A Miraculous Limitation

By Alexandra Copeland

During the time in which Jesus Christ walked the face of the earth, he did so many miraculous and wonderful works that John 21:25 states if they were written down, the whole world would not have room for the books. On one occasion of his marvelous wonder-working power, he had gone up to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. John 5 tells us that the pool of Bethesda and its five porches were inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, and crowds of sick folks laid about on the porches. The pool had a miraculous healing quality in it, and as one might imagine, those that were paralyzed or had diseases that restricted mobility laid on the porches the longest.

One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. Jesus saw him and immediately received information from the Holy Spirit that he had been sick a long time. John 5:6 (NLT) tells us that Jesus Christ asked him “Would you like to get well?” You might ask yourself why it is that Jesus asked the man the question when he knew the answer. He knew the man’s condition and had the power to remedy it entirely, but posed this question to the man any way. This lets us know that something in this sick man’s mind and heart had to cooperate with the miraculous in order to bring it into full view.

We can learn a whole lot from this simple question, and even more from the man’s answer. Given the severity and length of his infirmity, one might think he would have given a resounding ‘YES!’ to Jesus, but he did not. John 5:7(NLT) gives us his response, “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”  His mindset was one of being completely well-versed in why he could not be healed, but not nearly as thorough in why he could be.

It is not clear how frequently or infrequently it was done, but angels, God’s servants, came down to the pool to stir the water. The troubling of the water was a sign to those on the porches that the healing power of the pool was in motion. The miraculous limitation of this healing was that only the person stepping in the pool first received its benefits and was immediately cured. Those who lingered in afterwards were left in whatever condition they stepped in with.

This is such a tremendous lesson about the mindset of faith. God has instructed us in Ephesians 4:23 to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, but many of us struggle with this. When it comes to exercising the faith of Jesus Christ, some of us have convinced ourselves that we can camp-out in ambiguity and still have faith show up on the double. Not so! Make no mistake that there’s a switch that must be flipped in our minds and hearts, and it is one of being fully persuaded and sold-out on the goodness of God and His desire to see us blessed with the best!

God did not want to see this man suffer 38 years, but it took this long for him to confront a life-changing question. There he was, staring truth in the face. He could drink it in and all its healing power, OR be left on the porch in the same condition he had always known. We should notice that Jesus did not give credence to the man’s explanation, but like a razor, he cut through it to reveal an opportunity to sprint over any-and-everything that had prevented his healing in the past. In one powerful moment, Jesus commanded this man to squash his unbelief to smithereens. John 5:8(NLT) says, “Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!""

The angel stirred the waters, but did not place the afflicted bodies into it. In like manner, God has placed His Word before us, but will not make us read it. 2Peter 1:3 tells us that everything needed for life and Godliness is contained in God Word. Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. We don’t have him on the earth physically, but we have his Spirit living inside us, and we have God’s Word. It is alive and powerful, and we should observe every opportunity to drink from its living well and be healed by its power. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.