7 Miracles in John (3): The Three Sentence Miracle

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

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The Gospel of John records seven miracles. All the miracles had the same purpose, that is, to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine. Water and wine are two totally different elements, but Jesus turned water into wine, this shows us that Jesus is the Lord of creation. He can change the substance of anything. He is the Lord of creation.

The second miracle is the healing of the royal official’s son. The royal official asked Jesus to go with him to Capernaum to heal his son, but Jesus said, “Go, your son will live.” And his son lived. This shows us that Jesus is sovereign Lord over space. With one word, he transcended distance and healed the royal official’s son.

Today, we will be looking at the third miracle in the Gospel of John. This is a miracle of hope for the hopeless. In this miracle, we discover Jesus made three statements: 1st- Do you want to get well? 2nd – Get up! Pick up your mat and walk. 3rd – See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. I entitled this miracle as the “Three Word Miracle”.

I. Do you want to get well? This is a question which ignites hope in the hopeless.

Do you want to get well? This sounds like a question, but reflecting further, we will realize this was not simply a question. Verse 2 tells us there was this place called Bethesda which is surrounded by five covered colonnades and great number of disabled people used to lie there. The people came there for a reason- that is to wait for the moving of the waters. According to legend, 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. We will not debate over whether this is true or not, but one thing is certain, there were many sick people there. The place looked like a hospital because a lot of sick were there. When you go to a hospital today, you find many sick people there and you ask them, “Do you want to get well?” People will say you are asking a senseless question. If I were one of the patients there, I will retort, “Of course! Why do you think I am here!” However we must understand that Jesus is not talking nonsense, because the Lord’s words are full of power, He never speaks needlessly. Why did Jesus ask this question?

The Bible tells us Jesus saw the man lying there, and learned that he had been in that condition for a long time. The man had been ill for 38 years. How many 38 years does a life have? It seems the man had spent his best years lying in his sickbed. How pitiful! Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” From his answer, we realize that the man had lost all hope. He did not say he wanted to get well, he said, “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.” He meant I have no hope.

Thirty-eight years of illness made life lose its meaning for this man. In his heart he thinks, `I am bound to this bed for life.’ Maybe you are wondering why he even came to Bethesda. That’s the contradiction of life. On one hand, we feel like we are hopeless, but in our hearts, we seem to hold on to a little bit of hope, because our God is our hope. Ecclesiastes 3 says God has set eternity in the hearts of men. This is from God. Because we have this sense of eternity from God, we have hope.

For example, many wives have given up on their husbands or vice-versa (husbands have given up hope on their wives). They feel that their spouses will never change, that they will always remain the same. But deep in their hearts they continue to hold on to a little hope, that one day the person will change. Even though the probability is very slim, many wives, many husbands continue to hope. We do not lose hope, because the Lord Jesus is our eternal hope.

Now we must understand more clearly why the Lord Jesus asked him that question. Jesus knew that the man had lost hope, that he had lived for a long time in hopelessness. But in every man’s heart, there remains a tinge of hope. Jesus wanted to renew his hope; for if he loses hope, he loses faith, then he will become truly hopeless.

Brothers and sisters, no matter how great the difficulty is that you are facing, do not lose faith, do not lose hope. I love the word of the father whose son had been demon-possessed in Matthew 17. When Jesus asked him if he believed, the man replied, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.” I believe, but I don’t have enough faith.

May the Lord help us! Our faith, our hope may be small, but let us ask from the Lord! “Do you want to get well?” This question ignited hope in the hopeless. This question made the man realize what he really needed. What he needed was healing, not going down into the pool. Going down into the pool was only a method, but our Lord is Almighty God, he has amazing way of helping us. Brothers and sisters, do not limit God and his work, believe only in Him and you will see His glory.

II. Get up! Take Up Your Mat and Walk. – This is a command to not turn back

This is Jesus’ second command for the man. This command can be divided into two parts: The first part is `Get up.’ This is a command. `Take up your mat and walk.’ This is the second part. This second part completes the healing. If he didn’t obey Jesus’ command to walk, the 38-year invalid’s healing wouldn’t be complete.

1. Get up – This is the first command. How could an invalid, who had been lying in bed for 38 years, get up! But the Lord told him to get up and he was able to get up. I recalled Acts 3. Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth. The man was already 40 years old, he had never walked a step all his life, but when the apostles told him: `In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!’ He walked.

Brothers and sisters, no matter how long you had been sick (whether it is a physical or spiritual illness), as long as the Lord commands you to get up, you must get up, because you can get up. Sometimes, we are not willing to get up. Have you ever seen patients who are unwilling to get up? These patients want to lie in bed all the time, they want people to take care of them. How pitiful they are! They are unwilling to get up because for them “I am sick, I am pitiful, come help me!” Four years ago, I had undergone surgery. When I came out of the operating room, two tubes were attached to my body, but after a few hours, I stood up to go to the bathroom. My wife refused to let me up, but I said, “I want to get up, because I know I can.” As a result, I got up. The second Sunday after my surgery, I was already up at the pulpit, preaching.

Do not lie down if you can sit; do not sit if you can stand; do not stand if you can move; do not just move if you can walk. Of course, we all understand our own bodies, we shouldn’t push ourselves beyond our limits, but neither should we pamper ourselves too much. It is the same with our spiritual life. The Lord Jesus told the 38 year invalid, “Get up.” God’s power is able to make him get up. I believe when the Lord said that, power filled the man’s body; with the strength given by the Lord, he really stood up. I do not know how long you had been suffering in your spirit; but today, the Lord is telling you: `Get up.’ For as long as you are willing, the Lord’s power can lift you up and make you stand up, are you willing?

