1 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. 3 Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”
8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.
Now that day was the Sabbath, 10 so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.”
11 He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Read John 5:1-15 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One of the strangest conclusions to all of the miracles and healings that Jesus ever performed comes at the close of the healing by the pool of Bethesda that John includes in his gospel. In this healing, Jesus comes to a pool where sick people gathered, singles one person out who had been there for a long time, heals him, then disappears into the crowd before the healed man could thank Him.
However, one of Jesus’ instructions for the man was to pick up his sleeping mat, and that upset the religious leaders in the area. The main reason was that the day this healing happened was the Sabbath, and it was to be a day of rest – and carrying one’s mat was not resting.
But with all this said, the last two verses of this event conclude this story in a strange way. John tells us, “After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, ‘See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.’ The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” (v. 14-15)
After Jesus had healed him, this man goes and basically rats Jesus out for being his Healer. This doesn’t make sense, but even more confusing are Jesus’ final words to this man. “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” (v. 14b)
Perhaps the man believed that disobeying the religious leaders was sinning, and he felt he was obeying Jesus by communicating to the leaders that Jesus healed him. Or perhaps Jesus’ message was meant as a challenge for moving forward.
We don’t know anything about this man before or after this event. Implied in Jesus’ words is that the man was sick and/or disabled because of a past sinful life. Jesus’ final message to him is to stay away from that sinful life so that something even worse doesn’t happen to him.
In this warning and challenge Jesus gave this man is a theme we can all use in our own lives. While avoiding sin doesn’t stop bad things from happening to us, avoiding sin does stop a good percentage of bad things from happening. The principle Jesus is communicating is that who we associate with will either bring us health or will bring us harm. The quality of our friends determines the quality of our lives.
This man was given a fresh start after 38 years of illness. He had the choice whether to return to his old life, or start a new one. Each of us doesn’t have to face 38 years of consequences in order to choose to turn our lives around. This miracle teaches us that a new life with Jesus can begin today.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.