Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?”

7 The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”

8-9 Jesus said, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.

9-10 That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, “It’s the Sabbath. You can’t carry your bedroll around. It’s against the rules.”

11 But he told them, “The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.’”

12-13 They asked, “Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?” But the healed man didn’t know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd.

14 A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.”

15-16 The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. (The Message)

It is worthy of note that this man’s healing was a ‘sovereign’ act on the part of Jesus. He took the initiative, coming to this man and healing him. There is no indication that he had any faith in Jesus. His expectation, if anywhere, seemed to be in the stirring of the waters. So, we have to say that there is nothing formulaic about the healings recorded in the New Testament. There is a mystery about God’s work. We can’t box Him in. Furthermore, out of the hundreds of sick who lay there, it appears our Lord came to just this one man.

We also need to recognise that although all sickness is related to sin, in that everything that is bad came into the world at ‘the fall’, not every single illness can be traceable to personal sin. But sometimes there is a definite link, and it may be that Jesus’ words in verse 14 intimate such a cause here. (Incidentally, this reminds me of Jesus saying to the woman caught an adultery, ”Go now and leave your life of sin” – John 8:11. But it feels like she had a more responsive heart).

Anyway, don’t expect that those you are kind to will always treat you well. Some won’t. The guy in our story seems to have shown little gratitude to Jesus, if any at all. Rather, he treated Him badly. Be prepared for this in our sin-soaked world. If Jesus could be so abused, we should not be surprised if similar treatment comes our way from time to time.