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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, October 20, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor Psalm 25:1-11; John 5:1-9 Of the many miracles and healings that Jesus did, John selected only seven to include in his gospel. John called those miracles, “Signs” because they point beyond themselves. John’s selections were intended to teach important things about who Jesus is and what it means to believe in Him. This fall, we are looking at “Seven Signs” that John recorded in his gospel. We have already covered the first two signs, turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana in John 2:1-11, and the healing of the royal official’s son in John 4:43-54. Today, I am taking you to John chapter 5, to Bethesda Pool, to the House of Mercy. In chapter 5, John takes us to Jerusalem, to a remarkable healing at the Pool of Bethesda. “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews” John 5:1. We’re not told what feast Jesus had come to Jerusalem for, so it’s probably a minor feast. The Pool of Bethesda John describes the scene of this “Third Sign” as you would expect an eyewitness to do for readers who hadn’t been to Jerusalem. “Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate,” John writes in John 5:2-3, there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed, and they waited for the moving of the waters.” Bethesda means “The house of mercy.” It was near the Sheep Gate, the gate through which the sheep traveled on their way to be sacrificed in the temple, just north of the temple precincts. The pool of Bethesda is an interesting place. For the longest time, scholars believed that this pool had never existed, because archaeologists hadn’t found any sign of it. But then, in the nineteenth century, an archaeologist discovered a pool, which he thought was the one described in John chapter five. Further excavations, in 1964, confirmed that the pool had been found, and that it was part of a collection of waterworks that included the so-called “upper pool” (Isaiah 7:3) of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Pool, as it was the case of many other pools, was used for ritual purification purposes, where Jerusalem’s pilgrims would gather to purify themselves for worship. In fact, when I visited Israel in 2017, I visited the remains of Bethesda Pool. The location is just as John described. But pilgrims to the city were not the only ones who came to the Pool of Bethesda. It was also believed to be a center for healing. John explains in John 5:3-4 “In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed, and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.” An Ill Man for 38 Years In John 5:5-9, John introduces us to the subject of Jesus’ healing that day. Of all the wretched people gathered at poolside that day, Jesus chose this one man. “One who was there had been ill for thirty-eight years. 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?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” We’re not told of the man’s particular problem, but we know he had been ill for 38 years. His was a hopeless situation. He was totally paralyzed. Most likely, he was brought to the pool by family or friends and picked up at the end of the day. Today and next time, we will be looking at the healing of this man and draw some practical lessons for our lives today. First: A Story of God’s Abundant Grace This man’s story is a story of God’s mercy and grace. There’s a very good chance that this man – with his disability – would have come to the Pool of Bethesda until his dying day. It’s very likely that, if Jesus hadn’t intervened, nothing would have changed for this man. We need to remember that this man wasn’t searching for Jesus. It seems that Jesus was the furthest thing from his mind. Truth be told, the Lord was searching for him. There’s a basic spiritual truth here. On our own, by our own reason or strength, we don’t seek the Lord. As a matter of fact, we avoid Him. On our own, His Word and His ways seem to be foolishness to us and we cannot understand them. As He always does, Jesus took the first step. Our Lord Jesus Christ always takes the initiative. We’re not sure why Jesus choose this particular person. One thing we know, he found mercy and grace in the eyes of God. In spite of this man’s hopelessness, the Lord shows up against all hope. Second: Our Hope is in a Person Not a Place The man came to the Pool of Bethesda to receive healing and wholeness. This man’s focus was on the pool, rather than on Jesus, the Messiah. He put his faith in the so-called healing waters. Yet, this man’s life was transformed by a Person who arrived unexpectedly and who left just as unexpectedly. The waters of the pool, which, for so long, he believed were the key to his healing, played no part in what happened. The plans he made for himself were very different from the plans Jesus had for him. As it turned out, this man didn’t have to work for his healing. He didn’t pay for it. He didn’t deserve it. He simply obeyed the Word. At end of the day, wholeness wasn’t to be found in this pool, despite the commonly-held belief. At the end of the day, wholeness and healing was found in Christ and in Him alone. The man’s infirmity is symbolic of sin and what sin does to people. As we’ve seen, the man had convinced himself that his healing depended on his own efforts and initiative. Friends, God salvation is offered by grace alone. It’s completely and totally undeserved. We are spiritually blind and dead and enemies of God. Without God’s intervention, we would die in our sins. “Do you want to be healed?” “Do you want to get well?” “Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation” 2 Corinthians 6:2. I will stop here today and will say more next time. Amen. PrayerLord Jesus, we have sensed this morning that we are here, like a great multitude lying by the pool of Bethesda, waiting to be healed; trying various ways and means, hoping somebody will help. We have not yet listened to that wonderful voice that says to us in the inner heart, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” Grant that we will do so from this moment. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
