John 5:1-9 English Standard Version
The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath
5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic[a] called Bethesda,[b] which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.[c] 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “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.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
“Would you like to get well?”
Sometimes our biggest disease isn’t what appears in our bodies.
Instead, this disease hides in our hearts.
“Would you like to get well?”
That’s a much harder question to answer than meets the eye — when applied to my spiritual wellbeing. I might have to change.
I might have to give up my excuses.
I might have to adapt to a different lifestyle.
I might have to give up blaming others for my problems.
I might have to take some responsibility for my own condition.
Jesus asked the question because, in this case, the man had a real, physical disease. After 38 years, as the man shows by the end of today’s verses when he made an excuse, he does not sound ready to take responsibility for anything.
What about us?
Do we really want to get well, both spiritually and physically?
Do we really mean it when we utter the words, confess and pray before God?
Taking a brutally honest look at ourselves – are we truly ready to be authentic?
Ignoring our usual irrational array, our cacophony of excuses, weak rationales?
Psalm 51:1-15 The Message
51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
Psalm 139:23-24 The Message
23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.
Do we authentically want, in those moments, like David prayed, an answer?
Because, truth be told, we are not even close to ready for God to truly say; “ok?”
Then we need to do some hardcore surrendering within ourselves, refuse Saul’s armor, to come to Christ and be ready for the Holy Spirit to begin changing us!
We had better be ready for God, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, is going to arrive when we least expect it, want it, desire it, need it – and begin their work!
Whether we are ready or not … God will make His power and presence well felt!
God is absolutely going to overwhelm us … lead, guide, direct shape, conform us, transform us, move us completely against our wills down His narrow road!
God is Still Asking Us; Would We Like to Get Well?
John 5:7 Amplified Bible
7 The invalid answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am coming [to get into it myself], someone else steps down ahead of me.”
There is a place where our hurt and our healer collide, the irresistible force God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, versus the immovable object – us – our rock hardened hearts.
Do we sometimes hold back from accepting Jesus’ transforming power in our lives? Have we become so used to struggling that we can’t imagine things going another way? Sometimes the crutch we know is easier than the walk we haven’t experienced, and that crutch can become an inconveniently hardcore excuse.
It’s often easier to rely on the ways we are familiar with, rather than trying a new way that means change and transformation.
When Jesus asks this man if he wants to be made well, he does not answer with a yes—only a reason why it can’t happen. He’s had 38 years of only seeing the story one way; the thought of anything else hasn’t still entered his thinking.
But Jesus is offering so much more than this man can fathom or imagine.
When Jesus asks us this question, do we limit him on the basis of our experience, or do we have hope that he can do something more?
When we are confronted with the question of change, of thinking bigger than we have imagined before, can we say yes? Will our answer be .01% authentic?
When we begin to understand that the one asking the question is our Lord and Savior, our Creator, our comforter, our healer, and our #1 best friend, who loves us and cares about all of the details of our lives, can we say anything but yes?
Well, today is a good day to imagine what the Lord can do if we don’t hold back.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19 Amplified Bible
The Works and the Word of God.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 