[Jesus healed me]
Pastor Jeong Jeong-hwan
John 5:1~15
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lieampmdashthe blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [b] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?' 7 'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.' 8 Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' 9 At once the man was cured he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, 'It is the Sabbath the law forbids you to carry your mat.' 11 But he replied, 'The man who made me well said to me, Pick up your mat and walk. ' 12 So they asked him, 'Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?'13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, 'See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.' 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Good morning, Im Pastor Jeong Jeong-hwan Gehashi. Today, Im here to deliver the message. I think God gives us this time to share the odd image of Gehashi appearing next to the prophet Elisa. Today, I hope that through the Lord who heals the 38-year-old sick, we could receive grace from Jesus who heals me.
First, he sees me lying down and comes first.
In Jerusalem, there was Bethesda Pond, which means house of mercy. There were rumors that the disease of the first person to enter the pond would heal when the angel made the water move sometimes, and numerous sick people flocked around the pond. As a result, this place has turned into a place of fierce competition. It was a ruthless battlefield where mercy was never found and only logic was dominated by first-come, first-served basis. Here lay a 38-year-old sick man who spent only indefinitely in despair, loneliness, pain, and emptiness. And the Lord, who was watching the sick man lie down, approaches him first and asks the question. 'Do you want to get better?' It seems like a very obvious question, but through this question, the Lord allows the sick man to recover and wake up. And he tells us that he needs to be saved by Jesus. There are times when we, like this sick man, lie down with physical and mental illnesses for a long time, are deeply hurt in relationships, fall down, fail every time we do, lose all our motivation, and are crushed by sin and addiction and are sprawled. The Lord pays attention to me and asks me. 'Do you want to be better?' This question is to turn back to Jesus now my gaze and interest in looking forward to the availability of water, looking only at the Bethesda Pond every day. He makes me face myself by revealing everything in me to the Lord. This is the beginning of healing, the beginning of salvation. So, the event that happened to me today is the event that Jesus comes to visit. It is the event that the Lord talks to me first and asks me questions. My response to that question is the beginning of faith, and thinking about the answer is meditation and quiet time with words. As I answer questions every day, I realize that Jesus has the initiative in my life that I have held.
Second, he gives me the grace of salvation with his words.
To a sick man who is in self-pity, pessimism and resentment about the world, the Lord says, 'Get up and walk.' The command 'Get up' here is a word used in Jesus resurrection. Jesus words have ability. A new creative history arises in me when I hear and accept them. Therefore, there is nothing I need to do but trust, follow, and obey Jesus who came to me.
When I was in college, I had a hard time because of my studies that were not compatible with my aptitude. I was attached to the library all day, but because I couldnt try, only my despair and inferiority deepened, and I lay down like a pariah because of my extreme helplessness. Even though I joined the army, I couldnt escape. The closed atmosphere and constant assault made me think, Lets think Im a dog, not a person. But one day, I came to attend a retreat for soldiers. At the end of the rally, the fear, self-pity, victimization, and resentment that I had buried within me soared. At that time, my eyes remained on the praise of the Lord Who Helped Me Behind My Back, which was in front of me, and tears flowed freely. On that day, the Lord met me who could not stand up and corrected me with words. And he made me realize that the purpose of my study and the purpose of my life so far was only success and success in the world. I was greedy at the bottom of my deep fear. Since then, I have been convinced that Jesus knew me and that I met him and was saved even in the Bethesda of my life. And in the same week I returned to the unit, preached the gospel to 11 soldiers and even I was allowed all the fruits to greet Jesus. After being discharged, the Lord guided me to a place that best suited my aptitude in a way that I never expected.
Third, God tells us to live for the purpose of holiness, not happiness.
The day when the 38-year-old sick man was healed was the Sabbath. When the Jews heard this news, both the sick man who moved and moved on the Sabbath and Jesus who cured the disease committed the law. The core of the law is love for God and love for the neighbors, but tradition was more important than life for Jews who said they knew the law best. Because they dont know that Jesus has true rest, they cant enjoy rest, and they cant save people. Those who have spiritual leprosy and dont even recognize the seriousness of their problems are more serious than the 38-year-old sick man. If you ignore the essence like Jews, you will waste your life by devoting yourself to non-essential work.
I have always judged and judged people based on my standards and standards. My spiritual illness was self-love, self-deception, hypocrisy, and greed. My wife says, 'The person you love the most is Jeong-hwan Jung, yourself.' I also want to look like a good person, so I pretend not to be or to be hypocritical. Thats why when I make the person next to me uncomfortable, I sometimes fall into self-pity thinking, Isnt it an obstacle to what the Lord is doing like a servant? To this kind of me, Jesus said, 'Look. Now that you have healed, dont commit any more crimes so that nothing worse will happen.' This is what Jesus said when he met the sick again. He ordered this sick man to wear a new person, not to be happy, and to live with the holy grail for the purpose of his life. What is more important than being healed from a 38-year-old disease is to live by being grateful for the grace of salvation that Jesus met because of that disease and repenting for today. And I am moving forward as a witness to prove and deliver the beautiful and blessed news of the Gospel that saved me.
The real Bethesda is Jesus Christ. I pray in the name of the Lord that I and you, who are fully healed and saved by Jesus and enjoy true rest.
