Why It's Impossible

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." (John 5:6-7)

This man had not only been physically crippled and sick for a very long time but had also been emotionally handicapped as well. Jesus was drawn to him I believe partially because He knew that this man was ripe for healing in more ways than one. This is a very significant lesson for me to grasp. Not everyone is at the point in their life where they are ready to embrace the healing that God is able and eager to impart to them. There is a time and then there are times that are not on time.

What I notice in this passage is the view of healing, the perception that this man had about how any healing might come about for him. As far as he could perceive there were only two ways in which he might have any hope of being healed. He had subscribed to the popular view of those around him that the power for his healing could only come from the mysterious 'stirring of the waters' in this pool. It was strongly rumored among those who were sick and desperate that whenever the waters suddenly showed signs of movement, that an 'angel of healing' had suddenly passed by and the first person who could jump into the water would experience exclusive restoration. But only the first person in would enjoy those benefits; no one else would be allowed to be healed until the next 'moving of the waters'.

I suspect that all of these superstitions were viewed with some amusement and even disdain by the healthy people around that area. People who have been sick for some time often develop their own social networks and sometimes tend to distance themselves in certain ways from others whom they believe cannot really understand their circumstances. So they turn to rumors and folklore and anything that promises hope in an attempt to sort out for themselves what might really benefit them. They feel that the rest of 'normal' society might either be overlooking or may even be deliberately withholding valuable information from them – which in fact may be the case at times.

So from this man's perspective he had embraced the popular belief circulating among the many sick in Jerusalem that the stirring of the waters in this pool truly might have supernatural powers to bring healing and wholeness to anyone who could push themselves to the front and be the first to take hold of the arbitrary opportunity brought about by some unseen and capricious angel of healing. But what do these superstitions tell us about the picture of God held in the hearts of all those who believed in these rumors? How much did these stories and beliefs influence the mind and distort the truth about how God really felt about each of these people? There is a lot of implications that would be well to consider and that infect even our own ideas about how God feels about us in our day.

What seems to be clear from this man's answer to Jesus' question to him was that he clung tenaciously to the belief that this was likely the only hope he might ever have for receiving healing for his crippled condition. If there were any other possibilities he had given up on them some time before because there simply was not enough evidence to believe that help could arrive from any other source, including God Himself. If God were in the healing business He must have arranged to only offer it through this strange arrangement of sending an unseen angel at random times to a pool of water, and it would only be available to those who were quick enough and strong enough to help themselves into the pool. It truly enforced the adage still so popular yet today, “God helps those who help themselves.”

Based on this belief among the sick around that pool, this man's answer to Jesus demonstrated that he believed there were only two possibilities left if he were ever to enjoy the healing favor of God and escape his broken condition. And given the two near impossibilities of ever achieving the feat of getting into the water ahead of anyone else, it seemed rather clear to him that he was simply to far beyond the reach of God's grace to ever expect to experience a life much different than what he currently knew. He had resigned himself to the fate that seemed unavoidable; he would just have to be content that God did not care enough to make healing more accessible to people such as himself. Only those with enough strength left or enough clout with others who were strong to help them in might provide him the advantages needed in order to access the power to change his life significantly.

From his viewpoint, there were only two ways he might ever experience any hope of being healed. Either someone else had to take enough interest in his condition and care enough about him to organize a plunge party for him to out-maneuver everyone else into the healing pool first – which was pretty much out of the realm of possibility given his lack of interested and capable friends, or he would have to muster up enough self-will, self-discipline and physical prowess to accomplish this for himself against all other competitors, many of whom were in much better condition already than he was in. Given those immense odds stacked against him, like an exhausted, depleted poor man completely out of money giving up on buying another ticket for the lottery, the man had finally given up and just accepted his fate and planned to live out his miserable existence watching others spring into the pool and come out apparently refreshed and claiming to be healed.

I suppose it was better than sitting at home without anything to pass the time but to stare at bare walls and count the minutes passing by. It was not all bad, laying here by the pool and swapping stories of various encounters others had had splashing into the pool or watching the crowds pass by day after day. At least he had the opportunity to feel somewhat connected to society if only vicariously by listening to all the chatter and commotion of what was going on in the city. Since he had to be awake and aware anyway, why not spend his remaining time in life watching life go by for others more fortunate than him. I suppose he may have not been that much different than many today who find themselves parked in front of a TV watching the rest of the world entertain them and awe them with the stories of the rich and famous. Sitting around this pool was like an ancient version of living the life of a couch potato. It beat laying in bed at home with even less to do.

This kind of life, whether in the days of Jesus or now in our day, is a life of disconnectedness and disattachment. It is a life that draws millions into its spell and mesmerizes them into thinking this is almost as good as it gets. If we cannot strike it rich or indulge ourselves in all the pleasures that others enjoy, at least we can watch them indulging themselves and vicariously experience many of their emotions that way. It beats thinking about our own messed up lives and sense of futility. The more we can escape reality into the world of entertainment the easier it is to cope with the inner sense of hopelessness that seems to haunt our sleepless nights and affects so many of our stressful relationships with those around us.

When Jesus suddenly spoke these most unusual words of invitation to step into a radical new life of wholeness and healing, they sounded so outrageous and impossible that this man simply could not at first wrap his mind around the reality of them. He immediately felt compelled to translate them into more logical scenarios in his mind and then responded from his own assumptions about reality and what was actually possible. Since he had already thought this through for many years and believed that he had explored every possibility there must be, he felt compelled to explain to Jesus why Jesus simply didn't understand his predicament. This stranger was evidently not aware of the insurmountable difficulties the sick man faced and needed to be informed of the obstacles that were so obvious to everyone else. Now if Jesus were to offer to help this man to the front of the line and help throw him into the pool whole holding everyone else back all around the perimeter of the pool, then maybe he might consider that Jesus could be useful to him. But other than that His question about desiring to be healed sounded almost impertinent.

“There is no man to help me into the pool. No one really cares about me. Everyone here is only looking out for themselves and doesn't really care about people as messed up as I am. Sick people are generally focused pretty much on themselves and finding relief for themselves and anyone else who might be able to make a difference is too busy and indifferent to care. And as far as God is concerned it is quite obvious that the arrangements He has set up for healing are too narrow and difficult for me to acquire.

“The only other possibility is that I have to get strong enough myself to get myself into the healing pool while competing with many others much more agile than I. Since that is an obvious disadvantage of enormous proportions that too is out of the question even more than the first option. And since these are the only two options anyone knows of around here for healing, then that is just the way it is. I am resigned to my fate and I appreciate your interest. Now, what were you saying?”