|
John 5:1-3, 5-9 - After this ... Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
Note to readers: This is an alternate reading from the Three Year Lectionary, and may not match up with the readings your church uses this Sunday.
This is a strange story. Jesus is standing amid a sea of sick people—all of them desperate for help—but He picks out this one man to talk to. And He says to him, "Do you want to be well?"
What an odd question to ask! Doesn't everyone want to be healthy? Well, maybe not. This man has been sick for 38 years. If he gets better, he's going to face a huge change in his life. Maybe Jesus' question is a lot deeper than I thought.
The man doesn't answer him directly—he just complains. But apparently this is good enough for Jesus, for the next thing He does is to command the man to get up and walk. And being a tidy-minded Savior, He reminds him to take his bed with him!
And then, Jesus goes away—leaving everybody else unhealed. Why? I don't know. Oh, I can think of good reasons, such as the fact that He'd cause a riot if He tried to heal everyone, and probably get crucified early. But the fact is, this is exactly the way God behaves in the whole Bible—and in our lives today. He deals with people one by one, never as an assembly line. Some few people get miracles; most of us continue to suffer. Jesus behaves like His Father—which is to say, He doesn't explain Himself. He just does what He's going to do.
And yet—and yet, what Jesus does do is good. The man is healed, even though it creates a huge fuss when the authorities realize it was done on the Sabbath day. And Jesus goes looking for him later to deal with a very private sin matter which only the two of them know about.
So what do we make of this? Some people get angry with God for not behaving in a way they understand. They refuse to deal with Jesus until He changes His ways.
Others say, "I don't understand Him, but I'll trust Him." Because what we do understand is good. We understand, for example, that He gave up His life on the cross in order to rescue all of us from the power of sin, guilt, and death. And then He rose again, so that everyone who trusts in Him can live forever.
I don't understand Jesus, but I trust Him. That's enough for me.
WE PRAY: Lord, help me when I'm frustrated with You, and let me trust You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you ever get frustrated with God?
2. How do you deal with your frustration?
3. What does Jesus' death and resurrection say to you about His heart?
|
