Jesus Heals a Lame Man

Monday, December 30, 2013      Jesus Heals a Lame Man    

John 5:1-9a

The Pools of Bethesda are quite large and deep. The local legend was that the waters had healing properties. When an angel would stir the water, it would bubble up, and the first person in the water would be healed. (Verse 4 provided this information, but the verse is not in the most ancient copies of John, so it has been deleted in most modern translations.) Jesus’ question to the crippled man frames the issue: is he satisfied living life as a beggar, or does he want a better life? Jesus was neither putting down the man’s poverty or his physical condition. I believe his concern was the man’s willingness to accept his condition as the way things were and would be for the rest of his life.

Jesus stings me a bit in this episode. I remember visiting the remains of the Pools of Bethesda and thinking how good it would be if Jesus could come and heal my damaged emotions. I recalled the Apostle Paul’s anguish in crying out to God for healing for his thorn in the flesh, only to hear the Lord respond, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (1 Corinthians 12:8). I have found it quite a challenge to trust that God’s grace is sufficient for me to leave the weariness of my place by the Pools of Bethesda and follow Jesus’ imperative to, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (John 5:8). Some days I do better than others. How about you?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.