In today’s age, we are obsessed with wellness: physical wellness, emotional self-awareness, and healthy living. We take supplements, go to therapy, and even go to church to find spiritual well-being. Then why are we still so sick and tired of being sick and tired?1
The Bible describes a situation where we can understand how one could feel this way if one were the man in John 5. It is about a man who the Bible describes as an invalid. A person made weak or disabled by illness or injury, usually too sick to care for themselves. He had been this way for 38 years.
Imagine the scenario: you’ve been unwell for almost 4 decades- most or at least half of your life unable to care for your needs. You hear about this healing pool said to have the power to heal any ailment. Great! You somehow find some nice neighbor to take you there and drop you off. But when you arrive, there are crowds of people already there waiting for their turn as if it were a popular Disneyland ride. All the people had apparently gotten the same memo. Popular belief at the time was that an angel of the Lord would come from time to time and stir the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had. So you think, “What an amazing opportunity. I can get healed! I just need to wait for these hundreds of people first, then get down to the pool. Oh wait, I can’t. I’m incapable of doing it on my own. I guess, I’ll just have to lie here and wait for a miracle.”
We don’t know how long this man waited. But sure enough, his miraculous day did come, when Jesus walked into his life and it changed forever. This narrative has so much to teach us about being truly healed. Let’s look at the text.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
–Jesus saw him and knew (5:6a). Jesus sees and knows our needs, our pains, and how long we’ve had them. Nothing is hidden from His sight or understanding.
-Jesus offers hope (5:6b). He asked the man plainly and directly, “Do you want to be healed?”. Jesus IS hope. This man’s only hope (and ours). He offers what only he can provide. Jesus knew this man wanted and needed healing. That’s why he was at the pool. But he gives the man the opportunity to verbalize his need.
–The man declares his helplessness and powerlessness (v.7). The man explains he has tried on his own sick and weak power and abilities, but cannot.
–Jesus heals and commands obedience (v.8-9). Jesus tells him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk. And at once he was healed…”. The man responds in obedience immediately as he “took up his bed and walked”.
-Jesus states he is well and to sin no more (v. 14). At first glance, the narrative shows the physical healing that takes place in the man. But we see in this verse, that it is not the primary healing Jesus was sent to work. He healed that man of the sickness of his sin.
True wellness and healing according to Scripture is being well and right in our relationship with God. This can only happen through Jesus. Jesus lived a perfectly righteous life and died a perfect substitutionary death so that through Him we can have peace with God. Only then, when we have peace with God, can we be truly well. That is the foundation of wellness in all areas of our life. When we are right with God, it is well with Him, others, and our soul. Our externals may not be changed. We may still have chronic physical pain or a challenging marriage. But the healing of our souls brings love in our relationships, contentment with our circumstances, and inner peace. There is a deeper and more profound healing that is taking place. We may still walk with a limp like Jacob. We may still have our struggles like the apostle Paul. But we know that on the inside, we are healed, purified, and held in the secure hands of our Sovereign God. Joni Eareckson Tada says it best when she proclaims, “When it comes to healing, God is always more interested in healing your soul.” (If you haven’t read Joni’s autobiography, here is a glimpse of her amazing testimony- https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/joni-earekson-tada-praises-healing/)
If Jesus has called you as his own, you ARE healed. Now, get up, pick up your mat, and walk. Respond in gratefulness and obedience. Love the unlovable in your broken relationships. Sing praises through the hard times. Accept the curve balls life throws at you. Persevere through this world’s brokenness. It is not without purpose. We are being renewed and restored every day. Know that he that has begun a good work in you will complete it until Jesus comes again. And on that day, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev.21:4).
The Lord be with you,
Bianca
- Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights leader, humanitarian ↩︎
