Lord’s Day, Vol. 7 No. 21

Jesus Made Him Whole

There was a man in Jerusalem who was impotent. He was unable to walk. He had this infirmity for thirty-eight years (John 5:5). The man seemed to be destitute. He has none to care for him. None to help him get well. In his hopeless estate, Jesus came to him. What a compassionate Saviour we have in our Lord Jesus. He is able to seek out the miserable and lost sinner, finds him and brings comfort, healing and hope to his life. Notice Jesus touched, healed and restored sinners one at a time. He greets them one by one in their miserable condition and restores their life. What a wonderful Saviour!

Jesus knew that the man had been for a long time in his helpless condition. Jesus said unto him, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). Jesus asked if he would like to be healed of his infirmity. We may think, why did Jesus ask such a rhetorical question? It is not! Help comes when the sinner humbly responds to the Saviour’s call.

The misery of this impotent man is a picture of the plight of a sinful man estranged from the living and true God who created and sustains him.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the only Person who can save man from the misery of sin in his life. This is demonstrated by Jesus’ approach to the man, His loving and tender reach to this ailing soul. The man’s answer was an emphatic “yes”. He tells Jesus that he was at his wit’s end. Even if a physician would come to the vicinity, there was no one to bring him for treatment. Therefore, there is no hope that he will be healed for there will be many who will go before him in the queue before the physician goes away.

It was truly a turning point in his life when the impotent man met Jesus that day. Our Lord said to the man, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk.” (John 5:8). What happened after must have shocked him and all who would read this Gospel account recorded by John.

John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

It was a most significant day in this man’s life for he was cured of his impotency by Jesus. He followed the command of Jesus to rise up, take up his bed and walk. Strength came miraculously into his legs as he obeyed Jesus’ instruction.

Dear friends, Jesus is God. He came to save this man from his misery. The man later met Jesus again in the temple. This was the sequel to the man’s encounter with Jesus. Our Lord, no doubt, healed him of his physical infirmity. It was a notable miracle attesting to the deity of Jesus for no mere man could have wrought such a miracle. But more importantly, this man whom Jesus healed found forgiveness for his sins.

Jesus said to him, “Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5:14). Jesus seemed to be relating his physical infirmity to sin in his life. Well, I believe that what Jesus was explaining to him was this. Sickness and death came upon mankind when man first sin. The Bible recorded that death came upon Adam and Eve, the first couple God created and placed in the Garden of Eden, after they sinned against God by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2-3). And Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent by God the Father, in the fullness of time, to save sinful men from the misery of sin. The judgment of God for sin is eternal death which is God’s eternal judgment upon the sinner in hellfire after he dies.

The healing of this impotent man demonstrated clearly the mission of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled all the laws of God in His lifetime on our behalf and He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus rose victorious from the dead the third day, triumphant over sin and death. All who will repent of their sins and trust in His finished work of salvation receives eternal life and is delivered from the judgment of hellfire after death.

Jesus instructed the man, by the grace of God, to obey the laws of God and sin no more. He gave a further warning to fear the wrath of God’s judgment and to live a life of thanksgiving in holiness– lest a worse thing come unto thee.

The writer of Hebrews puts it well in Hebrews 4:1-3“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” One who is saved by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8), exercising faith (Rom. 5:1), will find strength in his heart, the value of God’s peace, to walk with God and not turn back to sin. One who is truly saved will find in his life fruits worthy of repentance (Lk. 3:8-9; Gal. 5:19-23).

While Jesus was doing this work of saving sinners, there were those who were resisting His good work, the Jews sought to thwart the work of God by accusing the man of doing work on the sabbath day in obeying Jesus’ instruction to carry his bed – John 5:10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. A senseless accusation. Jesus was not doing evil but good. It was recorded that Jesus was able to leave immediately after healing the man so that he was not identified (John 5:13). However, when the man met Jesus again and identified Him at the temple, our Lord was persecuted – John 5:18 “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” Jesus is indeed equal with God. He testified, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye received me not…” (John 5:43a). But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, evento them that believe on His Name (John 1:14). May we believe and be saved! Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee