Big Idea for the Site:

Religion can turn people into:

Problems:

Notice the religious leader’s response to Jesus’ healing miracle. They immediately become lost in the details of legalism. (v.10)

Projects:

There’s an old expression in therapy and counseling: “When keeping your problems is easier than solving your problems, you keep your problems.“

Jesus’ words “Do you want to be well“ are interesting, aren’t they? Dr. Kenneth Bailey, a well-known biblicist and former neighbor in Israel, used to explain that Jesus’ words weren’t meant to be cruel here. Israel of Jesus’ day had a relatively robust welfare system that allowed people like the lame man to survive despite his inability to work. Jesus’ statement is supposed to remind the lame man that his lifestyle is going to radically change if he is healed. The welfare system he’s become dependent on will be unavailable to him, and he will have to find a way to provide for himself enough to survive.

Religion is happy to people to subsistence living, barely eking out their spiritual lives. This is because religion without a relationship with our creator is spiritual theatre. Jesus calls the lame man to a perpetual connection to his Creator and to live a life of purity. (v. 14) Jesus’ call to the lame man is to stay connected to the healing power so clearly on display just moments ago. Jesus isn’t threatening the man, he’s warning him that the consequence of sin, that is, disconnection from God, is far worse than being unable to walk. (v. 14)

Pawns:

Luckily, using people as political and spiritual pawns has been relegated to the past. Indeed, there are no current instances where would-be followers are knowingly shoehorned into disobedience for the sake of a selfish leader’s gain. ;)

In all seriousness, the harsh reality is that there are many pastors, worship leaders, Bible study leaders, and so on, who have taken advantage of their position in the lives of their followers. Perhaps their motives were more just than the religious Jews of the story, but it’s a reminder to us that when we play games with people’s hearts, they get hurt.

In this case, the lame man who was healed JUST MOMENTS EARLIER is now throwing Jesus under the bus… or, cart, anyway. (vv. 15-16)