You...Want Me...to Do What?

John 5:8-9 (MSG)
  Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking."  The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. That day happened to be the Sabbath.

Imagine the man in this story, lame for thirty-eight years; perhaps since birth. He is so insignificant he doesn't even have a name worth mentioning. But, he is important to Jesus. Most people saw right through him, they didn't bother to stop and help or even talk to the crippled man. But Jesus noticed him and spoke, "Do you want to get well?"

Duh..."I sure do! I need help, and no one will lend a hand."

These waters were known for their healing benefits. The water would stir and it folklore believed an angel disturbed it. The superstition declared the first person into the pool after the water stirred, would be healed. The broken man expected Jesus would help him into the water, he expected his healing would come from the pool. But, Jesus didn't do that.

Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." The man responded immediately.

Don't you find that astonishing? If he expected his help to come in an entirely different form, why would he try to stand up?  Was the idea just crazy enough to work?

All four Gospels report this healing, it must be significant.

• Matthew 9:6 Then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."
• Mark 2:11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home."
• Luke 5:24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home."

Isaiah prophesied this in  Isaiah 35:6 "Then the lame will leap like a deer."

Has God ever spoken to you in this way? Has He ever told you to do something you just knew was crazy impossible? Have you felt a spiritual shove down a road you successfully avoided for years? What Word is God speaking into your life right now? What are you going to do about it?

John 5:1-16