"And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the sabbath."
John 4:9
A story of how Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, a day where the Law of the Jews states that no work must be done. And it is because of this incident, in the book of John, where the "Jews" started to persecute Jesus. All because they felt that Jesus had broken the Law by healing on the Sabbath and telling the man to take up his bed and walk.
And I did wonder, did Jesus really do it on purpose? I do believe in the Grace of God, which tells me that Jesus took our place so that we can take His place. Where we failed at the Law, Jesus kept it perfectly. And at the cross, our positions were switched by the Grace of God. Jesus took our punishment, while we took the righteousness of Jesus. He made the full payment of our sins, so that we could be reconciled to God. But this does not dispel holiness or the pursuit of it. Instead, to me, the pursuit is one where we are not pursuing a lifestyle but a person. Because, it is by this Person that we have been made holy. We don't pursue holiness to attain it, we pursue Holiness who is a Person, because we have been enabled to come into the light.
While we have been made righteous in Christ, this does not mean we have license to sin. Yet, even when we do sin, we know that the full payment has already been paid on the cross, so there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. This is a fine line from saying that we can now sin without consequences. Yet in this story of John, if Jesus really did this on purpose, has He really broken the law? No. My saviour is that amazing. Full of paradoxes, yet He is the one and only Truth. This is what I think:
Just before this story, in Chapter 4 of John, were the stories of the Samaritan woman and the healing of a Nobleman's son. Both stories had a very strong focus on the idea of "Belief". The story of the Samaritan woman ended with the people of the city saying that they now believe not only because of the words of the woman but because of hearing the words of Jesus Himself (CH4:42). And the story of the Nobleman was backdropped by the idea of believing, seen from Jesus' exclamation at the condition of seeing signs and wonders, and also John seeing it worthy to mention separately that the Nobleman first "believed the word that Jesus spoke to him"and later on, "he himself believed, and his whole household". Yet in Chapter 5, we see a miracle where Jesus approaches a lame man, and before the lame man even knew who Jesus was, Jesus healed him! Nowhere in this story does John even approach the idea of Belief. In fact, it ended with the healed man telling on Jesus which helped to initiate the persecution. The man was healed, but he never believed.
Lets see the story of the nobleman for a moment: he begged Jesus to heal his dying son, and Jesus' reply was "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.". And I think that this story ends with what Jesus says. The man at first "believed the word that Jesus showed to him", and we can assume that the man already believed in the power of Jesus since he came begging Jesus to come heal his son. Yet later in verse 53: "... And he himself believed, and his whole household". After confirming the miracle, the man and his household now believed that Jesus was not just some guy with power, but the Saviour. John makes sure to make this distinction.
So yes, if you can see, the story that is told in chapter 4 had a specific message captured by Jesus' comment on belief. However, the miracle in chapter 5 has a whole different setting. The lame man was healed without any apparent faith of his own, he didn't even knew who Jesus was. Jesus went up to him and healed him of His (Jesus) own accord. AND on the Sabbath. The whole significance of this episode seems to be on the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. The Jews adhered strictly to the Sabbath since early in their history, and yet it seemed that Jesus went right against this Law...
One thing that I believe, is that when Jesus came fulfil the Law, He was fulfilling the perfect Law. The heart of the Law. While the Law is a reflection of the perfection of God, yet it has not reflected the Love of God. And Jesus was the perfect embodiment of the fullness of the Law with God's Love. The Law says, "Thou shall not commit adultery", God's heart is for you to love your wife. The Law says, "Thou shall not kill", God's heart is for you to love your enemies. Each time Jesus does something, He isn't fulfilling the Law of man, He is living out His own essence, which the Law is a reflection of.
Jesus did not break the Sabbath that day, neither did the man. The man, while he was still lame, was not moving, yet how could we say that he was at rest? After he was healed, he picked up his bed and walked, but how could we say that he was labouring? That day, Jesus fulfilled the fullness of the heart of God: He gave rest. This man just received true Rest after 38 years!
This is a picture of the gospel! The Law is a reflection of the perfection, the right-ness, the original intention of the product. And sin, is more than just a bad action or thought, it is a defect in our nature. Man fell short. And he would never be able to match up to the reflection of perfection. But praise be to God Most High, that the full character of Him, is one not just of righteousness, but also love. God is Love. And because of His love for us, He had mercy (Grace) on us and provided a way. He literally became the way. By His Son. Christ Jesus. That is the only way to perfection. Through the perfect work of a perfect God.