The Question That Sets You Free
In John chapter 5, we find a powerful scene at the Bethesda pool, a place whose name means “House of Mercy.” It’s filled with people waiting for a miraculous stir in the water—their only hope for healing. Among them is a man paralyzed for 38 years, a period symbolizing endless wandering and stagnation.
His story unfolds during a feast celebrating freedom from bondage. The irony is profound: while others commemorate liberation, this man is trapped, believing his breakthrough is locked inside a religious system—dependent on the right moment and the right help.
Jesus approaches and asks a direct, piercing question: “Do you want to get well?”
The man’s reply isn’t “yes,” but an excuse born of religious despair: “I have no one to help me… someone else gets there first.” For decades, his hope had been outsourced to a ritual he could never quite reach.
Jesus’ response shatters the system: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
No waiting for the water. No intermediary. Jesus, the source of all mercy, bypasses the established protocol and issues a direct command of freedom. Immediately, the man is healed.
The Trap of Religious Routine
This story holds up a mirror. How often do we confuse religious activity with genuine faith? We can mistake the pool—the method, the tradition, the leader—for the power, which is Christ Himself. We wait for the perfect program, the anointed prophet, or the financial miracle, all while echoing the same defeated excuse: “I have no one to help me.”
Jesus reveals that true freedom often comes not through perfected ritual, but through a personal word from Him that breaks our familiar cycles.
Your Invitation to Walk
The religious leaders later fixate on the fact this happened on the wrong day. This is the final warning: structures meant to honor God can become chains that criticize His work when it doesn’t fit our expectations.
The question Jesus asked then, He asks you now: “Do you want to be made whole?”
Stop explaining why you’re still waiting by the pool. His word to you is the same: “Get up.” Pick up the very thing that has defined your limitation and walk away from passive waiting.
Your liberation is not in a system, but in the Savior. He is the House of Mercy, standing before you. Freedom begins when you take Him at His word and walk.
It’s time to get up.
Thanks for reading. May God empower you to graciously come out of any kind of bondage. shalom and life to you.