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Psalm 102:18-28; John 4:43-54
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood words, not only in our culture today, but also in the church itself is the word “faith.” What is faith? Probably the most famous example of “faith” in the popular imagination and American culture today is Indiana Jones in the 1989 movie The Last Crusade. He has to get across this seemingly bottomless chasm. His dying father, Sean Connery, is whispering “You must believe boy, you must believe.” So Indiana Jones summons up this heroic amount of faith, and he courageously extends his foot out and falls into the chasm. But then, thud, his foot lands on solid ground. The camera pans around and you can see a rock bridge that had been invisible to him before. Indiana Jones had summoned up enough faith to get across the chasm. And people think, that’s faith! It’s a leap in the dark. Is that how you have thought of faith? A leap in the dark? As much as I love that scene from The Last Crusade, I believe John’s gospel is here to tell us what real faith is. In John’s gospel faith is walking into the light with our eyes wide open. And we do it because we’ve seen the signs and followed them to the true Light of the world. John tells us at the end of His gospel why he wrote it: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” John 21:30-31. So that’s our hope as we study Jesus’ second miraculous sign in John chapter 4. That we would believe in Jesus this morning. The Problem of the Desperate Royal Official This is what we read in John 4:46-47, “Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.” Here is a powerful man; a “Royal official.” He was used to getting things done. This man’s son is sick. What do you think his first response will be? Well I’m guessing here, but I imagine the story went a bit like this. His son got sick and he thinks, well I’ll pay for the best doctor and we’ll get this sorted. His doctor comes, his doctor fails. His son gets worse. So he pulls a few strings and gets the king’s own physician. Still no improvement. Instead his son gets worse. Where does he turn? Well, maybe he’s got a contact at the imperial court who can put him in touch with the best of Roman medicine. Surely the Romans can sort this out. But they can’t. And his son is now on his death bed. It’s hard to think of something as tragic as a father planning the funeral of his son. It should be the other way around. Can you put yourself in the shoes of this otherwise powerful man? The royal official is brought to the end of his powers. And when you come to the end of yourself, that’s where faith comes. Because faith must mean you shift your allegiance. You used to trust something else, now you trust Jesus. A Journey from the Shifting Sands to the Solid Rock The man heard about Jesus. He leaves his son’s death-bed and makes the long journey from Capernaum to Cana. He had begun to make the journey from the shifting sands of his own resources and to put his trust in the solid Rock of Jesus. Yet, John 4:50 is such a surprise. A day’s journey for this royal official, the worry about his son, the expectations about Jesus – what’s going to happen? Jesus simply dismisses him again in 5 words. “Go; your son will live.” The man said, “Come to Capernaum with me and heal my son!” but Jesus said, “Go; your son will live.” That’s not what the royal official expected. The royal official takes Jesus at his word – and he acts on the basis of that faith. Then later this faith was confirmed – Jesus really was able to do what He said. This is how faith works. You trust Jesus. You move out in faith. You see how trusting Jesus makes sense of life and in that confirmation your faith increases and so you trust Him a bit more. And on it goes. Faith is continual. This story reminds us of the story of the Syrian army captain, Naaman, who had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-19). His servant girl, a Jewish slave, told him about Elisha the prophet, who could cure him of his leprosy. He was desperate, so he put together a nice reward and went to the prophet. He expected Elisha to come out to him, stand and call on the name of the Lord, wave his hand over him, and heal him. But instead, Elisha didn’t even come out of the house. He sent his servant out to tell this important man to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and his leprosy would be cured. Naaman was furious. This wasn’t what he expected. Besides, the rivers in Syria were better than the lousy Jordan. So he went away in a rage. But then his servants appealed to him and said (2 Kings 5:13), “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So Naaman went and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan River and was cured of his leprosy. He believed the word of the prophet, obeyed, and was healed. J. C. Ryle points out that Christ’s word is as good as His presence. Friends, the royal official comes to Jesus with Galilean “faith,” looking for a miraculous sign, but ends up going deeper to believe in Jesus as the Christ. Do you realize that your biggest need this week is to trust Jesus? Think about it for a second. What do you think of as your greatest need for this week? Now think of all the possible saviors you might look to, to provide you needs. Money? Power? Intelligence? Beauty? Charm? Hard work? Family? Friendships. Well Jesus offers Himself to you again this week as you all in all. He says trust ME – I am the God who speaks and it happens. I am the God who raises the dead. I can handle this week, trust me. Continually. Our biggest need this week is to trust Jesus. