John 5:1-15 (Sermon Outline)
Sermon Outline
When Jesus is your only option; you’re in a good place!
John 5:1-15
I. Introduction: Jeremiah’s faith
a. The reason I have that slide up of a blue car, is because last October around Jeremiah’s 7thbirthday, Lyndsey was sharing a heartwarming story with me about a conversation she had with Jeremiah that day. You see, Jeremiah had asked her for a stamp, and when Lyndsey asked him why, he said, “I want to mail a letter to the car people.” Lyndsey didn’t think much about it, but then a couple hours later she found the envelope, and she asked what it was. She said to Jeremiah, “It feels like money is in the envelope.” Jeremiah said, “It is money. I am going to mail the letter to the car people so that I can buy my favorite colored car. I want to send them the letter with my money so I can get a blue car.” Jeremiah had found one of the car dealership mailers that came with the junk mail, and took it over to his desk and put it all together to send his money in ($0.62 to be exact) so that he could get a new blue car. He told Lyndsey the money in the envelope was from his piggy bank.
b. You want to talk about the faith of a child to believe the impossible? That story is definitely one that I won’t soon forget about. It is an impossible request, but none-the-less, with God on Jeremiah’s side, nothing is impossible. He himself is a miracle, why in the world won’t God be able to even more than that for him? I sure look forward to seeing how God works in and through his life as he continues to grow up.
c. But the reason I start out with that story is because if I came pulling up in that brand new Blue Chevy to church this morning, everyone of you would most likely leave here today in disbelief if I told you that is how I got that car!
d. And yet this morning, as we open up our Bibles to John 5, we are going to see that there is a multitude of people who are hoping for the impossible as well. In fact, the Bible will actually zero in on one particular individual, who appears to have run out of options in life. We are going to see that Jesus approaches him when he was at a hopelessly impossible place in life. And as Jesus converses with this man, he explains to Jesus that he has no one to help him get well, he’s completely out of options. And what we are going to learn from this encounter today is that when Jesus truly becomes our only option in life that is when we will finally realize what a good place we are at!
II. It is this idea that has inspired the big question we will be answering this morning, which is: Why are you in a good place, when Jesus is your only option?
III. Message: If you would please stand in honor of reading God’s Word, we are going to begin our study in John 5:1-15.
a. Why are you in a good place, when Jesus is your only option? You have the opportunity to experience God’s LOVE (5:1-8)
i. READ: John 5:1-8
ii. This section of scripture is now the 5th consecutive section where John strategically positions Jesus against the practices of contemporary Judaism in order to show that He is far superior.
iii. LOOKING ON THE NEXT SLIDE: We see that…
1. Jesus fills the empty purification pots, with new wine (John 2:1-11)
2. Jesus cleanses the temple and then professes He is greater than the temple (John 2:19)
3. Jesus proclaims we must be born again of “water and Spirit”, and that takes place through faith in Him (John 3:1-21)
4. Jesus surpasses John the Baptist (John 3:22-36).
5. Jesus’ living water is better than the water from Jacob’s well.
a. Drinking from Jacob’s well will leave you spiritually thirsty.
b. Drink from Jesus’ living water and you will never thirst again.
6. Now as we get into John 5, we see yet another water illustration being brought into the light, at the Pool of Bethesda.
iv. LOOKING ON THE NEXT SLIDE: You can see that the Pool of Bethesda was located just outside of the Temple, near the Eastern Wall in Jerusalem. And there was a “great multitude” of people who gathered at that pool to be healed.
v. READ: John 5:3-4
i. LOOKING ON THE NEXT SLIDE: Here we see that the Pool of Bethesda was a pretty large area. And that is why the Bible tells us in (v.3) a “great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, and paralyzed” people would be there anxiously waiting and hoping that God would send an angel to heal them.
