John 5:1-8 By Rev. Trevor Skalberg "Do you want to get well? (May 24th, 26)

John 5 sets a hard scene: a crowded pool, porches full of the sick, the blind, the lame, all waiting for the water to ripple and for life to change. Jesus enters through the Sheep Gate, carrying the quiet weight of the Lamb who will be offered, and walks straight to one man bound to disappointment for thirty-eight years. The question lands like a key in a rusted lock: Would you like to get well? He is not fishing for information. He is stirring desire and calling faith awake. The man answers with reasons and routines, a story built on people, systems, and timing that never come through. Jesus is not interested in his resources. He is after his heart. Trust me with what you do not have.

Then come the three commands that still carry power. Stand. That word calls belief to its feet. When Jesus speaks, His word creates capacity. Picking up the first inch of faith, the man sends a message to legs that have known only collapse, and grace meets him there. Pick up your mat. That is not a housekeeping tip. It is a line in the sand. The mat is the man’s address, his habits, his comfort, his name tag. Jesus declares a new identity. You are not coming back here. Walk. Obedience turns faith into motion. No baby steps. As he moves, the power arrives, and the text says he was immediately healed.

But Jesus is not done. Later He finds the man and says, Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you. Mercy does not stop at muscles. Jesus cares about the soul. He is after transformation, not just better behavior and not just relieved circumstances. So the Pool of Bethesda stands as a mirror for every modern pool a person sits beside, straining for the right helper, the right moment, the right angle. Jesus still steps through the crowd. He still asks, Do you want to get well? The invitation is not to shame but to freedom. The move begins at yes. A simple prayer fits every story: Jesus, I am tired of being stuck. I want to get well. Help me trust you to do what I cannot.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus walks toward the unseen Jesus enters a crowded place of pain and singles out a man who thinks help will never come. He sees the story, the years, the resignation, and asks a question that wakens desire rather than defending despair. Healing begins where a person realizes Christ is already moving toward them, not waiting for them to get it together. [32:33]
• 2. The pool pictures human effort The pool holds out a promise built on the right person, the right system, the right timing, and it consistently fails. Jesus does not inventory resources; He invites trust beyond what is available or controllable. Freedom comes when a person stops negotiating with timing and starts leaning on the One who is not bound by it. [37:34]
• 3. Stand, pick up, and walk Christ’s three commands form a pathway: believe it is possible, leave the place that used to hold you, and move forward in obedience. The mat is more than fabric; it is identity, habit, and fallback plan, and Jesus shuts the door on the return trip. Power meets motion, not passivity, as obedience turns faith from theory into gait. [38:09]
• 4. Healing aims at holiness too After the legs work, Jesus addresses the life, calling the man out of sin toward a truer wholeness. Circumstances can change while bondage lingers if the heart is not reordered. Christ’s mercy targets the deep places, so freedom includes leaving excuses, habits, shame, and guilt that once defined the self. [46:27]
• 5. Say yes before you see how The turning point is not a perfected plan but a surrendered answer. Christ often begins to move at the first honest yes, then teaches the next steps along the way. Waiting to feel ready only deepens the rut; trusting Him with what cannot be carried alone breaks the stalemate. [51:20]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [21:47] - Mission across New England
• [23:24] - Lowe’s story and feeling stuck
• [26:54] - John 5 reading: Bethesda
• [28:50] - Sheep Gate and the Lamb
• [29:45] - The pool as human effort
• [31:17] - Jesus the true healer
• [33:04] - Do you want to get well?
• [35:35] - Excuses, systems, and timing
• [37:34] - Trust me with what you don’t have
• [38:09] - Stand, pick up, and walk
• [42:17] - New identity beyond the mat
• [44:48] - Obedience and power to walk
• [46:27] - Stop sinning, whole-person renewal
• [53:23] - Prayer of surrender

Bible Reading
John 5:1-9 (ESV)
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.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

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Observation questions

1. What details does John 5:1-9 give about the setting of the Pool of Bethesda and the man’s condition?
2. How does the man respond when Jesus asks, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:7) [35:35]
3. What three commands does Jesus give the man in John 5:8, and what immediate action follows?
4. According to the sermon, what does the mat symbolize in this story? [42:17]

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Interpretation questions

1. Why might Jesus have asked the man, “Do you want to be healed?” instead of immediately healing him? What does this reveal about how Jesus engages with human desire and faith? [33:38]
2. The man explains his inability to reach the pool due to lack of help and timing. How does this reflect common ways people rely on human effort or systems instead of trusting God? [36:19]
3. How does 2 Corinthians 5:17 connect to Jesus’ command to “take up your bed” and walk? What does this imply about identity transformation in Christ?
4. Why does Jesus later warn the man to “stop sinning” (John 5:14), and how does this deepen the purpose of healing? [47:07]

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Application questions

1. Where in your life do you feel “stuck” like the man at the pool—relying on timing, others, or systems to fix a problem? What would it look like to trust Jesus with what you don’t have in that situation? [37:34]
2. The mat represented the man’s old identity. What habits, labels, or comforts might God be asking you to “pick up and walk away from” to embrace a new identity in Christ? [44:30]
3. Jesus’ command to “walk” required immediate obedience, not gradual steps. What is one area where you need to act in faith before feeling fully ready? How can you take that first step this week? [45:34]
4. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus cares about holiness, not just relief. How might God be inviting you to address not just outward circumstances but deeper heart patterns in your current struggles? [47:54]
5. What would a “simple yes” to Jesus look like for you right now? Try writing a one-sentence prayer like, “Jesus, I’m tired of being stuck in ______. Help me trust You to do what I cannot.” [53:23]