During the feast of the Jews Jesus and His disciple chums decided to go back to Jerusalem. While they were on their way they approached the sheep gate. The sheep gate is on the backside of Jerusalem and is where all the shepherds bring in their sheep from the fields where they were grazing. Because so many animals traverse through there, the place is pretty stinky. There is also a pool of water that is surrounded by five porticoes where a bunch of sick people were laying around waiting for the water to be stirred. You see, at certain times of the year an angel of the Lord would go down and stir the water and whoever went into the water first would be healed of whatever ailed them.
Now one dude who was lying there was sufferin from paralysis, when I say sufferin I mean sufferin because he was like this for thirty-eight years. Then Jesus walks up to the dude and says, “Do you want to get well?” The paralysis dude thinks to himself, no I’m just lyin here for my health; er come to think of it I am just lyin here for my health. But because Jesus is the only one who has spoken to the man for a long time the paralyzed guy figures he better speak nice to Him or he may not get put in the water when it gets stirred.
So the paralyzed guy says to Jesus, “Sir, I have no one to help me get into the water when it is stirred, and worse then that when I’m strugglin to get in the water somebody else beats me to the pool. “I tell you I am really gettin steamed about the whole state of affairs and everything here because the ones who get in the pool first usually don’t have the ailments that I have. “That’s why they can get into the pool faster then me. “Why last month an old geezer lady who just wanted a face-lift jumped in the pool when the water was stirred and she came out looking like Carrie Underwood. “I tell you it ain’t fair.”
Then Jesus said, “Arise, take you pallet and walk.” So the paralyzed man immediately becomes well and stands up. Then he picks up his pallet and starts walkin off with it. He’s walkin around Jerusalem and it was the Sabbath so he wasn’t supposed to be carrying his pallet or nothin. Then some religious types (a k a Pharisees) see him and say, “What in the tarnation are you doin? “You ain't supposed to be walkin around with a pallet. It’s the Sabbath for cryin out loud.” Then the used to be paralyzed guy says, “The guy who healed me told me to pick up my pallet and walk. “ Then the Pharisees look at each other and say to the used to be paralyzed guy, “Who healed you?” Then the newly healed guy scratches his head and realizes that he doesn’t even know who healed him.
Meanwhile Jesus is in the temple talking to the folks and he notices the newly healed guy walks in. Then Jesus says to the guy, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. So the used to be paralyzed guy says to himself, “How can I be sinnin I was lyin in my own poop for thirty eight years and now I can finally move around and the first thing I’m told is stop sinnin. Gimme a break.” Then Jesus says to the used to be paralyzed guy, “The sin I am referring to is the sin that exists in your heart.” Then the used to be paralyzed guy suddenly realized that Jesus was referring to envy, jealousy and coveting. The things the used to be paralyzed guy had in his heart everyday.
Then the used to be paralyzed guy went back to the Pharisees and told them it was Jesus. The Pharisees were steamed because Jesus was always breakin the Sabbath rules by healing people and feeding them and helping them out when he was supposed to be ignoring them like the other religious leaders were doin.
The main philosophical question here is why did Jesus heal this particular man. There were many invalids lying around the pool and some of them may have actually heard of Jesus. Yet Jesus heals a man that does not know him and worse one that does not thank him. This story reveals a very mysterious side to Jesus and causes us to see Him in a capricious light. The fact that Jesus selected a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years shows Jesus as sympathetic yet selecting this particular man raises questions. This man expresses no gratitude for the work the Lord has done for him. After thirty-eight years in this condition one would expect the man to show deep gratitude, instead he merely walked away when Jesus healed him.
Surely there would have been others at the pool that would have been more appreciative. Who can reason with the mind of God? Who indeed.
