After Jesus observes a man who had been disabled for a long time in John 5:1-5, He asks the man a question.
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
John 5:6 NIV
Let’s not miss the fact that Jesus knew that the man had been sick “for a long time”. I’m not sure if this was just the duration of the man’s illness, or the time that the man had been waiting by the pool. Regardless, Jesus – with this information – asks the man a question: “Do you want to get well?”
So, how does the man respond?
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
John 5:7 NIV
Jesus’ question sounds like it should have a “yes or no” answer, but the man starts to explain his situation, instead of a simple reply. I don’t know if he’s looking for pity (or perhaps a donation – see Acts 3:1-10 for an example of that), or maybe he’s hoping that Jesus will help him get into the water for healing. Maybe he’s making excuses why he is still at the pool, because he feels self-conscious that he hasn’t yet been healed by getting into the water. (Men, including me, can be defensive like that, when we are concerned about how we are being perceived.)
This has some similarities to the royal official mentioned in John 4:46-54, who also seems to have been trying to “prescribe” how Jesus could heal his son. It has also been pointed out (by commentators Bryant & Krause, p.144) that this man felt alone (i.e., with no healing from God and no support from other people), and that he apparently subscribed to the false idea that “God helps those who help themselves”.
Let’s remember, though, that apparently (unless it wasn’t recorded), Jesus did not ask the man for his story, or why he was still there. Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well.
I think that Jesus asks each person a similar question: Do we want to get well? Maybe those exact words aren’t listed in the Bible as a call to us; however, we might consider Jesus telling people to ask, seek, and knock (see Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10), and I’d like to also remember God’s words to the church in Laodicea.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Revelation 3:20 NIV
I hope that I’m not stretching Jesus’ invitation too far, but I feel that, in His offer of salvation and a restored relationship, there’s an implied question of, “Do you want to get well?”
If that’s the case, what does this mean for us? First off, the very question implies that we are sick, and that’s absolutely true: we each are (or were) sick with sin and the consequences of making sinful choices (see Romans 3:22-24 and Romans 6:23). Sin separates us from a perfectly holy God. The only difference for the Christian is that we have found the cure in Jesus, not that we were never sick nor that we healed ourselves.
However, those who don’t know that they are sick don’t seek to get well, because they don’t know that they need to get well. This is why the cost and consequences of sin are part of the gospel. (I’m glad that the sin problem isn’t all of the gospel, though.) The good news that Jesus can save us from our sins doesn’t resonate as good news to those who don’t understand – or don’t believe – that our sins condemn us to terrible consequences, and that our sins need to be paid for.
Secondly, Jesus doesn’t ask us why we haven’t fixed our sin problem, since He knows that we can’t. He doesn’t ask us what we want Him to do in order to fix things, because He knows that our ideas (outside of Him) won’t work, and He knows that He is the only answer to our main problem.
Those who have the incorrect impression that they need to clean up their act before they can follow Jesus haven’t listened to His question. When Jesus offers us healing, He doesn’t need us to give a long story about what we are waiting for, or some list of excuses.
Remember, Jesus already knows our sinful condition. He already has – and is – the cure. The question for us is whether or not we are ready to accept the cure: His salvation. Once we want to get well, then we’re that much closer to being ready to accept the cure.
For those who do not want to get well, either because they think that they aren’t sick, or because they aren’t willing to give up their own plans, may we continue to pray for God to help them see the truth and change their minds. It’s not as hard as we sometimes make it.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 11, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, February 11, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 