Thursday
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?” “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.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. – John 5:6-9
Have you ever wondered why this man doesn’t just say “yes” when Jesus asks him if he wants to get well? Instead of saying, “yes Lord, I want to get well, please heal me”, this fellow gives a rather strange explanation about his desperate circumstances and his false hope in the magic powers of the pool. It almost sounds like he is defending himself or making excuses for his sad condition – “You don’t understand Jesus, things are really hard for me, and nobody cares about my situation.”
But Jesus does not even respond at all to any of what the man says about his circumstances. He simply gives the man a clear and direct command. He tells Him to “Get up!” When Jesus said to this man, “Get up! Pick up you mat and walk.” How can He possibly demand that he do something that’s impossible? It is because Jesus heals by the power of His spoken word. He commanded this man to do what he could not do before, but the command actually had the power of to enable this man to do it. Mark 3:5 gives us another example of this power. He told a man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand.” That’s exactly what this man cannot do. But when he tried, he was able to do it, and his hand was made whole. There is power in the word of Jesus then that actually makes the command possible. This is precisely the manner in which God created the universe, He spoke it into existence!
This is really an analogy of the entire spiritual life. There is power in His indwelling life that makes the Christian life possible. You and I can’t live it on our own strength. We must invite Him to do it through His Word and His indwelling power. That’s what makes it possible for us. We see then this beautiful portrait of a healing that takes place and then John underscores something. John 5:9, “At once, the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” He underscores that the man became well not in gradually, but immediately, he did not begin a process of recovery, he was instantly strong and whole again - this is the power of Jesus!
Curiously, after Jesus tells the man to get up, He also tells him to pick up his mat. Why does he tell him to do this? Why not just leave it there and walk away? I have thought a lot about this, and I think Jesus is giving us some very profound insight into the how spiritual transformation takes place. Jesus is saying to this man (and to us) that there can be no going back from this moment on. There will be no returning to the pool, to the place of false hope and desperation. Jesus is calling this to leave His old life of disability and despair and to walk in the new life that God has for him, there can be no going back! 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
There are some bridges in our lives that should be burned, that must be burned if we are to live the life Christ calls us to.
Proverbs 26:11 says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” I have a dog, her name is Ivy and she is very cute, but I really cannot understand why she sniffs and eats her own…(you know). We have wonderful and expensive dog food and doggy treats, but still she eats…(you know). Spiritually speaking, God looks on His children and asks, why are going back to that? Don’t you know what I have planned for you? Don’t you realize what I am offering you through my Son? Why would you ever choose to go back to such misery again?
Jesus calls this man to action – “Get up!” He calls him to immediate and decisive action. He does not debate with him, or explain why or how this is all going to happen. Here again Jesus gives us profound spiritual and psychological wisdom. There are moments when God gives us the opportunity to respond to His love and grace, and we must seize them, we must act. As a pastor, I have seen many people who have been seemingly on the verge of some decision or action that God would use to transform their lives for His glory. Too many waver or hesitate in that moment. They think they need more time, or that they should wait and discuss it with someone else, or that they will always have another opportunity later. You know what happens…the moment fades, and the person returns to their old life again.
Jeff Frazier
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