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This is a reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 5, verses 1-30.
Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.
Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethsaida, and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
Here a great number of disabled people used to lie, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him,
Do you want to get well?
Sir, the invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.
While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.
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.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.
And so the Jewish leader said to the man who had been healed,
It is the Sabbath.
The law forbids you to carry your mat.
But he replied, The man who made me well said to me, Pick up your mat and walk.
So they asked him, Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?
The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, See, you are well again.
Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.
The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.
In his defense, Jesus said to them, My father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.
For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him.
Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.
Jesus gave them this answer, Very truly I tell you, the son can do nothing by himself.
He can do only what he sees his father doing, because whatever the father does, the son also does.
For the father loves the son and shows him all he does.
Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.
For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son gives life to those whom he is pleased to give it.
Moreover, the father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the son, that all may honor the son just as they honor the father.
Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him.
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.
Very truly I tell you, a time is coming, and has now come, when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, and those who hear will live.
For the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself.
And he has given him authority to judge, because he is the son of man.
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice, and come out.
Those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
By myself I can do nothing.
I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself, but him who sent me.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Good morning, Christ Church.
I wonder if you've seen the new billboards around town.
I just saw them this past week.
I don't know how long they've been up, but the billboard says this.
It says, the pandemic has taken a toll on all of us.
Let's reset together.
Now all Berkeley residents can download the Headspace and My Strength apps for free.
Help at hand, ca.org slash Berkeley.
Berkeley Wellness for All.
Have you seen that billboard?
There's a bunch of them around town.
And I'm really pleased about this initiative.
It started over the past three months, I think.
I'm really pleased to see that the New York Times has increased their reporting over the last month or so
about the need to pivot our attention to the mental health and social well-being crisis,
particularly among our kids and our adolescents.
I imagine many of us are longing for this reset, thinking, you know, my mental health and my social well-being could probably be improved a little bit.
Is that just me or do you feel that way?
Okay.
We want to be a spiritually and emotionally healthy church, and that's why we're working to create times and spaces like Wonderful Wednesdays,
where our kids and our youth can come together in belonging and meaningful, life-giving relationships,
where our adults have the opportunities on a regular basis to share dinner and discussions and be encouraged and challenged in our faith.
So I just want to urge you to find that place, whether it's Wonderful Wednesdays or a community group or both,
where you can be a part of this caring, present community, this family of faith that we have here at Christ Church.
If you struggle with depression and anxiety, welcome to the club.
And if you are needing to work on an addiction or need a relationship tune-up, you are not alone.
We have many caregivers in this community.
We have a list of counselors that we could refer you to.
We have a deacon fund that could help you get to counseling.
We really are committed.
I think that billboard's right.
We need a reset.
It's taken its toll, and we want to work on this together as a community.
But that said, mental health apps are good, but they have their limits.
And individuals and groups and the church and caregivers and counselors and pastors, it's all good,
but they're extremely limited in what they can do for us.
But I'd like to say this morning that Jesus is unlimited.
Jesus is unlimited in his ability to meet us at our point of need.
And what's interesting to me is that Jesus habitually healed sick and hurting people.
In fact, one-fifth of all the material in the four Gospels is concerned with the healing of physical diseases,
which includes maladies and afflictions not only of the body but of the mind and of the spirit.
Jesus, in his healings, he's putting people back into their right mind.
He's putting people back into right and healthy relationships with their families and their communities.
He's putting people, most importantly, back into a right relationship with their creator God.
And so whatever your needs are that you're bringing today, I hope that you'll be thinking about that,
that Jesus is unlimited in his ability to meet our needs.
And as we dive into this story in John chapter 5, I want to point out that Jesus makes shocking claims.
He heals the helpless and he shows us how to walk free.
That's where we're going to go.
That Jesus makes shocking claims, heals the helpless, and shows us how to walk free.
First of all, Jesus makes some shocking claims.
When you're studying a historical person, it's really important to listen to the reports
of their supporters and their detractors and to really hear how people are understanding the character
of this historical figure.
How did they act with their deeds?
What did they say with their words?
And this healing is a clear example of how people were interpreting Jesus
and his astonishing works and claims.
Jesus here performs an act of God.
He does what only God could do.
He creates in this invalid the capacity and the strength to get up and walk off.
And only the creator can restore his decaying and dying creation.
So it's astonishing and therefore it needs some explaining.
And that's what Jesus does in verse 17.
In his defense, Jesus said to them,
This guy had been an invalid for 38 years.
Jesus could have waited another 24 hours to heal him.
