A man laid beside a pool in Jerusalem for years, hoping for a cure in the miraculous waters. Instead, the one who created those waters walked up and asked, do you want to get well?

Jesus healed the man with this command: Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.

This occurred on a Sabbath, not a problem for Jesus—the Lord of the Sabbath—nor the crippled man now skipping down the street. But a group of Pharisees took offense when they met the man carrying his mat. They asked, who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?

These religious teachers missed the point.

Instead of rejoicing with the now-whole man, or asking about a healer at loose in Jerusalem, their focus turned to minutia. Protection of the status quo, of religion’s place in society, of their standing as guardians all undergirded this question.

The Pharisees focused on the waves Jesus caused, but missed Jesus himself. The Messiah came to set them free, but many (although not all) missed out.

You and I need to find Jesus for ourselves. I hear a broad range of opinions about Jesus, spanning the horizons. Some bring me to careful thought, others are simply drivel. I cannot keep the faith by simply adopting fashionable views of Jesus.

Go to the Good Book. Open the Bible and meet the man who healed the paralytic by the pool. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Take notes. Think. Then read them again, over and over.

Learn to see Jesus for yourself.

John 5 in reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Alejandro Luengo