by Emily Wooten
In John 5, we see Jesus interacting with a man who had been crippled for 38 years. He was lying at the pool of Bethesda, waiting for a miracle. It was obvious why he was there. So why did Jesus ask him, “Wilt thou be made whole?”
Why did the man not answer with an emphatic YES? He had no clue who he was talking to.
In our lives, we have the opportunity to talk with the Creator every day. That same Jesus who raised up Lazarus from the dead, healed the lame man, and spoke to the winds and waves, “Peace Be Still,” is the same Jesus of whom Isaiah 53 says, “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” When Jesus was beaten, He took every grief, sickness and disease and bore them for us so we don’t have to.
The man at the pool knew his story of what had happened every other year. Someone had always beaten him to the pool. He didn’t have anyone to help him, so previously he had left as broken as he came. This year was going to be different. Jesus was about to be his someone. Jesus saith unto him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” This time the man’s answer came from a different place. The anointing of Jesus Christ took hold of the infirmity in his body and he was transformed. John 5:8 says, “…immediately the man was made whole.”
That is the same Jesus who purchased our salvation and, in the same work, purchased everything we need to have life and have it more abundantly.
We need to recognize just who it is with whom we are fellowshipping. In His ministry, Jesus didn’t make people beg Him. He never said, “No, you need to suffer some more so I can teach you something.” Jesus said things like, “I will; be thou clean” (Matthew 8:3). “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee” (Matthew 8:13). “Thy faith hath made thee whole” (Mark 5:34).
It wasn’t enough that Jesus went about doing good. We see in Matthew 10:1, “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” He gave those who follow Him the resources to do the same. Matthew 28:18-19 says, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
When Jesus was preparing His disciples for what was about to happen, He said in John 18:20, “Neither pray I for these alone, speaking of the disciples, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” That is us. If we have believed in Jesus as the only begotten Son of God who redeemed us, we are included. Jesus said in John 14:12, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Let’s be doers! James 1:22
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