When Depravity Meets Divinity

Introduction: Children’s Hospital, Beauty & Brokeness

Everything that takes place in Jerusalem is like that. Especially what we see today in 5:1-2

“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.”

This was somewhat architecturally impressive. But the purpose of these pools appears to have been for the purpose of washing, of being cleansed from ceremonial uncleanness, etc… Rabbinc law at the time stated that the water used for purification had to be “living water” – water that moves. So the best understanding of this pool is that the top was a reservoir and then at certain times, they would open the top reservoir, which caused the bottom reservoir to move, bubble, etc… So there’s already the uneasy truce between beauty and brokenness. And then of course we see in vs. 3 that its worse…

“In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.”

The image of Jesus walking among a multitude of physically broken people is bracing for a number of reasons. The God who walked with man and woman in their glorious state is now walking with them in their fallen state.

See what sin and sorrows our father Adam has left for us. – Spurgeon

It seems important to me that while in the gospels, and in our daily lives, we try to view the world through the eyes of Jesus. He is the only human being to ever walk the earth who was not a native to sin. He isn’t desensitized to sin or to the damage it inflicts.

II. The Depravity of Man

Theologians describe what he saw as “total depravity.” There’s some confusion about what this doctrine means. Total depravity does not mean that all men and women are as bad as they possibly could be. Rather, total depravity means that all aspects of human life has been damaged by sin.

Here’s a good definition written by pastor Bill Sasser,

“Every human being has been infected and affected by sin in every part of the body, soul and spirit. The whole, or total, being has been invaded by sin. Thus, "total depravity" means that every faculty of man's being, every activity of his life, and every sphere of his existence has been permeated by sin.”

We see this doctrine displayed quite clearly in chapter 5.

Physical (3)

“In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.”

Psychological (4-6)

“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?’”

Social (7)

“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.’”

Riotous competition when the water was stirred
No help from anyone outside
Religious (8-10)

Mankind is a fundamentally religious being (including those who say “I’m not religious”). Sin has infected and affected his religion as much as any other part of him. One example…

The KJV includes the following, “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”

None of the oldest manuscripts include this. So most modern translations do not include it either. This comment appears to be what is known in the translation world as marginalia – comments by the transcribers that eventually found its way into the actual text. And we know about this because there are so many manuscripts of John. So we’re able to see what is original and what is not.

And as we move on, we see another example of religious perversion. Look at vs. 8-10

“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.’”

Here we see a primary way sin has affected religion. These Jewish leaders are confusing the tradition of man with the commandment of God. We were just in Exodus. So we know that God had indeed commanded the people that for six days they will do their work but on the 7th they will rest. But you won’t find anything forbidding carrying one’s mat after having been healed from a 38 year long disease that left you languishing in a public place as a beggar.

Where did that come from? Well, over time, people began to define work. I doubt any of those definitions were malicious. I bet that 9/10 times, if these Pharisees saw a man carrying a bed on the sabbath, he would indeed be breaking the commandment. I don’t think we need to fault the guys for asking. But we must fault them for this foolish, ideological myopia. His answer should’ve had them renegotiating their own interpretation of the law. Which of course is not what occurs.

II. The Divinity of Christ

Now look at vs. 11-16

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.

Notice the phrase “doing these things” – this implies a pattern

Jesus is not completely blameless here. Meaning, he is not going out of his way to avoid controversy. All he had to do was wait until Monday. If all he wanted to do was heal people, he could get plenty done on the other 6 days a week. He’s up to something.

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Only God Works on the Sabbath

This little phrase is one of those spots where the preacher gets his job security. You have to do a fair bit of digging to realize that the same dudes who came up with the rules about carrying mats on the sabbath, also asked a more important question. Does God himself abstain from all work on the sabbath? And the answer was, no – God upheld the universe, he governed creation, so forth. Rabbinical tradition up to this point had reached that consensus. God works on the sabbath.

So you see what Jesus is doing with these Sabbath provocations? He’s telling them that he is God. It is right for God alone to work on the Sabbath. Jesus works on the sabbath.

We’re going to see the exact same thing again in John 9-10. Another Sabbath healing followed by another lecture on his divinity.

You might notice that Jesus is always a little transgressive. Not toward the law of God but toward the longstanding interpretation of the law by religious leaders. He’s always pushing things. He’s talking with the Samaritan woman. He’s telling Nicodemus he’s got a lot to learn. Healing on the sabbath. Turning the ceremonial water jars into wine barrels. Cleansing the temple.

