John 5:1-17

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “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.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

John 5:1-17

Jesus goes to Jerusalem and there the scene is set by the Sheep Gate.  At the Sheep Gate there's a pool where many sick people are.  Why are they all gathered there?  Well, it seems as though it has some kind of healing effects.  If you're sick, I'm sure you'd hope to be healed in one way or another.  So, these sick people are all hoping to be healed by this pool.  There is a man lying there who has been an invalid for 38 years and Jesus knew this.  Jesus asks him "Do you want to be healed?"  To this the man replies with the situation he is in.  He wants to be healed but he cannot make his way down to the pool to get healed.  He has no one to help him and there is always someone who gets ahead of him.  Though he was hoping in the healing powers of the pool, he finds himself healed by Jesus.  Jesus merely says "get up, take your bed, and walk" and he is healed.

What's interesting is that Jesus doesn't make a big spectacle out of this.  There isn't some fancy hand waving or parting of the clouds.  There isn't any mention or use of water from the pool either.  Jesus simply says, "Get up, take your bed, and walk."  I am reminded of something I was reading from Prayer by Timothy Keller where he discusses God's words and how his words equate to his actions.  An example given is from Genesis: "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light."  If you compare this to us humans, we can't quite do the same thing.  We can say "Let there be light" but then we have to physically flip a switch for the light to turn on.  God simply says it and it happens.

The next thing that happens is that this man catches the attention of the Jews.  Jesus told him to take up his bed and walk, but this is apparently an unlawful thing to do on the Sabbath.  They bring their complaint to the man who was healed and in his defense he tells them that the man who healed him told him to take up his bed and walk.  Now the Jews are interested in who this healer might be but the healed man did not know that it was Jesus who had healed him.  It is only until later that Jesus finds the man and reveals himself.

What I don't get is why Jesus didn't just reveal himself in the first place.  Why would he go through the trouble to keep himself hidden only to reveal it later.  As far as the story goes, this means that the Jews initially question the man who was healed with no answer as to who healed him.  However, it is only until later that the healed man finds out and tells the Jews who it was that healed him.  The only reason we have is that "Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place".  However, I don't believe that a mere crowd could have stopped Jesus from telling the man in the first place.  Perhaps this displays how busy it was there and Jesus making a point to come and find the man later.

In any case, this will lead to so much more in this wonderful chapter.  I particularly like what he says to the Jews at the end of the chapter.

John 4:43-54

After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

John 4:43-54

To wrap it up, we see Jesus staying there for two more days and then leaving.  When he leaves, he goes to Galilee.  There is a mention by Jesus that "a prophet has no honor in his own hometown".  Isn't Jesus' hometown Galilee?  No, his hometown is Nazareth.  So, instead of going there he is going to Galilee where is he welcomed quite warmly.  These people have seen what Jesus did at the feast, so they know a bit of what he's capable of.

We now meet a man who has a son who is very sick.  This man comes to ask Jesus to heal his son.  Jesus does not immediately heal his son, but instead says "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."  The man still urges Jesus and Jesus says "Go; your son will live."  At this the man believes what Jesus has said and went on his way.  Don't just write this off and think about this for a second.  If you were simply told that the boy is healed, would you believe it?  I'll bet that in his mind he had figured that Jesus would physically come to his son and heal him.  He had already an idea of how this would play out.  Instead, Jesus merely says the word and this man is to believe.  What do you think would've happened if the man continued to urge Jesus to come?  Would this not be a sign of his disbelief?  Belief is not just believing what you would expect to happen but also what you do not expect to happen.  You must believe Jesus himself.  You must believe what he says and what he does.  This man believed Jesus and I think that was quite amazing.

It is actually quite interesting that Jesus even speaks to signs and wonders.  Some may expect these signs and wonders and without them some may not believe.  However, this man believes simply at Jesus' words.  This man believes without signs and wonders.  I would argue that signs and wonders could even mean what this many was expecting.  This many was expecting Jesus to come down to his son in order to heal him.  If you step back and think about that, isn't that odd?  Do you think that Jesus would physically need to be there in order for the son to be healed?  Is physical distance a problem for Jesus?  No, we need to take him at his word.  We need to believe his word which is found by reading his word (the bible).

In any case, the man believes and goes on his way.  He finds out that his son was healed the same hour that Jesus said that his son would live.  At this, not only does the man beleive but also his household.  This little story ends by saying "This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee."