So why does he choose to heal on the Sabbath day?
Why does he choose to heal on the day that the creator God called holy and blessed?
Well, the rabbis agreed that God did not practice the Sabbath,
that God worked ceaselessly to sustain and restore his creation moment by moment,
so that if the sun didn't come up, you wouldn't get up and the whole world would collapse.
But as we know, on the Sabbath, you know, babies are still born and the rain falls and people die.
God is at work on the Sabbath.
And though God preaches the Sabbath for us and for our good,
he does not practice what he preaches because he doesn't need it.
God is all sufficient.
And so Jesus is provocative in his choice of this day on which to do his work of healing.
What does Jesus' implicit claim that he makes explicit in verse 17?
He's saying, you know, like the creator God, I don't need a Sabbath either.
For on this day, I continue to preserve and to renew the universe just as my father does.
You're not dealing with a mere mortal who keeps the Sabbath.
You're dealing with the God who doesn't.
I'm on the different side of the line than you are.
I'm with my father and we never stop working to restore our creation.
Now, what's the rule for historical investigation?
It is to see how do the people understand this person in context.
And the people around Jesus have no doubt about what he's claiming.
In verse 18,
In their minds, it's right to put Jesus to death if he, as a mere mortal, is claiming to be equal with God.
Now, buckle up and hold on tight because Jesus uses this opportunity
to launch into a little sermonette about his authority
where he gets even more explicit about his identity, about who he is.
And he says in verse 19,
Very truly, I tell you, the son can do nothing by himself.
He can do only what he sees his father doing
because whatever the father does, the son also does.
For the father loves the son and shows him all he does.
Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these
so that you will be amazed.
The son is the perfect revelation of God
so that what God does in heaven, the son does on earth
so that when you see Jesus, you see God.
That's what he just said.
Jesus goes further in verse 21.
For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life,
even so the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
Only God can give life to those who are physically and spiritually dead.
And Jesus says, I too share in that creative, life-giving power.
Verse 22.
Moreover, the father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the son.
Now, it would be ridiculous if I came and said,
Hey, guess what?
I have the right and the authority to judge all humanity.
You would laugh at me because you know I can barely, like, tie my shoes.
I can barely love my family, love my friends, love my church,
much less have the justice to judge all humanity.
We know that that's only God's job.
And Jesus says, Well, God, guess what?
He gave that job to me.
He goes on.
Verse 23.
If you don't honor Jesus for what he just said he is,
as the life giver and the judgment giver,
then you're not honoring God at all.
But if Jesus has this kind of power and this kind of authority
to do these kind of things,
then we should render to him all the honor he deserves
and all the obedience he requires.
Now do we understand all the hostility toward Jesus.
Now do we understand why it is they wanted to kill him.
This is a great quote from a book called God on the Dock
by a professor at Oxford and Cambridge named C.S. Lewis.
And the chapter is, What are we to make of Jesus Christ?
He says this,
If you had gone to Buddha and asked him,
Are you the son of Brahma?
He would have said,
My son, you are still in the veil of illusion.
If you had gone to Socrates and asked,
Are you Zeus?
He would have laughed at you.
If you had gone to Muhammad and asked,
Are you Allah?
He would have first rent his clothes
and then cut your head off.
If you had asked Confucius,
Are you heaven?
I think he would have probably replied,
Remarks which are not in accordance with nature
are in bad taste.
The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said
is out of the question.
In my opinion,
the only person who can say that sort of thing
is either God or a complete lunatic
suffering from that form of delusion
which undermines the whole mind of man.
We may note in passing that he was never regarded
as a mere moral teacher.
He did not produce that kind of effect
on any of the people who actually met him.
He produced mainly three effects,
hatred, terror, adoration.
There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.
This story tells us that it's very easy
to not look at what we don't want to see
and that it's very common to ignore the evidence
that's staring us in the face
because it's extremely demanding if it's true.
Notice how these people respond to the healing in verse 10.
So the Jewish leaders said to the man
who had been healed,
It is the Sabbath.
The law forbids you to carry your mat.
But he replied,
The man who made me well said to me,
Pick up your mat and walk.
So they asked him,
Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?
This man has been lying here for 38 years.
He's just been healed.
He jumps up,
presumably leaping around out of his mind with joy.
And what is the question he's asked?
Why are you carrying your mat?
Now there's a simple answer to that question.
That is,
If you're healed,
then you're inclined to do everything
that the healer tells you to do, right?
