The two people healed by Christ in the transition from chapters 4-5 of St. John's Gospel make for an interesting comparison because they couldn't be more different. Yet, these differences give us amazing insights into the Christian life, and nature of Christ's ministry.
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The Royal Official in Galilee
Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my little boy dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." John 4:46-50 NRSV
This royal official (βασιλικὸς - basilikos) likely was a servant of Herod Antipas. 1, 2 This individual probably was someone of greater wealth and influence than the average resident in Galilee. Yet, his son is ill, and at the point of death. All his power and influence cannot save his "little boy".
I grew up with the notion, like many of us do, that my success was what determined my value as a person. I believed that if I were able to have a successful career, earn more money, and gain more influence I would be happier. I would have more freedom, be able to sort out my own problems, and become the master of my own destiny! Nothing could be further from the truth, and in this passage we can see the error of this notion made strikingly clear. This royal official should be able to leverage his wealth and influence to get the very best of care for his son, but even this won't save his life. He's probably tried everything in his power, but has been unsuccessful. He needs Christ.
I think many of us, myself included, envy the wealth and power of men like the royal official out of a desire for control. When we're faced with difficult circumstances it's easy to believe that having these earthly goods will help us resolve our problems. There is no denying that having money and power can give you access to, among other things, better quality health care, but ultimately our fate still rests firmly in the hands of God (Ecc 9:11-12). This passage reveals that wealth and power do not render us immune to suffering.
More intersting still, this royal official doesn't approach Jesus by night like Nicodemus (John 3:1-2) to save face among his peers. He doesn't care what other people think of him because he needs to save his son's life. Perhaps this would hurt his reputation, or status within the court of Herod, but even still he begged (ἠρώτα - ērōta) Christ to save his son. 3 If this man were prideful, he has certainly dispensed of it in this moment.
The seeming role reversal on display in this passage invites us to understand what it means to submit to Christ. We see a man of wealth and authority begging for the help of a destitute street preacher. In any other circumstance, this man would likely have been on the other end of this conversation. There probably were many other moments before this one wherein the people of Galilee were begging this royal official for something, but here he is begging Christ for the life of his son. And it could not be more appropriate since Jesus is the Messiah. This isn't a role reversal at all. In fact, everything is in its proper order. The royal official doesn't demand that Christ help him, he begs. Christ even appears to dismiss him as a mere subject when he says, "Go; your son will live." If anything, he shows us the humility requisite of a true disciple of Christ in this act of submission.
One could spend a lifetime seeking earthly goods like wealth and power in a vain hope for control, but true control would lie perpetually out of reach. We need to be more like this royal official - seeking Christ hat in hand with the understanding that our fate rests firmly in God's control, and that our salvation can only be had in Jesus.
Suffering 38 Years of Defeat
After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these many invalids-blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" 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 making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me." Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. John 5:1-9 NRSV
We can glean from the above text, and other translations such as the Douay-Rheims, or King James Version that include verse 4 of chapter 5, that it was believed that only the first person to enter the pool after the water began to be disturbed would be healed. 4, 5 The passage never specifies the man's affliction, but it probably was a physical malady, such as a partial paralysis based on his statements.
The man in this passage has bore the weight of this affliction for 38 years, and probably has been waiting at this pool for much of that time while living in extreme poverty. He can't get to the pool first because there are others who, though they may also be afflicted, are stronger than him. This man is the polar opposite of the royal official from the close of chapter 4. He has no wealth or authority, and can do little if anything to help himself. He needs Christ.
I struggle to even imagine what it would have been like to live with a severe physical disability over 2,000 years ago. It's one of the reasons I love the show The Chosen. The director does an amazing job of capturing the sheer brutality of such a circumstance, and for a multitude of other reasons I cannot recommend that show enough - so please check it out if you haven't!
This man is seeking healing, but he's not actively seeking Christ like the royal official was. Maybe he's unaware of Jesus, but he's also trying to be the source his own salvation. I probably would've given up long before 38 years passed by if I were suffering in his circumstances. At a minimum, we can say that this individual possesses an exceedingly strong will. Yet, not strong enough to be first into the pool. I can relate to this, because I often make the same mistake. He's trying to will his own salvation, and by doing so is playing a game he's destined to lose. He's never going to be the first one into the pool when the water is disturbed, and even if he could it wouldn't provide him the healing he needs because it's not just his physical infirmities that are impairing him.
