What happens when Jesus gives you what you asked for, but then invites you into something deeper?

In John 5, Jesus meets a man who has been unable to walk for 38 years, lying near the pool of Bethesda and waiting for someone to help him reach the water. Then Jesus asks him a question that seems obvious, but goes far deeper than physical healing: “Do you want to be healed?”

What follows is a miracle, a controversy, and a warning. The healed man can walk, but the passage leaves us asking whether he actually sees who Jesus is. The religious leaders think they are defending God’s law, but they completely miss the renewal God is bringing right in front of them.

Today Pastor Jeff Bucknam is walking us through John 5:1–17 in our series Believe! The Gospel of John, and this passage asks a crucial question: when Jesus calls us beyond what we first wanted from him, will we keep following, or will we take the off-ramp?

This is a sermon about healing, renewal, and the danger of stopping short of Jesus himself. Let’s get into it.

Executive Producer: Dave Putnam

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