#102 - Joby Martin // Making a Difference: Breaking Free from Excuses at the Pool of Bethesda

Jesus encounters a man at the Pool of Bethesda who had been paralyzed for 38 years, asking him a simple yet profound question: "Do you want to be healed?" The man responds with excuses rather than a direct answer, revealing our human tendency to blame circumstances rather than take responsibility.

• Making excuses versus making things happen in our Christian life
• The paralyzed man's excuse-making response to Jesus' offer of healing
• Looking to the wrong source for solutions to our problems
• Jesus showing extraordinary grace despite the man's complaining
• Application to marriage and loving our wives as Christ loved the church
• The call to push back darkness and fight for justice in our world
• Getting off our mats to fulfill the Great Commission without excuses

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Daily Blade.
The Word of God is described asthe sword of the Spirit, the
primary spiritual weapon in theChristian's armor against the
forces of evil.
Your hosts are Joby Martin andKyle Thompson, and they stand
ready to equip men for the fight.
Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
All right, welcome back to day four, as we have
been doing a deep dive on John,chapter 5.
We're going to pick it up inverse 2.
This is the event of thehealing of the pool of Bethesda.
Before we jump in, I've got toask you a question Do you tend
to make excuses or to make ithappen?
I mean, anybody that I've evermet that makes excuses are not

(00:43):
the kind of people that make ithappen.
So, do you make excuses or doyou make it happen?
John 5, 2.
Now there is in Jerusalem, bythe Sheep Gate, a pool, in
Aramaic called Bethesda, whichhas five roof colonnades.
In these lay a multitude ofinvalids blind, lame and
paralyzed.
One man was there who had beenan invalid for 38 years, and

(01:06):
when Jesus saw him lying thereand knew that he had already
been there a long time, he saidto him here's the million dollar
question do you want to behealed?
Now again, like we talked aboutyesterday, seems like the
obvious answer is of course Iwant to be healed.
But look at what the sick mananswers.
The sick man answered him.
Sir, I have no one to put meinto the pool when the water is

(01:27):
stirred up and while I am goinganother steps down before me.
There were some ancienttraditions that are listed in
some of the older manuscripts,but not all manuscripts that
there was this myth or traditionthat an angel would stir up the
water and whoever got into thewater first was the one to be
healed.

(01:47):
And so this man is sittingthere for 38 years, and whenever
he saw the water stirred up, hewasn't able to get in.
And when Jesus asked him themillion dollar question, the
maker of all things, the makerof miracles himself is eyeball
to eyeball with this man andsays how about you, buddy?
Do you want to be healed?

(02:07):
What this man's immediatereaction is is he makes excuses,
and the reason that this man iscomplaining is because he's
looking to the wrong source.
That's not fair.
It's not my fault, I'm a victim.
Sound familiar, it sounds likeour culture today.
And the answer when Jesus askeddo you want to be healed?

(02:27):
The answer is yes.
You see, jesus is so much moregracious than I would be, I
think, if I walked up to the manand I said, hey, you want to be
healed, and he began to whineand complain well, it's not my
fault, I can't get in the water.
I'd be like, well, fine, youjust lay there and you'd be
paralyzed for the rest of yourlife and I would just start
healing everybody else aroundhim and be like, hey, I'll heal
you and I'll heal you.
And if he were to say, well,what about me?

(02:49):
I'm like, nah, bro, you hadyour chance.
You see, I am allergic tocomplaining and excuses, but
praise God, jesus is so muchmore patient with you and I than
I am.
So let me ask you this questionwhen in your life are you making
excuses instead of making adifference?

(03:09):
You know we have all beencalled to the Great Commission
to take the good news of thegospel of Jesus Christ to the
ends of the earth, to everytribe, tongue and nation, that
Jesus told us that we were to bewitnesses wherever we go, in
Jerusalem, judea, samaria and tothe very ends of the earth.
Are you making it happen or areyou making excuses?
Or men, how about in yourmarriage?

(03:31):
My Bible says that we aresupposed to love our wives as
Christ loved the church, and soare you.
And if your immediate answer is, yeah, but you don't understand
my wife, I mean, she's not niceto me and sometimes, sometimes
she's mean and she doesn't dowhat I want and she doesn't give
me enough sex.
And she doesn't make a sandwichwhen I ask you, know who you

(03:52):
sound like?
You sound like the invalidlaying by the pool of Bethesda
that's just whining in his ownfilth and sorrow, instead of
being the man of God that Godhas called us to be.
Are you making excuses or areyou making a difference?
How about in pushing backdarkness?
I mean, this is what Kyle talksabout all the time.
What are you doing in thisworld?

(04:12):
To fight against darkness, tocall out the lies of this world?
To fight for the poor, to fightfor the marginalized, to fight
for those that cannot fight forthemselves?
Are you just the kind of personthat's just sitting on the
sidelines making excuses andbeing critical of those who are
in the fight, or are youactually in the arena doing what

(04:32):
God has called us to do?
Men, daily Blade men, may we bethe kind of men that are about
the kingdom's business.
May you quit feeling sorry foryourself.
May you get off the mat and dowhat the king has told you to do
.
Quit with the excuses and beobedient to what Jesus says.
You can make excuses or you canmake a difference.

(04:55):
You'll never make both.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Thank you for listening to today's episode
Before you go.
If you want to help equip othermen for the fight, share this
podcast around and leave us afive-star rating and review.
Stay sharp.