EVERYTHING WE NEED: Who Will Stir the Water?

In John 5:1-15, we read about a pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda. Around it lay a great number of disabled people — blind, lame, paralyzed. It was believed at that time that an angel would come down from Heaven and stir the water, and the first one to get in the pool would be healed. One man, a paralytic for 38 years, didn’t have a chance to get in the water first. Most likely he was brought to the pool yearly filled with hope that this would be the year he would be healed. Year after year, he was taken away filled with hopelessness.

One day, however, everything changed. Jesus came to Jerusalem to attend a feast of the Jews. When He saw the man lying there in such dire condition, He asked, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6 NIV).

At that time, the man did not know Jesus nor did he understand the question. Attempting to explain the situation, he replied, “Sir… I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me” (John 5:7).

Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (John 5:8). Immediately, the man was healed, no longer chained by his infirmity. Jesus had set him free. His despondency turned to joy. Being the Sabbath, the Jews weren’t too happy about the situation because it was against the law to carry your mat on that holy day. Later, when the man met Jesus at the temple, he “went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well” (John 5:15). And that was that!

The man’s original hope was in the wrong savior. He thought if he could have just gotten into the water stirred by an angel, he would find healing. He was not expecting to find spiritual healing.

People today are desperately looking for spiritual healing, for someone or some thing to “stir the water” and promise them a way to get to Heaven. Some “churches” invite them to be a part of their fellowship. They have already stirred the water; you just have to keep the law and abide by their rules. In some places, baptism is your guarantee into Heaven. Others stir the water by asking a person to “plant a seed” by donating a large amount of money to their organization, and telling them that by doing so, God will be pleased and bless them a hundred times over. In one so-called church, you can stir your own water by believing whatever you want to. They say the way to Heaven is through many different doors — as long as you are sincere.

Sadly, none of these options will give eternal life. Only Jesus can do that. There is no false hope like the world offers. Jesus came into the world to seek and to save those who are lost. Confessing our sins and trusting Him as our Savior guarantees our home in Heaven.

A favorite hymn of mine reminds me that no one has ever cared for me like Jesus. In Scripture, the Lord says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). There is no waiting for years to catch His eye, and no standing in line behind other people. The paralyzed man realized that right away. Jesus looked at him with compassion and changed his life forever.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).And it will be immediate — Jesus stirred the water a long time ago. We must let the world know where their hope can be realized.