DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GET WELL

Proclamation:

“When Jesus saw him lying there … He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ … Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.’  At once the man was cured …”  John 5:6-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the incident with an invalid male at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.  The man had been affected for thirty-eight years when Jesus saw him and asked him if we wanted to get well.  Rather than answer the question, the man began to offer excuses regarding why he had not gotten well.  The water in the pool had healing power once it had been stirred by an angel and it would heal the first to enter it.  Jesus, told the man to get up, pick up his bed and walk and at once he was cured.  This upset the Jewish leaders because it occurred on the Sabbath and it was not lawful to work on the Sabbath. (John 5:10)  They wanted to know who told him to pick it up and walk.  Sin may have been the cause of this man’s problem because Jesus told him stop sinning or something worse may happen to him. (John 5:14)  The remainder of the chapter deals with Jesus offering His justification and authority to do what He did. (John 5:16-47)  Jesus preformed His third miracle and they wanted to kill Him for it.

Application:

First, all too often we beat around the bush instead answering a direct question.  Frequently we offer excuses for our behavior or our inability to get something done.  Jesus was questioning this man’s faith; He knew that he was sitting by the pool because he wanted to be healed.  Our faith is tested regularly.  There can be not testimony without first having a test.  Too many of us are focused on our problem or our situation and waiting for someone to help us, not realizing that faith in The Lord God is all that we need.  Jesus, The Christ, is God.  He can do anything that God, The Father, can do. (John 5:19)  He can give life to whomever He pleases. (John 5:21)  He has been given the final judgment of all mankind. (John 5:22-23)