Why was the nation of Israel not healed even though individuals were being healed?
The nation was not healed because it would not believe who Jesus was. While the nobleman’s son and the impotent man were healed as individuals, the nation rejected the spiritual health, King, and Kingdom He offered. Their religion and Sabbath-focused objections left them blind to the evidence before them.
Les explains that the impotent man, after 38 years, is a picture of the testing of the nation of Israel. When Jesus asks, Wilt thou be made whole? He is really asking the nation whether it is ready for spiritual health, the King, and the Kingdom. They are not. Though the nobleman’s son and the impotent man are healed individually, the nation is not healed because it would not believe who He was. The Sabbath controversy further shows their condition: they were so religious and mindful of the Law that they were in an uproar over the healed man carrying his bed, blind to common sense, preferring his infirmity over what they called breaking the Sabbath. Les contrasts this with practical Pauline Christianity, the letters of Paul, which set people free and put them under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.