John: Up Off the Mat!

John 4:43-5:17

George pinned me several times. That day at wrestling practice, my regular partner didn't show. Neither did George's. My heart melted when I saw that the two of us were the only ones without partners. My eyes teared up. George smiled a menacing smile. I was in the third grade. George was in the sixth grade for the second or third time! He had a full beard!

George owned me. He busted my lip in several places. He wounded my little ego—not sure it has ever recovered. I can remember getting up after every pinning and spitting blood into a white porcelain sink with chrome faucets and a built-in water fountain. I stayed there as long as I could before returning to be pinned again by George, who was still smiling.

I spent the day down on the mat.

As you reflect on your life, what keeps you down on the mat? Let me rephrase: Is there something that nearly always makes you feel both physically and spiritually defeated? 

We'll return to this question later. But first, let's catch up with Jesus. 

After spending two days in Samaria, Jesus traveled north to Galilee. The text notes that Jesus said a prophet is never honored in his hometown (John 4:44), so he stayed away from Nazareth and was welcomed by the Galileans who had seen his miracles in Jerusalem during Passover (John 4:45). Jesus also visited Cana, where he had performed his first miracle by turning water into wine. 

While Jesus was in Cana, a Roman official came from Capernaum. This man's son was gravely ill, so he asked Jesus to make the twenty-mile trip from Cana to Capernaum to heal his son. Jesus responded that people are always looking for "signs and wonders" (John 4:48). However, this father only desired one thing—to have his son well. He said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Check out how Jesus responds:

John 4:50-53
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 miracle is unique to John's gospel and is the second of the seven signs he includes to show that Jesus is the Son of God. Consider what happened: Jesus—the Creator in the flesh—does not need to be physically present to perform a healing. He can be twenty miles away or twenty million miles away, for that matter. Time and space do not limit his power. Just as Jesus spoke the world into existence, he spoke healing and life to a child who wasn't even physically present. Likewise, Jesus can speak healing into our lives, both physically and spiritually. 

After spending some time in Cana, Jesus completed the ninety-mile, six-day journey back to Jerusalem. The "feast of the Jews" mentioned in John 5:1 was probably the Passover.

In Jerusalem, there was a large pool with five covered colonnades, known as Bethesda. A legend claimed that whenever an angel of the Lord stirred the waters, the first person upon entering the pool would be healed. It was a harsh myth for those who were sick and disabled, yet large crowds of the diseased and handicapped gathered to be near the water. 

One of those waiting by the pool was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. We don't know the specific ailment, but he is called an "invalid," a term that can refer to "weakness," "disease," or "sickness." Whatever the situation, this man had been lying on a mat for almost four decades.

Jesus saw the man lying there and asked him a seemingly strange question: "Do you want to be healed?" (John 5:6).

John 5:7-9
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.

Two key points to note in this story, and then we’ll get to our question.

• The healing took place on the Sabbath. The Jews confronted the man who was healed because he was breaking the Jewish law by carrying his mat on the Sabbath. The man didn't know who Jesus was and told them that the person who performed the healing had instructed him to take up his mat. Naturally, this did not sit well with the Jews. More on that next time.
  
  
• Jesus found the man in the temple area. Later, Jesus reconnected with the man in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you." Some say Jesus is warning the man not to sin again to avoid facing "worse," which refers to an eternity in hell. However, this explanation seems a bit of a stretch to me. I believe Jesus is suggesting that the man's sin was the cause of his sickness. Of course, this isn't always the case, as we'll see with the miracle of the blind man. Still, there are times when sin can lead to physical or mental illness. We will discuss this further in John 9. 

So, what’s keeping you down on the mat? Let me suggest some possibilities.

The Mat of Personal Excuses
Some people refuse to accept responsibility for their spiritual growth. They act as if others are responsible for helping them develop their faith. When Jesus asked this man, "Do you want to get well?" the man didn't answer directly. Instead, he said there was no one to help him into the pool, shifting the blame to others. To grow spiritually, we must be personally accountable for our walk with the Lord. And God is there to help us get up off the mat (Phil. 4:12-13).

The Mat of Sin
We all have sins that weigh us down. You have yours; I have mine. These constant temptations are like a persistent back pain — they never go away. A sharp tongue, a quick temper, discontent, self-centeredness, looking at things you shouldn't, arrogance—all these pull us away from what is right. We must confess our sins and seek God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Ask for his help to give you strength to resist and make the necessary changes.

The Mat of Discouragement
This is what C. S. Lewis referred to as the "troughs." The down times. An illness, loss of a loved one, job loss, broken relationships, death of a dream. Sometimes we don't feel like getting back up. Thank God that his grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

The Mat of Failure
After my wrestling experience with George, you know what I did? I quit. I thought there had to be a better sport, so I started playing basketball. It turns out I liked it way more! Often, failure causes us to quit. It's not worth it—too humiliating. We'd rather not play than face that failure again.

Several years ago, John Piper spoke to college students at a Passion Conference on this very subject—allowing sin and failure to keep you on the mat.

The great tragedy is not mainly [being defeated by sin]. The tragedy is that Satan uses the guilt of these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had….[1]

If you're down on the mat today, you can't stay there. Time to get up! By God's strength, get up! And do what God is calling you to do. Don't let Satan strip you of your dreams. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on these two stories in John 4:43-5:17. What does God want you to learn from these two encounters with Jesus?

Talking to God:  Ask God to help you get up off the mat.

Have Questions?
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