"Go forth!" (Arise, take up, and walk!) John 5:8
"Arise, take up and go forth!"
......"Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed, and walk."..... - John 5:8
As Jesus enters into His second year of ministry John records the activity of the day in Chapter 5 of his Gospel. The time had come for one of the Jewish feasts possible the feast of Tabernacle. Jesus born and reared as a Jew in keeping tradition went up to Jerusalem for the feast. As Jehovah of the Old Covenant, He instituted the Passover. As a Man, obedient to His Father, He obeyed the very laws that He made. Now in Jerusalem there was a pool named Bethesda which means the house of mercy or house of pity. The pool was located by the Sheep Gate the place of sacrifice. Around the pool there were five porches which was capable of holding large numbers of people.
The pool at Bethesda had a reputation as the place of miracles thusly large numbers of sick people gathered here with the hope of being healed. Some blind, others lame, and some even paralyzed came to receive. Their varied illnesses mirrored the picture of sinful man in his helpless, blindness, lameness, and useless condition without God. Those who gathered longed for the moving of the waters that they might be freed from their sickness. This particular narrative would have us to know that at a certain time an angel would appear and stir up the water and those who were able to get in would be made whole. There at the pool was an invalid who it was reported to have been there for some thirty-eight years. He had been waiting at the water even before the birth of Christ. Although Christ had never met him personally, but as a testimony of His omniscience; He was well aware of this man's condition. Likewise, God knows your condition.
Lovingly, the Lord said to him, "Will thou be made whole?" This was a rhetorical question as Christ knew the longings the invalid but He wanted the invalid to acknowledge his own helplessness and need for a Savior. His acknowledgement would be much like salvation's plea. The sinner must recognize that his or her need and to make a confession from his or her lips that they may find redemption through Christ. We are not saved by our own will but our human will must be exercised before God can save a lost soul. He will not violate our will. He is a gentleman. The sick man's pathetic response demonstrated how disappointed we are when we depend on man to deliver us.
Jesus tells the man to rise, take up his bed, and walk. The object lesson here is that when we are saved we are commissioned to rise, to take a stand, and to walk upright. God expects a turn around, the thing that was carrying us, He will now empower us to carry it. Suddenly, the invalid received new life, new power, and a new purpose. Jesus did not use the pool as the catalyst for the invalid's healing, but through the power of the spoken Word and a corresponding act on behalf of the man, he was made whole. Jesus gave him three commands; "Rise, take up, and go forth!
Christ demands that people take action and responsibility. We must take a stand with Him. The more we follow Christ, the more we rise in spiritual character. His second command is that the man "take up" his bed. Since the healed man no longer had a need for his sickbed, he needed to discard the past. Taking up the bed illustrates the principle that we should not maintain remnants of our former ways of life. The past is just that "the past!" The new man is to clear away the old man's baggage to avoid returning to his past ways. Now that he is healed, he is to live differently. Lastly, Christ tells the man "to walk or go forth!" His new walk would be a testimony of the fullness of God's redeeming power. The man's ability to rise up provided the first visible testimony of his healing. His ability to take up his bed demonstrates his restored strength. His ability to walk made him an effective witness of God's restoring, redeeming, and reconciliatory power through Christ. This man had a change of head (his mind), a change of heart (his will) and a change of hand (his trust). Today, I prophesy to you, "Arise, take up, and go forth!"
......"Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed, and walk."..... - John 5:8
As Jesus enters into His second year of ministry John records the activity of the day in Chapter 5 of his Gospel. The time had come for one of the Jewish feasts possible the feast of Tabernacle. Jesus born and reared as a Jew in keeping tradition went up to Jerusalem for the feast. As Jehovah of the Old Covenant, He instituted the Passover. As a Man, obedient to His Father, He obeyed the very laws that He made. Now in Jerusalem there was a pool named Bethesda which means the house of mercy or house of pity. The pool was located by the Sheep Gate the place of sacrifice. Around the pool there were five porches which was capable of holding large numbers of people.
The pool at Bethesda had a reputation as the place of miracles thusly large numbers of sick people gathered here with the hope of being healed. Some blind, others lame, and some even paralyzed came to receive. Their varied illnesses mirrored the picture of sinful man in his helpless, blindness, lameness, and useless condition without God. Those who gathered longed for the moving of the waters that they might be freed from their sickness. This particular narrative would have us to know that at a certain time an angel would appear and stir up the water and those who were able to get in would be made whole. There at the pool was an invalid who it was reported to have been there for some thirty-eight years. He had been waiting at the water even before the birth of Christ. Although Christ had never met him personally, but as a testimony of His omniscience; He was well aware of this man's condition. Likewise, God knows your condition.
Lovingly, the Lord said to him, "Will thou be made whole?" This was a rhetorical question as Christ knew the longings the invalid but He wanted the invalid to acknowledge his own helplessness and need for a Savior. His acknowledgement would be much like salvation's plea. The sinner must recognize that his or her need and to make a confession from his or her lips that they may find redemption through Christ. We are not saved by our own will but our human will must be exercised before God can save a lost soul. He will not violate our will. He is a gentleman. The sick man's pathetic response demonstrated how disappointed we are when we depend on man to deliver us.
Jesus tells the man to rise, take up his bed, and walk. The object lesson here is that when we are saved we are commissioned to rise, to take a stand, and to walk upright. God expects a turn around, the thing that was carrying us, He will now empower us to carry it. Suddenly, the invalid received new life, new power, and a new purpose. Jesus did not use the pool as the catalyst for the invalid's healing, but through the power of the spoken Word and a corresponding act on behalf of the man, he was made whole. Jesus gave him three commands; "Rise, take up, and go forth!
Christ demands that people take action and responsibility. We must take a stand with Him. The more we follow Christ, the more we rise in spiritual character. His second command is that the man "take up" his bed. Since the healed man no longer had a need for his sickbed, he needed to discard the past. Taking up the bed illustrates the principle that we should not maintain remnants of our former ways of life. The past is just that "the past!" The new man is to clear away the old man's baggage to avoid returning to his past ways. Now that he is healed, he is to live differently. Lastly, Christ tells the man "to walk or go forth!" His new walk would be a testimony of the fullness of God's redeeming power. The man's ability to rise up provided the first visible testimony of his healing. His ability to take up his bed demonstrates his restored strength. His ability to walk made him an effective witness of God's restoring, redeeming, and reconciliatory power through Christ. This man had a change of head (his mind), a change of heart (his will) and a change of hand (his trust). Today, I prophesy to you, "Arise, take up, and go forth!"
© 2024 Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..
Powered by
