Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” [John 5.1-6]
This account of Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethesda contains a truth that is important to see and understand. However, this truth is not the popular opinion circulated and believed by many Christians...
There are those who use John 5.1-6 to prove that God doesn't heal everyone based on the written fact that there were crowds of sick people there and yet Jesus only healed one man. Oh how compelling this conclusion is! BUT, nothing could be further from the truth!
As this story goes, so goes modern society (and sadly, the Church). The people at the pool of Bethesda had discovered that when the water bubbled up, the first person in the water would be healed of their infirmity. They all waited for that random bubbling up to occur and their chance to get in to be healed. It would seem these infirmed people spent all their time there at the pool somewhat isolated from the rest of society revealed by the fact that no one there evidently recognized or called out to Jesus when He showed up. The oddity of this fact is that by this time, Jesus had already attracted a lot of attention and name recognition as a miracle worker - but still no one recognized Him there at the pool of Bethesda.
My point here is that people (and again, sadly, the Church) are waiting around for debt, insurance, medicine and technology to remedy their needs just like the people at the pool of Bethesda waited on the bubbling of the water. So focused are the people on these idols that they do not know or recognize Jesus as Healer.
It took Jesus saying something to the man for the conversation to begin and, even then, the man could only envision healing if he was helped into the pool. This is the way people treat debt, insurance, medicine and technology: they refuse to take their focus off these idols that promise some form of temporary relief while Jesus stands before them offering the ultimate cure! When a person tells them, "Jesus will meet your need," they immediately envision and pursue debt, insurance, medicine or technology for their remedy. They look right past Jesus to depend on their idols.
We should take two things away from this story: 1) Don't be like the lame man (or anyone else at the pool of Bethesda for that matter), and, 2) Be like Jesus.
We should not be like the lame man completely missing Jesus. Instead, we should put all our effort and energy into knowing Him - knowing the Father Who sent Him - and trusting in Him alone! We cannot expect to recognize Jesus when all we have focused on to meet our needs are debt, insurance, medicine and technology!
Then, we should also be like Jesus Who simply asked, “Would you like to get well?” We should be so bold among those blinded by idolatry (who do not know or recognize Jesus) to reveal Jesus to them as He lives and moves in our lives because we have been sent as Jesus was sent to do the works Jesus did!
To focus on all the people that Jesus did not heal at the pool of Bethesda is just as fruitless as those sick people all focusing on the pool of Bethesda while Jesus stood in their midst!
Father, may the truth of Your Word illuminate our idolatry and may our eyes (and all our hope) be returned to You in Jesus Christ.
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