By Pastor Greg
A
couple had been debating the purchase of a new automobile for weeks. He wanted a new truck. She wanted a fast little sports car. He would probably have settled on any beat-up
old truck, but everything she seemed to like was way out of their price
range. "Look!" she said.
"I want something that goes from 0 to 200 in 4 seconds or less. And my birthday is coming up. You could
surprise me." So, for her birthday,
he bought her a brand new bathroom scale.
Services are pending.
I
guess she doesn’t like surprises. There’s
just no pleasing some people. That’s a
problem Jesus faced from time to time as well.
For example, remember the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years? Remember how Jesus singles him out amongst a
great crowd of people? After what Jesus
did for this man, you would expect him to be thankful. Yet when he discovers that it was Jesus who
healed him, he runs and tells the Jewish leaders.
(John
5:9-15) After Jesus told this man to “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk”, we
read that 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and
began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so
the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t
work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!” 11 But
he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” 12 “Who
said such a thing as that?” they demanded. 13 The man didn’t
know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and
told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may
happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish
leaders that it was Jesus who had healed
him”.[1]
After this man had been healed, he eventually he ends up in the
Temple. For what reason did he go
there? Perhaps to present himself to the
priest as someone ceremonially clean (he was no longer diseased), meaning that
he would be able to worship in the Temple once again. People in that day were taught that a physical
illness caused them to be separated from God.
However, most Jews didn’t realize that spiritual sickness is what stood
between them and God, not simply their physical condition. This is why Jesus admonishes the man to not
sin anymore. He hints that separation
from God is not confined to something physical.
This man could also become separated from God through spiritual
disobedience and through sinful behavior; something the Teachers of the Law
never mentioned.
Although Jesus came to “set the
captives free”, this man doesn’t seem to respond. According to John, both the woman at the well
and the nobleman responded to what Jesus had done for them. There seems to have been some sort of
spiritual awakening in their lives. However,
the Lord’s grace doesn’t seem to have
affected this man, which is unfortunate.
You would expect some type of exuberant response. Yet when he did learn that it was Jesus, he went directly to the Jews and
informed them (verse15). This man, who
received a miracle from God, did not recognize his need for spiritual healing
as well; the reason Jesus later approached him in the Temple. Any physical
problem this man had was of no consequence to what he would face when he
died.
In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says, “Do not fear those
who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell”. He indicates that there is a difference
between our physical sufferings and the condition of our soul (or our
spirit). There is a huge difference
between our spiritual sickness and any physical or emotional sickness we might
have. It is important that we recognize
this difference because it affects our response to Jesus. For example, even though there was a great
crowd of people gathered at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus only healed this one
man. He only reached into this man’s
life to fix his problems. The rest of
those gathered around the pool remained blind, lame, and paralyzed. Were their lives of lesser value? Did Jesus not love them or feel they deserved
grace? This is the great conundrum we
face when we simply focus on healing or happiness. If all we want from Jesus is a full belly and
a happy life, then we have missed the whole reason Jesus came in the first
place.
There are many people today who
think and act just like this crippled man.
They want God to fix all their problems in life. They want a life filled with all the comforts
and pleasures, but never consider their greatest problem – spiritual separation
from God. Jesus calls this kind of
person a “white-washed tomb” (Matthew
23:27). They look good on the outside,
but on the inside, there is still unaddressed sin. These are the people who come to God begging,
“Take away my problems, Lord”, or “Heal my sickness, Jesus”.
People turn to Jesus, asking Him to solve their problems in this life, but never ask Him to address
their spiritual sickness; the real problem they are facing. Even the Church falls into this trap. Well-meaning Christians clothe the naked,
feed the hungry, and provide shelter for those without a home, but they neglect
to address the real problem these people face: their spiritual separation from
God.
This is why Jesus came (see John
3:18). He came to set the captives
free. He came so that we might not be
destroyed in the Day of Judgment. You
and I need to realize that our sinful behavior keeps us separated from God,
both in this life and the next. Unless
we allow Jesus to heal us spiritually, we will spend eternity living in outer
darkness. Jesus died on the cross not so
we might have a blessed and happy life, but so we might find forgiveness for
our sin. He may not address our physical
problems, but He certainly provided a means to be healed spiritually.
In Matthew 22, Jesus describes
this event as a great banquet. People
are gathered around the table waiting for the King to arrive. When the King does appear, He notices someone
who was not dressed properly. “Then the king said
to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer
darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 22:13). This is why you and I
must seriously consider our spiritual health.
We will all one day physically die, but our spirit and our soul will
continue to live. They are eternal. And unless we have allowed Jesus to cover our
sin before we die, we will find ourselves standing before God with our sin
exposed.
Yes, there is something far worse
than living with a “lack of strength” for 38 years, and that is spending eternity
in hell; eternally separated from God.
This is why the health of our soul is much more important that any
physical problems we face. This is why
we must accept Jesus as our Savior today, before it is too late. Only by accepting Jesus as Lord will we be
properly dressed. Only by confessing our
sin today will we keep something worse from happening to our lives.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 5:9–17). Carol Stream, IL.
No comments:
Post a Comment