John 5:5-14
5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”

Before you go any further, go back and read the scripture again, taking the time to feel your way through each word.

What has the Holy Spirit shown you?
Do you see any of the scripture in a new way?
How does this story affect your life? If at all.

Now, let’s continue on together looking at a couple of points that reach out to me.

In verse 7, and I quote, “someone else always gets there ahead of me”. Can you see the issue here? It had become a competition, emphasizing first place or winning. We are very competitive (by nature) people. Even if you’re not an athlete, we all compete. We compete in the work place, the freeway, board games, for affection and even at the supermarket check out line. That’s right, I did it, I pulled out the grocery store card, we all fail!

We need to realize that our lives are not a race and God does not care how fast we run or how high we jump. That man had been waiting 38 years and was prepared to continue waiting. God wants all of us to become complete with Him and that takes time, patience and faith. How do you equate success?

Look back at Verse 5, Jesus asks him if he would like to be well and he responds “I CAN’T”. I wish we all felt like WE CAN’T. We may say with our mouths that we can’t get to heaven except through Jesus, yet our actions say otherwise. We, over time become fool (full) with the world. We say, not with words but actions, look at how successful I am in life. I’ve worked hard to get me where I am today; I’ve sacrificed greatly to get my family into this home and to have the things they want; You know I’m in the zone, I haven’t missed a day of church in over 2 years.

If, and this is a big if, if we truly understood the truth that we are unable to put ourselves into the presence of God. We, just like the lame man are lying helplessly without the regenerating healing power of God. All mankind is in dire need of the Savior Jesus Christ, to carry us into the presence of God.

Talk about humbling, I can’t do anything but wait on God? There must be something I can do to get his attention, I’ll work real hard and be successful at work and in my marriage; I’ll pay my bills on time and volunteer at the food bank; I’ll be a really good person; better yet if God wont come to me I’ll go to Him, I’ll attend church every week until He sees me. It will only be a matter of time before I get noticed!

What’s interesting is that there is no talk about all the other people there, just the one man. Jesus did not help the man into the pool so he could win. Instead, Jesus removed this man out of the competition totally, making it an intimate and relational issue between the two of them.

Verse 8 gives me goose bumps, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Process this, here is a man that for 38 years laid helpless. From the lack of use, his muscles and connecting tissues rotting away leaving him as a skeleton wrapped in skin. It would take a person in this condition with the help of physical therapy years, if ever, because of the amount of muscle loss, to be able to walk. And here is Jesus, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

At that very moment in time, the man’s muscles throughout his body swelled and had the strength to carry not only himself but also the mat he had been laying on for the last 38 years. Goose Bumps…

OK, it’s time to burst our little bubble. As my dad always says, “In each life a little rain must fall”. In verse 10, let’s cut off our heads in spite of our noses. “…the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured totally, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”. I JUST WANT TO SCREAM! A man that has not walked for 38 years is questioned by the uptight clergy of the day. What do you think your doing? Don’t you not know that you cannot carry your mat on the Sabbath. They looked past the miracle and focused on the rule. Just like Martha in Luke 10:38-42, she was consumed with the things surrounding Jesus and not Him.

The funny thing, is that the rule that they where concerned about was of oral tradition and not the written word of God. The OT does forbid work on the Sabbath but does not stipulate what “work” specifically indicates. Scripture does give us the indicators that it meant, ones customary employment. The Jewish leaders (Rabbi’s) had developed oral traditions beyond the OT which stipulated specific activities that they considered forbidden.

So look at it again, the Jewish leaders were really saying, “Hey, your old enough to know my rules. What makes you think you can break my rules? I, and my counter parts strictly forbid it! They had taken it personal. This is the only way I can see how they could be blinded from a wondrous miracle. Look at the context of verse 12, “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

Here is the kicker, at the time of the healing Jesus did not expect anything from the man or give him rules. His only instruction was pick up your mat and go home and there he left him, verse 13. But wait, there is more, Jesus did not leave him alone. Verse 14, “But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.””, Jesus did not leave the man to his own way, he was called to change his life. He was even warned that if he did not change his life, something even worse could happen to him. What could be worse than being crippled and totally dependant upon other people, totally helpless? Simple, HELL!

Just as Jesus called out the lame man, so are we to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Exhibiting His traits throughout our daily activates.

Just a thought or three.