6 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?” 7 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.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time,
Jesus already knew the condition of this infirm man.
He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
By this question Jesus called attention to who could heal this man. The question is meant to elicit this man’s hopeless condition in order to demonstrate that only the Messiah could heal him.
5:7
The sick man answered Him,
The paralyzed man failed to grasp what Jesus said.
“Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up;
“Stirred up” might refer to a spring that may have occasionally added fresh water to the pool.
but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
The man could not get to the pool first because he was paralyzed. His limited expectation did not bring this man to believe he could be healed by Jesus.
5:8
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
Jesus’ command was all that was needed to heal the man. The man’s atrophied muscles were instantaneously and miraculously restored. He had no need to dip in the pool for his healing. His superstition never could heal him.
Jesus told this man to do three things: (1) stand, (2) carry his straw mat, and (3) walk. The man’s healing was complete and lacked nothing to be corrected later. There was no mention of the man’s faith here; the entire onus lay upon what Jesus did. These three commands created a problem for Jesus because His enemies perceived Him as working on the Sabbath (Saturday).
5:9
And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed [straw mat], and walked.
This man was not progressively healed; Jesus healed him “immediately.” This was instantaneous healing.
And that day was the Sabbath.
The Jews forbade labor on the Sabbath day. The Mishna added additional laws to the Old Testament about the Sabbath, making it very burdensome to observe. It became a weight on the people. The Sabbath was central to Jesus’ conflict with His opponents.
PRINCIPLE:
God does what He does for man on the basis of grace.
APPLICATION:
Jesus demanded no qualification to heal the paralyzed man, whose healing was strictly by God’s grace. There was nothing deserving on his part. He did not seek Jesus for healing.
