Reflection of John 5:1-16

Jesus is back in Jerusalem for another feast of the Jews. During His time in Jerusalem He came upon a ‘healing’ pool that many disabled people soaked in. Apparently, the ‘healing’ pool wasn’t too successful; the man who caught Jesus attention had been lame for 38 years!

Jesus sees the man. He notices the pain and discomfort. He approaches the man with the question: Do you want to get well? John 5:6.

Let’s pause here to notice something. Jesus approached him. Often in the gospels we see desperate people approach Jesus begging for healing. This is not the case. This man does not even know who Jesus is. He is not asking for healing. Jesus is offering it.

The man response shows that He doesn’t see Jesus as a healer, but rather was putting His hope in the curative powers of the water. Is that us? Even though medications, natural remedies or therapies can be a means God gives to heal, do we trust in them above the true Healer Himself?

Jesus is gracious. He simply answers “Get up, take up your bed, and walk” John 5:8. And Jesus’ word  healed the man. Usually faith was essential for such a miracle, but here we see that ‘[Jesus] was not limited by a person’s lack of it.’ -NIV Study Bible Note

But there was a problem. Jesus freed this man from suffering on the Sabbath, a day loaded down with man-made laws and strict regulations. When the Jewish leaders see this man carrying his mat on the Sabbath, they take NO notice that he has been miraculously healed and freed from suffering! They should have been praising God for this astounding healing! Instead, they are upset that this man has the audacity to carry his mat on the Sabbath! Talk about missing the forest for the trees!

They questioned the man “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” John 5:12

The healed man did not know. But Jesus approached him later to warn him. “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you” John 5:14. Jesus is so gracious. He gives a kind warning implying that if true repentance does not happen there is a future judgment.

How does the healed man respond? This is where my heart breaks. Upon finding out Jesus’ identity, he goes to the Jews to tattle on the One who told him to ‘break’ the Sabbath. The cured man knew the Jewish leaders were not going to be kind to this Healer. In fact we will soon find that this ‘tattling’ resulted in persecution for Jesus (see John 5:16). The previously lame man seemed to care more about what these religious leaders thought than being grateful to the One who called Him to a new life.

In this story we see that not every response to Jesus is one of belief. Jesus may work powerfully in somebody’s life and the person may turn their back on the Saviour the next second. Praise of man can choke out the praise of God in our lives. This is truly heart wrenching.

What about us? Will we give God the glory for His work in our lives? Or will we pursue the praise of man? How will we respond to His gracious invitation to a new life?