By Pastora Gloria Buen Nuevo
The book of John was written by John the Beloved, the one closest to Jesus’ heart. When you read all of his books, it is full of love. He is the last disciple of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who was thrown into the island of Patmos because when he was thrown into a vat of boiling oil, he did not die. In Patmos, instead of wallowing in despair, he was still able to write the book of Revelations.
While the other gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke have so many miracles, the book of John only has 7. That is because he concentrated on the identity of Jesus, that He is the Son of God. He wrote this for the Greeks and Gentiles too.
In John 15, there was a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years and he had no more hope. He was staying by the pool in Bethesda where it is believe that once a year, when the angel stirs up the water, the first one who jumps into the pool will get healed. Of course, only one will get healed because they were all with defect. And most of them, because this was the case, feel discouraged and hopeless. Everybody wants to get healed but they just could not get to the pool first. Jesus saw the faith in this man’s heart and asked him if he wanted to be healed. The man answered that others always get ahead of him. Jesus asked again and when he said yes, He asked him to get up, take up his mat and leave.
Jesus healed this man on the sabbath and because of this, He got into trouble with the pharisees. He did not get tired. He was there for every social event even if he had to walk for miles. He was seen with the sinners, the drunkards, the orphans, the widows and the sick. But He never judged them and He never wavered in His mission. He healed them and gave them hope.
Take up your mat and rise up. Do you want to be healed? Do you want to be delivered? Do you want to have hope? Rise up! Stand! Jesus is always at the end of your journey. Just call on His name and He will help you rise up.
When Jesus performed this miracle, it was the religious leaders who criticized Him first. Why? They are supposed to be the first ones who are happy that a miracle has been pperformed. But no. While they wanted to uphold the law, Jesus showed compassion more than the law. He showed love above everything else. Why were the pharisees angry? They were probably jealous because they could not do the same things He does. The people also do not crowd around them when they arrive. Only Jesus draws out such crowds. Beware of people who are jealous of you. They will continuously pull you down instead of being happy for you. Check your heart.
When Jesus performs miracles, it exposes the true contents of our heart. That is why Jesus always said to them, “woe to you!” It also shows that they are scared. They were afraid to lose their power and position. They could not accept the fact that Jesus is really the Son of God.
Philippians 2:10-11 says, “The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father!” Jesus is the one true Son of God. Worship Him only.
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