Do You Want to be Healed?

Sunday, Jonathan explored John 5:1-15 with a focus on one of Jesus' most piercing questions: 'Do you want to be healed?' At first glance, asking a man who's been paralyzed for 38 years if he wants healing seems almost cruel—the answer appears obvious. Yet this question cuts deeper than physical disability. It challenges our comfortable relationship with brokenness. The sermon unpacks the rich symbolism John weaves into every detail: Jesus entering through the Sheep Gate where sacrificial lambs were led, the pools of Bethesda promising healing but delivering disappointment, and the multitude of desperate people waiting for water to bubble. We discover that after 38 years—13,870 days—this man had moved from uninformed optimism to informed pessimism to the valley of despair. His excuses had become his identity. We're challenged to examine our own lives—what pools are we waiting beside? What excuses have become our identity? The man blamed the pool, the circumstances, and everyone around him, while the Living Water stood right in front of him. We don't need shortcuts or superstitions; we need Jesus. When Jesus commands, 'Get up, pick up your mat and walk,' He's not offering relief—He's demanding transformation. The mat matters because our wounds become our witness. What once defined us now declares Him. We're challenged to stop waiting for circumstances to change and instead encounter the Living Water, who stands with us always.