It is generally said, "God Helps those who helps themselves" and wrongly referred to as taken from the Bible. Bible does not say that anywhere; rather the Bible teaches that God helps those who cannot themselves. In John 5, we read about a man who was at a certain pool waiting to be healed. Thirty eight years and counting! That is a long time to be doing anything. This man took his place with many others who shared a similar plight. After all, misery does love company. They gathered at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem where some said that every now and again an angel would disturb the waters, and the first one in would be healed. Jesus comes into the picture and surveys the situation. Somehow, Jesus becomes aware of how long this guy has been lying there. But rather than healing him, he asks him a question: ”Do you want to get well?”
At the first sight, the question seems silly. After all, it is assumed that he was there to get well. If we assume that our friend at the pool really does want his situation to change, what plan has he made to make this happen? He starts to explain to Jesus that nobody would help him to get into the water when it’s stirred up. Someone else always gets there first. That is indeed unfortunate. He has been at a pool which is supposed to have the answer to his problem, but it is also the answer to everyone else’s problem. And, there are probably at least a few other people who are strong enough to get in first. Yet, he remains, with no other back-up plan. Jesus wants an answer from him about his life: “Just what do you want to do with your life?”
Most versions of the English Bible except King James skip verse 4. Many versions include the verse in a footnote which explains why these people were there. The pool of Bethesda, like many similar pools in the Jerusalem area probably was an intermittent spring. At times water is released in surges from hidden reservoirs in the hills around the city, causing these springs to rise and fall suddenly. This is what gave rise to the superstition about an angel troubling the pool. People believed that there is healing power in the water. Even today healings take place in these special areas where people go, believing they can be healed.
There are two things to notice in this person. First, he is investing in the wrong kind of plan, to get someone to help. The second, he decides that he wants to try the same plan that continues to fail him. His failing plan is laid out in his answer to the question Jesus asked. He does not answer Jesus directly. The man's answer was "“I have no one to help me". We hear little hope in the man’s sad reply. There is no anticipation that Jesus might help him. Decades of pain and dashed possibilities brought him to the place where all he could see was a sealed fate and a grim future. He seems to be content with his situation because he has been there for thirty eight years. Jesus convinces him that he has the wrong answer that leads him to frustration and disappointment.
Life has become somewhat normal for him there. There are many who think they want to be healed, but are afraid of being healed. Their ailments (physical, mental and emotional) have come to define them. They are used to being looked up on with sympathy and pity by others. Too often we plod along in our debilitating condition, craving to be healed, yet resisting any change whatsoever. In order to have a change in results, he needed to have a better plan. Humans have an innate ability to adjust to just about any kind of circumstance in order to survive. Sometimes survival is the best we can hope for. Our problem, however, is that we too often settle for surviving rather than living. If we are content to stay as we are — no matter how miserable that may be — there can be no change with no possibility of healing.
The man already has figured out his problem. It was that there was nobody to help him to get into the pool. The plan Jesus had for him was to be healed without getting into the pool. He did not need anybody's help to get up and walk if he believes. He asks the man to do something that the man thought was impossible. "Rise up, take up your mat, and walk." Jesus also removes all possibility of a relapse in his condition by removing the mat. The condition of many today is that they have figured out the problems they are facing. They are waiting for something with no real plan or hope of achieving it. The answer seems to be filled with hopelessness and helplessness. But Jesus calls everyone into the fullness of life by simply trusting in Him.
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