1977.
That was the year Apple
Computer was incor-
porated, the miniseries
Roots made television history and Radio Shack
marketed its groundbreaking TRS 80 computer.
It was also in 1977 that Jay Leno made his first
appearance on the "Tonight Show," the Space Shuttle
made its first flight in earth's atmosphere and the
movie Rocky won the Academy Award for best picture.
Star Wars
made its appearance and the Concorde
started its supersonic flights from Paris to New York
City. Since 1977, 125 million people have been born
in the United States, 35% of the current population.
But worldwide, over four and a half billion people
have been born since 1977, representing two
thirds of its population. That was 38 years ago.
The story we find in John 5:1-15 tells of a man
who spent 38 years, not in marking progress
but living in defeat, depression and despera-
tion. Like the others who crowded around
the pool of Bethesda, he believed that if he
were the first to get into the water when it
started bubbling, he would be healed of his
paralysis. He held on to this slim hope because
it was his only hope. Like a homeless person
who has built a makeshift shelter from scraps,
he likely had some rattletrap tent to shelter him
from rain, to afford some protection from the cold
and to give him a place to sleep -- all the while waiting.
When engaged in conversation he would have never
lost sight of the water, and when he dozed off he would
have wakened with a start to any noise that sounded
like bubbling. Then, when the water moved, he would
have tried desperately to drag his weakened body
across the pavement through passersby as part of a
pathetic race to waters that failed to heal him.
One day, Jesus approached him and asked, "Would
you like to get well?" (vs. 6). Instead of answering, the
man outlined the reasons why he couldn't get better.
Someone else was always unavailable to help him. The
timing of the water's bubbling was beyond his control.
Someone else always succeeded in getting in ahead of
him. Asking the man if he wanted to get well was an
insightful question. This man had spent 38 years wait-
ing to be healed; victimhood had become part of his
identity. It was always someone or something else that
prevented good things from happening. He could not
give Jesus a simple yes or no answer.
Bible
Study
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30
The War Cry | FEBRUARY 2015
"
Jesus gave three commands,
all of which were impossible
for a paralyzed person to do.
"