Signs of Salvation

Message Transcription

We're in, John Chapter five today. We're in a series I've called Signs. We've been thinking about the different signs that John shows to to teach us something about who Jesus really is. This is a series that really designed for us that maybe have been walking with Jesus for a while and maybe have forgotten some things. Maybe we've gotten so used to the scenery around us, we forget to see the things that are right in front of us. Or maybe there are some of us here today who are really wondering who is this Jesus? And is it possible? Might he really have something to say to me in my life and my experience? So our hope is as we journey through this series on signs this Lenten season, that God will show us something new. We started in week one looking at the signs of life that John begins by telling us Jesus was there at the beginning. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and he would speak and creation would happen. And so as life unfolds, we we find ourselves in week two, looking at the signs of faith that this wedding miracle occurs. And we we thought together some about the power of of how Jesus is always on time. He's always at work. He is always willing to transform. He is willing to bring new life. And so we've been challenging ourselves to are we looking for those signs of faith and our own walk? Last week we looked at the story of the healing, the Official Son and John, chapter four and looking for signs of grace that Jesus is the one who always tells us the truth.

He doesn't hide it. He doesn't shy away from it. He tells us the truth. But he does so with great love, with great hope, and a desire to see our lives changed. That he fulfills the promises he makes. He continues to give us life. Today in Chapter five, we're going to look at another story that I think points some signs to salvation. As we have done each week, I've invited you to be curious about the signs that you see in and around your world today. I want us to look at some of the maybe more familiar signs that we've seen that give us some direction. But they're also trying to give us a word of warning. Maybe you have seen this sign. How many know what this sign means? A school zone. Right? People walking. Be careful. I don't speed through a school zone. Right. Because there are people around. We wouldn't want to do something that might harm them or. Or harm ourselves. Maybe you've seen this sign. Road closed ahead. It can be a frustrating sign, especially when it's on the road that you're hoping to travel down, but you don't want to go too far down that road.

If you need an example of that, just look at the movie Vacation and Chevy Chase. He'll show you the way. Maybe you've seen this sign. Curves ahead. This is not an opportunity to check out the traction ability of your tires. Instead, this is to actually slow down, to make it safely around the curves. Or maybe you've come across one of these. It's not really a sign. It's more of a signal. Have you ever encountered one of these? I found used to. They'd have guys who would stand one on one end of the road and one on the other, and they would hold up that stop sign and they'd have a walkie talkie and they'd. Well, now they have the stoplights. The reason I threw this one in, Kaylee and I were driving to a baseball tournament in the beautiful metropolis of Pecos, Texas, headed from the beautiful metropolis of Fort Stockton, that desert flower out off of I-10. And in between the two, on the highway, about 30 miles out, we come across one of these stoplights. And I can see where the construction is happening. And I can see there's nobody coming the other way. And guess what color the light is? Red. Why is it red? I can see. I just wanted to go through it. I just wanted to blow right through. How many times do we come across these types of situations where we can see there's nobody coming? In fact, on our way back from the desert flower, Fort Stockton, into the desert rows of peaks, we actually got the green light and I felt like a champion.

It just felt so good. Like, this is right. This is how it should be. But something about when we come across these signs that cause us to to slow down, to warn us. I struggle with that sometimes when I can see, hey, out, I don't need to stop at this stoplight. I can see there's no danger coming. Really? Is it? Is it possible that I might not know everything that I need to know? Is it possible that I might not see what's coming, that there may be some danger out there? And this sign really is a warning. You know, some signs in our life, we see them and we understand. We know what they mean. We just don't want to follow them. Well, I wonder today if we can encounter that here with the story of this man lying by the pool. You see in John's gospel chapter five, he opens it this way as Cynthia read for just a moment ago, some time later. Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals, and now there is in Jerusalem near the sheep gate, a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda, and it's surrounded by five colored covered colonnades.

Here are 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. Now, the pool of Bethesda was a well-known place of healing in Jerusalem. It was a site that that many Jews held up very high as a place of healing. But it's also not just for the Jews. In fact, there is some excavation has been done of this site and it's been found. Some of the evidence suggests that Jews weren't the only ones who saw the pool of Bethesda as a place where those who were dealing with injuries or ailments or diseases would gather hoping for healing. That original site you see here, just to kind of give you a sense of where it was in Jerusalem, it was just north of the Temple Mount. So that map to your left there, that red circle, that's where that sheep pool would have been, or the Bethesda. On the right hand top side is kind of an artist rendition, what it might have looked like back in the day when it was built. And then the bottom right is the actual site that's been excavated today. So this was a real place where where men and women who were broken, who were hurting, who had diseases, who had nowhere else to go, this is where they might go and hope to be healed. Again, it wasn't just for Jews, some other religions.

