Tuesday: TIME TO STOP SINNING

May 9, 2023
2 min read

John 5:9-15

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” 11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

In the eyes of the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, observing the law of the Sabbath was more important than the man being healed. They didn’t observe the law for a relationship with God; they observed it so they could maintain control of the people and tell them what to do. The Pharisees grilled the man to know who told him to break what they perceived to be their law. Then man did not have a good answer for them.

Jesus knew what had happened to the man, so Jesus found him. In the Pharisee’s eyes, the man was ill because he had sinned. Jesus wanted the man to know that the man’s infirmity was not because of his sin, but so the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:2-3).

THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS

If every ache and pain is an opportunity for God to be glorified, then I have many testimonies at work inside me every day. However, there are some believe their infirmities are the result of their sin.

Jesus showed the man that he was healed because of the grace that Jesus showed him. The man was unable to heal himself in his own strength—even though that was what the man asked Jesus to do. Jesus told the man to stop sinning not because of his past sins, nor as a condition of being healed. In effect, Jesus seemed to be making fun of the Pharisees, who believed that the man’s disability was from his sin. He knew this would get back to the Pharisees when the man went to tell them that he had found the One who healed him.

Through the healing of our heart from sin, I learn who Jesus is. This leads me to know that Jesus wants me to be in relationship with Him. When I rely on Jesus, He leads me closer to Himself, and not into sin. I am healed by His Name, and He has the power to keep me from sin.

Lord, thank You for healing my heart, brining me into relationship with You. Thank you that this relationship keeps me from sin. Amen.

May you be blessed,

Chaplain Wayne Ruckman