After healing the man at the pool of five porticoes, Jesus says something I find revealing: "... [D]o not sin anymore so that nothing worse may happen to you" (14). This implies that Jesus does more than just physically heal the man. Jesus forgives his sins. This man's sins are the spiritual root of his physically crippling ailment. And our lives are no different.
If we remember Jesus' teaching regarding the man born blind in John 9:3, physical ailments are not a direct result of sin; instead, our imperfections can function to show God's work through his healing. Jesus, however, reminds us that sin in our lives can cripple our walk with him. Sin, furthermore, causes spiritual paralysis and blindness. But through the grace of repentance, contrition, and seeking forgiveness, Jesus takes us off our figurative mats and makes us new creations in him. The journey doesn't end there, however. We must do our best to reject sin so that we don't become worse off in our faith journey, paralyzed and blinded again. Jesus is our Redeemer, and he patiently waits to give us new life in him.
Lord Jesus Christ, let me always choose you and reject the sin in my life. Amen.
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