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The Hebrew word “Bethzatha” means “House of Mercy”.
Many ill, blind, lame and paralyzed people gathered around the pool called Bethzatha hoping to receive mercy.
The pool was inside the Sheep Gate.
The Sheep Gate and the pool inside it remind me of Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1-3)
Inside the Sheep Gate, they wanted to be healed. They wanted to be restored. They wanted mercy.
But the pool was anything but a place of mercy.
This is what the man said when Jesus approached 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. (John 5:8)
There was no one to help him. Everyone was looking after themselves.
A place meant for healing became a place without mercy.
People believed that when the water in the pool was stirred up, they would be healed if they went into it.
So all sorts of people gathered by the pool, waiting for it to be stirred up.
Getting into that pool became the goal, the thing people chased after.
What is the stirred water for you?
What do you think will make you well? What’s missing in your life that will make it better?
Is it good health? Is it money? Is it popularity and the praise of others?
Will these things truly make you well?
All of these things might help. They definitely make life easier. But can they restore your soul and make you well?
We put so much effort into these things. We chase our own version of the stirred water.
Obtaining your stirred water doesn’t make you a bad person. The problem is that your blind pursuit of it contributes to a merciless world.
This is the problem that the ill man in this passage faced.
Anytime the water stirred up, there was a stampede. Everyone was fixated on getting into that stirred water.
Only the fittest and fastest could get in. The ill man was left behind as everyone else rushed to get in.
The ill man shared everyone’s belief that he could get well only by getting into the pool.
But because he couldn’t get into the pool, he met Jesus. If he was able to get in, he would not have met Jesus.
That is such wonderful grace!
Jesus saw the man.
Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time… (John 5:6)
Until this time, no one even really saw him. He was just part of the background.
Jesus saw him and made him well with the power of his words: stand up, pick up your mat and walk!
Jesus restored mercy by the pool of Bethzatha.
Our sin is not indifference. Our sin is chasing after the stirred water.
That chase makes us blind to the need of others. Indifference is the result.
Our sin is making the stirred water an idol. A replacement and substitute for God.
Idolatry was the first commandment that God gave to the Israelites.
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. (Exodus 20:3-5)
We’ve made the blind pursuit of stirred water our idol. The stirred water is the thing you believe will make you better.
But like the stirred water for the ill man, it is elusive and out of your grasp.
There’s always more money to be made. Better health to achieve. More approval or acceptance to gain.
That pursuit makes this world a less merciful place.
It leaves no room for the needs of others. There’s no time to stop and help the person in need.
Jesus went to Jerusalem for a festival. He could have gone anywhere in Jerusalem.
He could have attended some nice exhibits. Enjoyed time with friends and family.
But he chose to go to the Sheep Gate. The Sheep Gate was a wretched place.
It was not a happy place. It’s a place people wanted to leave as soon as they could.
But he chose to go to that most wretched place. And there, he approached the man who was always left behind. He went to the least among the least.
In that most wretched place, the least among them experienced mercy.
In that most wretched place, grace and truth were present in Jesus.
My friends, when you’re in that most wretched place, don’t chase the stirring water. Don’t create false idols.
Seek Jesus. Hear him knocking at your door. Hear his voice asking if you want to be made well.
Receive the grace and healing that only Jesus can give.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Our souls are made well only in him.
As I was preparing this sermon, I realized that it is exactly five years since I got ordained as a minister. Five years. They’ve flown by.
We had a wonderful ordination of Rev. Dave just last month. I still remember mine.
It was one of the happiest days of my life. It was such a joy because I was able to be ordained in this church.
I am so thankful for this church, this community.
It was this church that welcomed me back into faith. It was the place I was able to wrestle with my own calling.
Many of you were there when I shared the testimony of my calling. It was the place I experienced so much joy in my ministry as a youth pastor.
It’s a place I’ve met so many wonderful people. All of you whose support I feel through prayers and your service.
During the dark days of COVID, many of you pulled together to keep our community strong.
I appreciate everything this community is. I am so thankful for it.
I know that many of you appreciate it too. I hear many comments like “I love this community”. “I appreciate it”.
But as I reflected, I realized something: the community can become the stirred water that we chase after.
We can fall in love with the community and forget about God. The community can become an idol that replaces God.
Instead of seeking God, we seek after the comfort of the community.
I must confess and ask whether I too have been complicit in making the community the center over God.
My friends, the community is a gift from God. It’s the place we experience the grace of God.
But it cannot replace God.
Ministry has been very challenging. In the midst of joy have been many difficult moments.
When I look back on the most wretched times, the community helped, but ultimately it is God who helped me.
It is Jesus who took me out from the miry depths and made me well.
Certainly, God used people in the community to help. An encouraging word. An act of kindness.
But only Jesus restores your soul and makes you well.
In the next five years of ministry, I want to make Jesus the center.
I want this church to be the living Body of Christ.
I want this church to be a place where people come to Jesus to be healed. To get to know him and his teachings.
I want the Word of God to be central in who we are and what we do.
I want this church to be a true house of mercy.
Bethzatha was a place where sick people gathered. We are all sick people in need of healing. We are sinners who need forgiveness.
I want this church to be a place where sinners come to seek mercy from Jesus.
A place where we experience the grace and mercy of Jesus. A place where we see the suffering and needs of others. A place where Jesus lives in us and where we can be the presence of Jesus for one another.
Repent and turn away from chasing stirred water.
Turn toward and seek Jesus.
In everything you do, seek Jesus. He will make you well.
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