Be Healed
Three guys were fishing in a lake one day, when Jesus walked across the water and joined them
in the boat.
When the three astonished men had settled down enough to speak, the first guy asked humbly,
"Jesus, I’ve suffered from back pain ever since I took shrapnel in the Vietnam War ... Could you
help me?"
"Of course, my son," Jesus said, and when he touched the man’s back he felt relief for the first
time in years.
The second guy, who wore very thick glasses and had a hard time reading and driving , asked if
Jesus could do anything about his poor eyesight. Jesus smiled, removed the man’s glasses and
tossed them into the lake. When they hit the water, the man’s eyes cleared and he could see
everything distinctly.
When Jesus turned to the third man, the guy put his hands out defensively -- "Don’t touch me!"
he cried, "I’m on a disability pension."
I remember as kids we used to watch these preachers on TV who would “heal” people. Ernest
Angely is the one that sticks in my mind. We used to think that was amazing, but then we got
older and more cynical. Then we would criticize and mock what he did on his show, because we
“knew” that he wasn’t healing anybody. We “knew” it was fake. If he could heal people then
surely he should be able to grow his own hair instead of wearing that terrible toupee. We had
seen the movie on how all of these “faith-healers” were frauds and fakes. Really! They made a
TV movie about it. You may remember it.
The movie showed how perfectly healthy people were “planted” in the audience to provide
someone for the healer to heal. Guys in wheelchairs would jump up and start dancing. The deaf
would hear the music and start singing. Women would throw away the crutches and begin
jumping up and down in a frenzy of joy. The blind would weep at seeing the faces of loved ones.
All because they were “healed” by the preacher.
And we “knew” it was fake. You know, when you’re a teenager you know it all. So we mocked
Ernest and all the others. But with age comes wisdom (at least, hopefully). In our wisdom that
we have gained, we now know that Ernest and all the others really were not healing anyone. Oh,
people were being healed. People were walking, blind eyes could see, cancer vanished. But in
our wisdom we now know that the people legitimately being healed were being healed by the
Great Physician and the people we saw on TV were just the tools God used to perform these
miracles.
Jesus, as we read in our scripture for today, performed a miracle of healing and who are we to
say that he is not still performing these miracles today through others.
This scene in John 5 is very similar to what we see on TV today. People of all different
afflictions congregating together in one place hoping to be healed. It was into this group that
Jesus walks. Now, why did Jesus choose to heal this man, the one who had laid there for 38
years? Why him? It’s interesting. Maybe this man had been there the longest. We don’t know.
38 years! Imagine the length of time. Let’s put that into perspective for today. 38 years ago was
1963. Look at what has gone on in our world since: President Kennedy was assassinated, Kenya
gained independence, Jack Nicklaus won his first tournament, and General Hospital premiered.
The top movies of 1963 were Cleopatra and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Some popular
songs were Puff, the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul, and Mary and Surfin’ U.S.A. by the Beach
Boys. It was in 1963 that the first successful liver transplant took place. It was in 1963 that the
U.S., Soviet Union, & Britain signed the nuclear test ban treaty. The man of the year was MLK.
38 years! Some of you weren’t even born yet! And this man has laid there 38 years on one of
these porticoes (or porches) trying to be the first into the water when it was stirred, trying to be
healed.
Then Jesus comes along and asks him what seems to be a strange question. He said, “Do you
want to get well?” It might seems odd 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. 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 merely complains about his
condition. He tells how unfortunate he is. He lists his troubles. He whines about life instead of
answering Jesus’ question about whether he really wants to be well.
That would be similar to someone with kidney failure & on dialysis continuing to complain
about the way life has treated him or her and grouse about having to undergo surgery, and whine
about the cost of the surgery, and the recovery time and pain involved with the surgery, and on
and on and on. All this after a friend has offered the gift of healing by giving his friend one of his
kidneys.
Jesus tells the man to “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” And then what? The man walks-away
evidently. No, “Hey, thanks Jesus”, no “Man, I am so grateful to you for giving me back the
ability to walk”. No expression of gratitude or joy. The man has been paralyzed for 38 years and
now he can walk. Wouldn’t you think he’d tell somebody about what wonderful thing happened
to him? Wouldn’t you think he would be 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.
Jesus sees this man again in verse 14. Here is another opportunity for this man to show his
gratitude, to redeem himself for his lack of appreciation earlier. What does he do? Nothing,
again.
You have to ask why this man, who is now able to walk, is so apathetic toward what has
happened to him. Jesus performed a miracle of healing and there is no leaping for joy or praising
God. 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 no thanks? Maybe because this man never considered there was anymore to life. After 38
years he had accepted his condition. He was content now to get on by begging. Being paralyzed
was a help, because people felt sorry for him. Maybe now he’s concerned that, since he’s healed,
he’ll have to work and take on the full responsibilities of life.
Why did Jesus heal this man? All the others times in the New Testament Jesus healed people as
a result of their coming to him: The blind men crying out, the leper begging, Jairus for the
healing of his daughter, the centurion for his servant. This man does nothing. He does not seek
out Jesus. Jesus knew there would be no gratitude or thanks. So, why did Jesus heal this man
who had done nothing to deserve it and would not be grateful? Because He is a God of grace. He
gives to the grateful AND the ungrateful.
Now, I don’t have a clue whether those people are really being healed by those preachers on TV,
but one thing is certain they sure show their gratitude! You can see how grateful they are. They
don’t just get up out of their wheelchairs or throw down their crutches and walk away. They
have come, looking for a miracle, a healing, and when they get it, praise God for the blessing
they have received.
Yet, there are people in today’s world who do not seek the blessing of God. 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 Jesus. They don’t recognize that they have a problem. They have
adjusted to a life of paralysis, both spiritually and emotionally. They don’t know that there is
something more. They feel dead inside and they’ve given up hope of life being any different. But
the risen Jesus comes to them in spite of all this and says, “Get up! Walk!” The Savior of the
world is here, and he has come with resurrection power.
