I love the fascinating story in John 5:1-13 where Jesus went to one of the Jewish festivals in Jerusalem and came upon a pool there called Bethesda. Many disabled people could be found lying there. They awaited movement in the water which took place after an angel would come down at certain times to stir it so that whoever first entered it was healed from whatever disease they had.
Can you imagine this pool where everyone, in large numbers, was blind, lame, or paralyzed? This was the pool of Bethesda.
Jesus encountered a man lying there who had been an invalid for 38 years and asked him if he wanted to get well. It’s interesting, that Jesus would ask the man that question as one would think, 1) Jesus would know if he did or not, and 2) who wouldn’t want to be healed of such a debilitating, long-term condition? Yet, of course, Jesus knew the answer, but perhaps wanted the man to express the desires of his heart verbally and be inspired with hope for change. The man explained to Jesus that he had no one to help him into the pool and that others would get in ahead of him when he was trying to get in.
Then Jesus told him to get up, pick up his mat and walk. Now I imagine a man who had been an invalid for 38 years might be quite shocked by Jesus’ instructions, nevertheless, what would he have to lose? The Bible tells us immediately the man was cured, picked up his mat, and walked. In one sentence from Jesus, the man was suddenly healed and able to do that which he had not been able to do for 38 years. His debilitating status was immediately canceled! What an astonishing blessing!
Unfortunately, since it was a Sabbath, Jewish leaders reminded the newly healed man that the law forbade him to carry his mat on that day and asked him who told him to pick up his mat and walk. This shows just how powerful the law was in the hearts of those leaders, to even forbid the healing of someone because of a certain religious day.
The former invalid didn’t know who healed him as Jesus had departed into the crowd, apparently before he could find out. Yet later, Jesus found him at the temple and had additional instructions for him: “See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
This verse indicates that: 1) even though the former invalid had been incapacitated for a very long time, he wasn’t always an invalid and he had been made well again; 2) apparently, in this case, the man’s illness was caused by his sinful behavior; and 3) if he didn’t stop sinning (which indicates he could do so), something worse could have happened to him. I shudder to think of anything worse. At that point, the man went away and told the Jewish leaders it was Jesus who made him well.
The story continues later to show Jesus being persecuted by the Jewish leaders because of his activity on the Sabbath and Jesus’ response to the persecution.
We don’t have all the information on this healed man’s life before his sickness, but Jesus in this event has given us some insight into one of the things that could cause sickness in one’s body: Sin.
There are other instances of impairment mentioned in the Bible not caused by sin, one, specifically in John 9, where Jesus and his disciples encountered a blind man and his disciples asked who sinned, him or his parents, and Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
One thing we are made aware of is, per Jesus’ view, the healed invalid did not have to sin. Some hold the view that this is not possible as it very well may appear, yet Jesus clearly tells the man to stop whatever the sinful behavior was or something worse could happen to him. Would He tell anyone to do something he could not do? So, perhaps we can conclude that if Jesus tells us not to do something, it is certainly possible. Though most of us may feel like it isn’t.
The wonder of God’s power and compassion are not the only characteristics of his love I see in this story that relate to our own lives today, but also his warning. His warning is that our sin can bring about sickness, or worse, in our bodies. Sin might not always be the cause, though in this event it was.
Thankfully, we have the Bible and access to the Lord by prayer for help when we feel overwhelmed by temptation and need God’s strength and guidance to assist us in our times of need. Even Jesus was tempted and used the word of God in His resistance and was successful in not sinning, which involves behaving against God’s instructions.
We can be honest with God in prayer, as he already knows all about us. We can talk to Him about our weaknesses, temptations, or feelings, and He will still lovingly counsel us according to His scriptures. When we feel incapable of behaving as we should, we can ask for His wisdom, power, and deliverance.
We all fall short at times but have the tools to be successful. After all, in our current new covenant age, Romans 6:14 reminds us of our elevated position in Christ.
Of the many ways we may define grace, not being a slave to sin is one of them. God graciously warns us as He did the former invalid, later a newly healed man, from the pool of the disabled in Bethesda.
Ms. Rita's Minute 