Scripture
"When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, 'Would you like to get well?' " (John 5:6)
Observation
The Pool of Bethesda was crowded with sick people that day. Why was it crowded with only sick people? Well, there was a belief that an angel would visit this pool and stir the waters, and, when the waters were stirred, the first person to enter the now anointed waters would be healed. So a multitude gathered with hopes held high searching for their healing. One gentleman in particular had been coming to the pool for 38 years, and he was hoping this day would be the one. Imagine the anticipation as the masses fixed their eyes on the pool just waiting for the slightest ripple before they made their mad dash to dive into the healing waters. If we were honest, though, I’m sure after 38 years this man didn’t really think he’d make it into those waters first. I mean, did he really think he’d get healed? Maybe he thought there was a chance the first year, or the second year, or the third year, or the fifth year, or the tenth year...but at this point did he really believe? Or was he just going through the motions, the routine, the habit of attending the event. Out of all the people that sat by the pool Jesus chose to walk up to this one man and pose one question: “Would you like to get well?” Now, if you’re anything like me, you’d assume his answer would be YES! ABSOLUTELY! That’s why I’m here! But his answer was a peculiar one: I can’t get well because I have no one to help me get in their first. Ok wait...then why are you even there!? If this man knows he won’t be able to get healed why is he wasting his time sitting poolside? In fact, Jesus’ popularity was growing at this point, so how did he not recognize the person asking him if he wanted to be healed? In fact, how did everyone in that huge crowd not recognize?
I wonder if this man’s discouragement after 38 years of waiting blinded him from what was right before him.
I wonder if his faith in being healed had all but disappeared and if he was now just doing what he always did without expecting anything to really happen.
I wonder if the crowds were so fixated on the waters, on how they thought healing was going to come, that they completely missed the Healer who was standing before them.
Application
I wonder if this is how we’ve gotten. Is there a situation, a relationship, a healing that you once prayed for but gave up on since you saw no immediate change? Or maybe, like this man who went to the pool out of habit and didn’t really think anything would happen, I wonder if we attend church or small groups out of habit and don’t really believe the miraculous could happen. Or maybe, like the crowds who were so caught up in their own plan and way, I wonder if we’ve lost sight of the fact that the True Healer, the True Deliverer, the True God is with us, and He is the One asking if we want to find salvation, deliverance, change, and purpose. It’s not in the water.
I actually set out to write my devotion on how the man responded with excuses and reasons why he’d never be healed, but as I typed I was greatly impacted by the masses around this pool seeking hope yet completely missing the fact that Hope was standing right before them. How does the story end? Well, Jesus tells the man to stand up, pick up his mat, and walk, and instantly he was healed! May our faith in the power of our God be renewed today as we see just how GREAT He is!
Prayer
Jesus, forgive me for allowing discouragement to often blind me from You. Forgive me for going through the motions and not expecting to see You move. Forgive me for getting so fixated on “the waters”, the strategies, the plans, and what I think will work and completely missing You. I praise You because You are truly a Mighty God, and I put my hope and trust in You today. In Your name, Amen!
