In the fifth chapter of John's gospel, we encounter a story of Jesus healing a paralytic man who had been waiting by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years to try to get healed. It's easy to glide past this little narrative as another of Jesus's healings or …
In the fifth chapter of John's gospel, we encounter a story of Jesus healing a paralytic man who had been waiting by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years to try to get healed. It's easy to glide past this little narrative as another of Jesus's healings or miracles in general. But instead of doing that, I'd like to pause to ponder the simple question Jesus asks the man before doing anything else:
"Do you want to get well?"
Jesus in John 5:6 (NIV)
This question, direct and piercing, seems strange at first. Who wouldn't want to be healed?
Well, not so fast. Sometimes we have to walk through pain to break through to healing. It's worth it in the long run, but the road to get there can be long and arduous. So, it's not really a given that we truly want Jesus to chip away all the garbage we may carry with us—deep-seated habits, negative thought patterns, and so on. So it is that Jesus' question cuts to the heart of our own encounters with God and whether or not we truly desire healing in every broken area of our lives, be it emotional, spiritual, or relational.
The Desire for Healing
When Jesus asked this question, He was not merely inquiring about the man's desire for physical health but was probing deeper into his readiness for a transformation that would upend his life as he knew it. To be healed is to embrace change, to accept a new way of living, and to undertake the responsibilities that come with it. Jesus asks the man—and us—this question to gauge preparedness for enduring the transformation.
The Power of God's Healing
Jesus' interaction with the invalid at Bethesda is a testament to the divine initiative—God reaches out first. He meets us in our places of despair and dysfunction, not to condemn but to offer a path to wholeness. This is the key that reveals God's heart, His love for us. He loves us as we are, but He loves us enough not to leave us in our broken state. He knows we cannot heal ourselves, no matter how hard we try. He knows we need Him to be healed, even if we don't recognize that ourselves.
Through His question, Jesus invites us to reflect on our willingness to step away from our infirmities and into His restorative grace.
The Challenge of Letting Go
To answer "Yes" to Jesus' question is to let go of our familiar pains and the identities we've constructed around our brokenness. It challenges us to trust in God's ability to heal more than our capacity to endure suffering, or at least repeatedly try to fix ourselves. This step of faith can be daunting because it requires us not only to believe in Jesus' power to heal, but also to surrender to His ways, which can be challenging and are often beyond our understanding.
Embracing the Holy Spirit's Transformative Work
Accepting God's offer of healing means allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us, chiseling away the parts of our lives that do not conform to the image of Christ. This process is not always comfortable—it can be as painful as it is liberating. However, it is also filled with hope and the promise of a life lived in full alignment with God's will and freedom from the garbage that has been separating us from Him.
An Invitation to Wholeness
Jesus' question, "Do you want to get well?" serves as a daily invitation to each of us. It encourages us to examine the areas in our lives that require God's healing touch. As we ponder this question, let us be honest about our desires and fears. Are we ready to let go of our old ways and embrace the new life God offers?
In accepting the call to wellness, we do not merely seek to be freed from our afflictions but to be wholly transformed by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, every day becomes an opportunity to say yes to Jesus, to welcome His healing, and to trust in the perfect work of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus finds us disabled by our infirmities. Some we've been dealing with for a week or a month, but others could have been torturing us for 38 years or more. But Jesus doesn't pass by us, pretending not to notice us. Instead, he offers His hand to me, to you, looks us in the eye, and asks us: Do you want to get well?
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