ii. Picture a battleground inundated with wounded bodies, and that is what the Pool of Bethesda was like. Imagine a nursing home being overcrowded and understaffed, and that is what the Pool of Bethesda was like. In fact, I remember one of the times I visited one of our elderly saints who has since gone on to be with the Lord. They were in an outpatient rehabilitation Nursing home in town. And when I went in there it was so sad and depressing due to the condition so many of the people were in. In one room I could hear and elderly lady moaning and calling for help. Another room, had an elderly man cursing loudly. Another room the patient was yelling at the nurse. From the room I was visiting one of our members I could hear another lady screaming out for help for over an hour. It was somewhat chaotic, and an emotionally stressful environment to be in that morning. I remember thinking how desperate that place was, and how uncomfortable it must have been for many of the visitors and guests that day. It just felt like a heavy blanket of depression and oppresion was upon the entire place that morning.
iii. This is the type of miserable environment I imagine Jesus entered into this day when He visited the Pool of Bethesda.
iv. The Pools of Bethesda could easily be called Valley Restart, or Weston Park, or Birth Choice. It could be called Hemet Valley Medical Center Emergency Room, or it could have even been located on certain parts of Florida Ave. It could be any collection of hurting people, who are truly at the end of themselves with very little hope left.
v. And as I mentioned already, the reason these desperate people were waiting at this particular pool is because there was a tale in Israel they were hoping was true. The tale taught that angels would visit the pool, and that anytime an angel went down into the pool and stirred up the water, the first person to step in would be healed. The Bible doesn’t indicate that this was a hoax or untrue, but it sure sounds like a lot to take in for sure.
vi. However, remember in the Book of Acts, people would line the streets hoping that Peter’s shadow would pass over them as he walked by, so they could be healed (Acts 5:15). People also tried to touch Paul with handkerchiefs and aprons in order to take them back to their loved ones to be healed (Acts 19:12). So crazy miraculous things were taking place at that time.
vii. And this is why the multitude of desperate people were there. They were hoping to be that one lucky individual who might be healed by the waters at the Pool of Bethesda the moment the angel of God stirred the waters.
viii. READ: John 5:5
ix. And here we read in (v.5) that there was “a certain man” who was there, and he had an infirmity of some type of paralysis for 38 years. This man was out of options, and yet, we see that he is in the very best place he could possibly be, because Jesus has taken notice of him.
x. As I have pointed out on other occasions through our study of the Gospel of John, this gospel is rich in symbolism. The fact that John points out that this man was in this hopeless state for 38 years, presents us with an idea that John could be alluding to the 38 unnecessary years the Israelites spent in the desert, banished there because of their disobedience and their unbelief, not trusting that God would give them victory over the giants that were in the land.
xi. LOOKING ON THE NEXT SLIDE: Deuteronomy 2:14 – “And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them.”
xii. Though there are no interlocking symbolism between the two events (like Jesus’ teaching on bread from heaven), it could be that John is using this as an opportunity to warn against the consequences of sin and disobedience.
xiii. Whatever the case might be, the main thing in this story is that Jesus has now arrived, and in the midst of all the individuals who were at the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus approaches this man and begins dialoguing with Him.
xiv. READ: John 6-8
xv. Here we read that Jesus asks the man if he wants to be made well, and rather than simply saying, “Yes!” He gives Jesus a bunch of excuses of why he can’t be made well, and all of his excuses are focused on his inability to get into that water first!
xvi. How many times have we said the same thing? Rather than trust Jesus to help us and deliver us, we come up with every excuse in the book of why it’s impossible.
xvii. Thankfully, just as Jesus ignores this mans excuses, He ignores us as well, when we’re trying to promote unbelief! Jesus tells the man, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Again, according to this man’s own words, he was a man who was out of options in life, and yet because Jesus was his only option, he quickly realized that he was in a good place that day at the Pool of Bethesda!
xviii. In fact, the word “Bethesda” means house of grace. And that is exactly what that once paralyzed man just experienced from Jesus, the loving grace of God! And its this idea that has inspired the first answer to this mornings big question. Why are you in a good place, when Jesus is your only option? You have the opportunity to experience God’s LOVE (5:1-8)
xix. When we realize that Jesus is our only option in life, whether were at the lowest place in life, or whether we are having the best possible life, we will find ourselves in a very good place, because we will be able to experience God’s love in a powerful way because we have placed our faith in Jesus!
