Pick Up My Mat ?
There is a pool located in the Old City of Jerusalem, widely known for its healing powers. Dating back to at least the 1st Century, the pool of Bethesda possesses a long history and tradition of those seeking freedom from their afflictions (Biblical Archaeology Society website). Reportedly, “the first person to enter the pool when the waters were stirred up would supposedly be cured of his or her ailment.” In the Gospel of John, chapter five, the pool of Bethesda is highlighted because Jesus chose this place and time to heal a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.
One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”
Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!
But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”
But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
“Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.
The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. (John 5:1-15 NLT)
As I read through this passage in John, a few things entered my mind. I pictured many people gathered around the pool for varying amounts of time, maybe even years…I saw men, women, and children of all ages, standing, sitting, lying down…some sheltered under one of the five porches, and many others in the wide open, exposed to the elements, because there was no room for them anywhere else. I imagined the unpleasant smells, sounds, or emotions one might experience when carefully zigzagging through the throngs of ailing people. If I came upon this scene, I would hope I would feel compassion and love toward these hurting people…but if I were to be honest, I wonder if I would feel disgusted? Or embarrassed? Would I ignore the reality of the situation and keep walking? Driven to the pool with a desperation seeking relief from pain, discomfort, or an ailment, I believe each and every one of these individuals was filled with hopeful expectation. Initially, I suspect there was a strong willingness to wait and watch for bubbles to stir the water's stillness, ready to dive into their coveted miracle. However, I wonder if, as time passed with no change in their condition, maybe frustration and disappointment replaced hope.
This passage pointedly describes a paralyzed man, unable to walk for 38 years. Of those 38 years, the man lay on a mat at poolside for an indefinite amount of time. I presume this man had been waiting a long time with no miracle. Because of his physical state and having no help, he could not get to the water quickly enough. I wonder if he even noticed when the bubbles appeared anymore…
And then Jesus shows up.
Jesus asks the man one direct question: “Would you like to get well?” In reading this, I’m thinking to myself, of course, he would answer yes, why wouldn’t he? In my opinion, the answer warranted a seemingly obvious response to a seemingly simple question. Instead of responding the way in which I would assume, the man avoids answering Jesus. Instead, he provides excuses; he says he “can’t” become well. I pondered that for a moment…This man told God in the flesh, “I can’t…” Somehow, in the period of waiting for his healing, this man went from solely having a state of physical paralysis to also having an additional mental paralysis. I thought to myself… this man’s present condition prevented Him from realizing that the One standing before him was the One who could instantly restore his broken body.
Like most of my Christian brothers and sisters, I have experienced seasons of brokenness in my own life. I realized that many of my situations and mindset mirrored the paralyzed man’s situation and mindset. I may not have experienced a physical paralysis, but I have certainly experienced paralysis emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. I have dwelled on “I can’t” or excuses that have kept me in a place of defeated acceptance of my “paralysis.” I have been that man—lying and festering in my own stench on a soiled mat, telling Jesus that “I can’t” when asked a simple, yet powerful, question. I have come face to face with my Healer and Deliverer in dark and seemingly hopeless seasons of my life…only to turn away from the restoration He willingly and freely wanted to provide…my Jesus sought me out, and I chose to remain paralyzed by my unforgiveness…anger…hurt…pain…bitterness…I had lost sight of the power of God and limited Him, minimizing His greatness and ability to bring wholeness to brokenness.
But yet, we do not have to remain paralyzed by our afflictions because of our God who sees (Genesis 16:13). He searches for His children with the desire to bring comfort, peace, and restoration (Luke 19:10). Since nothing is hidden from God, He knows our circumstances and our struggles, feels our wounds and our pain, and understands our emotions (Hebrews 4:13). Christ gives us the confidence to enter into God’s powerful presence and good plans for our lives, (Ephesians 3:12, Jeremiah 29:11-15) so we can trust Him with the outcome of any situation we set at His feet.
We are new creations as a result of Christ’s finished work on the cross and the Holy Spirit living inside us (2 Corinthians 5:17). We don’t need to wait indefinitely at the side of a pool watching for bubbles to come to the surface. We do not have to rely on other people or rituals to access our miracles. We can fully encounter the healing, restoring power of God simply by trusting in Him and his faithfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
Even though we may avoid answering a simple question from Him, Jesus is still willing to tell us to stand up, pick up our mats, and walk into a new life. Not only can we experience new, restored life, but we can experience life in ABUNDANCE. Jesus Christ IS the cure for ALL of our afflictions…He IS the pool from which a life of overflowing abundance comes (John 10:10). Abundant rest and renewal; abundant peace and joy; abundant strength and wisdom…abundant life.
Thank You, Lord, that because of You, we don’t have to experience this life from the confines of a dirty mat beside a stagnant pool. Thank You, Lord, that You hear our cries for help and are near to our broken hearts (Psalm 34:17-18). Thank You, Lord, that You know each of our names and call out for us (John 10:3) because You want us to stand up, pick up our mats, and walk with You in wholeness and new life.
