Healing At Bethesda

That was the type of work that God had encouraged them not to do. But the Pharisees missed the point and established hundreds of detailed rules. The Mishnah, their oral law, catalogues many rules that every Jew was to keep. Some of the rules said that a woman could not place a pin on her dress or wear jewelry because that would be work. She would be carrying something. A woman could not look in a mirror because she might be tempted to remove a gray hair and that would be work. A man could not wear wooden shoes with nails or phylacteries, or scrap his shoes. If a person’s false teeth fell out, no one could not put them back in because that would be work. This is just a sampling of their list of rules. They had missed the point that Nehemiah well understood.

They were imposing rules that God had not imposed and had violated God’s law of love and compassion. God’s laws are designed for our good. It is like a father establishing rules for his children.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (NASB) John 5:14-15

It is important to notice the warning that Jesus gave this man, “. . . do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” This is a reminder that sometimes we are sick because we have sinned. If God heals us but we have not learned our spiritual lesson, another illness may come along later which is much worse. This is an important lesson for us. “Go and sin no more!”

After the man discovered that Jesus had healed him, he returned to the religious leaders and informed them that Jesus had healed him. It is unbelievable that this man did this to Jesus. Surely, the man knew why the religious leaders wanted to know who had told him to pick up his pallet. But the man reported on Jesus anyway. What a thankless heart from one who could now walk after 38 years!

As a result, the Jewish leaders started persecuting Jesus.

For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. (NASB) John 5:16

This form of persecution was not physical but verbal persecution. This is a great reminder that many followers of Jesus have been persecuted - not just martyrs. Christians today are increasingly being persecuted around the world. The Pharisees were angry that Jesus had been healing on the Sabbath, eating on the Sabbath, and now was encouraging others to violate their Sabbath laws.

But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (NASB) John 5:17-18