Pick up your bed and walk

 

Pick up your bed and walk

 

John 5:2-9 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 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 the whole of whatever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an assurance thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.』

The thirty-eight-year-old sick man says that he is God's people, but he symbolizes the Israelites who believe in idols. The people who were about to enter Canaan after the Exodus asked Moses to send spies. So twelve spies were sent into Canaan, and after forty days of spying, all except Joshua and Caleb reported to Moses that they would die if they entered. It is said that all the people wept all night when they heard this news. God was angry and made them stay in the wilderness for 38 years, preventing them from entering Canaan, and they all died in the wilderness. Although God had promised Canaan, the people did not believe in the promise. Only the new people born in the wilderness under the leadership of Joshua and Caleb and the children under the age of 19 at the time of the Exodus entered Canaan. God promised the Messiah to the people of Israel, and the Messiah came to the land of Judea, but they did not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

"An angel went down into the pool at certain times and stirred the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring was healed of whatever disease he had." This is a type of superstition, and shows how prevalent idolatry was at the time. Most of the prophets pointed out idolatry and told people to turn back. During the Roman era, Jews often carved the figures of angels called cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant and hung them on the walls as decorations. Since God was invisible, they regarded the figures of angels as God and worshiped them instead.

The reason why people serve idols is because they do not know God well and worship the idol as God, and greed is at work in their hearts. In Colossians 3:5, it says, "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Jesus approached the sick man and asked him if he wanted to be healed, but the sick man answered, "I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am getting there, someone else steps down before me." He seemed to know nothing about Jesus. The sick man was physically unable to move, so he was lying down. He should have been the first to step in when the water was stirred up, but since he was lying down, no one helped him. He was only preoccupied with his physical problems.

『He said, “Pick up your bed and walk.” (ἔγειρε ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει) And immediately the man got better, took up his bed and walked (καὶ εὐθέως ἐγένετο This day is the Sabbath (Ἦν δὲ). σάββατον ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ (ἡμέρᾳ.)』When translating the Bible into Greek, it is quite different from the revised version.

First, “Take up your mat and walk” (ἔγειρε ēgēiro ἆρον τὸν ton κράβαττόν クラバトン σου su καὶ kai περιπάτει perīratei) means rising from the spiritual dead. “Aaron ton krabaton su” is translated as “take up your mat.” Aaron means to remove, and ton krivaton means bed, a bed. In other words, it is a bed to rest an uncomfortable body. Su is you. So when translated again, it means “take away your mat.” Perīratei means to accompany and go, meaning that Jesus is saying let’s go together.

It is a word that says, “Raise the dead spirit, take away the flesh stained with sin (the death of the old self), and walk with me.” Regarding these words of Jesus, John 5:9 reads, “Immediately the man was made well, took up his mat and walked” (καὶ εὐθέως ἐγένετο ὑγιὴς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἦρεν τὸν κράβαττον αὐτοῦ καὶ περιεπάτει.). If we translate it, it means that the spirit from the dead immediately rose, took away his mat, and walked with him. The fact that this day is the Sabbath means that this sick person finally finds rest. Those who walk with Jesus Christ find rest.

In Amos 3:12, "Thus says the LORD: 'As a shepherd takes two legs or a piece of an ear out of the mouth of a lion, so the children of Israel who are in Samaria sitting on the corner of a bed or on the cushion of a couch will be taken away.'" The prophet Amos speaks of Israel being scattered among the nations, and of their future restoration through Christ. Therefore, the "four beds" are the sick Israel described by the prophet Amos.

The Sabbath is not a concept of resting, but of entering into Christ. It is a word that even the man who had been sick for 38 years will be given rest. It is a word that not only Jews but also Gentiles will be given rest. Jesus is the Lord of rest. Those who are not united with Jesus cannot enter into rest. In Mark 1:15, “And he said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the gospel.” What is the time? It is the time of rest. Jesus died on the cross, fulfilling the requirements of the law, and giving rest to those who repent and enter into Christ. The man who had been sick for 38 years represents Israel, but it refers to all those outside of Christ.

In order for the sick to be healed, they must do as Jesus said. This is faith. However, those who were healed do not know who healed them. Even today, people say they believe in Jesus, but they do not know Jesus accurately. They only know what they have learned from the Bible. If you do not hear the words of Christ who is present in your heart as Ho Logos, it is the same as not knowing Him. He is someone you can only know by being moved by the Holy Spirit and realizing it in the Bible. He is not someone who can be saved just by believing.

People in the world are dead because their spirits are trapped in their bodies due to sin. That is why Jesus died on the cross to atone for sin, and those who are united with Him also die. God resurrects those who died with Jesus along with the resurrection of Christ. He does not resurrect after the body dies, but now. That is why heaven comes in the soul. It means that a new temple is built. Since Christ returns and dwells in this new temple, the master becomes Christ. That is why the saints receive Christ. This means that it is not something that can be done by simply accepting Him in words. If a saint does not believe in the resurrection in the present, he is still spiritually dead and is outside of Christ. Then he has no rest. Those who do not have rest wander in search of Christ, and if they do not understand this principle, they will eventually become idolaters.