2. Take up your mat and walk! – This is the second command. It seems like there is nothing special about this command, because when the 38 year invalid stood up, he was already healed. Since he is already well, why did he have to take up his mat? Once more, it sounds like a needless command, but once more, let me remind you that nothing the Lord speaks is unnecessary. There is always truth in his word.

What does take up your mat mean? It carries at least two meanings:

1. You are totally healed. For 38 years, this man had been lying on a mat. The mat carried his problem, his illness. But once he took up the mat, the circumstances changed. The mat no longer carried his problem. On the contrary, he now carried the mat. While he used to need the mat, now the mat needed him. He has been healed. He has overcome his need for the mat. Whereas, we used to be defeated by our problems, now we defeat them. Family problems, marriage problems are resolved, why? Relying upon the Lord, we take up our problems. If we don’t, the problems will overcome us; that is why the Lord told the man to take up his mat.

2. The Lord didn’t want the man to continue lying on the mat. This piece of mat had been used for 38 years, the man had lived life as an invalid for 38 long years. We, humans, are affected by our habits, whether good or bad. Of course, we have no problem with good habits. But bad habits can negatively affect our whole life. It is wonderful when we become willing to change, but if we aren’t determined, we will surely return to our old ways once we encounter difficulties. This man had been ill for 38 years. Although his condition had been pitiful for 38 years, but because he couldn’t walk, he had people to take care of him. Now that he can walk, he must be responsible for himself; no longer will people take care of him like a nurse; if he doesn’t make a firm determination, he will revert to his mat and seek to be taken care of by others once he meet difficulties.

I have really encountered such a case. He was a young man I met when I first arrived in the Philippines. About 8 or 9 years ago, he came to ask me for help. Of course I helped him. Then, he came back again and again. Later on, I tried to find out about his situation. I discovered that he was using drugs, stealing money, and was driven away by his family. When he came to me again, I rebuked him and he cried saying he was repentant. He asked me to help him. He promised that he would change. I helped him once more. Later on, I paid for him to enter a rehab center. He stayed in the rehab center for a year, and started to change. I felt so happy, but when I was about to send the payment for his second year there; the people there told me he had escaped, because he had gone back to his old lifestyle. Later on, he came back to see me. I didn’t give him any money this time, only some daily necessities. Later on, I discovered he had returned to the company of his old friends. In those 8-9 years’ time, he had once stood up, but he returned to lying down. If the man will not set his will to take up his mat and throw it away, he can never leave that old mat. So, Jesus told the man, “Get up, take up your mat and walk.” Stop lying around; do not return to your old ways.

III. You are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. – This is a warning.

Of course, this command was a warning. From this warning, we realize two things:

1. This man’s sickness resulted from sin – I dare not say carelessly that all sickness is because of sin, because many charismatics often say we are sick because we have sinned, so we don’t need the doctor, only confess your sins and you will be healed. They oversimplify the matter. It is true that some sickness result from sin. Jesus told the 38 year invalid, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you”, meaning, the man became sick because of sin. But in John chapter 9, there was a man who was born blind. Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Thus, we shouldn’t be quick to judge that someone is sick because of sin. When we become sick, we must examine ourselves; if we have really sinned, then we must ask for the Lord’s forgiveness and ask for healing. If it is not because of any sin, we must pray and see the doctor. Jesus didn’t say what sin the 38 year invalid had committed, but Jesus knew that his illness was related to sin. If his sin is not forgiven and resolved, his sickness will not be healed. But praise the Lord, Jesus has the power and grace to forgive sin. Jesus told him: `Get up’, meaning your sins are forgiven, you can get up. As a result, he got up. Praise the Lord, He forgives our sins.

2. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. – This is a clear warning – stop sinning. The Lord forgave him his sin from 38 years ago. The Lord told him, “From now on, stop sinning.” John 8 records a woman caught in adultery. They asked Jesus if she should be stoned to death or not. Jesus didn’t reply but kept writing on the ground. Because the men kept asking him, Jesus answered: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Those who heard began to go away one at a time, until only Jesus and the woman was left; meaning only Jesus would stone her, but Jesus told her, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

All of us were once sinners. All of us have only been forgiven by God. And, we must stop sinning, lest something worse happen to us. To be ill for 38 years is a fearful thing; can anything be worse than that? Yes, to be condemned to hell 3800, 38,000, 380,000 years and suffer eternally! Don’t you think this is the most fearful thing that can happen! The 38-year invalid received healing and forgiveness, but if he only savour the gift of healing and forget the Lord who gave him the healing, he only received grace in the past, and will fail to receive grace in the future and even eternal life. Brothers and sisters, we must not only love the blessings God gives us, we must love the Lord who gives us the blessings, for the Lord is so much more precious than the gifts he gives us.

In this miracle, we heard the Lord uttered three statements:
1. Do you want to get well? This gives hope to those who are lost in hopelessness. Jesus is our hope forever.
2. Get up, take up your mat and walk! This proves that God’s healing was complete. The man could stand up and take up his mat; yet man must also do his part and turn from his old ways;
3. You are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. This warning is issued out of love. It is good when we experience God’s gifts, but to love the gifts and not the gift-giving Lord is the greatest mistake a man can make.

May we not just love the gifts, may we love the Lord, the gift-giver, more!