If you,
if somebody gives me life
to my basically good as dead self,
then I'm bound to do whatever it is
they tell me to do.
But for these skeptics,
they turn a blind eye.
They don't want to look in the direction
of the evidence.
The healed invalid calls Jesus
the man who made me well,
but the skeptics call Jesus
the man who told you to pick up your mat.
That's selecting the evidence we like
and ignoring the evidence we don't like.
For how can we focus
on the minor mat-carrying second fact
and ignore the major life-changing first fact
that this paralytic is leaping for joy?
You can only make such comments
if you've determined a priori
that you're not going to look at the evidence
and recognize what's just happened.
And so that's the question for us
and for everybody really is,
what about you?
What do you make of Jesus?
What do you make of his shocking claims?
What do you,
what viewpoint do you take?
Do you see Jesus as a mere mortal
who makes claims he has no business making
and cannot back them up?
Or do you see him as one,
self-described in verse 21,
as one who gives life
to whom he's pleased to give it?
And that's something we have to wrestle with
if you're exploring Christianity.
You have to wrestle with
these shocking claims
that Jesus makes.
But Jesus not only makes shocking claims,
he heals the helpless.
He not only makes shocking claims,
he backs them up
by healing the helpless.
And I want to turn our attention
to the story in verse 3.
It says that Jesus came to Jerusalem
and when he got there,
he went to this particular place
where there was a great number
of disabled people
who used to lie,
the blind,
the lame,
and the paralyzed.
Jesus moves not toward the privileged,
but toward the paralyzed.
And we can imagine the misery
of this pitiful crowd
of broken, desperate people
that are half dead.
They're the living dead.
Paraplegics, as you might know,
have no bladder or bowel control.
So you can imagine the refuse,
the filth,
and the stench of this place
where Jesus decides to go.
And he gets there in verse 5
and it says that one who was there
had been an invalid for 38 years.
Been there a long time.
Before Jesus was born,
this guy was there.
38 years ago,
I was five years old.
Right?
38 years ago,
some of you only existed
in the mind of God.
It's a long time
for your muscles
and your legs
to waste away
and your limbs
to become
totally not useful.
He has no capacity to walk,
no strength,
no balance.
But what's interesting
is that his story
is even more complex
than what we see,
you know,
with our own five senses,
as all of our stories are.
Why did Jesus choose
to heal this particular guy?
Well,
because he has no ability.
Because he's incurable.
He's stuck.
He's impotent
and utterly helpless
and hopeless.
And what's interesting here
is that his outward physical
capacity
and condition
mirrors the inward
spiritual condition
of all people.
What he is on the outside,
we are on the inside.
And I want to help you see that.
That's why Jesus
asks this question
in verse 6,
when Jesus saw him
lying there
and learned that he'd been
in this condition
for a long time,
he asked him,
do you want to get well?
That's a searching,
penetrating question.
And the man's response
is revealing
in verse 7.
Sir,
the invalid replied,
I have no one
to help me into the pool
when the water is stirred.
And while I'm trying
to get in,
someone else goes down
ahead of me.
This guy is a faithless Jew.
He's entirely without belief.
He doesn't even mention God.
He expects nothing from God.
In fact,
he's at a pagan pool.
He's at a superstitious shrine
dedicated to the god Asclepius,
this Greco-Roman god
of medicine and healing.
And it's just not working for him.
And what he says to Jesus
is I basically have no friends.
I have no one who cares for me.
It's an every man for himself world
and I'm completely ignored
and all alone.
And what you can kind of hear
in this man's voice
is that his identity over time
has become wrapped up
in his infirmity.
And that he has become
codependent with his brokenness.
And he now has a victim mentality.
A blaming and complaining spirit
where he's very good
at pointing out
all the wrongs
of everybody around him.
And that's why Jesus asked him,
do you want to get well?
Jesus has a searching gaze
that sees into the depths
of our hearts
past all of our defenses
and into our real problems.
And that's why Jesus later on
in verse 14
finds this guy
after he's been healed
and he says to him,
see your well again,
stop sinning.
You're well again,
stop sinning
or something worse
may happen to you.
Jesus knows this guy's heart.
He knows that he's sick,
not just with physical paralysis,
but he's sick with sin.
What theologians call
homo incurvatus in se.
He is a human being
curved in upon himself.
He centered his life on himself.
Does that sound familiar
to anybody?
Jesus says,
yes,
you are a helpless victim
of suffering
and physical paralysis,
but more than that,
you're helpless
because you're a responsible agent
of sin
that has created
a spiritual paralysis
in your soul.
