Who Is He? Who Are We?Намуна

In John 5, Jesus entered Jerusalem and came near a place called the pool of Bethesda, where multitudes of blind, paralyzed, and other sick people lay around, waiting for healing. One of them was a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. The scripture says that when Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had been there a long time, He first asked him, “Do you want to be healed?”

Instead of a direct answer, the man responds with an excuse, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up." This moment reveals something about both the man and the heart of Jesus. While the man could only see his limitations, Jesus saw beyond his condition. He treated this man not as an invalid, but as a living witness, a vessel through whom God's authority and grace would be displayed. And the same thing is still true for us: God calls us according to the plan He has already appointed for us, not according to our present circumstances.

When Jesus tells him, "Get up, take up your mat, and walk," the man is instantly restored before he can even take a step. It is not through effort or ability that his restoration occurred, but because of the authority and compassion of Christ. In the same way, our healing and identity have nothing to do with what we can or cannot do but with who Jesus is. We are healed because He is the Healer. We are redeemed because He is the Redeemer. We are loved because He is Love.

The challenge, then, is this: how do we practically lay down our false self-perceptions and pick up our true identity in Christ? It all comes back to knowing the One who created us. The more we understand God's character, the clearer our identity becomes. And later in this chapter, Jesus discloses powerful truths about the Father:

He knows what we need and provides it, not to coddle us but to bring His story into being through us.

The Father has shared His authority with the Son, and through the Holy Spirit, we likewise have that same authority to walk in freedom and faith.

Life is in the Father, and He, through Christ, has given us that same life.

Jesus says, "The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing." Likewise, our purpose and peace are found only in aligning ourselves with the Father's will. Later, He says, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." God invites us not only to study His Word but to encounter Him personally, to see His heart revealed through both Scripture and our experiences. It is the same Jesus who healed the man at Bethesda who meets us in our brokenness and speaks purpose and identity into our lives.

So today, consider:

What "mat" are you still lying on that God has already called you to pick up?

What excuses, fears, or false labels are keeping you paralyzed from accepting your healing?

How might God be revealing His character to you right now through both His Word and your circumstances?