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| Notes from Bethesda |
We continue this week with the story of the sick man healed at the Pool of Bethesda. [John 5:1-15].Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:5-6, NKJV)
The choice of life is ours, not God’s. He has done His part. The next move is ours to make. Obviously, He has His preference. He would want us to have life and life to its fullest measure. [John 10:10] He would want us to be healed. [Matthew 15:26-29; Isaiah 53:5-6] He would want us to be the best we can be. He would want us to have the fullness worked for us in Christ's sacrifice.
However, whether or not we walk in the fullness of life is ours to choose, not His. He has done His part. Now the ball is in our court. Below are a few notes from Bethesda's pool, where the lame man was healed [John 5:1-15].
- Unlike all other miracles, it was Jesus who went to the man and not the man coming to Jesus. Why?
- Jesus's question to the man was specific, “Do you want to be made well?” Note again, this is uncharacteristic of Jesus. Typically, He will ask, “what will you have me do for you?”
- Rather than answer Jesus’ direct question, the man gave the answer he had been repeating all his life. He said, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Was he looking for healing or for pity? Is his statement true? Did he really need someone else to receive his healing?
- How come a man who was just healed of a thirty-eight-year-old sickness did not know the name of the person who just healed him? Would you?
- Why did Jesus come back to find him and tell him what He did? A statement you will probably never find in any other miracle that Jesus performed. He said, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
"When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed." (Ezra Taft Benson)
"If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author, and every day you have the opportunity to write a new page." (Mark Houlahan)What will you do with Christ? What will you do with the abundance He has provided? The next move is yours. How are you going to play?
© 2013 Akin Akinbodunse
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