38 years
of a chronic crisis
has made you
a crotchety,
curmudgeonly,
unpleasant,
despairing fellow.
Ouch.
And we kind of know that
because this guy gets healed
and he doesn't even thank Jesus.
He doesn't even bother
to find out
who Jesus is.
Well, Jesus has insight
into all the dimensions
of the human heart.
And he says,
this guy is an invalid
who's a helpless sinner
like all of us
who needs to be saved
by grace.
And thank God
that Jesus seeks us
and finds us
to give us that grace.
He singles out
sin-sick people
with no ability
who are incurable,
who are stuck,
who are impotent,
who are utterly helpless
and hopeless,
totally immobilized
by our egocentricity,
no capacity
to struggle up
to our feet
spiritually
on our own.
And what does he do?
He makes us free.
He makes us walk.
Look at the dramatic
demonstration
of inconceivable power.
This pitiful pagan pool
has done nothing
for this guy.
But in a few simple words,
what does Jesus say?
Get up,
pick up your mat,
and walk.
And at once,
the man was cured
and picked up his mat
and he walked.
And this is what Jesus
is getting at
in verse 21
when he says,
just as the Father
raises the dead
and gives them life,
even so the Son
gives life
to those he's pleased
to give it.
It's what Jesus means
when he says
in verse 25,
very truly I tell you
a time is coming
and has now come
when the dead
will hear the voice
of the Son of God
and those who hear
will live.
But,
Jesus has only
just begun
to heal this guy.
He has healed him
in his body,
but what about his soul?
He's healed his
physical paralysis,
but Jesus wants
to do a much more
dramatic healing
of his spiritual
paralysis.
Jesus has no
prerequisite
of faith and obedience
to come and be healed
by him.
In fact,
the guy doesn't come.
Jesus goes to find him.
But Jesus definitely
requires faith
and obedience
as a grateful response
to the healing.
And that's where
I want to end
our time this morning.
Jesus makes
shocking claims.
He heals
the helpless
and then he shows us
how to walk
free.
He makes
shocking claims.
He heals
the helpless,
but he doesn't
stop there.
He shows us
how to walk
free.
See,
Jesus says,
I'm able
to raise you
up to an
entirely new
existence,
but this new
life is not
a freedom
to go back
to live
like you
were living
before.
A doctrine
of cheap
grace
snatches from
God all the
benefits of
life
and then presumes
that I can just
keep on living
the way I
determined to
live my life.
But Jesus,
what does he do
in verse 14?
He comes
and finds him
in the temple
and he says
to him,
see,
you are well
again,
stop sinning
or something
worse may
happen to you.
What a
window
into the
terrible
judgment
of God.
For what
could possibly
befall you
that would be
worse than
being a
paralyzed person
lying on the
ground for
38 years?
Jesus says,
do not
think
that a
lifetime
of being
an invalid
is the
worst thing
that can
happen to
you.
Something
far worse
than any
sickness,
however bad,
something far
worse than
any disappointment,
any loss
of health
or money
or friends
or deprivation
can happen
to you.
What's the
worst thing
that can
happen to
you?
It's to
sin and
not be
forgiven.
It's to
perish
spiritually
forever.
And so
Jesus gives
this warning
that's full
of grace
and truth.
I've given
you health.
Now don't
put that
at risk.
Put the
sins of
your past
life behind
you for
your future
life depends
on it
completely.
What is
the something
worse that
could happen
to this
man?
This is
where we
encounter
that unavoidable
and awkward
doctrine of
Jesus
about
hell.
I don't
want to
talk about
it.
And most
preachers don't
want to
talk about
it.
But it's
in all
the four
gospels
and it's
in all
the writings
of the
people that
Jesus chose
and trained
to represent
him.
And Jesus
is getting
at it right
here in
verse 28.
Do not
be amazed
at this
for a
time is
coming
when all
who are
in their
graves
will hear
his voice
and come
out.
Those who
have done
what is
good will
rise to
live and
those who
have done
what is
evil will
rise to
be
condemned.
By
myself I
can do
nothing.
I judge
only as
I hear
and my
judgment
is
just.
For I
seek not
to please
myself but
him who
sent me.
Now why
does Jesus
have to
bring this
up?
Is he
trying to
ruin our
fun?
Is he
trying to
manipulate
us?
Is he
trying to
scare us
into being
able to
control
us?
Or is
he giving
us gracious
truthful
warnings?
When I
look at
Jesus'
life and
the way
he treated
people I
see the
most loving
person who
has ever
walked
planet
earth.
