Healing Desired
May 3, 2009
As I have read God’s Word over the years there have been times when I have thought to myself: “That is really good. I never realized that truth before.” There have been other times that as I read the Bible, I thought to myself: that is an arrogant statement. And there have been times when I thought: that was really dumb or stupid. Early on I never verbalized that to anyone because, after all this is God’s Word, and it is holy and true, accurate in all ways with nothing wrong with it whatsoever. There are also Scriptures that I have never quite understood either. As I have grown in faith and my walk with Jesus and my understanding of the gospel, I have learned that it is okay to have questions, to not fully understand, and to raise issues that are perplexing. All for the ultimate purpose of discovering God’s perfect truth.
Our Scripture story today is one of those stories that when I read it early on, I found Jesus’ words troubling and in fact I thought His words quite dumb, if not altogether naïve. John records a situation that found Jesus and his disciples near the Sheep Gate of the walled city of Jerusalem at the Pool of Bethesda. The sick, infirmed, paralyzed, and blind gathered here hoping to be healed. It was a man who had been an invalid for 38 years to whom Jesus spoke. Here again we see Jesus’ compassion, and He asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” I remember reading this story as a teenager finding it quite troubling—one of those stupid statements by Jesus. How could Jesus ask such a dumb question? I thought. I just didn’t get it. Here is Jesus, the Son of God who knows all things asking a blatantly obvious question. Duh?! Of course he wants to get well and be healed! No one wants to be sick or blind or paralyzed or infirmed. What kind of question is that?
However, life itself, growing in God’s grace, experiencing all kinds of people over the years has taught me that Jesus didn’t ask a stupid and dumb question at all. I was the one who was naïve, not Jesus. “Do you want to get well?” In my youthful arrogance I just couldn’t imagine anyone who wanted to be sick or be an invalid, or to better himself or herself for that matter. I don’t remember how it came to me, but I came to understand that there are some people, maybe a lot more people that we imagine, who really don’t want to be healed or to improve their situations.
Think about it. If you are sick, an invalid or infirmed, doesn’t somebody else take care of you? They cook your meals, clean up after you, take you places, pamper and comfort you, and tend to your every need. You don’t have to go to work, or worry about paying the bills. You have no responsibilities. If a sense of failure begins to cloud your reasoning, you simply dismiss it because you have a socially accepted and valid reason. Nobody expects a sick person to work. No one has high expectations for invalids. When you are sick or incapacitated in some way, no one expects you to make life’s tough decisions. There are no pressures or disappointments in life. For many people, sickness is a convenient and acceptable escape from personal responsibility. Much better to have someone else wait on me hand and foot and serve me, rather than me taking responsibility for myself. Sadly many people rather enjoy the carefree and relaxed atmosphere of the debilitation, whatever that may be. So the question by Jesus becomes a very acute and haunting question—“Do you want to get well?” If we like it the way things are in our lives, then nothing will change.
Look at the paralyzed man’s response, “There is no one to help me.” It is amazing how easy it is for us to blame someone else, and to find excuses for our infirmity. Sometimes we put the blame on others, maybe our childhood situation. We often blame our parents for the lack of our success or wholeness. It may be our spouse’s fault, or life’s circumstances, or a freak accident. Today we easily pass the buck and shirk personal responsibility. How convenient to say, “It’s the economy.”
Notice that conversing with this paralyzed man at the pool, Jesus doesn’t go into a long diatribe on belief, or try to pinpoint the cause of his situation nor place blame. Jesus doesn’t preach to him about having more faith, or even being more responsible. After 38 paralyzing years, Jesus simply says, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” (verse 8) The amazing thing is the man does it! He listens to Jesus and obeys Jesus’ command. For the first time in 38 long years he walks.
The authority for healing is in Jesus. The power for healing is in Jesus. Notice that Jesus didn’t help him up. Jesus didn’t even touch the man. He didn’t help him in anyway. He simply spoke the words, and the man responded and was healed that day.
As we have been focusing on emotional healing, I don’t know what your specific “disease” is. It may be physical, it may be spiritual, or it may be emotional. Your disease may even be relational. Are you content the way you are? Do you want to get well? Or do you have lots of excuses and reasons why you just can’t be well.
It only takes a spark. It only takes the faith the size of a grain of mustard seed. It only takes you saying ‘yes’ to Jesus. Our healing is found in Jesus. Our wholeness is found in His brokenness. He was broken for you. Healing is possible through His pain. Comfort comes by way of Jesus’ suffering.
Whatever you sickness, dis-ease, discomfort, infirmity and brokenness, bring it to Jesus this morning and let Him work a miracle of healing in your life.
“Do you want to get well?” What Jesus has done for others, He’ll do for you.