March 11
Scripture of the day: "Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool ... A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there ... He said to him, 'Do you wish to get well?' The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.' Jesus said to him, 'Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.' Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk."
John 5:2-9
Thought of the day: There was a belief that the waters of that pool were occasionally a source of healing. However, this man was too ill to ever win the race into the pool. Jesus saw the whole spectacle ... and He saw that one man. Jesus offered neither approval nor disapproval of their activity. He asked the man, "Do you wish to get well?" After the man's defensive answer, Jesus said, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."
Challenge of the day: We cannot applaud the man's faith. He did not know who it was who had healed him, John 5:13. Why did Jesus heal him? Was He only inciting some legalist Jews? No. Did He have some great plan for the man's life? We don't know. Was He moved by compassion? Yes ... but why did He leave the others at the pool unhealed? Jesus healed this one man for reasons we are not told. He is God ... He does what He chooses.
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