community. By the start of chapter 5 we are given a very interesting contrast between Jesus and his accusers, the religious leaders. In defence John calls to mind the work of healing and forgiveness and contrasts it with the pettifogging doctrinaire approach of the church leadership who care nothing for the man only for the strictest interpretation of the Law. He cleverly uses leaders to undermine their case and make the case of the defence for them. As the story who are you attracted to and who are you repulsed by? Jesus was the one who talked to the man. HE SPENT TIME WITH THE MAN Time and time again we see that Jesus is the one who takes the initiative with people- HE ALWAYS HAS TIME FOR PEOPLE <> he refuses to sit back and wait for people to come to him- he takes up every opportunity to reach out to people in need. His desire is “to preach good news to the poor….to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and the recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” This is the manifesto of Jesus. This is what he did when he spoke to the Samaritan woman and with the official in Galilee and now he does it for this man. He had been on his way to the temple to celebrate one of the Jewish festivals whenever he came across this very sorry individual- this man had been an invalid for most, if not all of his life and had being coming to this place which was supposed to have healing qualities but only at the time when the angel disturbed the waters- he had to wait for a window of opportunity but unfortunately for him other people kept bunking the cue and getting in before him When Jesus saw him he spoke to him and asked him “Do you want to be healed?” May seem a strange question. Perhaps there was an implication behind the question or perhaps he just wanted to know if the man really wanted healed as some people find dependence of others a pleasant experience. Sometimes people fail to take opportunities to help themselves because they are quite comfortable as they are but this man was not- did he shout at Jesus or did he reply quietly and just explain the situation? As we look at this story we need to realise that the way we live our lives, the lifestyle we have adopted, will say more about us than any amount of words. In the post modern society in which we live this is absolutely clear “Christians proclaim the gospel through their lives, manners and morals in an instant fashion.” [Roger Johnston] In this age of MTV the camera follows your every move- if the message is good enough to attract people on the evening news certainly it will be good enough to attract people on the streets and sidewalks of our neighbourhoods.” This gives us a great opportunity to proclaim, to persuade and to argue the case for Christ in the public square. This is not the time to silence the gospel, it’s a time to enter the public square with confidence. Look at Jesus and look at the religious leaders and tell me which one you believe- if you were on the jury would you go with the prosecution or with the defence? We see Jesus TALKING TO THE MAN HE IS PEOPLE MINDED and his church is to be PEOPLE MINDED In contrast the Pharisees had nothing to say to him about being healed- after 38 years he is up and able to walk and all the church leaders were worried about was that this was the Sabbath. Notice that Jesus did not give the man a lecture about being superstiticious! He just told him what to do to be healed and he did it and was healed Every year thousands of people travel to the south of France to get to Lourdes- in our days in the Kildare and Monaghan there was an annual pilgrimage to the place recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as a place of healing- in the 19th century a young girl called Bernadette saw the Virgin Mary. She came to tell the people to repent and came back several times – the result was the creation of a lake with healing properties. Now we may have something to say about this but there are many Protestants people who have their own superstitions. What Jesus’ message is, is that waiting upon him is the way to go.. Instead of waiting by the pool for this disturbance he should have been waiting for Jesus. One of the callings of the church is to be a model of the reign of God- remember Jesus’ prayer where he said “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we should be bringing the sick and depressed to the throne of God that we may all find the shalom of God. We should be seeking the health, the peace and the welfare of the city. This man had been coming to this place for some time and no one had helped him- it was every man for himself- the way of the jungle- and no from the local congregation was helping him. We should be: praying for the city- take part one way or another in the prayer shield each first Tuesday of the month 10-11am- in the church or at home. Concerned for justice- we need to be involved in social justice and that is not a matter of negotiation, it’s a divine imperative- if we are to be the people of God we will be found doing what God does. Justice is like charity, it begins at home but does not stay there- for many people within north and west Belfast this is a real issue and a real barrier to Jesus Christ- we can accept the need for justice for our own people and even for people like the McCartney sisters but when it comes to justice for the Finucanes or for Bloody Sunday- we need to make sure there is justice for ALL the people. Taking every opportunity to speak to the community in the public square in the language that they understand and not in our ecclesiastical language. The case is put for the defence and it continues to be put and Jesus contrasts with the religious leaders of the day- did they do anything to help the man? No Did they rejoice that he was able to walk again? No All they were worried about was that it was on the Sabbath.. Which of the sides are the most appealing and attractive and which are the most off putting? I think I know, do you? Who would you want to be like? Which one do you think you want our church to be like? I finish with a quote from Rev Tim Keller who is minister of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York in the centre of the city: “We live in a time when public esteem of the church is plummeting. For many inquirers, the deeds of the church will be far more important than the words in gaining plausibility. The leaders of most towns see “word-onl” churches as costs to their community, not a value. Effective churches will be so involved in deeds of mercy and justice that outsiders will say, “we cannot do without churches like this.” Mercy deeds give the gospel words plausibility. Therefore, evangelistic worship services should highlight offerings for deed ministry and should celebrate what is being done.”