Fr. Stephen De Young: So now Jesus has returned to Galilee:

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Remember, we’re in kind of a mixed group here in Galilee. So when it says a nobleman, it’s not entirely clear here whether he’s a Gentile or whether he’s Jewish ethically or where he is in that relationship.

Interlocutor: Isn’t Capernaum kind of a Greek city?

Fr. Stephen: Yes, it was built by the Greeks. It’s on the coast of the Sea of Galilee, so it’s a major center for fishing and that kind of thing on the Sea of Galilee.

But it’s also worth noting that St. John doesn’t clarify. To St. John, it’s not important whether this Galilean is Greek, is Jewish, is half and half, it doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant to him, because as we’ve already seen in this chapter, Christ is the Savior of the world. So, a certain nobleman has a son who is sick.

When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”

Remember, the reason the Galileans received him and were so excited was because of the signs and wonders and miracles he had done. So, this person comes to again, “Oh, I need you to come and I need you to come and do a miracle. You’re the miracle guy, right? Come do a miracle for me.” And so Jesus says to everyone, “Unless you…” and the “people” there is in italics as it’s added, it’s a plural you, a “y’all” [Laughter]. “Unless y’all see signs and wonders, you don’t believe. I’ve got to come and do something to get you to accept me”.

The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”

He’s like, “Look, I’m not here for a magic show. I’m not here to see you do something neat. My son is going to die, okay? I need your help.”

Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.”

Now notice what he asked Jesus to come see his son lay hands on and pray for Him, right? Heal him, right? He says, “Look, my son’s going to die.” Jesus says, “Okay, go home, he’s well.” Now there’s no cell phones, right? He can’t call his wife and say, “Hey, did Sonny Jim just get better?” He can’t do that. So for him to turn and walk away from Jesus after Jesus says that, he’s got to believe that what Jesus just said is true. He’s got to accept that, because it’d be very easy to come back with, “Can’t you come? Can’t you come with me?” Especially since you could look all through the Old Testament. There aren’t a lot of long-distance healings in the Old Testament, a prophet will come and lay hands on someone and heal him. But there’s not a lot of just, “I healed someone 3 miles from here by saying so,” which shows you that Jesus is something other than a prophet, but also, it’s calling upon him to have a whole lot of faith. Because if Jesus is just shining him on, by the time he gets home, his son could be dead.

So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.

So, that reflects the level of this this man’s faith.

And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”

So as soon as His Son miraculously got better, the servants all started running to find him while he’s on his way home, and they meet in the middle.

Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”

No, notice, it was yesterday. That’s how long this journey was. So he’s walking for more than a day, hoping that what Jesus said was true, and he’s going to find his son alive when he gets home yesterday.

So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.

So not just him, but the servants now believe. The son believes. The wife believes. The whole family now become followers of Jesus.

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Remember, the first one was the wedding at Cana. Now, the second one here in Galilee is the healing of this man’s son.

Interlocutor: OK, so this is the second sign, not the second one since…

Fr. Stephen: Right. That’s a little misleading, that translation. This is the second sign Jesus did. He did it when he had come out of Judea into Galilee. Yeah, that’s an English Greek thing. There’s a participle there. So it’s sort of the second sign Jesus did, which he did when he had come out of…

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

So now he’s going back to Jerusalem because there’s another feast. This is what we mentioned, that Jesus goes back and forth.

Interlocutor: How many miles is this from Galilee to Jerusalem?

Fr. Stephen: This is several days journey on foot. We’re looking at about from where he was by the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem is about between 50 and 60 miles, depending on how he traveled. He’s traveling through Samaria again. It’s even farther.

Interlocutor: Yeah, it looks like it’s 60, 70…

Fr. Stephen: Because you’re not going as the crow flies. It’s about 50 or 60 as the crow flies, but it could be considerably longer, especially if you’re crossing the Jordan into Samaria, traveling through there and then coming. This is a considerable journey. So Jesus returns to Jerusalem again.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.

And so this is, what’s called the sheep gate because that’s the gate that they drove the sheep in and out when they took them out to pasture and then brought them into the city. That’s the gate they used.

Interlocutor: What does Bethesda mean?

Fr. Stephen: Well, it’s actually probably Beth Zapa,

the Greek transliteration. They have trouble sometimes with Aramaic and Hebrew, and it means the “house of the sheep”. They’re kind of going from the sheep gate to the sheep house. And this pool that was there was probably originally now we’re going to see it’s being used for something else, but that pool is probably originally used for the sheep, to water the sheep and clean them if you’re going to go shear them and sell them. But we’re going to see now it’s become used for something else. And there are five porches around it that have been built… Archaeologically, this has been uncovered in Jerusalem. You can go and see… there’s no water in the pool, obviously, but you can see the five porches, and you can see where the pool was when it was there.

