Unlimited Grace

Guest (Male): Sometimes because we talk so much, rightly so, about the nature of unqualified grace that gets us into the kingdom of God, that we begin to think there's no expectations once we're in the kingdom of God.

And now what is being said clearly is, no, listen. Having been so wonderfully saved, healed, redeemed, not by anything in you, but by the goodness that's in Christ Jesus. Now that you have received that, live it.

Narrator: So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan shares a lesson from John chapter 5.

Dr. Chapell investigates the miracle of Jesus healing the man at the pool. What can we learn about the grace of Jesus, and what is a biblical response to such grace?

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit UnlimitedGrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's book, *The Multi-Generational Church Crisis*. This compelling book asks the question of the church: what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the lesson, "Leaping for Joy."

Bryan Chapell: Do you want to be healed? Now, it seems superfluous. I mean, who wouldn't want to be healed? It's not superfluous. If you have dealt with the complexities of the world and the real tragedies of life, it may be no incidental question at all. Do you want to get well?

Some years ago in St. Louis, there was a firefighter terribly injured and burned in fighting a fire. He lay in the hospital with the prognosis of only a 10% chance of surviving. And despite that prognosis, and maybe because of it, he got a visit from Jack Buck, the legendary sportscaster. And Jack Buck asked him a question according to those who were there at the time. Critical question, simple: Do you want to get well?

He was a firefighter, a professional. He knew what he was facing. After all, his face was disfigured, the skin melting off his limbs, lungs scorched, fingers charred stubs. If he survived at all, the therapies that would get him back to some semblance of normality would be excruciating. And for the rest of his life, he would cause gasps as he walked down the streets and people saw what had happened to him reflected in his current countenance.

Do you want to get well? There was a long pause into which Jack Buck inserted, "If you get well, I'll let you in the broadcaster's booth at a Cardinals baseball game." The fireman nodded yes, he wanted to get well.

But you must recognize that the question about whether or not you want to get well is not always easily answered. After all, if we are stuck in a marriage pattern, an addictive pattern, a sin pattern where it is so much now part of our lives and existence that we cannot imagine the pain of change, we may very well wonder if someone were to ask us, do you really want to get better? Do you want a different path, or do you just want to settle in or even give up? Do you want to get well?

And it may be no easy answer at all. Perhaps that is why in this particular passage, when the question comes in verse six, "Do you want to be healed?" I hope you recognize there is no direct answer ever given. Maybe that's the most important thing as much as this sermon will unfold. Maybe that's the most important thing to note right here at the beginning. Jesus says, "Do you want to get healed?" and there is no answer. And still Jesus helps.

That's a good beginning. After all, if we kind of begin to walk through the passage and say, what are we to recognize here? We are to recognize how long is the reach of Jesus to all kinds of people, including in this particular case, a man who is first totally incapable of reaching back. I mean, that's just, first, a physical expression. You and I recognize verse five, one man was there at the pool of Bethesda who had been an invalid for 38 years.

In the ancient world, that is as long as many people live at all. Virtually his entire life and the lifespan of many, he's been an invalid. And he's there at the pool of Bethesda. We don't have to wonder, by the way, where that is. You can still visit it. You can go, it's right in the very center of Jerusalem, and some shallow pools with some steps leading down to it, obviously been rebuilt over the centuries, but it's still there.

And to imagine here is this man who's, we don't understand why, lame or invalid, but paralyzed in some way, not able to actually get to the pool where there are healing waters, and he's been there who knows how many years of the 38 and he can't get well. It's not just that he's incapable of reaching back to the hand that reaches to him.

We also, as we read the account, recognize there's no one to help him reach out to the hand that reaches to him. After all, if you just kind of go into the account, you recognize he's not the only invalid by the pool. In verse three, in this area called Bethesda lay a multitude of invalids: blind, lame, and paralyzed.

You'd think, well surely somebody would help him out of that multitude. But here's the problem. According to the myth of the time, the first one who got to the pool when it stirred was the one who would get magically, miraculously healed. Nobody wants to help someone else. Not just because you're cruel, but because they're your competition. If you get them to the pool before you, they get the healing and you don't.

But it's not just the invalids who are all around and not helping. We so readily skip by the first verse. After this time of Jesus dealing with the official's son, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. A feast day of the Jews. Tens, maybe hundreds of thousands crushed into Jerusalem.

And you get some sense of the crowd by the fact that when the Jewish authorities later begin to ask the man, "Who healed you?" and he can't answer, the reason he can't answer is because Jesus has melted into the crowd. It's so thick, there's so many people pressing in that even at this pool of Bethesda, which is kind of like right downtown central of Jerusalem, there are just so many people.

