A Word from John 5

When you hear about all the conflict, and hatred, and suffering in the world…don’t you wish something could happen that would bring healing? And what about your own life? Are there disappointments and defeats—challenges and losses—that you’d like to change? And as you consider all these less-than-desirable situations, what would you be willing to change, so that healing could come?

I think about these questions as I read today’s word from John Chapter 5. Jesus was visiting the pool of Bethesda, where—the Bible says—a great number of disabled people used to lie, because it was believed that when an angel stirred the water the first one to get in would be healed. And when Jesus saw a man who’d been an invalid for thirty-eight years, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (v. 6)

Of course, that seems like a silly question. But then, the man doesn’t say, “Yes, I do.” Instead, he offers excuses about why he can’t be healed. “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred,” he explains. “While I’m trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” (v. 7)

Now, I can’t help but wonder if Jesus is constantly asking us, “Do you want to get well?” But instead of responding with eager faith and obedience, we begin to make excuses. The world is too broken. The pain in our lives is caused by forces outside our control.

But perhaps, like this man, we fail to trust enough in the One who invites us to receive healing—the One who says to us, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (v. 8) and then provides the strength healing that makes genuine change possible.

So maybe the question Jesus really wants us to answer is this: “Are you ready to change?” And if we are, may we jump up and follow him, eager to be healed of all that holds us back. Amen.