A Different Look at John 5:1-9

Of all of the different stories of the people Jesus healed, perhaps one of the most overlooked is the one found in John 5:1-9. Most of the time, when we read this passage, we focus on what happened in verses 9-15, after the healing took place. Most Bibles give this story a heading of “The Healing At the Pool.”

While Jesus was in Jerusalem for a feast, he passed by a pool called Bethesda, and saw a disabled person laying there. In verse three of this passage it mentions that a “great number of disabled persons” used to lay there. This is a noted fact for a reason. If this was a known place to find disabled persons, it would appear that Jesus was seeking out their company. It’s possible that others may have knowingly avoided this area because of this fact. But Jesus, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, made a point to spend time with disabled persons.

In verse five, we meet a man who had been an invalid 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?”

 “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.” (John 5:6-7, NIV)

When you think about it, these two verses are not necessary to the main point of the story, which is the healing of the disabled man. Jesus could have healed him immediately. Instead, he instigated a conversation, and heard his story first. Why? Well, because all scripture is God-breathed, every word in the Bible holds purpose and meaning. So what is the purpose of including this man’s story?

Imagine his words coming from the mouth of a disabled person you know and care about. “I have no one to help me…while I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

 Think for a moment, how it would feel, sitting by the side of the pool of Bethsaida in Jerusalem in the early first century A.D. Feel the breeze on your face and the heat on your back, the hard ground beneath you. Suddenly, the pool begins to stir, and your eyes light up with the chance of healing. Eagerly, you begin dragging yourself to the water’s edge, intent on doing everything you can to make it to the water.

And then…Someone cuts in front of you, passing you without a glance. And your heart begins to sink, because you see how futile it is. You have no one to help you, and you can’t make it on your own.

And then a man stops in front of you, eyes compassionate, with a gentle look on his face and says, “Do you want to get well?”

After you tell your story, the man says to you; “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk,” And you are cured at once.

A few main ideas come to mind after an examination of these verses, the first being this; The disability community is one that is often ignored. The second; No matter who else ignores the disabled community, Jesus will always see them and always be their advocate.

If we are to further the kingdom of Christ and be his hands and feet on the earth, then we must be ruled by compassion. Everything we do must be fueled by love.

When we fuel our actions with love, we are drawn into a deeper relationship with Christ, and find a more acute level of empathy with others. That coworker you don’t like becomes another person in your eyes. Now you see them for what they are- a human being created in the image of God who needs to know their savior. The same is true of people affected by disability.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) The scriptures echo over and over again that love is imperative in ministry.

 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” 1 John 4:20

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-18) dictates that we begin our ministry in our own backyards, our own communities, our own workplaces and schools. Combine this with the Luke 14 Mandate, (Luke 14:12-24) which encourages ministry alongside those affected by disability, and we have a directive to begin with the disabled persons in your immediate surroundings.

Going back to our original passage of John 5:1-9, it’s apparent that some of the people by the pool made a deliberate effort to cut in front of the disabled man, going in front of him, taking for themselves what he needed assistance to reach. It’s possible that some didn’t see him there, crawling forward. If this is true, then they missed a chance to observe and assist a fellow child of God.

But consider the other possibility. What if they saw his stretching towards the water and ran past him on purpose? What if they intentionally took advantage of his physical weakness?

What about us, in the present day? What if a disabled person sat on the edge of a swimming pool in the middle of the Bible belt, and tried to reach the water? Would someone offer a hand? Alert the lifeguard, and secure their assistance? Or would they sprint past, either unintentionally or deliberately, denying the man both help and recognition?

These are important questions to ask, because the body of Christ needs all of His people, not just the ones that society deems to be presentable. (1 Corinthians 12:23)

So what the take away here? How do we love those affected by disability? Follow Jesus’ example. Listen to their story. Don’t try to ‘fix’ their situation until you know what it is. Be willing to listen to what they have to say. Empathize with them, and take the time to be their friend, don’t just start spouting scripture at them.

Something that made Jesus somewhat unusual in his time was that he spent a substantial amount of time building connections with people. He empathized with people without condescending to them. He confronted brokenness and embraced the brokenness. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He laughed with people and cried with others. He was very emotionally involved with people, and that’s why he gained followers. Because He was a friend when no one else was.

All of his disciples had a different form of brokenness. He broke bread with them anyway. The woman with the alabaster jar of perfume and the woman at the well were broken, and he was kind to them, took time out of His life to hit the pause button and spend time with people.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which has been lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Taken with the other scriptures we’ve looked at, Luke 19:10 takes on a new meaning. What if what Jesus was seeking and saving was the connection between humankind and God that was lost after the fall? That was when man was separated from God and sin entered the world.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road; to reach people with the love of Christ, we have to be the love of Christ, the hands and feet of Christ himself if we are to have any effect for his kingdom.

The only way to build an all-inclusive ministry is to follow Christ’s example and to love all people equally. Whether they have a disability or not.