Jesus saw him, and because he knew how long this man had been lying there, he said to him,
“Do you want to be healed?” And the sick man answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed;
so while I am still on my way, another steps down before me.”
Jesus then said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk!” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat and walked.
Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had just been healed,
“It is the Sabbath, and the Law doesn’t allow you to carry your mat.” He answered them,
“The one who healed me said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk!’” They asked him,
“Who is the one who said to you: Take up your mat and walk?” But the sick man had no idea who it was who had cured him,
for Jesus had slipped away among the crowd that filled the place.
Afterwards Jesus met him in the temple court and told him, “Now you are well; don’t sin again, lest something worse happen to you.”
And the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. So the Jews persecuted Jesus because he performed healings like that on the Sabbath.

REFLECTION:
"Do you want to be healed?” We are all wounded in one way or another. We had been hurt in varied ways in our relationships, in our work, or by our failures.
These wounds can obstruct us from living a fulfilled life. Jesus desires all of us to be healed.
However, just like the question he asked of the sick man in the pool of Bethzatha, we are also asked, do we want to be healed? Many of us
would answer in the affirmative but in many cases, we also rationalize. Like the sick man who did not give a direct answer to Jesus but instead reasoned
out why he remained in such condition for thirty-eight years, we also offer excuses.
Jesus’ healing power comes with our own cooperation. The grace of God does not happen in a magical way but always with our participation.
We have to take decisive actions in life to move from pain to healing, from sin to salvation. Many failed to free themselves from heartbreaking experiences
because they chose to wallow in pain. Let us asked the Lord to heal us from our wounds by committing to the words of Jesus, ‘Stand up, take up your mat and walk’.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020