WHAT JESUS OFFERS
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!
John 5:1-9a (NLT)
I can’t. These two small words reveal so much about what we believe. Growing up, my dad outlawed this expression for me. He said, can’t never could do nothing. Is this grammatically correct? No—not even close. But he was trying to help me see that this response would cause me to miss out long-term on things that perhaps I couldn’t fathom at that point in time.
In the story above, a paralyzed man is approached by Jesus. He is asked directly: would you like to get well? What an incredible question asked by the most incredible person ever to live. And what is this man’s response? I can’t. This man is lying near the pool of Bethesda. We don’t know if it was especially hot or cold, but both would have been revered for restorative properties. According to some traditions, there was a belief that an angel would stir up the water, and whoever got in it first when it was stirred up would be healed of any affliction.
Obviously, the paralyzed man would not have been in a good position to beat others to the pool. His response about his circumstances was accurate— but Jesus didn’t ask him about his circumstances. The man’s response reveals that he is more focused on his circumstances than on Jesus, who is standing right in front of him. And while we might read this today and think how foolish this man was to do so, the sad reality is we do the same. We’re often so fixated on what’s happening around us that we miss what Jesus can and will do in and through us if we simply focus on Him.
Do you remember when Peter walked on the water beside Jesus? The story is in Matthew 22:14-31 if you care to refresh your memory. Peter is walking toward Jesus in a supernatural, physics-defying, miraculous way. Everything is going just fine until he begins to turn his attention to the wind and waves. He takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and what He offers so that, like Peter in that story and the paralytic in the one above, we, too, might be rescued by the Savior.
APPLICATION: Read Hebrews 12:1-2 throughout the day. Ask God to help you keep your eyes on Jesus. Consider even listening to the classic hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.
PRAYER: Jesus, You are greater than my circumstances. Help me to keep my eyes on You. In Your name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?