And the typical interpretation of this is that Jesus is anti-traditionalist or something like that. He’s acting this way to get the leaders to ask, “who do you think you are?”

So that he can tell them.

Look at vs. 17-18

“But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.’”

It has become popular for various non-Christians to suggest that Jesus himself never claimed to be God. And that his deity was an invention of people much later on. That’s incorrect.

Look at vs. 19-20

“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.’”

This is not a typical father/son relationship. Here you see Jesus describing what I would call an ontological impossibility. Meaning, the nature of a thing prevents it from doing certain things. One example would be Hebrews 6:18 – it is impossible for God to lie. Other ideas: A rock can’t swim. A watch cannot make itself. Etc…

Here Jesus is saying, “ I can do nothing of my own accord…”
And again in vs. 30, “I can do nothing on my own…”

This not a close relationship between a father and son. A father and son may want many of the same things, but each has their own will and strategy for accomplishing things. A son may be generally submissive to his father but still be capable of doing things his own way. Jesus is saying something much stronger than that.

In John 10:30 he says all of this again, and presses the point even harder – “I am the father are one.”

He’s revealing a doctrine that everybody struggles to understand. Namely the trinity. Which in one sentence can be defined as "The Trinity is the foundational Christian belief that God is one Being who exists in three Persons.”
For me, every week’s worth of sermon prep usually builds up some kind of burden for a certain kind of person. And this week it is a burden for those monotheists – Jews, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses who believe that Jesus was something other than God of very God.

So let me address these friends directly for a moment. I want to warn you explicitly about one presupposition you may have that can absolutely shut you out from the kingdom of God.

Namely that you must fully understand God.

"If God was small enough for my brain to fully understand, He wouldn’t be big enough to save me!”

Look back at vs. 20

“For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

The greek word is thaumazete – it means to be astonished, confused, surprised, etc…

Jewish, Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness friends, please hear me out. Jesus Christ is God of very God. The evidence is in.

He is greater than Abraham.
He is greater than Jacob.
He is greater than Moses.
He is greater than David and Solomon.

He is not just greater — he is the object of their worship.

Look at vs. 21-22

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

The bible says it is appointed unto man to die once and then the judgment. We will all stand before the one true God – the triune God. We will not be judged by Allah or a Talmudic perversion of Yahweh. We will each stand before Jesus Christ and he will judge the quick and the dead. Separating the sheep from the goats.

And the basis of that judgment is whether or not you believed in him. You may object. But be sure of this, Abraham, Moses, and David will observe the proceeding with total approval.

Summary:

We’ve seen Total Depravity.
And we’ve seen the Divinity of Christ. Jesus absolutely did claim to be God.
And now we’re ready to discuss our third and final point. The Decision to Make.

Total Depravity.
The Divinity of Christ
The Decision to Make

Look again at verse 22
22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Life, New Life, Eternal Life, Abundant Life – you’ll see that language throughout John’s gospel. Remember, he’s told us his purpose for sitting down, sometime in the second half of the first century and writing this:

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – John 20:30-31

What is the nature of this life?

Go back to the first point. We observed that the doctrine of Total Depravity teaches that sin has infected and affected every aspect of our lives.

Physical
Psychological
Social
Religious

The eternal life that Jesus Christ offers involves healing all of this, the progressive recovery from the sickness of sin – which has permeated our entire being.

So the decision to make today is simple. It is the same one Jesus asked of the invalid in vs. 6,

“Do you want to be healed?”

You must believe that Jesus Christ is God. That he came to offer himself as a payment for your sins. And that he rose on the third day because his righteousness was much greater than the collective sin of those he died to save.

Go back to vs. 24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

So I plead with all who have not done this to do so now.

But I also want to acknowledge that many in this room have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. And I want to leave you with three points of application:

You will probably have a conversation with a Jew, a Muslim, or a Jehovah’s witness. I recommend you read John 5 with them.

Our progressive recovery from sin’s many afflictions continue. Did you walk in here with physical, psychological, social, or religious problems? Keep looking to the great healer and physician of your soul. He is not done with you. But his work is as good as done. God’s promises are true. You will surely be, and fully be, cleaned without spot, blemish, or wrinkle.

One day you will see him face to face. And he will tell you to enter into the joy of your master. And you will come alive in a way that we cannot comprehend. We are desensitized to the way sin is ruining everything. One day we will burst forth into a level of freedom that is beyond description.

Communion:

For communion, let’s continue in John 5 by looking at vs. 25-29

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.