In these [meaning the porches] lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

So this has become a hub for people who are sick, who are looking for healing.

For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

So there had been this history of people who were miraculously healed at this pool. That’s why all these sick people would come there. The water would be stirred or troubled, probably, meaning it would bubble or ripple, and when they saw that, they would try to get in, and people had been healed who had gotten into the water at that exact time.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

38 years, now, this is somewhat deceptive, but the average lifespan at this time in history was about 28. The reason that’s kind of deceptive is that we read average life expectancy and assume, okay, that means most people died at 28. That’s not what that means. That’s an average. So you take all the people who died as infants and as children, you take your infant mortality rate, and you average that out against the people who live to a ripe old age, and you end up and so if you have a very high infant mortality rate, that drags your average life expectancy down.

So the reality is, if you made it through your early childhood, if you made it to age eleven or twelve, you had a pretty good chance of living into at least your 60s, if not your 70s, because a huge portion of the population dies either in infancy or in childhood from diseases and that kind of thing. But we should still expect that if he’s been paralyzed for 38 years, this is pretty much his entire life. This is at least his childhood. It is very unlikely that this is a 78-year-old man who got paralyzed at 40. This is someone who has never been able to live a normal life.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

Now, this is an interesting question. It seems like it might be a silly question or a sarcastic question, right? He’s been paralyzed for 38 years. “Of course, I want to be able to walk! What kind of question is that?” But think about the theme that we just saw in the last chapter. Because if this man’s been paralyzed his whole life, that means his whole life has been spent doing what? There’s no Romans with Disabilities Act. There’s no welfare system. He’s been begging his whole life, has been laying here. That’s the life he knows and he’s known his whole life. If Jesus heals him, what’s going to happen? His whole life is going to change. He’s going to have to change his whole life. He’s going to have to go out and work for a living, find a career, make wages, provide for himself. He’s going to have responsibilities. All this is going to change if Jesus heals him. That’s why Jesus is asking him in advance. He’s not going to be able to go around and beg and say, “Do you have money for an ex-paralytic?” That’s not going to work. Jesus coming into his life and healing him is going to require him to transform his whole life. This is what we were talking about before. So we have an image here in healing of the gospel.

And we have a unique ability, we’re very adaptable as human beings. I don’t know if this is a regional thing, because a lot of people I’ve used this example with haven’t known what I was talking about, and they looked at me strangely. But the old story with a frog and a bowl of water. Try to put a frog in a pot of water. If you boil the water and try to drop a frog in, he’s going to jump right out because he’s going to get scalded, right? If you put cold water in a pot on the stove and you put the frog in while it’s cold and then you turn up the heat slowly, the frog will just sit there and get cooked because he’ll never notice. And human beings are the same way. Human beings are adaptable. Our life can get pretty bad. It could be pretty miserable and pretty dark. We could be in a pretty bad place, but we can get used to it. Like Saint Photini was not living in a good place, had to go out there by herself at noon to get water because the other woman wanted nothing to do with her, is living with this man who won’t marry her is basically using and exploiting her. But at least she’s got a place to live. Her life has gotten to a very dark place, but it’s familiar, right? She knows what’s coming every day, and she’s gotten used to it.

And so it’s perfectly possible that this paralytic, this is the life he’s gotten used to. He doesn’t want to undertake what it’s going to mean to change everything. And so Christ asking him this question is, first of all, making that plain, give us that idea, that example. But also he’s giving this man an opportunity to say, “You know what? As bad as my life is, this is my life.”

Interlocutor: Do you think he was there begging? If he was there he was trying to…

Fr. Stephen: Well, we’re going to get into that. But in order to eat… he’s not dead; he’s been paralyzed for 38 years. The only way he has to get food every day is to beg people, to ask for help. So he asked this question to give him the opportunity to say, “You know what? No, I’m not ready for that.”

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

So, he’s paralyzed. He can’t get up and walk. The water starts to get troubled. He tries to drag himself over, but somebody else jumps ahead of him. So again, there’s a little bit of a misunderstanding here. He seems to think Jesus is asking him, “Well, why are you still laying here 38 years later? Why haven’t you jumped to the pool and gotten healed?” Which isn’t what Jesus is asking. But that’s what his answer says. His answer says, “Yeah, I want to get in there, but I haven’t been able to. I haven’t been able to do it.”

