In today’s reading, we see Jesus pass by the pool of Bethesda. Crowds of sick people lay around this pool, hoping for healing. When the water stirs, the first one in the pool is healed. As Jesus passes by, he sees a man who has been sick for thirty-eight years. No one has helped him into the pool, and he is too weak to get himself into the pool. So Jesus asks him if he wants to be healed and tells him to stand up, pick up his mat, and walk. The man is healed!
There is just one problem with this healing. Jesus healed him on the sabbath day! Notice the response from the Jewish leaders. …But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” (John 5:9–10, NLT) Wow! These leaders didn’t care about the healing; they were upset that he was carrying his sleeping mat on the Sabbath. Interestingly, the actual law of Moses said nothing about carrying sleeping mats. However, this man-made rule was treated as if it were equal to the law of Moses.
Such is the nature of anything overly religious. This man’s healing is ignored because he broke a made-up “law.” While the Pharisees originally meant well in trying to protect against dishonoring the Sabbath, the work of God was ignored in favor of their rule. It is easy to be overly religious and judge others against our made-up interpretations of Scripture, usually called standards and traditions, and miss the miraculous working of God. After all, Jesus said to pick up the mat and walk. How easily we see the sleeping mat but not the new legs of the man once lame. May God save us from being overly religious and blind to His work and the needs of others.
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from John 5.