Wednesday | Week 4

The scene from John, chapter 5, is one of the most evocative in the Gospels. Imagine you are at this place, the Sheep Gate. If you were to actually be in the Old City of Jerusalem, you could visibly see the place where almost certainly the pool was mentioned in this text. The remnants of the colonnades are scattered about and the pool is situated in a low place, collecting water from a small underground stream. It was here that the disabled—the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed—used to lie in wait for the water to be stirred in such a way as to offer them a healing. It was here that they would also hope for alms from caring strangers who were passing by.

One day, Jesus walked by that place of misery. He saw a man lying on the ground who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. The next thing that happened is a surprise to us—as it was for the man. Jesus asked him: “Do you want to get well?” (v.6)

Frankly, in my mind the question seems absurd. After all, who wouldn’t want to get well? There is clearly however, another way to read this question – and I believe it gets to the heart of what Jesus was doing in his healing ministry. Jesus could and did heal people on the spot. He could do anything he wanted to do; such was his power and capability. Nevertheless, Jesus seemed to want his healings to be seen not simply as a dramatic moment, but rather the movement of the one being healed into a closer orbit with the living God. 

We all want to be well, or at least we think we do. But what if being well required us to participate with God in our healing. In doing so, we are attaching our faith, however small or great, to the healer. To be fully well is to take a forward step of trust toward God. When we are ill, in body or mind, our healing is contingent on many things, but one of them is certainly our cooperation with the healing process. We intuitively know that desiring to be well is at least helpful, and perhaps essential, to becoming well. Our minds and our faith make a difference in how we progress.

I love the detail of this text. After Jesus asked him whether he wanted to become well –or not – the man was still thinking Jesus was going to pick him up and put him at the head of the line to get into the healing waters. Instead, Jesus “merely” spoke his healing. The man was cured. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know after thirty-eight years what that man’s life was like? Suffice it to say, we know he became quite the evangelist after this encounter (v.15).

Thoughts for Meditation

  1. Can you picture Jesus asking you “Do you want to get well?”

  2. What would you say to him in reply?

  3. What if Jesus asked this not in terms of your body, but in terms of your relationships or your attitude?

  4. What would your soul be like if you were to say yes to this question from Jesus?