We’ve been looking at the story of the healing of the paralyzed man in John 5.
Jesus is in Jerusalem and ends up by a pool near the sheep gate. It was believed that when the waters were stirred (perhaps a spring occasionally bubbled up there) that the first person in the water would be healed. Because of this there were many lame, blind, and otherwise ill people laying there. One such man was paralyzed and had been in that condition for 38 years.
Jesus approaches the man and asks him, “Do you want to get well?” The man answers that he does want to but that he can’t get to the water in time. In a sense, as we said last time, he is saying that if Jesus would help him with his plan to get well then he could be ok. He is failing to recognize that Jesus is offering something different, something more. Jesus is better than the pool.
Jesus of course does not help the man into the pool. He also doesn’t say, “Man that’s tough. I hope that works out for you at some point” and move on. Instead he does something very Jesus like. He gives him a command.
More Than Don't Have Sex 