Read: John 5:1-15
When Jesus saw him lying there . . . he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6)
In the midst of terrible circumstances, have you heard or even said the words, “I hope things get better for you real soon”? Those are words of very faint encouragement, and surprisingly in today’s Bible reading, we hear Jesus say something like that to a sick man beside a pool in Jerusalem.
This man had been ill for 38 years, waiting for a miracle by a pool where healings happened (sometimes). Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6). What a question! The man told Jesus why he hadn’t been healed (v. 7). Jesus listened but seemed indifferent to the circumstances. He simply said, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk” (v. 8). And the man did! We see a sick man healed, but what do we learn as we read this story about how Jesus sees himself?
We can see in this story that Jesus sees people as worthy of his compassion, but he doesn’t focus on circumstances or excuses. The desire to be healed and the faith and trust in him to heal them are what really matter. What Jesus seems to want from the man, and from us, is to respond to him with faith in our difficult circumstances. As we grow in that faith, we have the strength to face whatever difficulty comes.
As you pray, are you asking Jesus for a change in your circumstances or for an increase in your faith? Pray that you will gain a truer understanding of who Jesus is and direct your faith to pursue that understanding.
Fred Van Dyke is a conservation biologist dedicated to the care for God’s creation. In this role Fred has served government agencies, private consulting firms, and academic institutions doing research, management, and teaching in conservation science. He is also the author of two books on faith and environmental stewardship.
