What Jesus Did! 'Would You Like to Get Well?' — John 5:5-7

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

One of the men lying [by the pool of Bethesda] had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?" "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."
— John 5:5-7 NLT

Key Thought

"Would you like to get well?"

Sometimes our biggest disease isn't what appears in our bodies. Instead, this disease hides in our hearts.

"Would you like to get well?"

That's a much harder question to answer than meets the eye — when applied to my spiritual wellbeing. I might have to change. I might have to give up my excuses. I might have to adapt to a different lifestyle. I might have to give up blaming others for my problems. I might have to take some responsibility for my own condition. Jesus asked the question because, in this case, the man had a real, physical disease. As the man shows by the end of today's verses when he made an excuse, he wasn't ready to take responsibility for anything. What about us? Do we really want to get well, both spiritually and physically? Really? Then we need to come to Christ and be ready for the Holy Spirit to begin changing us!

Today's Prayer

Father, I do want to be made well. I want to be saved and conformed to you through and through — body, soul, mind, and spirit. I offer myself up to you to be changed so that I can be whole. I offer myself to be transformed to be more like Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • James 5:14-15
  • Colossians 1:28-29
  • Acts 2:36-42

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Illustration

Illustration of John 5:5-7 NLT — "for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me."

About This Devotional

What Jesus Did! is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. Each devotional consists of a scripture passage and a reflection and a prayer which open up the day's scripture and show how it challenges you to live for Jesus.

What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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