Man at the pool - John 5 1 -15
I was 38 years old and I had been disabled all my life. I had been born with a big wound on my back and legs which didnt work. Apparently I had been lucky to live - most babies born with my condition died in childbirth. But God preserved me for some reason and I very often wished He hadnt because life was hard. For most of it I had been a beggar. I begged by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem which was a good spot because the portico there offered shade in the heat of the day and the pool was a good source of water. Unfortunately over the years more and more people had discovered the place and it was getting harder to find a good spot to beg. I was having to get up earlier and earlier to get there and stake my claim to a seat on the steps. By seven or eight in the morning the whole place was coming down with invalids, beggars, single women with babies and widows - all of whom depended on the generosity of passing strangers to make ends meet.
Then, when I was about seventeen, something amazing had happened.
I had been sitting in the shade of the arches watching people walking past when I heard the sound of shouting from the poolside. I shuffled over to the steps to see if I could make out what was happening and saw several people throwing themselves into the water whilst others standing near were shouting and jumping about. I caught the eye of someone who was watching and asked them what was going on. According to this chap something was happening to the water. It had started to bubble and there was steam coming off it as though it was hot. People were saying that God was touching the water and they were jumping in in the hope that God' spirit in the water might bring them healing.
I was sceptical, but nevertheless I couldnt stop myself from watching to see if anyone getting out of the water was claiming to be healed. After a while several people got out of the pool and they did seem to look happy - I wondered if there might be something in the notion of God stirring the waters. Lots of people gathered by the pool for weeks and months after that, but it didnt happen again until about three years ago. That day I had been begging as usual when I noticed something unusual out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was smoke and I looked round to see if something was burning somewhere. But then I realised it was coming from the pool - it was steam. The water was bubbling again and the people round about were starting to get excited. Some of the more able sick folks made their way to the water but I couldnt find anyone to help me down the steps. So I sat back and watched as people splashed around or dangled their feet over the edge or even scooped up water in their hands to drink.
Days after this event I did hear on the grapevine that people had been healed of skin conditions and wounds and breathing difficulties. I decided that I would just have to stay alert, try to get closer to the edge of the pool when begging ( even if that meant being in the sun rather than the shade) and wait until it happened again. I was desperate to be healed. I was so tired of the shadow of a life I was living. I was really lonely and longed to get married and have a family. I was sick of being despised and looked down on by every single person who walked past me every day. I knew that people were thinking that the reason I had withered legs was because either I or my parents had sinned.
The day I met Jesus he was walking through the colonnade and he just came up to me and said
' You have been lying there on that mat in this same place for years haven't you? That's not what you were made for. Would you like to be well so that you can be who you were meant to be?
For a few minutes I thought the waters must be bubbling again and this stranger was offering to take me to the pool. I strained to see the water , but it all looked calm and nobody was paying any attention to it. I looked back at the stranger who was still standing in front of me, seemingly waiting for me to say something.
' Ummm, well yes, I would really like to be well sir ' I said ' But you see, I can't move every easily and whenever the water moves ( some people think its an angel which comes down and stirs it up) I can't get down there - there's nobody to help me and the others get there first''
Jesus said ' This place, Bethesda, is called ' the house of mercy' and today you will know the mercy of God. Get up and go home. And dont forget to take your bed with you!
I will never forget what happened next. As Jesus spoke he reached out his hand and pulled me up off the floor and as he touched me my legs, which had never worked and had no sensation in them all my life, became strong and whole. I leaped up from the ground - stunned at what was happening to me - and looked at my feet which were standing flat on the floor for the first time in my life. Jesus smiled, let go of my hand and then walked off as if nothing had happened. I just stood there. Everyone round about, my begging friends who knew me well, were equally dumbfounded. Nobody could quite believe what they had just seen. Then Lucas One Hand started to cheer, and soon others joined in and it started to dawn on me that I was no longer a cripple. I was whole!. I held onto the wall as I tried to move my legs and work out what to do in order to walk. It was such an odd sensation. But it didnt take me too long to get the hang of it. And remembering what Jesus said I took my bed and walked off towards my house, realising that it was going to take me less than five minutes to walk there. It had taken me more than half an hour to crawl from my house to the pool that morning.
