When Jesus healed an invalid who was lying by the pool of Bethesda, there were many others who were also infirm, but it doesn’t indicate that Jesus healed them. Why did he single this man out? And why didn’t he heal all of the sick there? The man had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, and he had been at Bethesda pool for a long time.
The Jewish leaders were ticked off because it was the Sabbath and after being healed, the man was carrying his bed. When they found out that it was Jesus who healed him, they confronted him. When Jesus responded “My Father is working until now, and I am working,” they began to seek to kill him because he was “making himself equal with God” (v18).
In this narrative, Jesus was intentionally confronting the religious culture of the day. The Jews were more concerned about the rules than people, but Jesus loved people more than the rules…
“Leading more like Jesus” observations:
1. Ministry is about people – love them and serve them!
2. Deliberately seek the Father’s direction and do the ministry HE calls you to do (v19) – I believe that’s why Jesus didn’t heal all the sick at Bethesda, the Father didn’t direct him to do that, and he was doing what the Father revealed to him to do.
3. Opportunity does not equal obligation (thanks to Dave Workman for that memorable quote). Jesus could have stayed at Bethesda and healed all the sick. He had the ability and the opportunity, but wasn’t compelled to act because the Father didn’t direct him to.
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