I am captivated by the scripture which says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Then Paul says, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life” (Romans 5:10). The life Paul is talking about is Christ’s resurrected life and his ability to give eternal life. It is the source of the power we need to come alive spiritually. This is not something we can do for ourselves, it is the work of God. It is a supernatural work whereby God places his eternal life within us.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians saying: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead. . . . As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live. . . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship. . . .” (Ephesians 1:18-2:10).
There is a captivating story in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John which beautifully illustrates what this scripture is saying. Jesus has gone up to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the great religious feasts. It is significant that he, as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, would enter the city through the Sheep Gate, the entrance to the city through which the sheep for temple sacrifices were brought. Once inside the city, he comes to the pool of Bethesda. Lying all around the pool are sick and paralyzed people. They are there because a legend has developed that an angel would on occasion come and stir up the waters of the pool, and the first one to enter the pool after the angel stirred the water would be healed. It was merely a superstition, but it was the last hope for many of these people. It was also a place where they could come and beg for a living, since people would come by to distribute gifts of money or food to these unfortunate people.
Into this sea of desperate people Jesus came. It is intriguing that out of all these people Jesus chose to heal one man. It could have been because Jesus learned that the man had been lying there for 38 years, but there may have been other reasons for Jesus having compassion on him. One thing we do know from this scripture is that it was not because the man sought Jesus’ help. In fact, he did not even know who Jesus was. Jesus encountered him and asked him a strange question. He said, “Do you want to get well?” It might seem kind of crazy to ask someone who has been paralyzed for 38 years if he wants to get well but, of course, Jesus never asks a question without good reason. It was an important question. It got to the core of who the man was. Listen to the man’s response to Jesus: “Sir, 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.” Notice that he did not answer Jesus’ question. He does not say that he wants to be well. He dismisses Jesus’ question and merely complains about his condition. He tells how unfortunate he is. He lists his troubles. To be sure, he has plenty to complain about. But he whines about life instead of answering Jesus’ question about whether he really wants to be well.
In spite of all this, Jesus said to him: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” And the Bible says, “At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” It is curious that in the biblical record there is no word of thanks to Jesus for what he has done. There is not a single expression of gratitude or joy. There is just a huge emotional blank here. The man has been paralyzed for 38 years, and there is not the slightest expression of thanks or praise to God. Wouldn’t you think he would tell someone about the wonderful thing that had happened to him? Wouldn’t you think he would begin shouting to the other sick people around him that there is someone who can make them well, and point them to Jesus? But none of this happens.
You have to ask why this man, who is now able to walk, is so apathetic toward what has happened to him. In all the other accounts of healing in the New Testament there is leaping and praising. People fall down at Jesus’ feet and worship him. But here there is nothing. This man calmly walks away and does not even ask Jesus who he is or how he has healed him. He does not glorify God. He does not try to find Jesus in the crowd.
Why this bland reaction? I suspect the answer lies somewhere in the fact that the man had never considered that there was any more to life. After 38 years he had accepted his condition. He was content now to scratch out his pathetic existence by begging. Being paralyzed was a help, because people felt sorry for him. Now that he has been healed he will have to work and take on the full responsibilities of life, and perhaps he is concerned.
In fact, the story leads you to believe that he even turned on Jesus. His healing has taken place on the Sabbath, and when the Pharisees saw that he was carrying the mat he was lying on, they said to him, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he blamed Jesus, saying, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” Then the Bible says, “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’” Still there is no expression of thanks as he meets Jesus again, and there is no act of worship. In fact, there is no response at all — he does not say a word to Jesus. Instead, the Bible says, “The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” He knew Jesus would be in trouble, but he turned him in anyway.
I see in this man many people in our own day. Their lives are sick. They are paralyzed in heart and mind. Their lives are dysfunctional, but they have never considered that God might have something for them. They have learned to live like this. They don’t even know there is something more to life. They have become satisfied with subsisting. They are not seeking God or calling out to him. It is as though they are sick and are not aware of it, or if they are aware of it, it seems normal to them. Jesus has to ask them, “Do you want to become well?” Some people have accepted their paralysis in life. They don’t believe there is an answer to their problem. Lying on their bed is easier than getting up and walking. While most people in that condition would love to be well and welcome the opportunity to work and really live, these people are content to live with their illness. A touch from God would interfere with life as they know it. It would turn their life upside down. When Jesus comes and touches some people with unexpected and undeserved blessings, they do not acknowledge that it has come from God or give thanks to him. As Paul describes them: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21)
The question that keeps comint is: Why did Jesus heal this man? Why out of all the people surrounding the pool that day did Jesus choose him? Every other time in the New Testament Jesus healed people as a result of their coming to him: The blind man cried out, the leper begged, Jairus came crying out for Jesus to heal his daughter; the centurion pled with Jesus to come and heal his servant. Jesus always moved in response to people’s faith and desire for his healing touch. But this man does nothing. Jesus knew there would be no thanks. He knew he would heal the man, but there would be no recognition of any kind. After healing the man, Jesus quietly slipped away. Why did he heal this man who did nothing to deserve it and was not even grateful? He did it to show that he was a God of grace. He does not just give to the grateful, but the ungrateful as well -- to the deserving and the undeserving.
There are people in today’s world who do not deserve the blessing of God, and do not seek his blessing. They are not grateful, and have no desire for God. They do not want to be well spiritually. They are not even aware of how much they need his touch. They don’t recognize that they have a problem. They have adjusted to a life of paralysis, spiritually and emotionally. They don’t know that there is something more. They feel dead inside, but they have given up hope of life being any different. But the risen Jesus comes to them in spite of all that and says, “Get up! Walk!” The Savior of the world is here, and he has come with resurrection power.
Some of you may be paralyzed by life today. Some of you may feel dead inside. Our risen Savior comes to you in this moment and offers you the gift of wellness and life. But his question to you is the same as the one he asked of the man lying by the pool: “Do you want to be well?” Are you willing for your life to be different? Have you adjusted to life as it is, or do you want something more? We are celebrating Easter today because we have a God who is not only able to make us well, he is able to deliver us from death and give us life. He has said, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
The hymn says:I serve a risen Savior.
He’s in the world today.
I know that He is living;
Whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy.
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him.
He’s always near.
He lives. He lives.
Christ Jesus lives today.
That is the meaning of the words of scripture which say, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless (paralyzed, sinful, sick, dysfunctional and alone), Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). He is able to free you from emotional and spiritual paralysis. He is able to make you whole. Jesus Christ is calling you to receive his resurrected power and get up and walk. This is the promise of life.
Rodney J. Buchanan
Easter
April 15, 2001
Mulberry Street United Methodist Church
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
