John 5:1-5 Bethesda had two pools surrounded by four roofed colonnades with another between them. A multitude of blind, lame, and paralyzed people spent time there in the shade by the pool.
John 5:6-7 Jesus singles out this one man who has struggled with an infirmity for 38 years. The lame man explains he wants someone to carry him into the water when it gets stirred.
John 5:8-9 Jesus simply commands the man to stand. He doesn’t shout or make a scene. Suddenly, this man’s whole life changes. He will never be the same!
John 5:10-13 Unbelievably, Jesus recedes into the crowd, avoiding any attention he would receive otherwise. It is not yet time to proclaim himself Messiah. Later on, his apostles will heal another lame man and use that opportunity to preach to 3,000 people.
John 5:14-15 Jesus’ statement here is a little cryptic. Some have taken it to mean that the man’s physical infirmity resulted from a sin he had committed. This may be true, but Jesus’ warning could just as well refer to judgment day.
John 5:16-18 Now we come to the main conflict in the chapter. The healed man reported on Jesus to the authorities who promptly confronted him. Jesus’ answers to their inquiries confuse and enrage them.
John 5:19-20 Jesus is like a child, imitating his father. God shows him what He is doing, and the Son works right alongside Him. Jesus is under no illusions about his own potential. For, he says, “The son can do nothing of his own accord.”
“God is actively working in the lives of people around you. Even when you do not recognize it or see God at work, He is active. However, unless God opens your spiritual eyes to recognize what He is doing, you will remain blind to His presence and work.”
-Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, Claude King, Experiencing God (Nashville: B &H Publishing Group, 2008), p. 55.
Acts 16:6-35 The Apostle Paul’s journey to Philippi provides another example of someone who sought to understand how God was at work in the world.
As in the time of Jesus and Paul, God is still at work in the world. Are you looking? He’s doing stuff all around you–at your job, in your neighborhood, with your acquaintances and friends. Are your spiritual eyes open?
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