In fact, there was some evidence that at one point this pool was dedicated to the Greco-Roman god, Asclepius, who was the God of medicine. Hoping. Praying. Longing to be healed. But the idea was that every so often an angel might stir up the water. Or at least that was kind of the legend that was told him. And then whoever was first to get down in the pool, well, they would be healed. Now, part of how we know that is you may have noticed in your Bible as mine there's a little textual note. If you look at verse four, everybody look at first eye excuse me, John, chapter five, verse four, and you'll see Carl there is no John. Chapter five, verse four in my Bible. Why? Well, because some of the ancient manuscripts have the description of the angels, possibly. But most of our oldest and best manuscripts don't have that verse. And so it actually your Bible will skip over from verse three to verse five. And so there's a little watercooler talk this week, friends. There's a little trivia fact you could tell your friend read to me, John, chapter five, verse four. Not in there. But see, this pool was an important place for Jews and for Gentiles. For pagans. They thought this is the place where healing might happen. But it seems like these waters haven't been that that successful, at least not for the guy that we encounter in verse five, because he's been there for 38 years.

His presence at the pool seems to have become less of an opportunity for healing than just a way of life. It's just kind of what I do. It's just where I go each day. I've kind of lost hope. When Jesus saw him lying there and he learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asks them this question Do you want to get well? Do you really want to get better or are you just okay eking out your existence here by the pool with this ready made excuse that someone always seems to get into the water before you do? For 38 years. Every day. Are you really wanting to be healed or are you used to the life that you have by the pool? With a hope that's not really a hope anymore. It's more of a memory. Have you settled for less? Church. Let me stop right here and ask for a moment. Have you ever settled for less? Have you ever gotten so used to the circumstances in your life? You just figure it can't get any better than this. This is just. I just hope, but not really. Have you ever settled for less than what God desires? Maybe you had a good reason. Just like this man who says I have no one to help me into the pool.

When the water is stirred while I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. Church Do we ever settle for less? What is your reason for settling for less? Where are you tempted to settle for less in an area of your life? Maybe it's in a relational settlement. Now I know I need to learn to control my temper. I need to control my tongue or. Or I need to control my behavior or I need to set a boundary and then stick to it. Or I need to learn to communicate more openly and honestly. But. But they just make me so mad. They just keep saying terrible things. Or they keep doing dumb things. Maybe for you it's settling at work. I know I could learn a new skill. I know my job is kind of changing and it's requiring me to grow. And and and I could I could step into that with a better attitude. Or maybe I could step up and actually voice give an opinion that I might have something to contribute to my team. Or maybe I might try a new challenge, but it just seems like every time I try to do it, someone always beats me to it. They always have that idea before me. Maybe for you you're tempted to settle in your personal life. There's some hurt or habit or hang up that's just got a hold of you.

Have you tried other times? Many, maybe many times before. And nothing just seems to work. In fact, every time I try really hard to give something up or to to make a change, something else comes up and distracts me. By the time I work up the courage, it seems like the water's quit bubbling up. Someone else has already gotten in the pool. I guess I missed my chance again. I wonder what it must have been like for this man to go to that pool every day for 38 years. How long did he go to the pool thinking, Hey, maybe today's my day. Maybe today might be my day. That the waters would get stirred. And I'll get in first. Only to discover today was not his day. And tomorrow probably wouldn't be either. How long did it take for him to settle into? It's probably never going to be my day. Church perhaps for us this morning. The invitation, the sign that we need to see is God intending to wake us up from settling in our lives. Perhaps De Jesus wants to ask you that same question. Do you want to get well? Do you really want to get well or are you content just laying by the pool? With with the hope that's really become more of a dream. But then one day, at least for this man, Jesus shows up. One day Jesus showed up. You know, for a lot of us, we have that.

One day Jesus showed up. I've had several conversations with my friend Leonard talking about the challenges of overcoming some of of the obstacles and just the the vandalism and the sheer just evil that happened to full armored building and broken windows and broken hearts and just feeling the weight of that despair. Do I want to keep going on on this? And then Jesus showed up. He made a phone call. In relationship happen. The next thing you know, life is changed. Life is different. Those challenges haven't disappeared. But now all of a sudden, now there's there's new possibility. Perhaps church this morning. Jesus wants to invite you into that same hope and opportunity. He does for this man. In fact, he tells them this. In fact, if you have that Bible with you today that you can write it and I invite you to write under these three verbs, he gives them three commands in verse eight. Then Jesus said, Get up. Pick up your mat. And walk. Get up, pick up your mat and walk. And at once the man was cured. He picked up his mat and he walked. It's amazing, as we saw last week with the official sun. All Jesus has to do is say a word. In fact, here he says three words, three commands. Get up, pick up and walk. And the man doesn't it doesn't say he believed Jesus and he leapt to his feet.

