As Jesus was walking by the pool called Bethesda, he encountered a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years. The lame man was hanging out there because the pool was known to have a healing effect after an angel would come and stir up the waters. However, such a pool, as you might imagine, attracted a lot of people with ailments. So the lame man was never able to get to the pool in time to receive the miraculous healing. But when Jesus came by, he stopped and asked the lame man a rather odd question: “Do you want to be healed?”
Imagine a man driving a fork lift seeing a man who is trapped beneath something heavy that fell and asking “Do you want me to lift that off of you?”
Imagine a doctor walking up to a man with a horribly broken arm and asking, “Do you want me to set the bone and put a brace on the injury?”
Imagine a rich man seeing a beggar on the side of the road and asking, “Do you want me to buy you food, clothes, and place to stay?”
The answer from these three unfortunate men would be a resounding “Yes! Of course! Please!”
But the answer from the lame man was not even really an answer; it was an excuse. His reply was not about his desire to be healed, but it was about other people. “Nobody’s helping me. Others are getting in ahead of me.” He had dealt with his condition so long that, according to his response, he was no longer focused on getting better, but on blaming others. Hope had been replaced with bitterness and resignation. Which begs the question: did he really want to be healed or had he become complacent in begrudging others?
All of us have spiritual infirmities. And how often are we like the lame man blaming others? I wouldn’t be dealing with this anger if that person… I wouldn’t have these desires if…. I try to what’s right but they…. We may not even be looking to be healed so much as we are looking for the circumstances to change. Jesus didn’t ask the man if he wanted someone to help him into the pool. He didn’t ask the man if he wanted someone to keep everyone else from getting in before him. Jesus didn’t change the circumstances. He asked the lame man directly, “Do you want to be healed?”
Our Lord graciously healed the lame man (which would have then required a big change in his life). And now Jesus turns to you, holds out his hand, and asks “Do you want to be healed?”