Jesus
caused
people who
were rejected
by the rest
of the world
like this
paralytic
guy to
feel
completely
loved and
accepted.
And so
I think
the reason
Jesus warns
about hell
more than
any person
in the
whole Bible
is because
he loves
us and
he doesn't
want us
to go
there.
He doesn't
want us
to experience
it.
And he
knows that
if we
continue to
ignore God
and reject
God throughout
our lives
then God
is ultimately
right.
He's what
Jesus calls
just to
reject us.
He knows
that our
sins will
take us
to a
place of
unimaginable
and unending
suffering.
That's why
he says
stop sinning.
Stop sinning
because you
don't want
to go
there.
And that's
precisely why
this gospel
and all the
gospels
climax with
the Son of
God hanging
on a cross.
Because the
Father has
sent his
Son all
the way
from heaven
to earth
to save
us from
this
condemnation
and this
separation
from God.
Jesus
hanging on
the cross
is in
hell
and he's
experiencing
and bearing
the condemnation
and the
judgment
that we
deserve.
And this
is what he's
getting at
in verse 24.
Very truly
I tell you
whoever hears
my words
and believes
him who sent
me has
eternal life
and will
not be
judged.
On the
basis of
the judgment
that I
came to
bear you
will not
be judged
but you
have crossed
over from
death to
life.
And because
Jesus moves
us from
death to
life he
relentlessly
goes after
the sin
and death
that's left
inside of
us.
And that's
why he
comes to
this guy
and he
says stop
sinning
or something
worse may
happen to
you.
Jesus came
not only to
save us
from the
hell of
condemnation
but he
came also
to save
us from
that which
leads us
there and
that's why
he asked
this question
in verse
6
do you
want to
get well?
That's a
more
uncomfortable
and deeply
disconcerting
question than
any of us
realize.
Do you
want to
be well?
It's easy
to say yes
I want to
be completely
whole but
do I even
know what
that means?
Jesus is
saying do
you want a
new life?
Do you
want to
be a
completely
transformed
person?
Do you
want for
God to
come and
fully heal
you and
fully liberate
you and
fully deal
with all
the stuff
he needs
to deal
with in
you?
Do you
want God
to come
and deal
with the
refuse
of your
resentment
and your
bitterness?
Do you
want God
to deal
with the
filth of
your pride
and your
envy?
Do you
really want
God to
deal with
the stench
of the
sloth
and the
slander
that
characterizes
your life?
Jesus'
question is
deep.
Do you
want me to
deal with
all the
secret things
that are
hidden
inside of
you?
all those
treasured
sins,
all those
cherished
attachments
that you
can't
imagine
living
without?
Do you
really want
me to
get involved
in your
life?
Do you
really want
me to
come and
be as
determined
to root
out that
which with
equal
determination
of yours
to be the
center of
everything?
Do you
want me to
come in
like that?
do you
want to
commit
yourself
to a
lifelong
conflict
with sin?
Do you
want to
get well?
Honestly,
I have to
say,
no,
I do
not.
I don't
want to
do God's
will.
I want
to do
my will.
I am
helpless.
And I
have to
say that
my only
hope is
God,
you have
to raise
me up
by the
hand of
Jesus
Christ
through the
power of
the Holy
Spirit.
I would
love to
want to
be well,
but I
don't even
know if I
want to
be well.
Lord,
if you
want me
to be
well,
make me
want to
be well.
Lord,
you must
work in
me both
to will
and to
do your
good pleasure.
You must
give me
the desire
and then
you must
give me
the strength
to carry
it out.
That's what
Christianity
is.
A doctrine
of cheap
grace says,
yeah,
God,
heal me and
I'll just
keep doing
whatever I
want.
But a
doctrine of
costly grace,
here's the
words of
Jesus saying,
if you
want to
come after
me,
you must
deny
yourself
and you
must take
up your
cross
and come
and follow
me.
Come,
become like
me in
every way
imaginable,
in my mind
and what I
think,
in my heart
and what I
desire,
in my will
and what I
choose.
Come,
learn,
to live like
the son with
his father in
total dependence,
total surrender,
total obedience,
watching every
move that the
father makes
and doing
exactly what
the father
does.
Are you sure
you want to
be well?
You sure you
want to be
like me?
Wellness
embodied?
Are you sure
you want to
walk free
forever?
That's the
question,
isn't it?
In the name
of the
Father,
Son,
and Holy
Spirit,
amen.
Amen.
Thank you.