Why "Do You Want to Be Well" is One of Jesus' Greatest Questions

You're likely familiar with the story of Jesus healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. Just before He calls him to "take up his mat and walk," He asks the man, "Do you want to be well?" Seems like a no-brainer. That's like asking, "Do you enjoy food?" or "Have you ever heard music before?" It has to be the most rhetorical and obvious question in the Bible, and yet it is uttered by Jesus Himself. Here's what we know about Jesus: He wastes nothing and purposes everything. So, what's behind this question? Could it be that wellness, healing, and breakthrough come at more of a cost than we realize?

THE WORD

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”“Sir,” the invalid replied, “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.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 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.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 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.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. —John 5:2–15

There was lore surrounding the pool of Bethesda. Many throughout the region, including John, the Holy Spirit-inspired author of this particular Gospel, believed that from time to time an angel would come and stir the waters. Whoever was able to make it into the water first after it was divinely stirred would receive supernatural healing in their bodies. We have no way of knowing whether this was actually happening or if it was simply folklore that had been passed down through the years, but what we do know is that they believed it and ordered their lives around it.

It was a magnet for the lame, blind, and physically disabled. Surrounding the pool on every side lay those who were unable to lead normal lives because of sickness, disease, or injury. It resembled what you would find in any hospital emergency room across the world today.

You can imagine the buildup as Jesus made His way to the pool that day. He had already demonstrated His ability and willingness to heal the sick instantaneously on several occasions. Now, He was making an appearance at a hub for the hurting. I would imagine something like a Benny Hinn crusade getting ready to take place: Jesus removing His cloak and whipping it in all directions while everyone is falling under the weight of GLORY!

But that's not what happened.

As a matter of fact, no one seemed to even notice Jesus. Even the lame man himself referred to Jesus as, "Sir..." Not Teacher or Rabbi... certainly not Messiah or Lord, just sir. For the record, that's what I make siri call me, so not a particularly weighty title.

It seems as though the lore of Jesus had not yet reached the same proportions as the lore of the angelic pool. But the man who had spent a lifetime unable to reach the freshly stirred waters was now staring into the eyes of the Living Water Himself.

How poetic and profound. All these people desperately attempting to reach the water in hopes of healing. It's a depiction of our depraved state. As we lay spiritually dormant in our iniquity and sin, we often needlessly seek for an act of will or strength to make us right with God. But our redemption comes not from our ability to reach Him (the water), but rather from His willingness to reach us. Being made well begins with encountering the well of Living Water.

WHAT WHOLENESS WILL COST YOU

There is a cost that comes with encountering Christ. Jesus invited us into relationship by beckoning us to deny ourselves, take up our cross (a symbol of death) daily, and follow Him. On the other side of laying down our lives is a new life in Him that often looks vastly different from our old one—so much so that the Bible compares it to passing from death to life.

Now, perhaps someone is asking, "Wait, are we talking about being saved or being healed?" The answer is both. Physical healing throughout the Gospels is a demonstration of the spiritual healing that happens when we place faith in Christ. Sickness and disease are the result of a fallen state. While not all sickness or infirmities may be healed on this side of Heaven, all things will be healed in eternity. The Gospel of the Kingdom is that everything wrong will be made right. I love the way J.R. Tolkien writes it in Lord of the Rings: "Everything sad will come untrue."

Regardless of whether we are delivered from physical or mental bondage, it is indicative of the spiritual bondage that only the blood of Jesus can set us free from. But just like salvation, on the other side of our healing comes a new way of thinking, living, and being.

When Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, Luke 4 says she immediately got up and "began to wait on them." After Jesus healed the woman who had been crippled for 18 years in Luke 13, the Bible says she "immediately straightened up and praised God." After Paul's blindness was healed in Acts 9 it says, "At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God."

There seems to be a strong correlation between encountering the healing power of God and stewarding the call to serve, praise, and declare to others what you now know intimately to be true. So, when Jesus asks, "Do you want to be well?" I don't believe it was rhetorical. I think it was a legitimate question. Do you want the responsibility of stewarding an encounter with God?

3 WAYS YOU MUST STEWARD YOUR ENCOUNTERS

Daily encounters are the anthem of our church. Our vision is to make disciples who believe in, become like, and boldly proclaim Jesus through daily encounters with God. That means if we can teach people to return to the feet of Jesus every day, they will grow to both become everything the Lord has called them to be and do everything the Lord has called them to do.

Daily encounters are not always dramatic encounters. Sometimes we meet God on the mountain and see His glory in life-changing and profound ways. Other times we simply meet Him in the garden and struggle to stay awake like the disciples on the night of the crucifixion. What matters is that we meet Him.

Every encounter with Jesus comes with the responsibility to steward what He imparts to us. Each day I sit down and open the Word, I open my journal as well, because I expect His Word to speak to me. The first step to applying His Word to your life is applying it to paper. When I spend time in prayer, I give space for God to speak to my heart through passing thoughts or mental pictures/visions that light up in my mind.

