ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Tokonaki Sepitema 4, 2021 

Get up, take up your bed, and walk

Tu‘u pē, to‘o ho mohenga na, pea hā‘ele

Sione 5 (John 5)

(v. 6-9) Pea ‘i he me‘a ‘a Sīsū ki he toko taha ko ia ‘oku tokoto, mo ne ‘ilo kuo fuoloa ‘e ne pehē, pea ne lea ki ai ‘o pehē, ‘Oku ke loto ke mo‘ui? Pea tali ki ai ‘a e mahaki, ‘Eiki, ‘oku ‘ikai te u ma‘u si‘aku taha ke lī au ki he lepa, ‘oka ‘iloange ‘e ue‘i ‘a e vai; pea lolotonga ‘ete ‘alu ‘e kita pē, tā ‘oku laka hifo ha taha, ‘o mu‘omu‘a ‘iate au. Pea folofola ki ai ‘e Sīsū, Tu‘u pē, to‘o ho mohenga na, pea hā‘ele. Pea mo‘ui leva ‘a e tangata; pea ne to‘o hono mohenga, ‘o ne hā‘ele atu. Pea tā ko e Sāpate ‘a e ‘aho ko ia.

(v. 6-9)  When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

 

David Guzik :: Study Guide for John 5

A certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years: This man suffered from a paralytic condition for a long time, and apparently was frequently at the Pool of Bethesda in hope of healing. It was a hope that had been long disappointed (thirty-eight years).

b. When Jesus saw him lying there: For some reason, Jesus selected this man among the great multitude of sick people (John 5:3). Jesus was not about to conduct a healing crusade at the Pool of Bethesda, but He was about to miraculously meet this one man’s need.

A multitude of needy people were there, yet none of them looked to Jesus. “A blindness had come over these people at the pool; there they were, and there was Christ, who could heal them, but not a single one of them sought him. Their eyes were fixed on the water, expecting it to be troubled; they were so taken up with their own chosen way that the true way was neglected.” (Spurgeon)

Spurgeon pictured the multitude waiting around the waters of the Pool of Bethesda, all of them waiting – instead of looking to Jesus. He thought of how foolish this waiting is for many people.

· Some wait for a more convenient season

· Some wait for dreams and visions

· Some wait for signs and wonders

· Some wait to be compelled

· Some wait for a revival

· Some wait for particular feelings

· Some wait for a celebrity

Do you want to be made well? This was a sincere question. Jesus knew that not every sick person wants to be healed, and that some are so discouraged that they put away all hope of being healed. Jesus dealt with a man who may have had his heart withered as well as his legs. Jesus therefore attempted to build the faith of this man.

“It certainly is possible that the man’s long and apparently hopeless infirmity may have given him a look of lethargy and despondency, and the question may have arisen from this.” (Alford)

It is possible that Jesus asked this even as the waters were stirred and people started jumping and diving and rolling into the waters, each hoping for evidence that they were the favored one. The man Jesus spoke with knew that he was not one of the favored, and had no real hope to be healed.

In this man’s particular case, it was reasonable to wonder if he really wanted to be healed. “An eastern beggar often loses a good living by being cured of his disease.” (Barclay) As bad as his current situation was, at least he was familiar with it.