Review of John 5

“Do you want to get well?”

That is the question Jesus asked the man at the pool of Bethesda.  It seemed like an obvious question seeing that the man was sitting beside a pool that was known for miraculous healing and that he had been sitting there day after day for years.  And yet, there was no remedy for the many except to sit within inches of help and hope and wonder if he would ever get well.  

Jesus told the man to “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” vs 8  The command came with the authority to make it happen and with the expectation that the man would testify to the miracle that had happened in his life.  And because the man obeyed, he was able to get up and walk for the first time in 38 years. 

This story, this command, this miracle have direct implications for our lives as well.  Jesus sees our heart and he can see the spiritual sickness we suffer from, even if we have the ability to hide it from others or even ourselves.  We, like the lame man, find ourselves within inches of the Truth, but unable to access it without the help of the Savior...and our willingness to obey him.  

“Do you want to get well?”  Jesus asks us the same question.  The cure for our spiritual sickness is believing that Jesus is the Christ, accepting the life that is offered through his sacrifice and then getting up and walking; testifying to others the life he has given us.  We are free to run, dance, sing and live in Jesus...if only we would “Get up and walk!”

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31