It just says he did it. So obviously, he must have believed him at some level. But he gets up and he picks up his mat and he walks out of the pool. I just imagine that for a moment. Hold on to that thought. Jesus does for him what he could never have done for himself. Jesus does what he hoped the waters would do for the last 38 years, and they never did. Jesus does it again. He feels this man. That at this healing site for both Jews and Gentiles during one of the Jewish festivals write the story. It's dripping rich with meaning. Jesus proclaims and anticipates God's healing and reconciling work again. Could this be the Messiah? Could this be the one? The one who is bringing salvation? It's wild that unlike the story in John four, again, we aren't told this man believed. Although he did. He did exactly what Jesus says. You know, it's kind of been one of those themes, those verses I've had to underline in chapter two when he's at the wedding and his mom says they're out of wine and Jesus says. What are you talking to me for? She says. Do whatever he says. The official comes to Jesus. If you'll just come to my house, then you could heal my son. And Jesus says, Go. Your son is healed. And he goes. There's something powerful about a disciple who takes Jesus at his word and he does what he says.

This man does what Jesus says. He gets up. He picks up his mat and he walks. So, church, what is Jesus asking you to do today? As you're lying next to your pool, nursing, whatever, relational or occupational or personal injury or ailment or disease. What is Jesus asking you to do? How is He asking you to get up? How is he asking you to get up and face the challenge ahead of you? How is he asking you? What is he asking you to pick up? Where is he asking you to walk? I can promise you this. It's not going to be easy. I don't think it was for this man. And it certainly isn't going to be with us. Sometimes following what Jesus tells you to do can get you into trouble. But I'm here to tell you that's not Jesus fault. I'm not blaming Jesus for this one. I'm blaming the folks who don't understand what or maybe who Jesus really is. You see, what we may find out is what this man found out. That doing what Jesus tells you to do won't always go over well with people who should know better. You see Jesus word? Aguirre. It's a word that's regularly used in the New Testament for resurrection. When he says, Get up, rise up, stand up. It's that word. Aguirre And it's often used in the New Testament when they're talking about resurrection.

In fact, in Luke Chapter 24, when the women go to the tomb to try to find Jesus. They run into the angel and angel tells them, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He's not here. He is a great. He's gotten up. Or a little bit later on in Luke 24, when the disciples are on the road to a mass and they encounter Jesus, they don't know who it is, but they have this conversation. It's only when they're breaking bread at the table like we did just a little bit ago with Leonard presiding. That their eyes are opened, right? And they turn to each other and say, Weren't our hearts burning? And so they go back and they tell the other brothers, the Lord has agreed. He's gotten up. He has risen. Just like he appeared to. Simon See this word that Jesus tells this man, get up. It's it's way more loaded than just stand on your feet. He's inviting him into a new life. Get up. It's time to rise up. Here, he tells the man, Get up. Don't settle for your brokenness. Jesus is ready to bring us new life to our work, to our relationships, to our families. To challenge us not to keep settling for less. Now, there's a whole lot more to the story I wish we had time to get into, but. But we don't.

But as we finish, let me just point us to one more thing I find so profound about the story. Again. Sometimes doing what Jesus asked us to do is going to get us into a little bit of good trouble. I think again. Not wanting to wait at that light. As I was telling you about before, on that road to take us, sometimes. Sometimes it's because I think I know everything. But I can't really see all that's happening, all that's going on around me. You see, I was only focused on what I wanted, what I thought was most important. And that's my time and getting to the place that I want to go to in the time that I want to be there. Sometimes I can drive right past those warning signs. You see, this man had been healed miraculously. And my guess is that people knew who he was, that this wasn't a first timer at the pool of Bethesda. Right. We're told he'd been going there every day for 38 years. Now, again, imagine that after 38 years being healed. You'd think that when people saw him walking around with his mat, what would be the first thing they would say? Daniel This is unbelievable. Now, the text doesn't say his name is Daniel, but that's just in my mind. His name is Daniel. All right, then. What are you doing, man? What? What happened? How did this happen? This is incredible.

