ODJ: speaking of Jesus

July 14, 2013 

READ: John 5:1-15 

The man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him (v.15).

While waiting for a mechanic to change my car’s tyres, I struck up a conversation with a man in the waiting area. Troy was visiting my town for a few days and had discovered that his vehicle needed repairs. After some small talk, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go deeper and I was able to express my faith in Jesus to him. We exchanged contact information, and later I received an email from Troy that contained these words: “My stay in [your city] was great, but you were the only person I heard speak of Jesus. Others spoke of their church.”

I’m so thankful I felt the freedom to speak of Jesus to Troy. That hasn’t always been my experience. With that in mind, there’s a man with whom Jesus once spoke who gives me great encouragement (John 5:5). Jesus met this struggling man by the pool of Bethesda—a place where the “sick people—blind, lame or paralysed” hung out and hoped to find healing (vv.3,7).

Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?” (v.6). The man responded by stating that he couldn’t get into—what he thought were—the healing waters of the pool when they were stirred (v.7). Jesus simply told him to pick up his mat and walk home (v.8). The “man was healed!” (v.9).

But the Jewish leaders saw him carrying his mat—something that was against their Sabbath laws (v.10). They interrogated the man and asked who had healed him, but he didn’t know. After Jesus met with him again, the man learned His name (v.14), and he “went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him” (v.15).

I love the man’s example! He simply told others about Jesus and what He had done in his life. Let’s do the same today.—Tom Felten
› Mark 6:1-13