On the way to my house I passed the synagogue. It was the Sabbath and the leaders of the congregation were coming out of the holy place after the service. One of them saw me carrying my bed and came over to me. ' Oi! Its Sabbath. You arent allowed to carry anything on the Sabbath. That's work.' He looked quite cross. I have to confess that in the excitement of everything, Id forgotten that it was the Sabbath. But I said to the Rabbi ' Im sorry, but the man who just healed my paralysed legs told me to walk home and to take my bed with me. So that's what Im doing. ' The Rabbi looked shocked and told me to wait where I was whilst he went to talk to his colleagues. After a minute or two three or four of them approached me and asked me to tell them what had happened. I told them and they asked who it was who had healed me. But at that time I didnt know Jesus's name. He hadnt introduced himself and I hadnt asked him who he was. So all I could tell them was that he was a Jew, about my age, a bit taller than me. And that he had a nice smile.
The Rabbis asked if I could still see the man - but I had a good look round and he had gone. It was quite busy with everyone coming out of the synagogue. I told them I couldnt see him and they turned and left, talking amongst themselves in an animated fashion. As I was in front of the synagogue I decided to go in and say some prayers of thanks for my healing. For the first time in my life I walked into the place of worship and sat down in a pew. It felt really odd but really wonderful. As I was thanking God for the miracle that had happened to me Jesus appeared at my side and sat down beside me. He smiled again and said ' Look, you have been made well That's great but make sure you dont fall back into sin otherwise this affliction may come back to torment you or perhaps even something worse. ' He was kind, but deadly serious and as he spoke it was as though every sin Id ever committed came flashing up before my eyes. I felt deeply ashamed and sorry. I told him that I wanted to be a better man. And I asked him his name. And that was when I learned that it was Jesus of Nazareth that had healed me that day.
Later on I saw the Rabbi again and I told him it was Jesus who had healed me. Oddly the Rabbi didnt seem too interested in the story about how I had been an invalid for 38 years. He just kept going on about how it had happened on the Sabbath. Apparently its against the law to heal someone on the Sabbath because healing is ' work' and Sabbath is for rest. Im not sure I quite understand the logic of that myself. But what would I know? Im just a poor ex-beggar who is looking for a job.
Then, when I was about seventeen, something amazing had happened.
I had been sitting in the shade of the arches watching people walking past when I heard the sound of shouting from the poolside. I shuffled over to the steps to see if I could make out what was happening and saw several people throwing themselves into the water whilst others standing near were shouting and jumping about. I caught the eye of someone who was watching and asked them what was going on. According to this chap something was happening to the water. It had started to bubble and there was steam coming off it as though it was hot. People were saying that God was touching the water and they were jumping in in the hope that God' spirit in the water might bring them healing.
I was sceptical, but nevertheless I couldnt stop myself from watching to see if anyone getting out of the water was claiming to be healed. After a while several people got out of the pool and they did seem to look happy - I wondered if there might be something in the notion of God stirring the waters. Lots of people gathered by the pool for weeks and months after that, but it didnt happen again until about three years ago. That day I had been begging as usual when I noticed something unusual out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was smoke and I looked round to see if something was burning somewhere. But then I realised it was coming from the pool - it was steam. The water was bubbling again and the people round about were starting to get excited. Some of the more able sick folks made their way to the water but I couldnt find anyone to help me down the steps. So I sat back and watched as people splashed around or dangled their feet over the edge or even scooped up water in their hands to drink.
Days after this event I did hear on the grapevine that people had been healed of skin conditions and wounds and breathing difficulties. I decided that I would just have to stay alert, try to get closer to the edge of the pool when begging ( even if that meant being in the sun rather than the shade) and wait until it happened again. I was desperate to be healed. I was so tired of the shadow of a life I was living. I was really lonely and longed to get married and have a family. I was sick of being despised and looked down on by every single person who walked past me every day. I knew that people were thinking that the reason I had withered legs was because either I or my parents had sinned.
