John 5
Bible Passage: John 5
On one Sabbath, John records that a man who had been sick for 38 years was healed by Jesus. The long duration of the infirmity had made the man give up all hope of being cured (John 5: 5, 7). When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, the man did not believe he could be healed. All he could see was impossible.
With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). He is always at work. By the power of Jesus’ words, the man who had been sick immediately got up, took his bed and walked. Many opposed Jesus’ miracle since it was the Sabbath, but he responded, “My Father is still working, and I also am working” (John 5:17).
When I read this verse, I have to admit that I am pretty guarded about my days off. I like to get away from paperwork, emails, and meetings, just to relax and chill. I forget the fact that our Father in heaven is still working around the clock 24/7/365. For those in nursing homes, hospitals, or alone and isolated in their homes, God is always there listening to their every need.
Like the man who had been sick for 38 years, there are those who we can share with about the hope of salvation. From Jesus’ own initiative, He showed love and mercy even when others accused Him of violating the Sabbath. We can learn from Jesus’ example to reach out to others despite what others may say. We do not know what sins the man had committed or whether his sickness was the result of his sins. But bear in mind that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Having received the grace of salvation, we ought to live a life worthy of our repentance. Remember that we can do good to others—even on the Sabbath.
2 Comments
Camelinaneedle
I apologize in advance. This is going to be a rather lengthy comment.
I can relate pretty well to this post, especially so now that exams are over for the term.
I keep telling myself that I have to set time aside to do things for God and for the church, but there’s always this urge to do something else. It is as if there’s a small compartment of my brain that keeps flinging its doors open, telling me that I could be doing so many other things, and God and church can always wait because there will still be other people around to carry the weight.
But then again there are times like these when I know for sure that I might not actually have enough time to finish anything I’ve actually started because the future is so uncertain. And the people around us move and change faster than time itself.
Every opportunity I get to get away from school work, I always allow myself to take a good break, to take things easy and start appreciating the finer things in life that actually matter. That’s when I know that I finally have the time to be doing something for God.
Instead of spending the time doing the things I like, I guess I’d rather spend the time doing something for the God I love.
Most times, it takes so much energy to force myself to leave the house, or step out from wherever I am to come for services.
Humans have a lot of wars and battles to fight within themselves. And a lot of times, the scars we leave on ourselves are more evident than the ones other people have inflicted upon us.
So yes, I agree that this is always the model answer people give – to pray and have faith. But perhaps this really is the life goal of every Christian I’ve known because these two things are so difficult to keep and achieve sometimes, even for people who love God very deeply.
It is first a blessing, and later a challenge to be Christians. Give this a try: Give more and more of your time to God every other day, and then we see how much time you can go without doing something for God. Maybe then we will see how we also need to be working while He works for us.
lim
the man with 38yrs of infirmity were healed, the same for the man who is born blind were healed with his eye open to see the world and Savior in chapter 9.
Jesus warned the man with 38yrs infirmity ‘Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you’. before he met Jesus again, he do not know who is He and where is He.
Jesus did not warn the man born blind, but said to him ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ after he was cast out by the Jews. before he met Jesus again, he know He is Jesus, but do not know where is He.
the man with 38yrs of infirmity can see, but did he hear and listen? he do not know who is He (Jesus) before he met Jesus again.
the man born blind can not see, but he hear and listened, he know he is Jesus before he met Jesus again.
found the above contrast for our pondering.