Jesus Heals a Lame Man

Scripture:  John 5:1-15 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 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?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” 11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. 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.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. (John 5:1–15 NLT)

Jesus was back in Jerusalem. He had recently been there for the Passover Feast, so this was probably the Pentecost Festival which occurred fifty days later. Near the Sheep Gate, one of the main entrances to the walled city, was the Pool of Bethesda. Legend said that when bubbles rose to the surface, an angel was stirring the water, and whoever got in first would be healed. Crowds of blind, lame, or paralyzed people lined the edge of the pool hoping for their opportunity.

Jesus noticed a lame man and asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” he replied, “when the water bubbles up, someone always gets there first.” Jesus said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly the man was healed!

When I’m facing a problem, if Jesus asked me, “Would you like this problem solved?”, I’m likely to react the same way as the lame man. I’d probably say, “I’ve tried this and that and nothing works!” But that isn’t the question! The question is, “Do you want the problem solved?” And the answer is, “Yes, sir! I do sir! Will you please fix it!?”

Prayer:

Father, Next time instead of rationalizing why my problem isn’t solved and my need isn’t met, I’m just going to ask for help! Amen!