Session3: John 5.1-18: Jesus heals a sick man on the Sabbath
Suggested Opening Prayer :
God our Father, you sent your Son to reconcile the world to yourself; keep us in the ministry you have entrusted to us, that your Church may be a light to the world, and may bring healing to those in need; though the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.
Background :
An ancient tradition says that John the brother of James wrote the Gospel at the end of his life, and it does bear the hallmarks of profound, possibly even mystical reflection (in other words, reflection based on a deep personal encounter with God). However it was written, it has long been noticed that St John's Gospel is very different from the others. Whereas the other Gospels seem to try to tell as many stories as they can about Jesus, given the constraints of space, the stories in St John's Gospel are chosen carefully to reveal things about Jesus, things that will lead to belief in him (John 20.30-31). In the other Gospels, there are many miracles, but in John there are very few, and instead of being called 'miracles', they are called 'signs. often too they are an opportunity for a lengthy discourse. To some extent, what Jesus says in St John's Gospel is often more important than what he does.
Throughout St John's Gospel refers to 'the Jews' who were hostile to Jesus. When the Gospel speaks of the Jews, we should remember that here it refers to those Jewish religious leaders who were in fact hostile to Jesus, and not to the entire Jewish people. Bear in mind that Jesus and all his disciples were Jewish, that some of the Jewish leaders were disciples of his (John 19-38-39), and that many of them later became Christians themselves (Acts 6.7).
The Healing on the Sabbath : John 5.1-18
Read the passage through. Like most healing miracles in the Gospels it has a familiar ring, but unlike most of them, this is from St John's Gospel, so try to look beyond the actions at the deeper significance of the story. Note that some ancient manuscripts have an extra verse and a half (after verse 3) which explains that an angel would stir up the water from time to time, and the first one to get in would be healed. This was probably not in the original version of the story, but when the gospel was being copied by hand a helpful scribe added it, just to help the reader understand the context. Now try to think yourself into the context.
• We are used these days to people having disabilities which do not prevent them from leading full lives, but what would it mean for someone of Jesus' day to be disabled?
• How do you think the man feels when Jesus asks him, 'Do you want to be made well?'
• How does he react to Jesus after his healing?
• The Jews are concerned that the man and Jesus are breaking a fundamental religious law. Can we begin to understand why these Jews persecuted Jesus?
St John's Gospel was written so that we would come to belief in Christ. Look at the passage again, a few verses at a time, bearing this in mind.
Look at verses 1-9. This is the story of the healing itself. The man has been lying there thirty-eight years (a very long time - average life expectancy for many people was only around forty), and Jesus comes to him and asks him, 'Do you want to be healed?' Note that he doesn't answer 'Yes', but comes up with an excuse why he is still there.
• How do we react as a Church when Jesus asks us, 'Do you want to be healed?'
• What might 'healing' mean for the Church?
• Do we want to be healed?
In verses 10-13 the scene changes to focus on the man and the Jews.
• Do we ever impose our values on other people?
• How good are we at facing up to our responsibilities for our own actions?
• May Jesus be working today, without us knowing that it is him?
Verses 14-15 deal with a second encounter between Jesus and the man. The disease looks as if it is psychosomatic (effectively self-induced) because Jesus links it to the man's own sin, but on other occasions he denies the link between sin and disease (John 9.2-3).
• Is the present day condition of the Church self-induced?
• Like the healed man, do ever we fail to thank Jesus for what he has done for us?
• Do we as the Church ever betray Jesus? If so, how?
In verses 16-18, Jesus encounters the Jews face to face.
• The Jewish religious leaders are often portrayed as hypocrites in the Gospels: are we ever guilty of that as a Church?
• Do we ever hinder the work of God?
Allow some time for silent reflection and prayer, finishing with the Lord's Prayer. Perhaps finish with a reminder of Jesus' words to the man: 'When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"'