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen! First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood 21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, October 6, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street Blackwood, NJ 08012 Sermon Notes (Sunday, September 29, 2019) Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pasto 2 Kings 4:8-37; John 4:43-54 This morning we continue our study on the “Seven Signs” Jesus did and recorded to us in the gospel of John. The last couple Sundays, we looked at the First Sign, turning the water into wine at a wedding in Cana, found in the gospel of John 2:1-11. In John 2:11, John concludes the First sign by saying, “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” The Second Sign is found in John 4:43-54. It is the healing of the royal official’s son. One important element of sound Biblical teaching is the importance of looking at the setting, the context, of a certain Scripture passage. We did that all summer long when I preached on the “Seven I am Statements” of Jesus also in John’s gospel. So, what is at stake here in John 4:43-54? Well, Jesus got to spend the last two days in Samaria. The time in Samaria was spectacularly successful. It appears that the whole town of Sychar was turning to Jesus as the Messiah and the Savior of the world. The focus in Samaria was not on Christ’s miracle-working power, but on His word. “We have heard him for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” John 4:42 stated. This is a better response than anything Jesus has gotten among His own Jewish people. Strange. But who are the Samaritans? The Samaritans or the Shamerim (שַמֶרִים), means the “Guardians, Keepers, Watchers (of the Torah.” Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Ephraim and Manassa, two sons of Joseph as well as from the Levites. The Samaritans only accepted the 5 Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). I think John did a great job in the introduction of the Second Sign setting the stage to compare the response of the Samaritans, the less religious, to the response of the Jews to Jesus’ message. Jesus is back to Galilee where Jesus grew up in Nazareth. Though less religious, the Samaritans were able to grasp Christ’s message. Think about those examples of the Samaritans in the Bible: The Samaritan woman in John 4 whose life was transformed by God’s grace; the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 who showed love, compassion, and generosity to a stranger; and the Samaritan leper in Luke 17:16 who showed gratitude for receiving God’s healing and came back to offer thanks to God. Remember Jesus just a few days back did His first miracle in Cana. About 15 miles east from Cana was Capernaum where the royal official with the sick son in this story lives. So Galilee is Jesus’ homeland in a special sense. He just left Samaria, which is not his homeland, and turning now to His own stomping grounds. Here is what John says in chapter 4:43-44 “When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). In John 1:11 says, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Yet, Christ intends to keep offering Himself to His own, and overall His own will not receive Him. Welcoming Without Welcoming But there is a strange thing that we see here and might need explaining. Jesus stated that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country. Yet, John 4:45 says that when Jesus came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him.” The answer is that the “welcome”—the reception—is not what it looks like on the outside. There is a kind of receiving Jesus that has no true honor for his person in it. It’s just an interest in His signs and wonders. It was a false faith, a superficial “welcoming” or “receiving” of Jesus. John 7:3-5 state that not even His brothers believed in him. A Royal Official Shows Up It is in the midst of disbelief that we see a believing heart. A royal official shows up at the end of verse 46. There’s no indication of the official’s nationality or background, his religious conviction or his worthiness—only his faith. He had heard of Jesus, and His miraculous power, and begged Him to come and heal his dying son. Jesus didn’t go with him but simply told the man his son would live. The man took Jesus at His word and departed for home. The next day, while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his son had recovered. From their discussion, he learned that his son had been made well from the very time he had spoken with Jesus. Because of this He and all his household became believers, saved by grace through faith. What Keeps Us from Seeing Jesus’ Glory? Least we become like the Galileans, I want us this morning to think about an important question. What keeps us from seeing Christ’s glory? Now none of us is part of Jesus’ hometown. So you may think this doesn’t apply to us. Yet, the Church today could be Jesus’ hometown. We may fall in the same trap the Galileans fell into during Jesus’ time. So let’s be aware of two dangers:
I will stop here today, but I will say more next week, Lord willing, an0ut the faith of the royal official and how we can take Jesus today at His word. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen! r |
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