xx. Let’s move onto the second passage in (vv.9-13), where we will unpack the second answer to this mornings big question, which is the moment we realize Jesus is our only option in life, we will begin to experience Life Transformation.
b. Why are you in a good place, when Jesus is your only option? You have the opportunity to experience Life TRANSFORMATION (5:9-13)
i. READ: John 5:9-13
ii. Here we read that the moment Jesus commanded this man to “Rise, take up your bed and walk”, that the man was “immediately” healed. He got up and for the first time in 38 years, he walked! What a life transformation he experienced that day. The love of God had invaded His life and because he trusted Jesus’ word, he got up and walked!
iii. The Bible tells us that the moment the Jewish leaders found out about this, they rebuked the man because he was carrying his mat!
iv. Life transformation does not come by keeping man made rules (like the carrying of their mat) nor by joining a religious sect (vv.10-13), life transformation can only come by faith in Jesus and obedience to His word.
v. I’m sure there are individuals in here today, who are desperately trying to be healed of some spiritual bondage, or emotional baggage in life, and yet you just can’t seem to do it. I want you to know that God hasn’t forgotten about you. He loves you! And I also want to encourage you, to seek first God’s kingdom and God’s way of living and He will give you victory in life.
vi. Again, the reason you are in a good place right now, if Jesus is your only option is because when Jesus is your only option, you will experience life transformation!
vii. Let’s move onto the final passage today found in (vv.14-15), where we will unpack the final answer to this mornings big question, which is:
c. Why are you in a good place, when Jesus is your only option? You have the opportunity to live out God’s TRUTH in your life (5:14-15)
i. That is what we are going to unpack right now in our final 2 verses.
i. READ: John 5:14-15
ii. Here we read that after Jesus miraculously healed that man, that He came to him later on that day and found the man in the temple area.
iii. Jesus seeks him out to warn him by saying, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
iv. What I want to point out here is that Jesus is interested not merely in healing a person’s body. Far more important is the healing of his soul, and the transformation of his life. And the only way to experience that is to believe in Jesus and then obey His Word throughout your life.
v. This is also an important exhortation and warning to us as well. We don’t want to be the person who comes to Jesus when we have a serious, or even deadly illness, and we pray for healing and Divine intervention, and then the moment Jesus does heal us (or deliver us) we soon forget about Jesus and go our separate ways again. We all have people in our life that have done this before. You may have even done this before. Maybe you’re even doing that right now? Sure you come to church, but its just superficial faith. You don’t love Jesus. You don’t care about what His word has to say for your life. You’re not challenged by God’s Word to grow in your faith, and to obey God. If that’s you, that is a dangerous place to be.
vi. The reason I say that is because Jesus makes it clear to this once paralyzed man (and to you and me today), that it is vital for him to now TURN from his sin and live for God (5:14-15). He has got to be willing to put God first in his life by obeying God’s truth, if he wants to remain in a right relationship with Him.
vii. Again, Why are you in a good place, when Jesus is your only option? You have the opportunity to live out God’s TRUTH in your life (5:14-15)
IV. Life Application:
a. Today we have been looking at a group of people who had run out of options in life, and they found themselves in a place of desperation. Jesus went to places where people were hurting. Jesus also made sure these people not only experienced the love of God, along with the undeniable power of God, but as we saw later on in the story, after this individual experienced God’s love, and power, Jesus also came to Him and shared the truth of God’s Word, and the importance of repentance and obedient faith. There was intention in His steps and in His ministry.
b. And if there is one BIBLICAL TRUTH that I believe God would want me to drive home today it is this. Are you listening?
c. There are many people who come to God when they find themselves in a desperate place. They have run out of options, and unless God shows up on their behalf, it’s over for them. Whether its with their health, or with their work, or with their kids, or with their spouse, whatever that place is that you find yourself in, there are people who in desperation turn to God. And what we are discovering here in John 5, is that Jesus is paying close attention to how you respond to His grace and kindness in your life. And just as Jesus would later come to this paralyzed man who was healed and He would warn him, put God first in your life now, or a worse thing might happen to you.