But no one helping. He is clearly disabled and alone. That's his condition. More than that, he is a man who apparently does not have the understanding to reach up for what actually could help him. Now we have to deal with it. In many of your Bibles, there's a missing verse four. Did you notice that? It goes one, two, three, five.

Why is that? Well, the earliest manuscripts that we have of the Bible do not include verse four. What in all likelihood happened is some later copyist copying manuscripts of the Bible wanted to explain why the pool was stirring and adopted the local myth. There was an angel that stirred the waters.

Now, there's enough of geological study of this part of the world right now that we know that there were surges in the water because there's very porous rock formations around these pools. So if the rain has fallen recently and the water table picks up, you get surges of water that come into these pools. And the mythology that had developed was that there was an angel stirring the waters.

And whether or not the other people believed it, we do know that this man believed it. After all, he's trusting the superstition to make him well. How many years has he been there? We don't know. But verse seven clearly tells you what he was thinking. In verse seven, the man answers Jesus, "Do you want to be healed?" by saying to him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred, and while I'm going, another steps down before me."

It's a myth, but he's following the superstition. That's his understanding of what will make him better. But the final thing that's so clear is that he does not have the faith that is necessary to heal him. Not just doesn't have the understanding. Every case to this point, when somebody has come to Jesus, they have recognized him for his works, for his signs, some aspect of him, may not have full understanding.

But they come to him seeking help. Yet when this man is asked later by the Jewish authorities, "Who healed you?" do you remember verse 13? Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was. He has not said, "My Lord and my God, please help me." He's just an invalid by the pool, trusting in a superstition with no one to help him. And Jesus helps him.

It's interesting how the help occurs. If you look at that verse six again, just the very end, Jesus asks him, "Do you want to be healed?" Instead of answering the question, the sick man said to him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I'm going, another steps down before me."

This is not an answer. It's a complaint. This is pouting. Now, if you can think of it this way, you're supposed to be doing something, you're trying to get better, and when somebody catches you not doing what you're supposed to be doing, you blame someone else.

Now that's a little more obvious in the way that Jesus addresses him. Again, verse eight, Jesus said to this man who has just said other people won't help me, Jesus says, "Get up, take your bed and walk." Now, forgive me, there's no expression of sympathy here. This "get up" is just one Greek word in the imperative strongly stated: *egeire*. Get up.

It might be compared. Just imagine that you get caught by your dad coming home. You're supposed to be writing a book report, but when he gets there, you're on the sofa watching TV. What are you doing? Well, my friends did not call me with the right page numbers for the chapter that we're supposed to read to do the book report. Your friends did not call you with the right? Get up.

It's kind of what Jesus is saying here. You're blaming other people. I'm just telling you, get up. Now you must recognize there's no request for this. There is no recognition of the sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus. None of that. Jesus just says to him, "Get up," and he gets up and walks.

Two things that John is doing. First, he is telling us of the power of the word of Jesus. It's been expressed from the very beginning. Remember John 1:1? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Here is the very creative power of the universe present in Jesus himself.

And the evidence of it is, this could be tested. This man has been an invalid for 38 years, and Jesus just says to him, "Get up," and he gets up. He speaks and it is so. It's the creative power of God on display in Jesus speaking to this man. But it's not raw power. It is raw power expressed in grace. Talk about not able to make any contribution to your own help and salvation.

I mean, he does absolutely nothing here. He does not ask for help. He does not deserve help. He's not able to get help. And yet Jesus helps him. Why is that so important to us? Because so many people come thinking, "God will accept me through Christ when I get my life straightened out. When I've set things right, when I've learned the customs, when I've learned all the things that I'm supposed to do, then I'll come and commit my life to Christ."

And the Bible is simply saying that's not the right order. Here is somebody totally undeserving and incapable of the grace of God, and it reaches to him. Now, the fact that grace reaches to him does not mean there's no expected response. It is important, however, that you know grace comes first.

Narrator: You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christians. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils.

At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye.

In his new book, *The Multi-Generational Church Crisis*, Dr. Bryan Chapell asks the question: what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research, revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world.

You can request your copy of *The Multi-Generational Church Crisis* when you donate online at UnlimitedGrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: What's the response that's being expected? You know, we almost have to say that we see what's expected by what's absent in this passage. And by that I say, you know and are expecting certain things to occur that don't in this passage. And it's your own heart that's leading you to say, what does God expect us to do in response to this grace that's so unconditional and unqualified?

The first response that's expected of those who've been touched by the grace of God is growth. I mean, I suppose it's obvious, but just consider it for a moment. Verse eight, Jesus says to this man, "Get up, take your bed and walk." Do you hear the little stages? First, just get up. Second, you pick up the bed that you've just been lying here on for so long. And now make some progress. You walk.

