John 5:14-15 (NIVUK)
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.
Later the healed man got to know who it was that had healed him when they met in the temple. This was not so that Jesus could be thanked, but so that he could warn the man to stop sinning. What’s this about? I wish that John had given us a bit more detail here. Is he saying that all illness or disability is caused by sin? Scripture itself refutes that this is always the case, but at the same time we know that our lifestyles impact our physical and mental health, and sometimes bad patterns of behaviour can make us ill. Is he suggesting that the man’s ‘superstitious’ outlook, looking to the pool for healing and not God, was sinful and could get him in deeper trouble? And what is the ‘worse’, that ‘worse may happen’ refers to? Is this to do with this life or some future judgement? Maybe it’s a mix of all of this! Perhaps all we need to know is that the man started off not knowing Jesus and ended up with a relationship with him.
Jesus, thank you that if we build our lives on you, they are built on safe foundations.
Image used with permission by John Paul Stanley
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