Today’s Reading: John 5

It was not about the PHYSICAL, but about the SPIRITUAL.
It was not about the WHEN, but about the WHO.
It was not about the TIMING, but about the SOURCE.

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 38 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! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. — John 5:1-10a

There were crowds of sick people all around, yet Jesus approached one man. He knew this man; he knew his situation and his need — not only for PHYSICAL healing but for SPIRITUAL healing. Jesus’ desire was for this man’s life to change. For 38 years he had been sick but Jesus had more than just physical healing in mind to change this man’s situation. Jesus wanted to give this man eternal life!

This was a miracle of life that Jesus was offering. The physical touch was for the purpose of this man believing in Jesus and choosing obedience. Jesus told this man to do two things: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” and “Stop sinning”. The first required a MOMENT of faith and obedience. He had to believe in Jesus enough to stand up. The second required a LIFE of faith and obedience, a healing of the heart that would change the way this man lived — holy and set apart for the One who had healed him.

The Jewish leaders tried to make this next miracle about timing, but Jesus corrected them. He let them know that this was not about WHEN but about WHO – not about the physical healing but about spiritual healing. While the Jewish leaders focused on the TIMING of the miracle, Jesus tried to point out to them the SOURCE of the miracle. Jesus had come to bring life and they were missing out on this miracle that was also available for them because they were too caught up in the legalism of when the miracle had taken place. What is it that has us so distracted that we are missing out on the miracle of life that God is offering?

It was not about HEALING, but about CHANGE.
It was not about the BODY, but about the HEART.
It was not just about a MOMENT, but about a LIFE.

For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants…I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death to life. And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice – the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. – John 5:21, 24-26

The miracle of life is what Jesus was offering at the pool of Bethesda and it is what He is still offering us today. This miracle comes from the love of a God who would send His one and only Son to die for our sins so that we might believe and experience eternal life. This miracle of life is available to all of us but it requires more than just a MOMENT of faith and obedience; it requires a LIFE of surrender and submission. The purpose of all of these miracles performed by Jesus was to prove that He was sent by God so that we might truly believe and experience eternal life.

John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you. – John 5:35-38

When we come to believe in who Jesus was when he was on earth and in whom he continues to be today, our hearts begin to change. God’s message is not only heard but it settles into our hearts, and we are never the same. Studying the scriptures for the sake of knowledge has value, but salvation requires an acceptance of what Jesus offers. When we respond in faith to Jesus’ teachings and his miracles, when we accept his call to holiness and lean into his gift of righteousness, God’s love moves within us and we are forever changed.

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

“Your approval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. – John 5:39-44

Lord, give us eyes to see what today is about; give us an understanding that looks beyond the temporary issues of today to see the eternal value of your purpose for our lives. Give us the patience to focus on the source of the love within us, instead of on the timing of answered prayers. May our minds focus today on the spiritual instead of the physical. Thank you for being a Father who is always working on our behalf. Amen.

But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” – John 5:17