John 5:1-18

The Set-Up

Jesus walks into the Pool of Bethesda, which was essentially the overflow room for Jerusalem’s broken and forgotten.

The legend there was unusually cruel: an angel stirs the water, and the first one in gets healed. It’s "scarcity mindset" turned into a theology.

Jesus finds a man who has been stuck there for 38 years. “Do you want to get well?”

The man starts explaining the rules of the pool, but Jesus ignores the rules, the water, and the angel. 

“Stand up, take your mat and walk.”

Instant cure…but…it was the Sabbath.

The religious authorities see a guy walking for the first time in four decades, and they don’t praise the miracle; they say: “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”

This is peak institutional blindness. They value policy over the person. The man, rightfully terrified, blames Jesus: "The guy who healed me told me to do it."

The authorities turn their attention to Jesus, who instantly shatters their worldview: “My Father is still working, and I also am working.”

In other words: God doesn’t take a day off from doing good. 

Their reaction is immediate and violent. Why? He broke the Sabbath and called God his own Father, “thereby making himself equal to God.”

This is the tipping point in Jesus’ ministry: He isn't just a teacher anymore; He is claiming to be on the same level as the Creator. He’s claiming that the "Work of God" is liberation, and He has the authority to do it whenever He wants.

The Takeaways

Bypass the Pool.

The world says you have to compete for resources or luck; Jesus says grace is direct and personal.

"Do you want to get well?"

It’s still the hardest question to answer. Sometimes we prefer the comfort of the "mat" to the responsibility of walking.

Policy vs. People.

If your religion gets mad at healing because it breaks a rule, your religion is broken. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

God doesn't take days off.

"My Father is still working." God’s activity of love, creation, and redemption is a 24/7 operation.

Equality is Dangerous.

The system wants a distant God they can manage, not a close God who empowers the Son.

The Good News…

is that God is working right now. Jesus reveals that the Father is constantly active in the business of redemption.

The Good News is that the command to "Get Up" is valid 7 days a week. The Work of God is the healing of our lives and our communities, and that work never stops.

(Artwork: Tidal Pool “Bethesda #1”, Paul Stopforth)