WHAT'S THE PAYOFF?
John 5:1-9 (NIV)
"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?' 'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
This snippet from Jesus' earthly ministry is so full of life-lessons that with each reading I see things I never saw before. Today I focus on the odd question Jesus asked the paralyzed man. "Do you want to get well?" The answer seems obvious at first. Of course he wants to be well. Everyone wants to be well. But Jesus knows our inner thoughts, so it can't be that He asked this man a silly question like that. It must be that the answer to Jesus' question could be yes or no and the man has to decide which.
But why would anyone want to be paralyzed? Let's take a closer look.
Here's a guy who's been paralyzed by some mysterious malady for thirty-eight years. Perhaps at the beginning, he had an accident or illness. He may have initially railed against the injustice of it and wholeheartedly desired to be well. However, with the passing of time, he has become accustomed to his condition. It has become a way of life. Every morning, I imagine someone drags him along to this porch area at the temple and leaves him there along with perhaps hundreds of other blind, lame, and paralyzed people. Probably they spend their days begging for coins to buy food. Then every night someone drags him home again. This is his daily routine.
I see advantages to being paralyzed like that. This man has no responsibilities, no challenges, no deadlines, no one else to care for. No one expects anything from him. He is not a disappointment to himself or others, because "fate" has dealt him this hand. Maybe people are even nicer to him because of his condition, especially people who pity him. I have had thoughts like these during times I felt overwhelmed by my obligations. If I contracted a life-threatening disease and was confined to bed, my dear family and loved ones would rally around me, lavishing love and support on me, perhaps even completing my work for me. In my warped day-dream world, that would be lovely.
If the man says yes to Jesus' question, his whole world will change. He will have no more excuses. He will have to find a way to make his own living without begging. He will be expected to fulfill his obligations. It takes a lot of effort to be a responsible adult, good citizen, and Christian.
So, there's a payoff for staying paralyzed.
How about me? Do I want to be well? Do I want to give up the thing that paralyzes me? Do I want freedom enough to submit to Jesus' authority to heal me? To cooperate with Him by making that initial effort to get up? Do I have faith in His power to cure me?Will I obey by picking up my mat so I can no longer choose to return to paralysis? This is a question of submission. Will I submit to God's will to complete His work of sanctification in me? Or will I refuse to acknowledge His Lordship over my life and continue doing things my way just because that's the easiest way?
Do I want to get well?
"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?' 'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
This snippet from Jesus' earthly ministry is so full of life-lessons that with each reading I see things I never saw before. Today I focus on the odd question Jesus asked the paralyzed man. "Do you want to get well?" The answer seems obvious at first. Of course he wants to be well. Everyone wants to be well. But Jesus knows our inner thoughts, so it can't be that He asked this man a silly question like that. It must be that the answer to Jesus' question could be yes or no and the man has to decide which.
But why would anyone want to be paralyzed? Let's take a closer look.
Here's a guy who's been paralyzed by some mysterious malady for thirty-eight years. Perhaps at the beginning, he had an accident or illness. He may have initially railed against the injustice of it and wholeheartedly desired to be well. However, with the passing of time, he has become accustomed to his condition. It has become a way of life. Every morning, I imagine someone drags him along to this porch area at the temple and leaves him there along with perhaps hundreds of other blind, lame, and paralyzed people. Probably they spend their days begging for coins to buy food. Then every night someone drags him home again. This is his daily routine.
I see advantages to being paralyzed like that. This man has no responsibilities, no challenges, no deadlines, no one else to care for. No one expects anything from him. He is not a disappointment to himself or others, because "fate" has dealt him this hand. Maybe people are even nicer to him because of his condition, especially people who pity him. I have had thoughts like these during times I felt overwhelmed by my obligations. If I contracted a life-threatening disease and was confined to bed, my dear family and loved ones would rally around me, lavishing love and support on me, perhaps even completing my work for me. In my warped day-dream world, that would be lovely.
If the man says yes to Jesus' question, his whole world will change. He will have no more excuses. He will have to find a way to make his own living without begging. He will be expected to fulfill his obligations. It takes a lot of effort to be a responsible adult, good citizen, and Christian.
So, there's a payoff for staying paralyzed.
How about me? Do I want to be well? Do I want to give up the thing that paralyzes me? Do I want freedom enough to submit to Jesus' authority to heal me? To cooperate with Him by making that initial effort to get up? Do I have faith in His power to cure me?Will I obey by picking up my mat so I can no longer choose to return to paralysis? This is a question of submission. Will I submit to God's will to complete His work of sanctification in me? Or will I refuse to acknowledge His Lordship over my life and continue doing things my way just because that's the easiest way?
Do I want to get well?
Comments