When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” – John 5:6
One day when Jesus came to Jerusalem, he encountered a man laying by the pool called “Bethesda.” This pool was a popular place for people who suffered all different illnesses, disease, and physical ailments to gather. The tradition of that day told people that if the water was stirred up after being touched by an angel, then whoever got into the water first would be cured of whatever was ailing them.
The story tells us that the man Jesus encountered had been at this pool for 38 years, waiting for his opportunity to be cured. It seemingly had been a problem forever for this man. The challenge was, that because he was paralyzed, he couldn’t move himself into the water. This meant that someone else always beat him into the water after it was disturbed, and he never got his opportunity to be cured.
When Jesus talked to the man, he asked him a very simple and obvious question, “Do you want to be made well?” Of course he did! He wouldn’t have been laying there for 38 years if he wasn’t hoping to be made well. I think the point of Jesus’ question lies in the response of the man and what it revealed about him. The man was so concerned about this “magic water” that he was missing the fact that the source of all healing was standing right in front of him. The man wanted to be made well, but his vision was focused on the wrong thing.
We also want to be made well in our lives. We want the fullness of life that God has planned for us, but too often we look everywhere for this full life except for the One who is the source of all life. The good news is that even though the man at the pool missed the fact that the One who could offer healing was standing right in front of him, Jesus still healed him anyway. Even though we sometimes forget to look to the source of life, God still offers us a full life anyway. That’s what we call grace! Even when we don’t look for it, and even when we miss the mark, God still shows us love.
This Lent, let us turn our eyes to the One who is the source of all life. Embrace the love and grace that God offers to us freely. Do you want to be made well?
Rev. Josh Attaway, Edmond Campus Pastor
