Todays Bible Study Gospel Of John 1/24/15 John 4:43–6:71 A Quick Analysis Of John 4:43–6:71 He was never sure when he began to change. At first he had fought against the paralysis. Shame had washed over him when his friends picked up his pallet and carried him to Bethesda pool. His mouth compressed tightly; his forehead was rigid with a frown. One could feel the determination, sense the voice inside him that demanded over and over, “I will walk again. I will!” How he had watched that pool! He was so desperate to reach it when the waters were rippled, to win the healing people said would come to the first person to slip in them. He had dug his fingers into the pavement, frantically jerking his body across the stones. But that was years ago. So many years. The friends were gone now, busy with their own affairs. His world was the tiny space occupied by his pallet on the pavement. He no longer struggled to reach the water. In 38 years he had learned to live with his paralysis; learned to accept his wasted, sticklike legs. All the old dreams were discarded. Now he was satisfied with an extra crust of bread in his begging bowl, or a little warmth when the wind brushed the clouds away from the sun. Thirty-eight years. Life had settled into routine, and he was . . . resigned. Now, I don’t know that this is what happened to the man described in John 5. We’re told only that he had been ill for 38 years, and that he had no one. But it’s easy to imagine what must have happened inside as the reality of his paralysis wore away his spirit. We can imagine his youthful plans; the success or the security he dreamed of, the family he’d have. And then came an illness that stripped him of everything: strength, companions, and finally, hope. No wonder when Jesus saw him, and “learned that he had been in this condition for a long time,” His first words were, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6) Do you want to be healed, or would the return of hope now be too painful to bear? That question is more wise than it might seem. Lanny and Marie have been married over 20 years. For the past 5 years they’ve lived together, but apart. For a long time they had struggled, each wanting intimacy and oneness, but over and over again they had failed. The hurts grew deep and bitterness settled in. Finally Marie couldn’t stand it any longer. She would stay with him, but not as a wife. And so life for each of them has now settled into polite loneliness. There is caring of a sort and, at times, fun. But always there is an emptiness that somehow hurts less than the pain they had when they were trying so hard. Lanny and Marie still long for a deeper relationship and a oneness in their marriage. But neither can respond to the offer of a fresh change. The anguish of past failure has made them afraid to risk anymore. Jesus’ offer of new life comes to men and women who have often been in bondage to paralyzing defeat for untold years. For many of us, an invitation to take a fresh start would be heard with doubts and fear. To understand the grace Jesus unveils and see why it is safe to accept His offer, we need to see more clearly the life that Jesus holds out to us.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 11:22:49 +0000
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