Talk
We’re walking through The Book of John. Today, there’s a special treat for you because we’re unpacking not just one story– but two miracle stories.
The first one is the miracle healing of that man on the waters of Bethesda, and the second one is Jesus feeding the multitude.
We’ll read the first one from John 5:1
“After this, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, there in Jerusalem, by the sheepgate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda which has five roof colonnades. In this lay a multitude of invalids: the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. All of them were waiting for a certain movement of the water, for an angel of the Lord came from time to time and stirred up the water, and the first person to step in after the water was stirred was healed of whatever disease he had.”
This is not your regular five-star hotel where you swim in the pool.
This is a different water. It’s a water that can heal people and they believe that whoever gets in once the water was stirred would be healed because an angel was stirring.
Now, here’s the story: One man who had been an invalid for 38 years was by the pool of Bethesda.
Let me pause in that moment… The number 38 sounds like simply a random number– but it’s not.
Why 38 Years?
John is making a connection and he’s pointing us to a time in the Old Testament– to Deuteronomy 2:14– where the Israelites themselves had to wait for 38 years to get to the Promised Land.
Why? Because they were waiting for the rebels to die.*
So, John was simply saying, “Look, this is the same moment that the Israelites had to wait. They were “paralyzed” just like the sick man who could not do anything for 38 years.
I’m wondering right now if there’s somebody here that the reason you’re not receiving God’s promise is there’s a paralysis in your heart. There’s a sin, an unforgiveness, and an unbelief that you’re carrying.
I want you to check your heart this week, come before the Lord, and pray:
Lord, search my heart if there’s anything that does not belong here.
I want You to cleanse it because I want to be freed from this spiritual, emotional, and physical paralysis.
*Backstory:
The Israelites were descendants of Jacob who was renamed as Israel.
They lived in Canaan, the land God promised to give their ancestor Abraham for his faithfulness to God.
But following a severe drought in Canaan, the Israelites fled to Egypt where earlier, one of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, became governor. Some
400 years (as estimated by Biblical scholars) after Joseph’s death, the succeeding Pharoah enslaved the Israelites.
God sent Moses, a prophet, to lead the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. But they were unfaithful and rebellious, so God ordered them to wander in the desert for 38 or 40 years (40 symbolizing a generation of man), within which the rebels would die. Only then would they enter back to Canaan, the Promised Land.
Canaan was situated in the territory of the southern Levant, which today encompasses Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, the southern portion of Syria and Lebanon, and Gaza.
Today, there’s an ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, part of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian dispute over territorial rights in Gaza, stemming way back since the Israelites took Canaan (where Palestinians lived) as the Promised Land.
The Healer
Let’s continue the story of the sick man:
“When Jesus saw the sick man lying there and knew that he had already been there
a long time, Jesus said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
That’s a ridiculous question, right? Take note: Jesus is not being sarcastic.
If anything, Jesus is telling us the truth that sometimes there are sick people in this world who don’t want to be healed.
For example: Do you have that friend or a person you know who always seems to have the same problem again and again and again and again and again– like every five years. You would see one another and it’s always the same thing– about the same guy, about the same girl, about the same company, and about the same job.
You have that friend — or maybe it might be you.
It’s like people are in love with their problems and they don’t want to move on. Psychologists refer to this as learned helplessness — when people already accepted as fact that they are sick, and they’ve stopped helping themselves.
But Jesus is asking us today: “Do you really want to be healed?”
I’ve got good Gospel news today. The healer is in the house. Jesus is in the business of healing.
Today, I pray that you receive His healing– whether it’s physical, mental, and spiritual.
But here’s the word that I want you to take home today: Don’t just seek healing.
Seek the One who gives healing. Don’t just seek life. Seek the Life Giver.
Seek Jesus because He’s the one who’s going to give life. He’s the One who’s going to heal you. He’s the One who’s going to provide for you. Let’s pray:
Lord, I came all this way. I traveled all this way. I woke up early this morning just to get here because I need You. I need Your Word.
I need Your wisdom. In this moment, I am your servant. I am your child here to listen. So, speak. Thank You, Jesus. I bless You.
I worship You. I love You. In Your Name. Amen.
Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path
What Leads to Compassion
I just want to acknowledge and express my gratitude as the leader of this Feast for every servant who serves tirelessly and relentlessly every Sunday, without the need to be recognized. Clap your hands for everyone.
You don’t need to know their names but God sees them and God sees you– and that’s more than enough recognition.
Now you’re enjoying the venue, the lights, the air conditioning, and the music. But not everyone knew that before we stepped here onstage, people were already serving the Lord in the background. Some were already here yesterday at 9:00 p.m. As early as 4:00 a.m. today, they were already setting up the stage to make sure that when you come here, you are comfortable as you receive the Word of God.
