Subscription Lists
Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
When Jesus Christ healed that paralysed man by the Pool of Bethesda he very soon got into bother, because Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath, and you were not allowed to carry your mat on the Sabbath. We are studying John Chapter 5.
This is the first hint in John of confrontation, and opposition. Two things were meeting – the religion of the letter and the life and power of Almighty God – traditions and regulation and the presence and moving of the Holy Spirit – of the form of powerless godlessness and the might and power of our creator God – or, man’s ways and God’s light and truth. It is some clash.
Jesus Christ had come with a new freedom from lifeless religion. We have seen what happened in the Temple. Jesus was more interested in the man, than any scrupulous observance of the law.
When Jesus works the works of God, and speaks the Word of God in a new way, He is confronted with criticism and opposition. Death and life clash!
There was now quite a crowd watching this scene, and the healed man did not know who Jesus was, and he slips away into the crowd. He gets out of the road, but makes his way to the Temple.
Later on, Jesus meets the healed man in the Temple and says to him, “See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
Jesus connects this man’s sickness with some sin. He had done something, or said something, that made him sick. Jesus is warning him, “Now, that you are free from the consequences of that sin, do not return to that sin.”
There is another meaning of the phrase – Do not continue to sin. Sin can be a doorway for the enemy to come in and cause havoc in our bodies and in our circumstances. It is not enough to have a life changing experience, no matter how real or dramatic that experience might be. Jesus was not satisfied with physical healing alone.
When he saw others at the pool being healed, had he harboured thoughts of envy, resentment, bitterness? Was it that that lost him his friends?
Negative emotions can bring their own diseases.
Jesus is saying to him – Look, we have mastered this thing. We’ve licked it. We’ve won. Don’t give in. Don’t slip back into your old ways and former habits.
A permanent cure depends upon your spiritual health and your spiritual well-being.
Verse 15 – He went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Word from Scotland" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.