John 5:2–6 / Law VS Love
When Jesus met the disabled man by the pool of Bethesda he has already been lying there for thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight years of waiting for his turn to be healed, but it never came.
Often when we find people in situations like this, we might think that we know exactly what should happen and we end up using whatever resources we have to “fix” the situation. Perhaps waiting with him to make sure he gets a turn in the water, maybe trying to negotiate with others, using our money or social capital (power) to get what we want.
But when Jesus approached him, he took a different approach. He starts by respecting his free will and asking a question.
“Do you want to get well?”
This wasn’t a casual conversation. In the ancient world, healing wasn’t seen through a scientific lens like we often use today. For them, healing was theological. It was a sign that God’s promises — especially those from Isaiah 35 — were coming true. Healing meant restoration. It meant the broken were being made whole, the outsiders being brought back in.
This man wasn’t just physically stuck. He was trapped by an unjust system — one that favored the fast, the strong, and those with help. If you were too slow or too alone, the system left you behind. Sound familiar?
But Jesus doesn’t wait for the system’s permission. He doesn’t ask for approval from religious leaders or consult their rule books. He simply loves the man. He heals him. And in doing so, Jesus exposes the brokenness of the system that prioritized ritual over restoration, rules over people.
Of course, healing on the Sabbath — the “wrong” day — enraged the gatekeepers of religious power. They weren’t offended by the miracle itself, but by the fact that Jesus refused to play by their rules. True restoration demands that the powerful make room for the powerless, and that was a disruption they couldn’t accept.
Love doesn’t wait. Restoration doesn’t need a hall pass. Jesus acts because that’s what love requires — right now, not later, not when it’s convenient.
For us today?
The systems we inherit — even religious ones — can easily become about maintaining control rather than embodying love. Following Jesus means we answer to Him first. It means moving toward healing, justice, and restoration, even when the system tells us to wait our turn. If we wait for permission to love boldly, we’ve crowned the wrong king.
Deep Discussion Questions:
When Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?”, what kind of healing (physical, emotional, spiritual, relational) might He be inviting us to seek?
Where in our communities or churches today might systems be excluding those who are most in need of restoration?
What are some “Sabbath rules” — traditions or expectations — we cling to that may be getting in the way of true healing and inclusion?
How do we discern when to patiently work within systems, and when to follow Jesus in lovingly disrupting them?
What might it cost us personally or communally to prioritize love and restoration over compliance with human-made systems?