SCRIPTURE:
Joh 5:5-8 MSG
(5) One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?"
(7) The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in."
(8) Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking."
OBSERVATION:
The tradition goes that once a year an angel would stir the waters in the pool of Bethesda and that the first sick person to get into the pool when it was being stirred up by the angel would get healed.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem to celebrate what is thought to be the passover feast (possibly around the time when this angel would stir the waters).
Jesus locks eyes with this lame man... and has insight / word of knowledge about the length that this man has suffered with his condition... 38 years.
Can you imagine each year as this miraculous event occurs... where you have placed all your hope of regaining some sort of normalcy... that as you attempt to get into the waters which you have been keenly watching for the last month... only to be disappointed as someone else beats you in the waters...
year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year!
Can you imagine the building frustration. Anger. Disappointment. Depression. Resentment. Hopelessness.
But most of all, the feeling of being alone.
He had no one to help him.
No one.
I believe that the greatest disease of the 21st century is loneliness. We may be surrounded by crowds of people... and yet we are all alone. Its a disease that causes depression, suicide, bad choices, apathy, nihilism, ...
Perhaps the greatest miracle that the Lost are in need of (besides their salvation) is someone who will truly connect with them. Be there for them. Listen. Do life together with them.
APPLICATION:
I am so busy with tasks... that I neglect 'being there' for people. Getting involved in their lives.
I need to be intentional about booking out time to just 'be' with people.
This is a high calling. A beautiful ministry.
PRAYER:
Father, help me to realize the beauty and worth of just 'being with' people.
May You give me a heart that would be a miracle for those You have ordained into my life.
Open my eyes. Reveal to me the pleasure that You take in this act... this miracle.
Hound me Lord when I place task over your precious treasures, give me Your heart.
Amen.
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1 comment:
Hey Clive,
Just prepping for leaders lifegroup tonight and thought I would check out the blogs while I was SOAPing. I too picked up on the same group of verses as you did but what I find fascinating is the completely different take I had on them =). I know this won't surprise you - but I thought I'd add my 10c worth for others interest!!!
In v 6 Jesus asks a simple yes/no question. Do you want to get well? The response He gets does not even answer the question - instead it appears almost as a justification - "well Sir, I've been trying but really I don't have a chance. Everytime I try to get there in time but no-one is here with me and someone always beats me to it." Jesus' response? An instruction - "get up, take your mat (cos your not staying here) and walk".
If it was me I would have rephrased the original question, or entered into a discussion about the different ways he could overcome the excuses given above. Jesus simply gives him an instruction and another solution all together. He got straight to the heart of the matter and at the same time gave the man hope and an awareness that ultimately it was up to him to act on the instruction. Friends couldn't do this for him - it was up to him entirely to take hold of his healing and this blessing from God. This must have totally changed his mindset about himself.
Jesus didn't leave it there, He caught up with the man in the temple later that day and gave him advice on how to take hold of his life.
How does this apply? Well it reminds me not to get sidetracked by justifications and excuses - especially when it comes to sharing the gospel. At the end of the day the question that matters is 'Do you want to get well?' and regardless of the response I need to then share how to get well - 'ask Jesus into your heart as Lord and Saviour.' How they respond to this is their responsibility - mine is to follow them up and share advice etc along the way.
The WORD is awesome!!!
luv Cat
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