He's carrying his mat. After 38 years, he's been an invalid. The first thing they would want to do is how did this happen? Right. An amazing sign happening. Well, it turns out they are completely surprised and they aren't shocked to see Daniel up carrying his mat and walking around, but for the total wrong reason. You see, the day on which this took place was the 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. What? 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. What are you doing, Daniel? Why are you carrying your mat? You know you're not supposed to do that. Does this just seem insane to anyone else that that would be the first comment out of their mouth? Not this is incredible, amazing. Praise God. But what are you doing? Put the mat down. What's wrong with you, man? That even as this conversation unfolds, the rest of John five is this argument between Jesus and the religious leaders arguing about the Sabbath and what really it means to do work on the Sabbath and whether or not, hey, he's waited 38 years.

Why don't you have him? Wait one more day. You couldn't make him wait one more day. Jesus. Really? And I just imagine there's a point in time when Jesus is going. I feel like I'm going insane. What are you talking about? He says, My father is always at work, and so I'm always at work. My father was always working to this very day and I too am going to work. Jesus does this incredible miracle. He performs the sign. And perhaps we've been looking in the wrong place for the healing and salvation for our souls and our very lives are longing for. You see, it's not about getting into the water first. It's about submitting to the one out of whom water creates life, out of whom chaos brings order out of despair brings hope. You see, once again, we see this sad fulfillment of John's prologue. He was in the world and though the world was made through him. The world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own. But he did not. But they did not receive him. You see, they were not ready for that signal light in the middle of the road. Because I could see down the highway just like I could. There's nobody common. Why do I have to wait? He's been here for 38 years. Jesus. You think one more day would have hurt him? What's the deal? They were not ready for the living word to come to them with new things to say.

It was like living in different time zones and they were upset because Jesus had woken them up an hour early. I don't want to spring forward. Perhaps what God is asking us to do. The sign He wants us to see is that he's still speaking new life today. Are we able to hear him? Are we willing to hear him? Or have we gotten so used to settling? So used to the signs, the traffic signals? I know the turns. I know where the danger is. Don't bother me. Or perhaps Jesus, too, is looking for someone who will say Jesus is still at work. And so I am too. Father in so many ways in our lives, we've gotten used to settling. At least I know I have. I settle for a lesser dream. I settle for a lesser life. Like this man laying by a pool. I've just gotten used to eking out my existence. Just surviving. And then one day you show up. And you ask that question, that penetrating question, that if we're honest, if we're really open, if we'll be vulnerable with you. Got it. It's a question that pierces our hearts. Do we want to get well? Do we really want healing in that relationship? It's going to cost us something. It always does. Yeah. We've been deceived to think that the cost is more than.

Than the benefit we got. It's just not true. So we settle. We've been deceived. Yeah. Do we really want our work situation to change? We really want our personal lives to change. We really want our church, our city to change. Do we want to get well? Father pray that that question would not fall on deaf ears this morning. I pray that we would have tender hearts as we listen for you, Holy Spirit. To provoke and prompt in us the places, the areas in our life where we're tempted to settle and where you want to invite us to. To stand up. To pick up our man and to get walking. So. God, would you give us courage this morning? Would you give us courage to be open and honest with a trusted friend, maybe one of the leaders here, maybe a small group leader or a Bible class leader? Maybe it's just a trusted friend. I. You're pressing in on us now, reminding us there's an area of our life that needs changing. For 38 years, we've just been laying by the pool, hoping it would change, not really doing much to change it. But God, today you want it to be different. How would you hear our hearts cry? That we do want to get well? It's not always sure what the next step is. God, would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear? Hearts are ready to receive that next step from you.

I got for some of us, it may mean to to engage in a tough conversation this week. And that tough conversation may need to start with just personal confession. The as we come up to our spouse or our kid or grandkid or or grandparent or parent, we just need to begin with. I'm sorry. Sorry for being hard hearted. Sorry for not listening. Not really understanding. Sorry for not doing the work that that I need to do. For this relationship to be successful. God help us to have that conversation. Or maybe to take a hard look in the mirror. God help us to take a look. And it may be getting rid of some things in our life that are just weighing us down. God, would you give us the courage and the strength? Get rid of those things. If even though people around us may not understand it, in fact, I may get focused all on the wrong thing. Just like these religious leaders were so worried about him carrying a mat. They missed the miracle right in front of their face. Oh, God. Let that not be us this week. Help us to see that you are still at work, that you are still changing lives, and that you still want to change hours. And God help us to see with your eyes. To hear with your ears. Yet, Phyllis, with strength and with courage. We pray. In Jesus name. Amen.