1. Be Real

In this week’s teaching, Jesus had an encounter with a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Jesus heals him on the spot and asks him some important questions.

We witness Jesus is still healing people today from all kinds of things — health struggles, spiritual brokenness, emotional brokenness, addiction, etc. That said, we need to inform our understanding of of Jesus as our healer and how we respond to Him.

2. Grow Together

Read this from the Bible together:

John 5:2-17
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”


Some key statements and questions Jesus puts forward are important for us to talk about…

“Do you want to be healed?” Does this question hit home for you? What kind of healing do you require? The paralyzed man explains to Jesus that he has a community problem. Is that your thing too?

“See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” What is the connection between sin and our need for healing?
(Hint: when Jesus heals someone who is blind in the Bible, it reminds us that unless we’ve been spiritually healed, we are spiritually blind because of sin.)

3. Next Steps

What kind of healing should we be praying about for you today? Something in your body, something spiritual, emotional, relational…

Is there part of your heart that simply doesn’t believe Jesus can heal or change someone?Will you repent and ask God to give you faith and show you what He’s like?

Ultimate healing comes from being saved by Jesus. That’s the gospel. Have you said “yes, I want to surrender my life to Jesus?” We can help you say yes today if you’ve truly been holding that back.