But it's more than physical expression. Look at verse 14. Afterwards, Jesus found this man in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well. Sin no more." Grace leads to godliness. There's been a progression. There is an expectation that this grace that has been so overwhelming, so unqualified, so unconditional, so strikes the heart of a man that he will now grow. Not just in his physical walk, but in his spiritual walk with God. See that you sin no more.

Why is that important for us? It's important for us because sometimes because we talk so much, rightly so, about the nature of unqualified grace that gets us into the kingdom of God, that we begin to think there's no expectations once we're in the kingdom of God.

And now what is being said clearly is, no, listen. Having been so wonderfully saved, healed, redeemed, not by anything in you, but by the goodness that's in Christ Jesus. Now that you have received that, live it. Respond to it. Sometimes we talk this way. You know, if we say, "Listen, grace is totally unqualified. I didn't do anything to get it." That what that means is I don't have to do anything now.

Listen, there's a math of the mind that can abuse the gospel that way, that says, "Hey, if God doesn't love me because of what I do, then there's no obligation upon me." But listen, while there is a math of the mind that may abuse the grace of God that way, there is a chemistry of the heart that is far stronger.

And the chemistry of the heart says, if he loves me so much, I want to walk with him. I want to honor him. I want my life to reflect more and more of my gratitude for what he has done. When Jack Buck was dealing with that firefighter and he got past the absolute critical time of his life and death situation, there was still lots of growth that had to occur.

And so Jack Buck returned in later days to the firefighter and brought with him a signed baseball, signed, autographed by Stan Musial. Here's more grace. Here's a baseball. "Now," said Jack Buck to the firefighter, "I expect you to write a letter of thanks. I want you to think of the firefighter. What are his hands like? Charred stubs."

Any change of that condition is going to be excruciating, the therapies required. But it now becomes gratitude that drives him as he in thankfulness for the baseball wants to write a letter. And you know how Jack Buck kept the growth occurring? After the letter was written to Stan Musial, he brought him another baseball signed by Ozzie Smith.

And then another baseball and another baseball, and it became the therapy of writing the thank you letters as gratitude became the driving force of a new life of new health. Listen, grace gets us into the kingdom. It's gratitude that keeps us moving forward as we know we're not earning anything, but our hearts are resonating with the goodness of God.

What should we be grateful for? The order of mercy first. I hope you recognize just as you look at the count kind of in backup view, that grace comes before growth. Jesus is not waiting for this young man to get everything straightened out first. In fact, it seems that there is still much that's a mess.

Growth will come later if it comes at all, but grace comes first. That's different than what people would expect in that day and age. I hope you recognize that what's happening here is we basically have two religious systems on view. One religious system is that which Christ is expressing, which says that a relationship with God is a gift.

It's not something you earn. It's not something you deserve. It's not something you qualify for. Here is God simply extending you life that he would give out of his own heart. There's another system on display. Do you recognize what it is? It's represented by the Jews' pattern of the Sabbath.

Here is a man who has been wonderfully healed. 38 years invalid. Now he gets up. It's a miracle! "What are you doing carrying that bed?" I mean, they're saying this isn't right. It's the Sabbath. You're not supposed to be bearing anything on the Sabbath day. Now, we don't perceive why this was such a deal.

But recognize there are Jewish people everywhere, and they know according to Jewish law, you're not supposed to be carrying burdens on the Sabbath. The fact that this man is carrying his little pallet or whatever it was, is as obvious as a kid going down the hallway in school with water balloons under his arm. I mean, you know something not good's about to happen.

And the Jews seeing this man carry his pallet when nobody else is carrying a burden say, "It doesn't matter. We would rather you follow our customs than have compassion." Religion can just be a burden, you know? It really can. If it's not understanding the life of freedom and goodness that God intends by his grace.

So much of it was just being expressed in what we know about Jewish customs at the time. It's right, you know, that you could not carry a burden. Someone else could carry it for you, though. You could gain by their loss. You could borrow money on the Sabbath, but you could not ask for it. That was a work. You could not put vinegar on your teeth if they were hurting, but you could eat food with vinegar in it.

Rule upon rule upon rule, just ritual and custom that supposedly was qualifying, qualifying for the goodness of God. And here is Jesus operating with a totally different system saying, it's not you qualifying for me that makes you right with God. You're not made right by the rules. You're made right by relationship with me.

Narrator: That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you would like to hear more from Dr. Chapell, you can find a collection of valuable resources at UnlimitedGrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from Pastor Bryan. Please be sure to join us next time as once again, we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace.

This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.