You will never meet them. Chances are you will never even know their names.
But why am I sharing this? Because I want you to know that it’s important to always know the context. Context leads to compassion. When you understand the context of what the persons beside you are going through, you will have more compassion for them. You will be kinder.
Let’s have context also for our servants who are tireless in their service.
When you see them, thank them. None of them are paid to do this. This is their service to the Lord. They do it out of their love for God and love for you.
Let’s continue with the story:
The sick man answered, “Jesus, Sir.”
When I read that the man said “Sir,” I knew right then and there that this guy had no idea who Jesus was. He didn’t know that Jesus was the Savior.
He only knew Him a sir or as a stranger.
I wonder how many of you are walking in for the first time here at The Feast without any encounter with Jesus. My prayer is that after this, you would know Him as a Savior. You would know Him as your Redeemer.
Helpless But Not Hopeless
The sick man said, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Here’s the context: In this pool, it’s like the Amazing Race (an American television reality competition show) where only the strongest, the boldest, and the mightiest can win the race.
At the Bethesda pool, if you’re not strong enough, you don’t get to go into the water.
The problem of this man was: “I have no one to put me into the water when it is stirred.”
Maybe, that’s the reason Jesus even chose this man. Think about it:
Jesus has a heart for the weak. Jesus has a heart for the last. Jesus has a heart for the least.
I don’t know if some of you here are feeling a bit mighty right now.
I want you to know that the apostle Paul said that God’s power is made perfect in your weakness.
Paul said: “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness.” Why?
He said, “So that the power of Christ may rest in me.”
In God’s Kingdom, the first will be last and the last will be first. God has a heart for those who are weak.
So, brag about your weakness. The problem right now is that in social media, we’re always bragging about being the best. But in God’s kingdom, He chooses the weak. He exalts those who are humble.
What’s interesting about this story is that this guy is helpless– but he’s not hopeless. He was helpless in the sense that he could not get into the pool by himself. But since he was there every day, that means that he had hope.
I don’t know about you, but this is our condition most of the time: We are helpless but we’re not hopeless.
There’s a couple here praying for the longest time to have a child and you’ve got this burning hope that one day God will bless you with that child.
You might be listening online, and this message is for you. You might have that hope deep within you but for some reason, every doctor’s report said that it’s not possible. But you still have this hope. You are helpless but you’re not hopeless.
There’s a single person here who is dreaming that one day, God is going to give you that special person.
What Do You Focus On?
This could also be the situation in our country. Every election, we have hope that we’re going to get the right leaders for our country. Leaders with integrity and with a heart. For some reason, every election, we always get the same persons — greedy and selfish on their agendas. We’re helpless but we’re not hopeless.
Hope is like a rope. When you cling on to that hope, your faith is enough. It really is because if you can cling on to that rope, that rope is unbreakable.
Faith is not just about believing that God can. Faith is about declaring that God will. Hang on to that rope because it’s only a matter of time before grace will show up.
And that’s what happened in the story.
Jesus said to this guy, “Get up. Pick up your mat and walk.”
At once, the man was healed. He picked up his mat and walked.
Here’s the thing: The people who were there were all needy and sick. But they focused on the water so that once it stirred, they could jump in right away.
They were so busy looking at the water that they could not see the Living Water in their midst.
Some of us are so desperate and waiting for a miracle that sometimes, we miss the Miracle Maker in our midst. We miss the Messiah walking around.
How many of you here have been battling some sins in your life and you keep on failing again and again?
How many have been battling pornography but for some reason, you keep on failing. How many of you are struggling with your anger but time and time again, you keep on going back to that same route. How many of you keep on trying to get rid of your addiction of gambling, drinking, smoking, lying, and cheating? But for some reason, you keep on backsliding. Maybe, it’s because you’re just too focused on your skills that you never see God’s grace.
Turn to Jesus because only Jesus can save you. Only Jesus can rescue you.
Once Jesus shows up, everything shuts up. Fear shuts up. Cancer shuts up. Evil shuts up. Doubt shuts up.
Because once the healing Messiah comes in, everything just starts working.
Warning to Servants and Me
Take a look at this: Everybody by the Bethesda pool was waiting for the water to stir. None of them were focused on Jesus and Jesus was right there. They’re missing the miracle.
That day was the Sabbath. The Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, Brother.
It is not lawful for you to pick up your mat.”
The context of this one is that the Jews had this rule that on Sabbath day, you were not allowed to carry anything heavier than the clothes on your back.
So, carrying a mat that was even light was prohibited. It was unlawful.
This man was just healed. Everybody wasn’t looking for the Man who healed this sick man. They were looking for the man who told this guy to carry his mat.
Talk about disorder priorities. This is us. How many times, my dear Friends, have you had disordered priorities in your life? Where you’re looking at something, but God is already there in the miracle.
