The third Sign... part 4...

Okay, so the oddity of the answer that the sick man gave has been perplexing me for a while, but I would like to cover the best part of this third Sign right now.  It wasn't that the Sign occurred (which was excellent, by the way), and it wasn't that a specific man was chosen (which he was, by the way)... the best of this Sign is what was spoken to the man.

"'Get up,' Jesus told him, 'pick up your bedroll and walk!'  Instantly the man got well, picked up his bedroll, and started to walk."

John 5:8-9a, HCSB

I may have made mention of this before, but I would like to be very clear on a specific point of notice with this Sign, as with all previous and the ones to follow, in that it is vital to note that John makes emphatic point that the Signs happen when Jesus speaks.  He is the Word, you know, and therefore He has spoken and ruled on every subject and topic, every issue and concern, every anything that is listed in the Bible.  He is also the very same Word that was spoken into existence when the world was created.  So when Jesus hears the odd reply from the man, including extraneous information as to why he has not yet become well (as opposed to just answering that he wishes to become well), the directions given are all the more amazing!

He just looked at the man, broken and ill, destitute and abandoned at this pool for the sickly and dying, and told the man to get up.  I don't know about you, but I picture those words sounding different, as Jesus speaks with all the authority of Heaven.  I hear them as having a slight echo, perhaps deeper in tone than normal, and captivating to all around within earshot.  The words spoken by and through the Word have to be so unbelievably unavoidable, and there could literally be no way to ignore them.

It is the direction given, though, just as it was with the water turning to wine (fill the jars, draw some out) and the son of the official (go, your son will live) who needed healing.  Jesus tells this man to get up, which is unthinkable to the masses gathered around the area.  However, no matter how odd it sounded, the man got up and walked away.  He just got up, and walked away.  Jesus told him what to do, and he did exactly what he was told.  (If I'm going too deep into that single point, then I'm excited you noticed... because Jesus tells us what we should do through the Bible, but do we do it?)  That man's 38 years of illness and pain and suffering were washed away in an instant, with a seemingly ridiculous set of instructions.  Yet, you MUST notice that it is a set of instructions that this man was faithful to follow!

And there's the rub, friends... Jesus gave that man instruction, and the man followed it, and a blessing beyond belief was bestowed!  So what if Jesus told you what to do?  Don't say that it would be different, because that man was face to face with Him, because it was not yet time for Jesus to be transfigured or seen or known as Messiah, so while the man may have known that Jesus was "considered" to be a prophet and a holy man, the ill man wouldn't have looked at Christ any differently than anyone else.  Further, don't expect that Jesus will manifest in front of you to tell you what you should do or ask you coaching questions to lead you to your own best answer.  As a Christian, Christ is IN YOU, and He speaks through the Spirit to you, and you know when you should or shouldn't do {fill in the blank}, because of the feeling within you.  Yet, despite that obvious clue to all of us, we sometimes go the opposite direction, don't we?

What if that man had probed with further questions about why he would assume that he could just get up and walk?  What if there had been doubt?  I think this man was chosen for the simple fact that he would obey the command given.  Also, consider the feeling of a sleeping limb, and how great it is to feel the blood rushing back into it.  Whether an arm or leg or hand, that sensation is a great one, because you are in control again.  This man, ill and unable to walk, "instantly" knew that something was different, and he made full use of the restoration blessed upon him.  He was given direction from the Word, and he followed it.

I could go into the fact that this happened on the Sabbath, but we'll save that to tie into another Sign a little later... another Sabbath healing of another unnamed man.  But for now, ponder on this third Sign of Christ.  When Jesus asks you a question, will you answer?  And when Jesus gives you instruction, will you follow it? 

God bless you all!!!