No Man
The gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John- are here to show us that Jesus is in fact the Christ. They leave no doubts. They bear witness that Jesus had no earthly father, but instead was conceived by the Holy Spirit. They bear witness that Jesus lived a life without sin, fulfilling the law, and thus He was qualified to die in our place- the innocent for the guilty. They bear witness over and over again that it was He who the scriptures spoke of thousands of years before and that He is our answer for reconciliation. And the passage for today is no different. Please read with me this account and see for yourself...
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stored up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" 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." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that Day was the Sabbath.
"The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool...'"
Think about what is happening here and what this pictures- An infected man... Water that offers the hope of healing... There was no man nor intercessor to bring him to it. Enter Jesus. This picture is unmistakable.
Now, let's compare what we just read with Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59 is a bit long, so I've selected a few verses out of it so you can get the flavor of what is being said. For context, Isaiah is an Old Testament prophet to Judah and Jerusalem- concerning their destruction. However, Isaiah also speaks so much concerning the coming Christ that the book of Isaiah is often referred to as the 5th gospel book. Let's see what Isaiah has to say concerning Him and how it relates to John chapter 5...
59:1-2
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
In this verse, the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem looms. The question is, will the Lord save His people? The answer from Isaiah is this: The Lord is fully capable to save the Jews in every way. Yet, He won't save them from their destruction this time. It's not that there is something wrong with Him, but that it is their sin that has hidden His face from them.
59:9
Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
59:15
So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
And there it is. There was no man to reconcile, no man to save them from their iniquities. Therefore, it is the Lord Himself who will reconcile, it is to be the Lord who will save them from their iniquities.
59:20
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, and those who turn from transgression in Jacob," says the Lord.
Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise to us from long ago... that He would send us a Redeemer, a Savior, to reconcile the world when no man was found worthy or capable of doing such a thing.
If you're looking for a way to be reconciled to God, to be at peace with God, to receive God's promise of eternal security, look no further than Jesus. He was not just a man, but He was God's own arm. He was from God and was God, "Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2
Jesus is He who was spoken about. He was concealed in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament. All of scripture bears witness to the truth.