John 5:1-15
5:1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. [1]
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John tells us that the Jewish leaders noticed the healed man carrying his mat. Although not explicitly forbidden in the law, it was a violation of the specific strictures that they taught on the proper way to avoid work on the Sabbath. But notice that their attention is all on this violation. They make no comment and show no reaction to the fact that the man had been healed. All of their attention is on the apparent violation of the Sabbath.
This theme will continue in subsequent conversations between Jesus and the leaders. They only have eyes for His infractions of traditions, and seem to be blind to the miracle taking place right in front of them. They are so caught up in a negative, critical spirit, that all they can see is fault.
Do we miss the work of God around us? It is easy to be so distracted by the failures of those around us, by the negative circumstances in our lives that we fail to notice the working of God in other ways. Are we noting the prayers answered? Are we seeing God’s gracious provision? Are we seeing the blessings He provides? Are we seeing the struggles He permits and the growth He would engender through them?
God is at work in our lives and in the lives of each person around us. My prayer today is to have my eyes opened by the Spirit to be more attuned to His work around me, rather than the failures, mistakes, and frustrations that can so easily steal my attention.
Lord Jesus, open the eyes of my heart to your work in me and around me this day. Turn me away from things that would distract and deny Your gracious presence and work.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Jn 5:1–15). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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