During Jesus’ days on earth, He healed a lot of sick people with diverse diseases. In the gospel accounts of some of these miracles of healing, we glean amazing insights into the root cause of some sicknesses.  In the story of the healing of a paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda, sin is revealed as one of the causes of ill health.

“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame and the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.”
~John 5: 2-9

This man had been at the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. He was crippled and unable to walk. Then Jesus Christ met him there and healed him. Later, Jesus found him again and said something striking to him; and therein lies the crux of today’s teaching:

“Later, Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. ”
~John 5: 14

The first thing I would like you to note from this verse is that Jesus implied that the man’s condition was as a result of sin. Jesus said to him, “See, you are well again.” In other words, he wasn’t born paralyzed; he was once healthy. He was well at one point in his life, and then he got sick as a result of sin. He had done some thing that was wrong; thus, Jesus Christ said to him, “Stop sinning, so that some thing worse than what happened to you the first time will not happen again.”

Sin can cause a lot of troubles for you; chief among them is sickness. sin makes you vulnerable to infirmities. And today, God’s message to you is, “Stop sinning.” Seek God’s help today to steer clear of sin.
Amen.

Memory Verse:
John 5: 14
“ Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. ”

Prayer:
Father, I thank you for today’s word. Please help me, Heavenly Father, to daily steer clear of sin, in Jesus’ mighty name.
Amen.