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

So Jesus doesn’t say, “Okay, well, I’ll push you in next time,” Jesus just heals him. Not only Jesus tells him that he does not only does he get off, but he picks up the bed he’s been laying on for 38 years, the palate, it carries it off with him. He’s walking off, carrying it.

Interlocutor: It must have been a little bit strange.

Fr. Stephen: Yeah, you can imagine the other sick people watching this happen.

Interlocutor: That’s what I’m saying!

Fr. Stephen: Yeah, he was fully healed. The atrophied muscles, the whole shot, he was healed completely.

And that day was the Sabbath.

And here’s where we’re going to run into trouble.

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

Remember we talked about the Pharisees? The Pharisees thought that the best way to keep from breaking any of the commandments is to build a hedge around the commandments. So there’s a commandment, don’t take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Well, if we never say his name, if we don’t say it, if we don’t write it, if we never say it, we can’t take it in vain, so we’re safe. So we stopped short. Well, they did the same thing with the Sabbath. You’re not allowed to do any work on the Sabbath. Well, so they had to say, “Well, okay, what constitutes work?” Is getting out of bed work? It seems like it is some mornings. Do I have to stay in bed all day? You can’t kindle a fire, so you can’t cook, but can I eat something I cooked the day before? How much preparation constitutes cooking? So they had all these more specific rules. You could walk so far, you could do this, you can’t do that, you can do this, you can’t do that. So they didn’t have a problem with him walking through the city, but if he’s walking through the city carrying something heavy, that’s work, right?

Interlocutor: I’ve always wondered, didn’t Christ see something good in that, because they really wanted to ensure that…

Fr. Stephen: Right. Well, you see, in Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees, he never says that they’re wrong. He never says that they’re teaching heresy or something. What he always says about the Pharisees is that they’re hypocrites. In fact, he tells his disciples at one point, do whatever the Pharisees tell you to do, but don’t do what they do because they’re hypocrites.

Interlocutor: They’re imposing it on others.

Fr. Stephen: Right, exactly. Having a very high standard for yourself of righteousness and being aware when you fall short, not deceiving yourself into thinking you’ve met it and you’re very righteous is a good thing. Having a very high standard of righteousness for everyone else around you is a different kind of thing. And so, yes, if the Pharisees wanted to say, “You know what? I’m not going to carry heavy things on the Sabbath. I’m going to wait until the next day because it’s a day of rest. I’m going to spend this day worshiping the Lord.” That would have been a fine thing and a wonderful thing, but when they see this man carrying his pallet, they don’t even ask any questions of what’s going on. It’s just you’re carrying pallets; you’re breaking the law. You’re a sinner. That’s the problem.

Interlocutor: So you should be harsh on yourself.

Fr. Stephen: Right.

Interlocutor: This is still a problem with religious people of all kinds today.

Fr. Stephen: Yes, because we tend to do the opposite. We tend to be very generous with ourselves and very harsh on other people.

So they say, “It’s not lawful for you to be carrying that bed.”

He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”

So he says, “Hey, the person who just healed me of paralysis told me to pick it up and take it. So I picked it up and I took it. I didn’t ask any other questions. I haven’t walked for 38 years. I’m just doing what he tells me at this point.”

Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.

So Jesus hadn’t introduced himself, and the man had been so excited, he got up and took off without stopping. Hey, by the way, what if I need to talk to you again? And there’s this big crowd of sick people and other people around there, so he looks around, he can’t see where Jesus went to point him out.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple.

Notice Jesus found him later on and notice where he went. Where’s the first place he goes now that he can walk? He walks to the temple to give thanks to God, and Jesus goes and finds him there and said to him:

“See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Now, He’s not saying, “If you’re bad, I’m taking it back and you’re going to be paralyzed again.” But what he’s saying is physical health is a good thing, being paralyzed is a bad thing, but in the end, it’s not the most important thing. We talked about how this healing is sort of a symbol for salvation, and that’s what Jesus is getting at. What Jesus is getting at is now that you’re able to live a life, now that you’re physically able, now you need to live one that’s righteous. Now you need to live one that’s good. The fact that now you can do these things means now you’re going to be more responsible for what you do, with what you’ve been given, now that you’ve been given your health.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Notice now that he knows who he is, he goes back to and says, “Oh yeah, by the way, the guy who healed you was Jesus. You should go talk to him too.”

Even though it’s a little short, I think I’m going to end here tonight because we’re about to go into a big section, so we’ll go ahead and stop here.