“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going, another steps down before me.” – John 5:7 (ESV)
One day, Jesus went to the pool in Bethesda to see a man who had been crippled in one of his legs for most of his life. In fact, this man had been in this condition for several years prior to Jesus’ own birth. And this pool, as legend would have it, had miraculous healing properties. The locals believed that at certain seasons of the year (probably during the celebratory feasts), God would randomly send an angel down to stir the water to unleash its healing power. According to tradition, whoever jumped into the pool first would be miraculously healed.
John says that ordinarily there was a great number of lame and sick people who would lie around this pool waiting for their chance once the water would start to bubble. It’s worth noting that anytime the Bible uses terminology like “a great number,” it usually means that there were hundreds, possibly even thousands. So John gives us this clear image of this pool being very crowded that day.
Jesus walks in with his disciples and spots the man right away. Knowing that he had been there a long time, he asked him a question.
“Do you want to be healed?”
As I read this, it makes me curious to know if perhaps this might be the first and only time in this man’s life that he’s ever been asked such a seemingly absurd question! We don’t know if the man has any friends there at the pool with him, because the Bible makes no mention of it. But if he did – I’m sure that none of them ever felt the need to ask him what seems to be such an absurd question! I mean, why else would this man lay by this pool year after year after year?! So to us, the question would indeed seem preposterous, if not borderline mean spirited.
But what if the person posing this question to him had the power to heal him? That is what makes it such an important question. For anyone else to ask this question would indeed be absurd.
But not for Jesus.
And it is such a compelling question, because as ridiculous as it may seem, not everyone truly wants to be healed. Some become so dependent on the attention and sympathy of being the victim that they see some sort of benefit to being unwell.
With asking this question, Jesus was doing what Jesus always does. He wanted this man to think about his desperate situation. He wanted to get involved in his life. He wanted to heal him and give him a completely new life, one that was far more meaningful than just the ability to walk again.
And make no mistake, this man was prepared to go down that road with Jesus. How do we know this? Because he completely ignores the Great Healer’s question. “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going, another steps down before me!”
This encounter has a happy ending. Or at least a happy ending with a stern warning. Jesus told him to pick up his mat and walk. And this is precisely what the man did. He had been healed.
Sometime later Jesus found him at the temple and had a quick conversation with him. “Oh, I see you are well! Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you!” The man had been physically healed, but Jesus was far more concerned about his spiritual health.
So as we go about our day today, some questions arise from this encounter that warrant our reflection.
- How often do we make excuses and take comfort in our misery?
- If Jesus met you where you are today and asked you if you want to be healed, what would it be and what might you say?
- Do we look for other sources of healing instead of first taking it to Christ?
- How healthy is your spiritual health?
Former Blackout Artist 