READ: John 5:1-9 LISTEN: John 5

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”  John 5:6

Jesus is in Jerusalem for a religious festival. Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the city for these events. It’s the Sabbath, a day dedicated to rest and reflection on God’s provision. However, the religious leaders turned the Sabbath into a list of rules and regulations that weighed on people. Jesus steps into this environment as part of his plan to rescue humanity. As Jesus moves through Jerusalem, he sees a man who has been disabled for thirty-eight years. He asks him a simple question, “Do you want to get well?” Then Jesus heals the man on the Sabbath. This healing points to Jesus’s power to heal and his identity as God-in-flesh.

Jesus’s question rings true for us today. Do we want to get well? John makes it clear that Jesus is God (John 1:1). This man’s healing points to a future time when all that is wrong with the world will be healed. There will be no more crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). But this healing also points to Jesus’s identity as God. God himself came to rescue us from our greatest need, our sin. So, the question remains: do we want to get well? Do we want Jesus to rescue us from our sin?

TODAY: Talk to God about whether you want to be healed from your sin. If you’ve never admitted you are a sinner and asked God to rescue you from sin, make that decision today. Reach out to us at btw@adabible.org to discuss what it means for Jesus to rescue you. If you have accepted Jesus’s free gift of life, thank him for rescuing you from your sin.