16 Feb 2026

"Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people — blind, lame, or paralysed — lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”"

~ John 5.1-6 NLT

I do not know why Jesus only healed this man and nobody else. Maybe because he had been destitute for a long time and God heard his cry. Maybe because most people in the city knew of his plight and nobody had done much for him.

Jesus was only passing by the gate, as did many others that day. The difference was that Jesus stopped and talked to this man.

I am so frequently like the other people who passed by the gate and did not stop. Oh Holy Spirit, please help me be sensitive to your voice to know if I ought to stop and talk to and help somebody you want to bless.

See:
Matthew 25.31-46
Stirred up the water