For 38 years, a man lay by the pool of Bethesda—waiting, hoping, unable to move. When Jesus meets him, He asks a piercing question: "Do you want to get well?"
In this sermon on John 5:1-15, we’re reminded that Jesus doesn’t just heal bodies—He confronts hearts. The miracle at the pool shows us more than Christ’s power; it reveals His call:
- to really want to be made well,
- to admit we can’t heal ourselves, and
- to trust and obey the One who can.
But the story doesn’t end with walking legs. Jesus later warns the healed man not to return to sin—because spiritual paralysis is just as real as physical paralysis.
To what do we keep going back "poolside"? What sins or habits quietly hold us immobile? Jesus didn’t suffer the cross so we could stay stuck. He heals us so we can walk in new life.
