A Covenant of Grace & Mercy

1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda [House of Mercy], having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"  7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." 8 Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."  9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." 11 But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'" 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk'?" 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you."  15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."     John 5:1-17

“Grace keeps giving me things I don’t deserve, mercy keeps withholding things I do” – Wayne Watson

These words come from Wayne Watson’s song, “Grace” and tell us that because of grace, I get things I do not deserve and because of mercy, I do not get what I deserve. That covers a lot of ground and reminds us that He is always trying to find ways to bless us, in spite of our shortcomings.

In Ephesians 2:8, the Word of God tells us that salvation (the new covenant) is by grace, through faith, not man’s work, but God’s work alone. Grace (Greek word “charis”) means that God gives it to us as a free gift, that it cannot be earned. This principal is illustrated in the passage from John 5 and the man who was afflicted 38 years and yet healed by Jesus.

Pick up your pallet 

In this passage there was a feast of the Jews (we are not sure which one) that required Jewish men living within 15 miles of Jerusalem to be there. Jesus appears at this pool called Bethesda, Hebrew for House of Mercy, and a man afflicted 38 years with a disease that left him lame. This gate has five porticoes and five is the Biblical number for grace. This pool was a place that required the person to enter the pool at the right time and that person would be healed of their disease. Of course, this man’s problem was that he could not climb into the pool on his own when the bubbles appeared, and he complained that others would step into the pool before him so he would not benefit from the pool. Jesus decided to heal the man immediately instead of requiring the man to enter the pool. And when he was healed, Jesus told him to get up and “pick up your pallet”, which he did.

Looking under the surface of what is actually taking place, we get a picture of the new covenant as one that is a work of God and not man, that God is not requiring any “work” by man to enter into this covenant. The fact that this man could not walk prior to his healing is a picture of the impact that this covenant can have on one’s “walk” or lifestyle. Salvation provides an opportunity to change the way we live since it is empowered by God Himself. Here is the Messiah as prophesied by Scripture in Isaiah 61:1 anointed by the Father to bring good news to the afflicted! This afflicted man received good news when Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk”.

God is rich in mercy

Later in this John 5 account, Jesus spoke to this man and said, “Behold, you have become well, do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you” in verse 14. What a picture of the saved man! Salvation provides forgiveness for sins, but committing sin has a negative effect on a man’s walk. This is why we need confession. Our position from God is perfect, but our experience still needs to be cleansed. In 1John 1:9, when we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. Because sins have an inherent energy to be repeated, the cleansing process deals with the proclivity to repeat, namely the effects of sin.

The signature verse of the Bible is John 3:16 which tells us that God so loved us that He sent His son to die to provide eternal life. Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we were all in the same condition, “dead in your trespasses and sins” in vs. 1 and “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind” in verse 3. This demonstration of love occurred while we were still sinners and enemies (Romans 5:8). But why? Because God is rich in mercy! Because of His great love with which He loved us! (verse 4). The greatest expression of God’s love is His grace and mercy. In John 1:14, Jesus came to earth as a man full of grace and truth and we realized this grace and truth through the new covenant (John 1:16). The foundational principal of the new covenant as stated in Hebrews 8:12 is that He “will be merciful to their iniquities and remember their sins no more”. The greatest expression of God’s grace and mercy is forgiveness!

Grace is our instructor 

“11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”        Titus 2:11-14   

In this passage in Titus, grace, in the form of Christ, has appeared bringing the new covenant to all men. This grace not only saves us, but it also instructs us how to live godly lives, by denying ungodliness and worldly desires. Grace is the avenue not only of salvation, but sanctification as well. Grace is the avenue that He uses to purify us to be His possession (verse 14), where we will greatly desire good deeds. And this godliness causes us to be looking forward, toward our future of hope and His reappearing.

It is important that a believer knows he is forgiven. Knowing that we have been forgiven produces a heart that is grateful to God and is now capable of expressing love to God and to others. When Jesus healed ten lepers in Luke 17:12-19, only one came back to express gratitude to Him for this great gift of healing. Yet, He was still willing to heal all ten. When we are confronted by God’s grace and mercy, they can cause the believer to have a deeper appreciation for God’s love and that love promotes Christian service.

Noah found grace

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.      Genesis 6:5-9

Most Christians see grace as a New Testament concept, but the fact is grace is an Old Testament principle as well. In Genesis 6, we find a man named Noah, a good man, who God favored by having him build a big boat! The Bible tells us that he was faithful to complete the project in spite of being mocked by the people. God chose Noah and his family to be the ones who would be delivered from this evil world. Looking closely at this "big boat", we see profound parallels with the dynamics of salvation as revealed in the New Testament.

The ark was built with cypress wood which was employed in shipbuilding by the Phoenicians due to its lightness and durability. It used bitumen, a pitch-like substance on both the inside and outside to make it watertight. There were three decks with many small compartments to house Noah's family and all the animals. 

Salvation and Noah’s ark 

In addition, it was three hundred cubits long, fifty wide, and thirty high and was constructed more like a big chest, with a flat bottom and flat or slightly sloping roof. The intention of this type of construction was that it was meant to float with no ability within to move on its own. There was one window at the top to provide light and air and one door on the side. The purpose, as stated by M. R. Unger in his Bible Dictionary, "was to preserve certain persons and animals from the deluge with which God intended to overwhelm the land, in punishment for man's iniquities". There was one pair of all "unclean" animals and seven pairs of all that were clean. 

Now let's take a look at what this all means: 

1.       Cypress wood is light and durable. Salvation is able to weather any storm (John 10:30).

2.       Bitumen provided a watertight environment to stand up to the waters. In Ephesians 1:13, "you were sealed in Him by the Holy Spirit of promise" which gives believers a safe environment.

3.       The three decks speaks to the fact that all three members of the Trinity play an important part in salvation (Ephesians 1:3-14).

4.       The ark was constructed to be more like a chest than a boat, with no ability to move on its own. Salvation is a movement of God by the Holy Spirit by Whom we are led in John 3:8.

5.       The one window on the top is representative of the fact that our light and air (spiritually) come from God above (Romans 8:5-6).

6.       The one door on the side that was closed by God (Genesis 7:16) speaks to the fact that Jesus is the door (John 10:9). 

Just as the ark was used to deliver the inhabitants to a new land and a new life, salvation provides the believer a brand new life (2Corinthians 5:17) and a new way to relate to the world around. The ark was safe and was built specifically to fulfill its purpose. The grace of God that provides the environment for salvation to be possible to all believers (Ephesians 2:8) is abundant for all circumstances and situations (Romans 5:20-21). It is our job to learn to trust its provisions by standing in it in spite of the obstacles so that we can grow up to be the persons God has ordained (Romans 5:2).