Lesson 16

The Man Who Had No Man

John 5:1-9

As we continue our journey through John, we come today to chapter 5. Perhaps we would do well to step back for a moment and look at the big picture. This chapter marks a moment of transition in the ministry of Jesus. The first four chapters have, for the most part, been a declaration of deity of Christ. But beginning in chapter 5, there is growing dispute about the deity of Christ. Our Lord has presented himself as Messiah in Jerusalem (2:13), Judea (3:22), Galilee (2:1) and Samaria (4:4) with a mixed reception. In 5:1, we learn that Jesus has returned to Jerusalem. And for the first time in the Gospel of John, there is a wave of persecution and hatred aimed at Jesus, v. 16. Here, then, in this chapter is the beginning of official persecution against the Savior.

The entire chapter is really a single dramatic event, with three exciting "acts." Act I - The Cure (vs. 1-9); Acts II - The Controversy (vs. 10-18); Act III - The Claims (vs. 19-47). We cannot cover the entire 47 verses of this chapter in one message, but for today let's concentrate on the cure.

There is a real missions flavor to these verses. Let's look at them that way.

The Condition Of The Multitude, vs. 1-4

The Period, vs. 1a. It was once again a feast time in Israel. There were seven of them each year. We don't know from the text exactly which feast was being celebrated.

The Place, vs. 1b-2. Jesus has returned to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. Beginning in verse 2, John tells us about a particular place in Jerusalem. It is near the sheep gate (market) not far from the Temple where the lambs were slain in sacrifice. There was, at this location, a pool of water (a natural spring) which was known in the Hebrew language as Bethesda which means "house of mercy." Around this natural spring had been constructed five porches. It sounds like John wants us to be able to get a mental picture of this place.

The People, v. 3. John tells us that on these porches "lay a great multitude of people" The Greek dictionary says about this verb "lay" that it implies their sickness. The people who lay on the porches around this pool were "impotent". (One little Sunday school boy read this chapter and miss pronounced only one word in the chapter - he said that these were a great multitude of important folk). That they were, too, to Jesus, but the Bible says "impotent". The word means diseased, sick and weak. John elaborates further on the condition of these people. They were "blind" - without sight. They were "halt" (lame) - without steps. They were "withered" (paralyzed) - without strength. They were "waiting for the moving of the water" - without satisfaction.

John explains what they were waiting for in verse 4. The language of verse 4 is somewhat unclear. Is John telling us or teaching us? Is he telling us what popular legend had been attached to this pool or teaching us that an angel actually did this? It sounds to me like this actually happened.

How can we measure the misery of this multitude? Here is institutionalized misery and unending poverty. All their hopes had shrunk to the chance they had at outsmarting the others and being first in the pool. There would be jockeying for position. There would be selfishness and hatred and greed and rivalry. It was, no doubt, a pathetic scene, a mixture of anticipation and frustration, of hope and disappointment. There the sufferers lay, waiting, believing, despairing. They were brought - their they were left - passed by priest and people alike, longing for some kind of miracle. The sight of it all and the stench of it all would have been depressing.

This great multitude in many ways is representative of lost humanity. Without sight - 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Without the strength - Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Without satisfaction - Ecclesiates 2:17 - I hated life. Although poor and pathetic, lost humanity is selfish and hate-filled and greedy and competitive, waiting and hoping for some kind of miracle to make it all better.

Jesus knew all about this place and all about the people who thronged around. On that fateful day when he paid Bethesda a visit, He saw the condition of the multitude.

But from the wide-angled, panoramic view of this pathetic place, John tightens the focus and brings us close up and personal with "a certain man" (v. 5).

The Choice Of A Man, vs. 5-9

"A certain man" verse 5 says. "The impotent man" verse 7 says. "The man" verse 9 says. The text has moved us from "a great multitude" to "a certain man". Now we must look at the man. We are not told his name but we told his condition. He had had an infirmity (the noun form of the word for impotent). He had been there a very long time. John says for 38 years, half a lifetime. It may be that he had been brought there in his teens and left to make the best of things. The days had become weeks and the weeks, months and the months, years, and the years decades. No doubt hope had given way to despair and then a dull acceptance of his fate. Always, others, stronger and more agile than he were ahead of him when the waters were troubled. He had, no doubt, watched many new arrivals.

Then one day, Jesus came! The Lord saw him lying there and knew all about him. He knew how long he had been there- he did not need to ask - just as knew all about Nathaniel and the woman at the well. The man's heart and history were open to him.

Jesus then put the vital question to this man. "Wilt thou be made whole?" "Do you wish to get well?" Whatever may or may not be said about the sovereignty of God in human salvation, one thing is sure. The human will play its part. Divine omnipotence never violates the sanctity of the will. God does not force salvation upon someone; He woos. The Lord will neither heal nor save people against their will.

The man's answer indicates that it was lack of opportunity not lack of will that kept him where he was. "I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me."

"I have no man". What a statement! As I prepared this sermon, I began pondering the methodology of Jesus. Jesus concentrated on reaching the man who had no man. That was also the methodology of Paul. Rom 15:20 -21 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. Paul did it on Bible authority quoting Isaiah 52:15. Do we? Do we concentrate on reaching those who have "no man"? I spoke with Research Department of the Summer Institute of Linguistics to find out the following information. There are somewhere over 6000 known languages on planet earth. Of those 6000+ languages, 341 have a translation of the total Bible, 822 have the New Testament, and 929 have portions of scripture translated into their native tongue as of December 1994. Those three numbers add to 2092 which means that there are at least 3918 languages that have no portion of scripture. 94% of all ordained preachers minister to 6% of the world's population. According to Decision Magazine, there are 1.3 billion people on planet earth who have no knowledge of the gospel. They don't have Gospel preachers, Bible teaching/preaching churches, gospel radio broadcasts, gospel tracts, nothing. They have no man. We have an unfinished task. They have not heard! How shall they hear without a preacher? How shall they preach except they be sent? If we are going to follow the pattern and methodology of Jesus, then must go to those who have no man. That is what Jesus did.

The Conclusion With A Miracle, vs. 8-9

The Lord spoke with divine authority and enabling power. "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." "You don't have to wait for the moving of the water. You don't have to get in line and hope that you some day you will be the first into the pool. You can be healed right now." With faith in the wondrous words of Jesus, the man responded immediately. He stood up and he rolled up his 38 year old bedroll and he walked! What a sight that must have been!

So ends the story of the curing of the impotent man. Well, not quite. Actually, this healing created quite a controversy because as verse 9 hints, it was the sabbath.

With the dead religion of the Jews there was little rejoicing for the wonderful miracle. Instead there was great criticism because Jesus had done this and commanded the man to carry his bed on the sabbath. We'll save that part of the story for the next time.

Let us pray the Lord of the harvest, that he will send laborers to the millions who have no man.