Introduction // 5 minutes
What’s the worst car you’ve ever owned?
Leader Note: The aim of this question is to engage all members and oriented ourselves for the rest of the discussion. Lead your group through this lighthearted question, transitioning by saying something to the effect of… “Even the worst car was new at one time.”
Observation // 15 minutes
Read John 5:1-15
What do you observe about Jesus in this passage?
Sample Answers May Include…
- He picks out a particularly man from the large crowds (v6)
- He asks the man if he would like to get well (v6)
- He calls the man to do something he couldn’t do (v8)
- He heals him physically and then invites him into something more (v14)
What do you observe about the sick man?
Sample Answers May Include…
- He had been sick for a very long time (v5)
- He seems to be resigned to the fact the he will not get better (v7)
- Even with large crowds around him, he is alone and isolated (v7)
- He believes that he won’t get healed because of his inability to get in the pool (v7)
- He didn’t know who Jesus was (v7, v11-13)
What do you observe about the Jewish Leaders?
Sample Answers May Include…
- The were more concerned with the observance of the sabbath than the man’s healing (v10)
- The read their own interpretation of the law into the situation – note: there is now law that excludes one from carrying a mat on the sabbath (v10)
- The seem to value rules and regulations over the life and health of the lame man (v10)
Commentary: A deeper understanding of the context of this passage this week may be helpful for your discussion. Read the passage and ask the 1st question without going into the context. You may then find it helpful to add some of the following information into the discussion.
We don’t know which holy day this miracle took place on, but be it Passover, Pentecost, ect… one thing we can be sure of is that Jerusalem would have been packed! People would have travelled from all over the region to celebrate/worship in Jerusalem. The Temple and the pool of Bethesda (on the outskirts of temple) would have been especially busy during this time.
Most translations don’t include verse 4, which includes a comment about an “Angel troubling the water.” When this happened the water would bubble (more likely because of the mineral properties in the water). It was believed that the first person in the water would be healed. This would have created a chaotic seen of sick people pushing and competing to get into the water first. This picture becomes more ironic when we consider that the pool of Bethesda literally translates to “House of Mercy” or “House of Loving Kindness.”
Jesus encounters a sick man, likely paralyzed, who had been in that state for 38 years! It is likely that this man had become resigned to the fact that he would never be able to make it into the pool. Some scholars suggest that the man may have even decided to become a “professional beggar” making a living off the donations of those who would pass by him every day on their way to worship in the Temple.
Understanding // 15 minutes
Where have you seen people accept a broken thing as a “way of life?”
Leader Note: While we eventually want to get people to open up to examples of physical, emotional and spiritual brokenness, you may wish to answer this question first in a lighter way. One example could be of a time when perhaps something was broken around your house and you gradually found yourself being ok with it.
Whatever the example, lead your to group to see that all things have an intended purpose that eventually get’s challenged, lost or broken.
Besides acceptance what other responses have you seen to brokenness?
Sample Answers May Include…
- Anger
- Bitterness
- Hopelessness
- Confusion
- Cynicism
- Denial
- An obsession to “fix” the problem
Commentary: We live in a broken world that has also been and continues to be, in the process of being made whole again. Jesus’ death and resurrection ensures that death and all that it entails has been defeated. However, the lingering effects of death caused by sin are still very much present in our world. The only way to endure in this life is to understand that brokenness and death are not final. We as God’s people and this world He created are in the process of being completely restored.
Application // 20 minutes
Where in your life do you have brokenness and need God’s healing?
How are you currently responding to that brokenness?
What would it look like for you to “pick up your mat and walk?”
Leader Note: As Christians we have all received the greatest miracle of all… forgiveness of sins and new life in Christ. The man in this passage came to realize that truth in a very tangible/physical way as Jesus healed his body. We believe that God still heals, (physically, spiritually, emotionally) today. Just as our salvation is a process, healing may also be a process that gets lived it and realized in different ways. As your group shares do your best to acknowledge and honor the tension between the new life we have already received and the different ways we see it expressed in our lives.
Leader Note: We have been holding healing services across our campuses during the past couple of weeks. Use this space to ask if anyone responded to the prayer call for healing. Have group members share what compelled them to respond and how they have been impacted since. Also, allow space to ask those who did not respond in the service to be prayed for during your group time.
Live It Out // 10 minutes
Where is God calling you to notice and respond to brokenness in our world?
What things hold you back from responding?
Commentary: Like the crowds, the Jewish leaders and Jesus in the passage we have the choice to either ignore or respond when we encounter brokenness. Like the Pharisees we often miss out on joining in God’s work of restoration in world in the name of safety or legalism. Likewise we can be like the crowds, concerned for our own healing and situation that we fail to see the brokenness around us and how we might be called to respond.
Prayer: Father we thank you that in you all things are being made new. We pray that you give us eyes to see where we are still in need of the life you bring and courage to continually call out to you for our complete healing. We thank you that are intimately involved in our lives and that you care for us. Let us become more fully people who embrace your work of salvation and in turn express what we have received in the world around us.