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
A strange question for Jesus to ask a man who has been lying by a pool for 38 years hoping to be healed.
The question is posed to a man who needs physical healing, but this same question is asked to every man and woman with a spiritual application. All of us are crippled, broken, and needy spiritually. Jesus asks us the same question – Do you want to get well?
Calling to Jesus for healing requires first acknowledging you are sick. If sin is described as a sickness, we are all terminal. We are powerless to heal ourselves.
If I were diagnosed with cancer, I know I can’t by an act of my will or my effort make the cancer go away. I would need treatment. I might need surgery. Or, I can ask for a miracle. We can no more cleanse ourselves of sin than we can cleanse ourselves of cancer. We need Jesus. We need Him to do what we can never do for ourselves.
Do you want to get well?
Do you want ultimate healing – spiritual healing? The healing we all need from sin can only be received through Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
I know some would argue, “But what about the good people in this world? Would a loving God condemn a good person to hell?”
The reality is we have done that all on our own. It’s the love and grace of God that rescues us from the choices we have already made for ourselves. And if doing “good” could alter our course, who gets to decide what “good” is good enough?
If our good could be good enough, then why did Jesus have to die?
Are you willing to gamble eternity on what you think? Are you comfortable coming before God on your own merit? Or would you rather come with Jesus as your advocate, your shield, your intercessor? I praise God that I know it’s not Laura that gets Laura into heaven. It’s not Laura that God will see on Judgment day. It’s Jesus that He will see. My identity is in Christ and that’s what guarantees my destiny.
It’s not about what you do – it’s all about who you know on Judgment Day. Do you know my Jesus? Do you want to know Him? Do you want to get spiritually well? Do you want it to be, as the hymnist wrote, “well with your soul?” Then call upon Jesus. Answer His question:
Yes, I want to get well!
The complete teaching lecture for John 5 can be found here:
http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/the-gospel-of-john-chapter-5lesson-5/
