Head: Know God’s Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God’s Way
Read John 5
HEAD
This chapter tells us of an amazing miracle that Jesus performed! In this chapter, Jesus was spending time in Jerusalem, and he visited a pool called Bethesda. Now, this wasn’t a pool with a diving board and floaties, but a gathering place with clean, natural water that many people in Jerusalem visited. Some people believed this pool even provided benefits for their health. All around the pool were many people hoping to be healed. Some could not see. Some could not walk. Some could barely move at all, including a man who had been unable to walk for THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS! Wow!
Day after day for these 38 years, he lay by the pool waiting for someone to help him, until he finally encountered Jesus. When Jesus saw him, He didn’t walk past. He stopped. He asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” The man explained that he had no one to help him into the pool. He probably felt helpless and alone. But Jesus didn’t need the pool to heal him. Jesus simply said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately, the man was healed! His legs were strong, and he could walk again. WOW!
Instead of celebrating, some religious leaders were upset because this happened on the Sabbath, their special day of rest. They focused on their rules instead of the miracle that had just happened in front of them. Jesus explained that He was doing His Father’s work and showed them that He has the authority and power that comes from God.
HEART
Just like the man at the pool, there are times in our lives we might feel forgotten or unnoticed. Maybe your friends left you out. Maybe you didn’t make the team you tried out for. Maybe you didn’t make the grade you thought you deserved. Maybe something feels really hard right now. The good news is that Jesus sees you just like He saw that man. He knows your struggles, your worries, and your fears.
In this chapter, Jesus also says that anyone who believes in Him has eternal life. That means life forever with God! Jesus offers us eternal healing for our hearts, souls, and minds! He came to save us and bring us close to God. We can trust Him because He has given us the hope of a relationship with Him!
HANDS
After the man was healed, his life changed. He didn’t just lie there anymore – he got up and walked just like Jesus told him to! When we follow after Jesus and he changes our hearts, it also changes the way we live. We can live a life of obedience that honors Him! How can you “get up and walk” in obedience this week?
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for seeing me and caring for me. I know that You have never once forgotten about me. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, so that I can have a personal relationship with You that changes me and heals me. Help me get up and walk in obedience to You this week. Amen.