For example, we get so caught up and blinded by the traditions of our culture, religion, and rituals. They’re great. They’re miraculous. But I need you to pay attention to what’s more important than the rituals of religion: a relationship with Jesus. More than the rituals that you perform, it’s the relationship with Jesus that really matters.
This is a crucial warning for all of us, especially to me and people who are serving in ministry.
Servants, listen to this: Sometimes we get so caught up with the perfection and excellence of our event that we want to make sure that everything works — the lights are good, the music is good, and everybody is seated perfectly.
We get so caught up with the excellence of the event that we miss what is important. We all know that there is no such thing as a perfect event.
I’m looking right now at Vince, our sound supplier. We know– and every servant here knows, especially the music ministry– that sometimes the mics don’t work. Sometimes, the LED doesn’t work. Sometimes, the teleprompter is not on time. Sometimes, even the servants don’t show up. But that’s okay. Why?
Because we’re not after perfection. We’re after progress — that every day we just get a little better. We get a bit more loving. We get a bit kinder. We get a little more forgiving.
Perfection at The Feast
Do you see what I mean? Imagine me stepping here on stage– and if everything that I’m just doing here is not working, I get frustrated– then I’m missing the miracle. I’m missing what God
is doing here in this place.
Perfection at The Feast is not everything working together– but the Presence of God in this place. His ministering, healing, and speaking.
That is perfection in God’s Kingdom.
I don’t want to get lost in the moment where
I’m so frustrated and discouraged that I’m missing the miracle God is doing. Open your eyes to see what the Lord is doing. That is perfection.
This is the irony of the story. The rule said that it’s unlawful to carry around anything that’s heavy. Carrying even just a single mat is unlawful.
But think about this: Every day, people had to carry this sick man from his house all the way to the colonnade, and then pick him and bring him back to his home. Yet, none of the religious leaders said that was unlawful. None of them complained. The only time they complained was when the man was carrying the mat on a Sabbath.
If you really understand the Gospel, you will realize that Jesus was not adding work. If anything, Jesus was reducing work. This man needed to be carried back and forth every day– even on a Sabbath. But on this day, he didn’t need to be carried back home. He could walk on his own two legs because he was healed.
And that’s what Jesus was saying: “Every Sabbath day, you can rest because
I am at work. You can rest because I’m in control. You can rest because God is in charge.
Real rest is when you can say: “Lord, I can sit down here comfortably without thinking about tomorrow because I know that you’re already in my tomorrow blessing my day.”
That’s what Jesus does. Real rest means you don’t have to wrestle for every blessing– unlike the people in that colonnade were doing, thinking that the blessing was scarce.
God says to somebody here today: “You’re already blessed.”
God is also saying you don’t need to prove yourself before every hater and every doubter in the world. Because God says to you today: “You’re already worthy.”
I can sit back and relax because I know the Lord will take care of me. That is Sabbath.
The Second Miracle
Now, John is switching gears in Chapter 6. We’re going to move to the second miracle story– The Feeding of the Multitude:
“The Passover, the Feast of the Jews was at hand. Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, one of the disciples, “Where are we to buy bread so these people may eat?”
There’s a Passover story in the Book of John. He mentioned it three times which confirms that the ministry of Jesus lasted for three years– one Passover for each year.
For the Jews, Passover was such a big thing. This was like their Easter celebration. They would gather as a family and as a community and they would eat lambs. They would talk about the days when their ancestors were rescued from slavery — that fateful night when their ancestors took an unblemished lamb and slaughtered it. Then they covered the doorposts of their house with the lamb’s blood so that the angel of death would pass over their homes.*
*Backstory: God sent Moses to save the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. But the Pharoah did not want to let them go.
So, God sent 10 plagues to Egypt to make the Pharoah release the Israelites. The tenth plague was an angel of death would pass by every house in Egypt to kill the firstborn children– which would have included the Pharoah’s firstborn child.
To spare the Israelites of the plague, God told Moses to tell the Israelites to paint the blood of an unblemished lamb on their doorposts, so that the angel would know that Jewish people lived there and thus pass over their house. So, to save his child, the Pharoah let the Israelites go– in what we now know as the Exodus.
Sacrificing of the lamb was a foreshadowing and symbolism pointing to Jesus as the ultimate sacrificial lamb– the True Lamb of God because His sacrifice on the Cross provided eternal redemption and forgiveness for all who believe in Him.
Bread for All
Some 1,400 years later, Jesus was talking to a crowd and He was in a meal. But the difference was there were not just a few people– but 20,000.
The Bible says there were 5,000 men, not including the women and children. Now, Jesus was in a family meal and He was talking to them about the rescuing.
Do you remember anything that points to the Old Testament?
