John 5:1-15
Key Verse: 5:8

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’”

* “DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?” (1-9a)

1. Why was the crowd of disabled people lying around the pool of Bethesda? (4) What attitudes might they have toward themselves and toward each other? When the water moved, what was their dilemma? How is this scene a caricature of our human situation?

2. To which one of the crowd did Jesus speak? Why was this man especially fatalistic? How does this reveal Jesus’ grace? (1:14)

3. What did Jesus ask a man who had been an invalid for 38 years? How does this question reveal Jesus’ intention? How does it stir the man’s holy desire? What holy desire has God’s word given you?

4. How did the man answer? What did he complain about others? Why do such expectations make men more sorrowful and fatalistic?

5. With what divine command did Jesus speak to this man? What happened to this man at Jesus’ divine command? What did the man do? What should we learn from this about Jesus and his word?

* FORGETTING GOD’S GRACE IS SIN (9b-15)

6. Was this man thankful to God for healing? What excuse did the man give the Jews when he was accused of violating the Sabbath?

7. How did Jesus try to help him once more? (14-15) How was he sinning? (1 Th 5:16-18) How did he respond to Jesus? Why are men apt to forget Jesus’ grace?