How Will I Be Made Well ?
Let us think for a moment first. If we were to pursue some human happiness, does everything come about according one’s efforts? Does everyone become rich by living diligently? From where does our blessing come? Whose power does a person’s blessing depend on? If one offers prayers of repentance in the name of Jesus Christ, does the person receive complete cleansing of all sins once and for all? First of all, regarding all things such as sinners receiving the remission of sins, living in happiness, and living with the blessing of God, we should think about whether they are dependent on our own power or on God. The Bible says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
By the pool of Bethesda, a multitude of sick people was lying here and there in small groups. Jesus came to the pool of Bethesda, and to whom did He bestow the grace of salvation? It was to a sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years. Jesus spoke to the sick man who had lain in bed for 38 years unable to move. “Do you want to be made well?” “Yes, but I have no man to put me into the pool.” The sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years confessed he couldn’t do anything by himself. Then, Jesus, seeing the hope inside his heart, said, “Rise, take up you bed and walk.”
Just then, the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years stood right up, took up his bed by his shoulders, and started to walk. At the time, there were many sick people near the pool, but only the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years was made to stand up. They all must have been envious. These people could only be dumbfounded because they did not know how the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years got healed even though he did not enter the pool of Bethesda. They believed that only the one who entered the pool first when it moves could be healed of.
They were trying to heal their sickness by the faith that they had believed. But, a Man named Jesus came and said to the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years without any foreseeable chance for healing, “Do you want to be made well?” Just as the sick man said, “Yes, I want to be made well,” by the single phrase, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” all the infirmity was completely healed. And this was something truly surprising. By the single phrase of Jesus’ words, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” the sick man was able to stand up and walk.
For us to receive salvation is similar. For us to receive the remission of our sins is not dependent upon our own efforts. Then, to whom does it depend? The cleansing of our sins depends wholly on our Lord. It depends wholly on the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, which is the Word of salvation given to us by the Son of God.
As for the sick people sitting by the pool of Bethesda, they were all relying on their own power to heal their sicknesses. Among them, a blind person might have thought, “I am blind, but my hearing is better than anyone with sight. So, I can hear the sound of water moving more keenly than anybody else. I can measure distance by any sort of sound. I can enter the pool first.” Some person who limps may have thought, “I may limp, but one of the legs is stronger than anyone else’s. I also have good eyes as well as good ears. Even if I have to skip on one leg, I will enter the pool first! No matter how, all I have to do is to get into that pool quickly.”
At the place, there was also a cripple. That person must have been convinced, “I may not be able to stand, but I have two strong arms. I can go into the pool faster than any of you with these arms.” And so, the person must have come to the side of the pool day after day. A scrawny sick person may have thought, “I may not have any strength, but I have a lucid mind. So, I came here earlier than anyone else, and took my place closest to the pool. When the water moves, all I have to do is to spin down once, and I will be the first.” What is common among all these people with an illness at the pool of Bethesda is that they were hanging onto their own will, ‘I can do it,’ by relying on their own power.
But, if we were to think about it again, would we human beings be able to receive God’s blessings with our own efforts?
TO BE CONTINUED...