The John 5 story of the man at the pool of Bethesda is a perfect representation of what is often required of us after both daily and dramatic encounters with the Lord. Note these three demands that were placed on him immediately following his healing from Jesus.

1. LEAVE YOUR LIFE

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

We oversimplify and undersell the power of sin when we attempt to preach how wretched and miserable it is. The reality is, sin can be exhilarating and pleasurable. That's why so many stay in sin throughout their entire lives. We can even find comfort in a state of sickness.

During my most intense years of depression, I recall feeling so "at home" in my depressive state that at times I wasn't sure if I wanted to be free of it. 1 John says that apart from Christ we walk in darkness. But the funny thing about darkness is, once our eyes adjust, it doesn't feel that dark. No one feels like they're truly in darkness until they're exposed to the light. So it is with sin.

This man had spent 38 years laying on this mat, not being able to walk. As horrible as that might sound to you and me, this was his reality. After 38 years he had, no doubt, become accustomed to this way of life. The first requirement an encounter with Jesus would demand of him would be to leave behind almost four decades of habits, routines, and practices.

Even in our most miserable state we grow comfortable. It's why Jesus tells the man in Luke 9 that the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. In other words, If you follow Me, your comfort will come from who is in you, not from what is around you. Your healing will often cost you your comfort.

2. TELL YOUR STORY

So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” ...The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Transformation births testimony. In a court of law, a witness is legally bound to testify when summoned. In Acts 2, Jesus tells us we are to be His witnesses. We are bound by the Holy Spirit to tell of what He has done. That might sound intimidating, but testifying comes very naturally to us. The other day I tried a new Filipino place in town for lunch, and it was amazing! I've already told at least five of my closest friends.

I didn't have to come up with a plan for how to tell them. I didn't have to map out a system or put a reminder in my phone—it just came up naturally in conversation. I had a good experience at a restaurant, and I knew others would enjoy it too.

For the record, I know the Gospel has much greater implications than where we grab lunch and I applaud being strategic and calculated with how we share it. However, our strategies should never become more important than the fact that we simply share it. Your encounters with the Lord benefit those around you. People in your life are blessed by your surrender to God.

I often think of Ananias in Acts 9, when God called to him and told him to go pray for Saul/Paul so that the scales on his eyes would fall off to do the work of God. What if Ananias had refused to meet with God that day? What if he had gotten too busy doing "life stuff" to both hear and heed the call of God? God used Ananias' daily encounter to set forth Paul's global ministry.

Someone needs to hear your story. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19). What He did in your past, He can do in someone else's future. Steward your encounter by sharing your encounter!

3. CRUCIFY YOUR SIN

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.”

Before you jump to any conclusions, just hear me out. I'm not a fan of the "we all sin every day all the time" rhetoric often espoused in Christian circles. I understand the heart behind it, and I believe it most often comes from a good place. We are never above the ability to sin—we all fall short, and we all make mistakes, even into our most seasoned and spiritually mature years. But holiness is a thing.

2 Timothy 1:9 says, "He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time..." We often degrade grace to that which excuses or covers our sin, but Titus tells us that it is grace which enables us to "say NO to ungodliness." Grace is the empowering feature of God that equips us to live a life that pleases Him.

The Bible makes it clear: we have a sinful nature and we will, at times, sin. However, the Scripture also tells us we are not to continue in sin any longer. There's a savage passage of Scripture in Hebrews 10:26 which says that if we deliberately keep on sinning, after having been given the knowledge of the Gospel, there is no sacrifice left for us—we will die for our own sins because we have refused to allow His blood to conquer sin for us! Ouch.

There's a major difference between sinning and living in sin/continuing in sin. The former will happen, and we must repent and take responsibility when it does. But the latter is what we choose to lay down when we say yes to Jesus. I find it interesting that out of the many words of wisdom and revelation Jesus had to impart to mankind, the only thing He gave to this man in their second encounter was a warning to continue in sin no longer.

Many people want to be healed. Far fewer want to be submitted. There is liberation from sin and death in submission to Christ. We're all slaves to something. We were made to be servants, not masters. Whether a slave to sin, feelings, or the ways of this world, you will serve something. And if you receive the Gospel, you'll still be a slave—a slave to righteousness and a servant of Christ. You simply trade masters: a horrible one for a righteous one.

CONCLUSION

From what we can tell in Scripture, only one man was healed at the pool of Bethesda that day. Despite the many who spent years of their lives in a desperate state of misery and pain, only one man walked away from that place for good.

Why not more? Jesus could have healed everyone there in an instant.

I'm reluctant to say for sure, but perhaps it's because he was the only one whom Jesus knew was ready to steward His encounter for the glory of God. Much like the ten lepers—nine of whom were merely healed but only one of them returned to express his gratitude to Jesus. The Bible says that one was not merely healed, but made well.

There is a cost that comes with encounter. There's a responsibility that comes with relationship. Do you really want to be well?