I have to say that love reading through the Gospel of John to provide inspiration for my DIGs just now.
This Gospel is just dripping with the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus.
There are at times however a different side to Jesus, when He asks the difficult questions of people (these of course are asked out of love, mercy and compassion).
Take for example the infirm man at the pool of Bethesda at the start of chapter 5.
He has been sitting at the pool for a “long time” waiting to be helping and healed, yet Jesus asks what at first could be seen as a silly question.
Jesus says (to paraphrase), “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5 v 6)
The obvious answer we would say is of course he wants to be healed.
But this is maybe not so obvious to Jesus as He asked the question.
The simple fact is that there is some people who do not want to be healed; I’ve been in church leadership now (including healing ministry) for about 10 years and I have seen this very thing myself.
People identify with their illness and people fear losing benefit money if healed.
Healing was provided for all at the cross and is an essential part of our salvation, our ‘sozo’.
We have to choose however to be healed by believing and understanding , then thinking that we are healed and speaking out that we are healed.
This passage is a valuable lesson to us all with regards to healing.
We can learn that we need to want to be healed and we need to accept that others may not make that choice.
Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you provided healing for us all through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.
John 5 v 6…..When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
Heilan Word Ministries 