I love Wednesday mornings because I get to attend a ladies Bible Study. Today is just radiating with sunshine and I'm just in a really good mood. I love my small group at Bible study, because then women in my group are so transparent and aren't afraid to get real with each other. Today we studied the tail end of John 4 and delved into the beginning of John 5. I love these two stories because they both showcase the healing power of Jesus. Any story in the Bible that has to do with healing always touches me and excites me. In these two stories you see two different people: a royal official whose son is near death and a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. The thing that strikes me about these two stories is that Jesus healed both in two different ways. This is just evidence that God knows what is best for us and his timing is impeccable. I am particularly drawn to the the healing of the man at the pool of Bethsaida. JOhn 5:1-15 says the following: (I've added emphasis to some of the words to bring attention to them. My comments will follow the passage)
John 5
The Healing at the Pool
1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.
2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.[4]
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:4 Some manuscripts include here, wholly or in part, paralyzed—and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.
I find it interesting that Jesus' first question to the man is "Do you want to get well?" Seems a little strange because you would assume that this man that has been an invalid for 38 years would say "Yes, yes, I want to be well". But notice he doesn't give Jesus an answer of yes or no. He just says he hasn't had anyone to help him to the pool. I get the feeling that his tone was very "woe is me" like.
Think about people you know, or even yourself that have been sick. It is very easy to sometimes like the things that come along with being sick:
more attention from others,
people dropping meals off,
people offering to help around the house,
pity from others.
Now I am not saying that sometimes these things aren't needed, because they are. I myself have been very grateful for the ways others have reached out in my time of need. But again, there are some people out there that get caught up being sick and actually don't really want to get better. Some people let their diseases define who they are and then use the disease as a crutch or an excuse not to be lazy and not do things. Again, I am not trying to be offensive, because there are people that are suffering greatly. I am not undermining that. I am sure though someone came to your mind when I first mentioned someone making excuses for everything under the sun when they are sick. Or the people who "milk it for all it's worth".
This is the sense I get about the man at the pool. He tells Jesus that he has no one to help him in the pool. Now.... this pool was very crowded, especially around the times when people thought they could be healed by it. My question to the man would be, "How much effort does it take to ask someone to help you?"
Many of us do not like to ask for help, myself included. But actually, what it comes down to is a pride issue. By not asking for help, you are saying you are too prideful to ask someone to be a blessing to you. You are actually robbing someone of being a blessing.....think on that for a moment.
Jesus wanted to know if the man wanted to be healed. How often have you been doing something that you know is a sin, especially something that has become a habitual sin for you? Think about it. We are all "sick" due to our sinful nature. It's interesting how we get comfortable in our sins. If we really wanted to change, we would be on our knees repenting, finding an accountability partner to hold us to our wanting to change, and daily asking the Lord to give us the strength to fight against our flesh.
Jesus is asking us today, "Do you want to get well?" Take a moment to evaluate your life. Think of something that is "ailing you" whether it be physical or spiritual. Commit it to the Lord. HE WANTS TO HEAL YOU, SO LET HIM BE THE GREAT PHYSICIAN THAT HE IS. Sometimes he chooses not to heal our physical sickness but he can heal your attitude toward it.
Notice that in the story, Jesus tells the man get up, pick up his mat and walk. Three distinct actions. And guess what?? The man did so immediately. If Jesus is asking you today if you want to get well, you need to act now!!! He's waiting for you to recognize him as the Great Physician. The man later on then told the Pharisees that it was Jesus who healed him. Do the same.... give honor where honor is due.
DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?
LET YOUR MISERY BE YOUR MINISTRY...
