Today’s Reading: Nahum 1; Nahum 2; Nahum 3; John 5
Scripture: John 5:2-9
2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
Observation: "Do you want to get well?" That is Jesus' startling question to this man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. "Of course I want to get well! What do you think? You think I like lying here on the ground?!" That's how I would have expected the man to reply -- but he does not reply anything like this. Read again the man's response in verse 7. It sounds like blame and excuses. "I don't have someone to get me in the water when it is stirred -- and then somebody else is able to get in ahead of me. So I can't get healed! It's not my fault!"
[One of my tongue-in-cheek "famous" quotations is: "Happiness is having someone to blame." I think that for many people, this saying is unfortunately a part of their philosophy of life.]
Application: I am actually surprised that Jesus healed him. (But Jesus does warn him later to stop sinning -- which could be the blaming and failing to take responsibility.) Jesus just tells the man directly, "get up!" In other words, "Enough with your excuses!" The great thing is that the man does it! And he is healed! I have seen people get all offended when I tried to help them get beyond their excuses and other self-imposed limitations on their own deliverance. There's nothing anyone can do for a person who is unwilling or unable to take action to help themselves.
Bottom line: let's listen to the Lord and others when they challenge us to make bold changes and stop blaming others for the difficult situations in our lives. Think of what would have happened to the paralyzed man if he had chosen to focus on his excuses. "Well, Jesus, you just don't understand my circumstances..." He would have missed the experience of walking!
Prayer: Lord, help us to listen to You and to others and to lay aside our excuses and our blaming and to "get up and walk!" May we respond to the voice of challenge, even if it seems insensitive or harsh. May we hear the love of others when they spur us on to grow beyond our limitations.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
5 comments:
As children we are taught to obey our parents. Why is it that we seem to forget this as we grow older? God is our Father in heaven, just as we obeyed our parents we should obey his guidence. The invalid did this even though it was technicaly forbidden for him to do so on the Sabbath.
Further into the chapter Jesus while facing the persecution of those in the temple says "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
God is always at work within and around us. I thank Him endlessly for my brothers in Christ who remind me to listen and obey as I would my parents EVERY DAY.
Mark, I appreciate your comments.
Whether or not this was actually forbidden by God is an open question. The fact that Jesus told him to do it leads me to believe that a clear understanding of the sabbath commands would allow it. However, what is not in question is that The Perfection Police were on the job and they definitely saw it as a violation. But that should never stop us from doing what Jesus tells us to do. I suggest you read a previous blog that I wrote on the subject. The date was April 25, 2006 and the title is The Perfection Police.
The other amazing thing is that they couldn't understand that if God healed the man, He must be ok with doing it on the sabbath since he did it on the sabbath! If God has no problem with it, who am I to object?!
wHAT A GREAT INSIGHT INTO THIS SCRIPTURE. I had always thought the invalid's response to be strange but had never really analyzed it as making excuses as to why he couldn't be healed. I think you nailed it. That's exactly what he was doing. And how often we do the same. Excuses and blame allow us to not have to face our fears to move out of our comfort zone and/or allow us to be lazy without feeling guilty for it. Great insight! Thanks for sharing
One of my biggest problems is procrasination. I can think of many reasons why not to do something. Sometimes I allow the areas of my life that have already been healed to control my present and future. I constantly need to remind my self to pick up my mate a walk. Thank God for his Work. "He that began a good work in me will continue into the time of Jesus".
Correction: pick up my mat and walk . Not pick up my mate and walk. ha ha.
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