๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Share about a time someone gave you a helping hand when you really needed it. What happened?
โข Tell us about a time someone forgave you for doing something you felt guilty about even before you apologized.
โข Was there a time when you did something that did not turn out well, and you suffered the consequences of your actions? What happened, and how did you deal with it?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ.โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ.ย ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฑ:๐ด-๐ต
(Read also ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฑ:๐ญ-๐ญ๐ฑ.)
In Jerusalem, there was a pool called Bethesda. According to the story, anyone who was able to touch the water first after it was stirred up would be healed. At that pool, Jesus saw a lame man who had been there for a long time, and He healed him. Later on, Jesus told the man not to sin anymore, so that nothing worse would happen to him. This sign shows how Jesus does miracles to deliver us from the consequences of our sins. What does this sign tell us about the greatness of Godโs grace?
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐บ-๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ญ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ?โ ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฑ:๐ฑ-๐ฒ
To โsupersedeโ means to โtake the place ofโ or to โremove and replace.โ Jesus saw the longtime hopelessness of the lame man. He must have also known that the manโs physical condition was a consequence of his own sinful actions. However, Jesus still approached the man and asked if he wanted to be healed. Godโs grace is not only for our physical healing, but also to save us from our separation from Him. If you were the man, how do you think you would have responded to Jesusโ question?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐๐ช๐ณ, ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ.โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ. . . . ๐๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ! ๐๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.โย ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฑ:๐ณโ๐ต,๐ญ๐ฐ
The lame man answered Jesusโ question by explaining that no one was available to help him, and that he could not help himself to the pool. At that moment, Jesus told the man to stand and healed the man. Think about the joy the man must have felt! It was only later that Jesus invited the man to turn away from sin so that ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ would happen to him. This miracle shows us that it is not about what we do, but what Jesus did for us. What does Romans 2:4 say about repentance and Godโs loving kindness?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐.ย
๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, โ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐ธ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ.โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, โ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ.โโย ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฑ:๐ญ๐ฌ-๐ญ๐ญ
At that time, on one day in the week called the Sabbath, it was forbidden to work or do any kind of labor. The rules about this were so detailed that you could not even roll up your bed on that day. Instead of celebrating with the lame man about his healing, the Jews protested that he took up his bed on the Sabbath. But, Godโs grace is greater than religiosity and legalism. How did Jesus respond to the Jews in John 5:17? What does this say about Him?
This third sign foreshadowed a greater miracle that Jesus would do, when He died on the cross and saved every person from the power of sin over us and its consequences. Jesus used this sign to reveal His greater overall plan for all people.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข The apostle Peter wrote an encouragement to the readers of his letter that Jesus overcame the impossible, died for our sins, and has healed us by his wounds (1 Peter 2:24). Do you believe in this truth? Would you like to receive this saving power today?
โข Is there an area in your life that you are holding on to more than the finished work of Jesus? Ask God for the grace to surrender that part of your life and to trust Him wholeheartedly.
โข Do you know a friend or family member who is in need of healing? Pray with someone this week for complete healing and restoration.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Praise God for His miraculous power to heal us physically and spiritually, even when things seem hopeless or impossible.
โข Ask God for forgiveness for relying on your own abilities instead of His abundant grace.
โข Pray for someone who is in need of healing, whether physically, emotionally, or mentally. Ask God to use you to be a channel of His love to this person.