One of the other reasons we envy the royal official is because men like him are seen as "winners" in life, and who doesn't like winning? As someone who has spent the last 35 years trying to win the game of life, I can relate to the man sitting by the Pool of Bethesda. How many of us had the highest grades in school, were the best athlete at a given sport, went to the best university, or got the highest paying job out of college? Probably very nearly none of us. When you think about your life in the present moment you have to ask yourself - am I pointlessly trying to be the first one into the pool? Are you racing to be crowned with a wreath that withers and dies (1Cor 9:24-25)?
I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't work hard, or strive for excellence. My point is that most of us will never be first into the pool. We're not going to be professional athletes, billionaires, or geniuses changing the face of the earth. Even if we were, our sense of self-worth or value as human beings doesn't come from being these things. No one can merit salvation because the "charity of Christ is the source in us of all our merits before God." 6
At the close of this passage we again see another complete act of submission to Jesus. When commanded to take up his mat and walk he doesn't question Christ. He obeys the command of the Messiah. He submits himself to Christ's authority, and is at once made well. This is an instructive lesson in both discipleship and Christian living. This man has languished in the misery of physical suffering for 38 years, and has lived only by the charity and mercy of others. Yet, Christ commands him to arise (Ἔγειρε - Egeire). 7 There were no wheel chairs back then, this man likely lived near to the ground. He was below everyone else both metaphorically and literally, but is lifted up by Jesus. Though we may be laid low by the circumstances of life, it is Christ who lifts us up. We are made well by submitting ourselves to His will, and believing in His authority over all things.
Truth Revealed in Divergent Circumstances
These two miracles are separated by a chapter, which can have the unfortunate effect of causing us to read them separately. Only when the two are read together can we see the larger message about Christ's ministry, and the nature of salvation on display in the incredible dichotomy between these two individuals.
The most obvious things we can derive from the comparison of these two figures is that the salvation on offer in Christ is meant for everyone regardless of circumstance. No one is more deserving of salvation than anyone else for any reason. We can also clearly see that everyone needs salvation in Christ regardless of circumstance.
The royal official represents someone we see as being more fortunate or successful than most, but still needs Christ just as the man waiting by the Pool of Bethesda does. The difference is that the royal official is actively seeking Christ whereas the man by the pool is not. This is because the royal official knows his wealth and power cannot save his son, while the man at the pool still believes he can save himself by being the first one into the pool despite years of failure.
Pairing these two figures together reveals that we cannot be the source of our own salvation, nor can earthly goods. Whether we have wealth and power as a result of our achievements, or good fortune, they ultimately cannot save us. Likewise, we cannot save ourselves ourselves. No matter how strong our will is, or how talented we are, salvation is not something we win for ourselves. We need Christ.
The only similarity between these two figures is seen in their submission to Christ's will and authority. In doing so, the healing they seek is given, and they are sent out on mission, which we will discuss in another post. In closing, only by submitting ourselves to the will of Christ, and believing in his authority over all things can we be truly saved.
May you lift up your gates, that the King of Glory may enter, and the healing you seek be given!
Works Cited
"John 4:46 - 101tn," NET Bible, accessed January 21, 2023, https://netbible.org/bible/John+4
John 4:46 (Original Greek), Bible Hub, accessed January 21, 2023, https://biblehub.com/text/john/4-46.htm
John 4:47 (Original Greek), Bible Hub, accessed January 21, 2023, https://biblehub.com/text/john/4-47.htm
John 5:4 (Douay-Rheims Bible), Bible Hub, accessed January 21, 2023, https://biblehub.com/drbc/john/5.htm
John 5:4 (King James Bible), Bible Hub, accessed January 21, 2023, https://biblehub.com/kjv/john/5.htm
"Merit" Catechism of the Catholic Church, accessed January 22, 2023, paragraph 2011, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P70.HTM
John 5:8 (Original Greek), Bible Hub, accessed January 21, 2023, https://biblehub.com/text/john/5-8.htm
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