Jesus said: “Where will we buy bread to feed them?”
Then, Jesus multiplied just five loaves and two fish. What is that pointing to us?
The time when the Israelites were in the desert and they were hungry and they said, “Lord, provide for us.”
What did God do? He started sending bread or manna. It was raining bread in the desert. Now, Jesus was into that same miracle:
“So, they gathered them and filled up 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”
What does 12 mean? It’s not a random number. It signifies the 12 tribes of Israel. What is the message?
This is wonderful: God was simply telling everybody then, and He’s telling all of us now, that in His family, everybody eats. In His family, everybody gets a taste of His grace. In His family, everybody goes home with basket full of blessings:
When they found him on the other side, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you: You are seeking me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loads.
You want more bread. Do not work for food that perishes but instead food that endures to eternal life which the son of man will give you. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall not perish.”
Jesus is the manna coming to the people. He’s the Living Bread. You want to know what they did? They started grumbling.
The Jews grumbled about Jesus because He said, “I am the bread that came from Heaven.”
The Jews were like, “That’s it? I want more of that bread that you just gave me.
Is this it? Is this the kind of life that I’m going to live, Jesus? This is the only blessing that I get?”
That’s the same kind of complaint that the Israelites had in the desert– day after day, as the manna came flying down from Heaven.
Some of them started complaining, “Lord, is this it? No peanut butter?”
But We’re Never Satisfied…
When God blesses you with the same blessing every day, you’re going to get tired of that blessing and you’re going to start complaining to God. We’re never satisfied.
Jesus is saying: “I’ve got bread that will last you forever.
But we say, “No. Jesus, I want ordinary bread that will satisfy my hunger now.”
Let me close with this analogy:
I don’t have my phone because my kids are using it.
My wife flew to Korea yesterday, so I’m taking care of our two kids right now– by myself. Please pray for me.
I have six days to take care of the kids by myself, but God is there. Grace will show up.
The other day, I got a blessing because it was retention for my service provider.
Shout out to Globe! It’s not an endorsement but I got a new phone.
The first thing that I did when I got the phone was I went to the nearest store, and I bought a phone case and a screen protector.
When we have something brand new, we like to cover it up. We like to keep it safe. Have you ever had those moments when you have a brand-new thing and then suddenly, you drop it?
I have this personal rule that I started many years ago: Whenever I own something or buy something, I make sure that I use it. I’m not judging you because maybe this is our difference. There are some who like to use expensive stuff. If you can afford it, it’s okay.
But I just don’t get the idea of some people who own stuff, but they use it only every so often. When you do that, you don’t own things. Instead, things own you. I love using stuff. Until the very last breath of that thing, I will use that. If I can’t use it anymore, I give it to those who can use it.
Going back to my phone. I put stuff in my phone, and I covered it up to protect it. I used to own a gadget store. That was my first business. I would import gadgets and there were a few clients who would come and buy the latest iPhone that costs about P80,000.00. Some of them would call me and tell me that their iPhone fell and the screen got damaged, and they were willing to trade to buy a new one.
A lot of us have that kind of culture that whenever new things would get ruined, we want to replace it. That’s the culture of consumerism. That’s the reason you’re always attracted to the upgraded version. They will never create the perfect product because you will never have a need to buy another thing again. They will always put something that has limitations.
How You Win
When a product comes out, they will tell you, “This one has a different charger. This one has a different size.”
But the thing is, they’re just recycling everything. But because it’s new, you’ll want that thing– until you realize that your hunger is never satisfied.
I could very well say the same thing about where you get your joy from. If you’re getting your joy, love, and happiness from things and people, I guarantee you that very thing that gives you joy will also take the joy out from you once it leaves, once it breaks, once it gets stolen.
Jesus says, “If I have you and if you have me, your thirst and hunger will be satisfied– till the very last drop.”
In Him, you will never hunger, thirst, crave for anything else– because once you have Jesus, you feel like you have everything. You may not have everything but with Jesus you feel like you are the king of the world. You are a winner in this world because Jesus is our everything.
Don’t just seek blessings. Seek the Blesser. Don’t just seek for healing, seek the Healer. Don’t just seek for miracles, seek the Miracle Maker. Don’t just seek life, seek the One who can give you life today. The One who can enrich your soul.
The One who can say: “I love you. You’re my child. You’re my son.
You’re my daughter.”
Put your hand over your heart. Close your eyes, feel the Presence of the Lord in this place and say:
Thank You Jesus for Your Word.
Thank You for Your wisdom in this moment. I breathe Your mercy. I breathe Your love.
I Thank You that whatever I need shall be supplied according to Your glorious riches. Today, I trust that I can rest because You are doing the rest.
You are in charge. You are sovereign.
Thank You, Jesus. Amen.
