A man who is physically healed but not spiritually
| 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. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." 11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' " 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (John5:1-15 ) |
What is fascinating is to look at how persistent Jesus is in trying to heal the whole person...
Let's look at the man first.
The first clue we have to his brokenness is in the question Jesus asks him: "Do you want to be well?" Under normal circumstances this question would seem like a no-brainer. My response would probably be: "(With respect) Duh! Of course I want to be well."
But the man's response is telling: "There's no-one to help me..."
He takes no responsibility for himself. He has become dependent in every sense of the word.
The next clue we have is that when Jesus heals him and he gets into trouble for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, he doesn't celebrate the miracle, he immediately blames Jesus but can't identify Him.
The final clue to His brokenness is that when Jesus follows up with him, he rushes straight to "the Jews" (John's code for the Pharisees - (or the "religious mafia" as I call them.)) It is clear that the man's dependency syndrome is still in place and he decides to throw his lot in with the Jews by becoming an "informer" and betraying the One who healed him. He has remained a cripple in his heart...
(It's interesting that John gives us a mirror image of this man in John 9 in the story of the man born blind who, when healed by Jesus, stands up for him.)
But it is Jesus' love and persistence that grabs me here.
- Out of all the people lying at the pool, Jesus chooses this man, who turns out to be ungrateful and traitorous.
- Jesus, in His initial question to the man, indicates that he knows the man's deepest brokenness. Being well would mean taking responsibility. The man may not be ready.
- Jesus heals him anyway - the man is to have the choice and Jesus doesn't make it for him.
- Jesus follows up with him. He affirms that the man is well - that he doesn't need to be a dependent. But the man decides he'd rather be in the Jews' good books and so he betrays Jesus to them.
When we share the gospel with people, they still have their own choices to make. Sometimes, even when people experience the miraculous, they can harden their hearts. This should not deter us. It didn't deter Jesus. He continued to reach out and to follow up.
So should we...
