THE MAN WITH AN INFIRMITY OF 38 YEARS 4: THE MAN

When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, wilt thou be made whole? The Impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but when I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately, the man was made whole and took his bed and walked and on the same day was the sabbath. Jn 5:6-9

The story revolved around a man whose name isn't known, the family isn't known but whose testimony lingered.

I noted a few discussion points about the life of this man which mirrors the way of many people in the world today. I believe this would be of benefit:

1. His Ignorance

This man was clearly ignorant of the person of Christ. He was in the house of grace and even met the person of grace Himself but never knew that it was Him. This is not rare as many do not know or acknowledge Jesus today 'He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not' Jn 1:10. In other words, the man was in the best place and had met the most important person but couldn't place it because something was lacking.

 Friend, you might have the best gifts with you without even knowing it, you might have the best of resources yet suffer if you aren't in the know of it. Not every one that died poor was actually poor, some just didn't know it. You might be carrying the solutions to your deepest challenges and disappointments without knowing. 

2. His Sincerity

Jesus asked if this man would be healed (desired to get healed), he responded in the affirmative but detailed how it was impossible due to the strenuous process. Jesus didn't condemn him because he saw the sincerity of his heart. This man told all he knew about how to get healing in that system, just like some people know only about religious systems but not the heart of the father.

3. His faith

The man did as Christ had told him, 'rise, take your bed, walk'. This is faith, doing what God says. He was perfected by obeying Christ. Furthermore, when questioned by the Pharisees, he referred to what Jesus told him, in other words, His faith in Christ was his testimony. Aside from salvation, your faith in Christ is the testimony that the world needs to hear, not material prosperity and the likes though they are not bad.

Here's how you can take advantage of the great gifts that you have been blessed with

i. Come to Jesus with all sincerity of heart; don't hold back, he knows you already

ii. Commit your ways and walk to Him. He needs to be your Lord, so he can tell you what to do per time

iii. Share your faith testimony. Tell other people about  the Christ faith encounters.

Remember, the whole story in these few verses isn't essentially about the man or the miracle, it is about Jesus! The God of grace.