The Healing Choice Series

Or we communicate to people, “You’re not supposed to hurt. If you were a real Christian, if you were truly spiritual, you wouldn’t feel this way.”

Or we offer surface answers to deep hurts, saying, “Just pray. Have more faith. Let go and let God.”

YUCK, MAN! Do we think people are stupid?

Jesus didn’t do that.

Jesus saw him lying there. . .

That’s an important line. Don’t miss it. Jesus saw the man’s hurt and knew that it was real, and it had been real for a long time.

But you may ask, “What about all those other people at the pool? The Bible says there were a “great number” of them. Did Jesus pass them by?”

I have no idea.

Maybe not. Maybe he healed others whose stories have not been preserved for us--after all, John himself admits, 15 chapters later in his book:

Jesus did many other miraculous signs . . . which are not recorded in this book (John 20:30, NIV).

But then again, maybe he did pass by the others. Maybe he knew somehow that only this man was ready for the next thing I want to point out to you, and that is:

II What Jesus Asked

Let’s read verse six in its entirety now:

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?"

Now that is not a stupid question.

A lot of people don’t really want to be healed;

they don’t really want to be made whole.

Does that sound crazy? It’s not, because saying “yes” to Jesus’ question "Do you want to get well?" means two things. It means, first of all:

1. Admitting your hurt.

Some of us,

if Jesus were to walk up to us right now and ask, "Do you want to get well?"

would say,

“Whaddya mean, Lord?

I’m fine, really.

Don’t worry about me; go help Greg Killius, he’s the one with problems.”

But "Do you want to get well?"

If you do, it’s gonna mean admitting your hurt. . . to yourself,

to God,

maybe even to a few trusted friends.

But that’s not all. Saying “yes” to Jesus’ question also means:

2. Choosing healing over hurt.

When Jesus asked, "Do you want to get well?" it was not a rhetorical question, nor was he being flippant.

William Barclay observes that

Invalidism is not [always] unpleasant. Someone else does all the working and worrying.

And another Bible scholar points out that

An Eastern beggar often loses a good living by being cured.

So, you see, some of those people by the Pool of Bethesda may not have chosen healing over hurt, if healing meant

losing their income,

leaving their friends,

or no longer being able to lean on others.

And likewise, some of us actually choose to hold onto our hurts,

because we would rather complain,

we’re not done seething in anger at those who hurt us,

because we know it’ll take WORK to get better, and besides,

we rather like the sympathy we get,

or the attention,

or the feeling of playing the martyr.

But Jesus asks, "Do you want to get well?"

If you do, then it’s gonna mean admitting your hurt and choosing healing over hurt.

But there’s just one more gem I would point out to you from this short passage in the rich mine of God’s Word, the Bible, and that is, notice: