Do you want to get well? What an odd question?!? Surely, the answer is yes for those who are sick, and the desire is to stay well for those who are healthy. Yet, this is the question asked by Jesus of the man who had been an invalid for 38 years. Strange as it may seem, there are people who appear to be content in their illnesses.
The "woe is me" attitude prevents them from getting well or from being a blessing through their illness. Many like the excuse that the illness provides. The invalid by the healing pool responded, "I have no one to help me ..." Constrast this with the blind man in Mark 10 who threw his cloak aside ran to Jesus (probably bumping into people and things) and cried out, "Rabbi, I want to see." The invalid didn't even answer the question. The attitude continues to manifest itself in his behavior after his healing. As he was walking away with his mat, he was confronted by "the Jews" for working on the Sabbath. This man tried to deflect blame by referring to "the man who made me well." Apparently, he was even looking around to point out Jesus, but Jesus had slipped away. Again, contrast this reaction to that of the blind man in Mark 10 who immediately followed Jesus.
Upon finding the former invalid in the temple, Jesus, having previously healed him of his physical condition, addressed his spiritual condition:
John 5:14 (NLT) 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.”People respond differently to physical illnesses and their circumstances. Some use it as an excuse. Some use it as an opportunity for a demonstration of their faith. Which will it be for you?
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