If you look closely, the story actually twice tells us that this man believed.  The first time is at Jesus' own words and the second time was when he realized that his son was healed the same hour that Jesus had said it would happen.  I wonder why this is mentioned twice.  Are both instances different?  Does that mean that he believed, then ceased to believe, then again believed?  Perhaps the difference is in how these two are described.

In the first instance of belief, the man is described as believing "the word that Jesus spoke to him".  However, in the second instance, it just says that "he himself believed, and all his household".  NLT describes the second instance of belief in this way: "And he and his entire household believed in Jesus".  AMP puts it this way: "and he and his entire household believed and confidently trusted [in Him as Savior]".  It seems as though the first instance was merely a belief in what Jesus had said.  However, when it is proven to be true, he actually believes in Jesus and who he truly is.  Perhaps this story proceeds the story of the Samaritan Woman because of this.  Just as the Samaritan Woman comes to believe in Jesus for who he is, this official comes to believe in Jesus for who he truly is.

John 4:27-38

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

John 4:27-38

There are a number of different characters in this story.  The focus was primarily on the Samaritan Woman and Jesus.  We also get to see the Samaritans who enter near the end.  Jesus is speaking and teaching and the Samaritans along with the Samaritan Woman all get it.  In contrast, there is another group that enters the scene midway through this story and that is the disciples.  At the beginning we read that they had gone to the city to buy food.  They return just before the Samaritan Woman leaves and are quite surprised that Jesus is speaking with her.  However, none of them speaks up to ask Jesus why he is even speaking with her.  I guess you could argue their reaction is similar to the Samaritan Woman's initial reaction to Jesus speaking to her.

The Samaritan Woman leaves and the people of the town begin coming to Jesus.  While this is going on, the disciples are urging Jesus to eat.  However, he responds to them in an interesting way which confuses them.  If you think about it, he is answering and responding in interesting ways similar to his conversation with the Samaritan Woman.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
John 4:31-38

They urge him to eat, but he tells them that he has food that they don't know about.  Confused, they ask each other if anyone has brought Jesus some food.  However, in response to their confusion, Jesus tells them about his food.  What is his food?  Jesus says, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work".  There is food and he is eating.  It's really interesting that he describes it as food.  Food is a necessity and without it one would die.  For Jesus, this is what it means to do the will of the Father and to accomplish his work.

Jesus goes on to describe a harvest.  Some may wait for the harvest because it has not yet come, but Jesus corrects this thinking saying that "the fields are white for harvest".  This has to do with his food which is the do the will of the Father.  The disciples are about to get a first hand view of this happening with the Samaritans.

Jesus also zooms in to this harvesting process to talk about the sower and the reaper.  The sower sows the seed and the reaper reaps the fruit.  With regards to the fact that the fields are ready for harvest, he tells the disciples that "Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life".  It is already happening and this is not the time to be waiting for the harvest.  What's also interesting is that the reaper is "gathering fruit for eternal life".  NLT translates it this way: "The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life."  The harvest has to do with people brought to eternal life.  The harvest doesn't have to do with food but with people's eternal life.  This is the food that Jesus is referring to and this is the will of the Father.

This is also a joy.  It is a joy that is shared by both the sower and the reaper.  Even if you are not the one to reap, the sower still takes joy in what is harvested.  Even if the reaper did not sow, it is still a joy.  Jesus continues on this idea.  There is one who plants and another one who harvests.  With regards to the disciples, they are sent to harvest what they didn't plant.  This is their job and they will still rejoice with the sower.  It is certainly a joy to see this take place.

John 4:27-30, 39-42

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:27-30, 39-42

What has just taken place?  Jesus has just done something amazing and it may be hard to see.  This Samaritan Woman began by continually questioning Jesus.  She wondered why he was even talking to her and asked where he would get this "living water" from.  She eventually wanted the water, but it seemed as if she only wanted it so that she would not be thirsty anymore, not truly knowing who it was she was speaking to.  There is a definite change by what she says to the people of the town.

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

John 4:28-29

We know that the end result was belief.  If we jump ahead a few verses, we see the result.

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:39-42

Not only was this woman changed, but many Samaritans from that town were changed as well.  Not only that, but you can see from verse 42 that their faith is not based upon the woman's testimony but on their own experience with Jesus.  I wonder how often we see the opposite of this in our day.  Sometimes you may hear about or see people who refer to their faith because they were raised a certain way in a certain family.  May our faith be our own like these Samaritans who believed because they heard for themselves.