John 5:14-15 says,
“Afterwards Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘See, you have been
made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.’ The man departed and
told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
To give some
background on what’s going, we see a man that has been infirm for thirty-eight
years. We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that he was born with
infirmity. Jesus found him sitting at the pool of Bethesda where an angel would
come and stir up the water and whoever got into the pool first would be healed
of his or her sickness. This man wanted to get into the water to be healed, but
as previously stated; he was infirm and couldn’t get there in time. Jesus told
him to take up his bed and walk, healing him of his infirmity.
The Jews see this
man carrying his bed and tell him that he is being unlawful by carrying his bed
on the Sabbath. The man looks around to find the man that told him to do so,
but Jesus was nowhere to be found. However, later Jesus found the man who had
been healed and delivered this statement. The man receives this and then goes
out and tells everyone else about Jesus and what he had done.
Verse fourteen is
pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? I mean, no one really needs to study Greek
to figure this one out. Jesus simply says, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come upon you.” If it’s so simple, why do we find it so complicated? We see
this theme throughout the Bible, especially in Romans 6. Romans 6:1-2 says,
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” If you need
to look more at this idea, read Romans six; it’s so good!
This idea is so
simple, but for some reason, it doesn’t ever seem to register with us. We know
sin is wrong, but even after we sincerely apologize for it; we run right back
into the heat of it and commit the same sin again. What is with us? Think of a
convict who lives in a cell for murder, adultery, stealing, and every other
crime you could ever think of. Suddenly, he is set free by the guard with the
key. He is let go; no accountability, no house arrest, nothing. However, after
a few days he runs back into his cell, asks the guard to chain him up and lock
him in.
Yes, we’ve heard
this before, but do we understand how stupid this person must be? To be
completely real, this man is an idiot! But oh friends, isn’t that us?! Oh God,
isn’t that me?! The issue is we don’t see our sin as a prison cell, but instead
a getaway, or a cruise. Somewhere secluded where no one will ever know what we
do, so we can do what we want. Is this how you see it? When you’re about to
gossip or watch porn or do anything that is unrighteous, do yourself about to
step into a prison? I know I don’t, but it is!
This morning, or
today, or tonight, or whenever you read this. Let this be your prayer; “God,
let me see the intensity of my sin. I know to You it is repulsively disgusting,
but I don’t share the same vision. Give me that vision. Teach me to see sin the
same way You see it.”
This is my prayer
today for myself and for you – Forsake All
No comments:
Post a Comment