The day I met Jesus he was walking through the colonnade and he just came up to me and said
' You have been lying there on that mat in this same place for years haven't you? That's not what you were made for. Would you like to be well so that you can be who you were meant to be?
For a few minutes I thought the waters must be bubbling again and this stranger was offering to take me to the pool. I strained to see the water , but it all looked calm and nobody was paying any attention to it. I looked back at the stranger who was still standing in front of me, seemingly waiting for me to say something.
' Ummm, well yes, I would really like to be well sir ' I said ' But you see, I can't move every easily and whenever the water moves ( some people think its an angel which comes down and stirs it up) I can't get down there - there's nobody to help me and the others get there first''
Jesus said ' This place, Bethesda, is called ' the house of mercy' and today you will know the mercy of God. Get up and go home. And dont forget to take your bed with you!
I will never forget what happened next. As Jesus spoke he reached out his hand and pulled me up off the floor and as he touched me my legs, which had never worked and had no sensation in them all my life, became strong and whole. I leaped up from the ground - stunned at what was happening to me - and looked at my feet which were standing flat on the floor for the first time in my life. Jesus smiled, let go of my hand and then walked off as if nothing had happened. I just stood there. Everyone round about, my begging friends who knew me well, were equally dumbfounded. Nobody could quite believe what they had just seen. Then Lucas One Hand started to cheer, and soon others joined in and it started to dawn on me that I was no longer a cripple. I was whole!. I held onto the wall as I tried to move my legs and work out what to do in order to walk. It was such an odd sensation. But it didnt take me too long to get the hang of it. And remembering what Jesus said I took my bed and walked off towards my house, realising that it was going to take me less than five minutes to walk there. It had taken me more than half an hour to crawl from my house to the pool that morning.
On the way to my house I passed the synagogue. It was the Sabbath and the leaders of the congregation were coming out of the holy place after the service. One of them saw me carrying my bed and came over to me. ' Oi! Its Sabbath. You arent allowed to carry anything on the Sabbath. That's work.' He looked quite cross. I have to confess that in the excitement of everything, Id forgotten that it was the Sabbath. But I said to the Rabbi ' Im sorry, but the man who just healed my paralysed legs told me to walk home and to take my bed with me. So that's what Im doing. ' The Rabbi looked shocked and told me to wait where I was whilst he went to talk to his colleagues. After a minute or two three or four of them approached me and asked me to tell them what had happened. I told them and they asked who it was who had healed me. But at that time I didnt know Jesus's name. He hadnt introduced himself and I hadnt asked him who he was. So all I could tell them was that he was a Jew, about my age, a bit taller than me. And that he had a nice smile.
The Rabbis asked if I could still see the man - but I had a good look round and he had gone. It was quite busy with everyone coming out of the synagogue. I told them I couldnt see him and they turned and left, talking amongst themselves in an animated fashion. As I was in front of the synagogue I decided to go in and say some prayers of thanks for my healing. For the first time in my life I walked into the place of worship and sat down in a pew. It felt really odd but really wonderful. As I was thanking God for the miracle that had happened to me Jesus appeared at my side and sat down beside me. He smiled again and said ' Look, you have been made well That's great but make sure you dont fall back into sin otherwise this affliction may come back to torment you or perhaps even something worse. ' He was kind, but deadly serious and as he spoke it was as though every sin Id ever committed came flashing up before my eyes. I felt deeply ashamed and sorry. I told him that I wanted to be a better man. And I asked him his name. And that was when I learned that it was Jesus of Nazareth that had healed me that day.
Later on I saw the Rabbi again and I told him it was Jesus who had healed me. Oddly the Rabbi didnt seem too interested in the story about how I had been an invalid for 38 years. He just kept going on about how it had happened on the Sabbath. Apparently its against the law to heal someone on the Sabbath because healing is ' work' and Sabbath is for rest. Im not sure I quite understand the logic of that myself. But what would I know? Im just a poor ex-beggar who is looking for a job.
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