A Law of Compassion

John 5:7-15

Does the man at the pool want to get well?

He doesn't ever answer the question from John 5:6! Instead, he explains why he isn't well yet. No one will carry him to the pool. Others get in front of him when he tries to get there. He's tried, and failed. Getting well is out of his control.

The man is where he needs to be in order to get well, he has tried to get well, and Jesus sees his feeble attempts as the answer. Yes, he wants to get well. Jesus tells him to, "Pick up your mat and walk." The man obeyed.

Imagine for a moment, having lived as an invalid for 38 years, that you are suddenly able to carry the mat you've been lying on and walk. The excitement and freedom you feel is overwhelming! The people you know are stunned by the miracle Christ has performed in your life. Or maybe not...

Hours after I made the decision to follow Christ, the phone rang. The caller proceeded to ridicule the profession of faith in Jesus I had just made that morning. The excitement I'd felt over the miracle Christ had perfomed in my life diminished a tiny bit. Perhaps that's how the invalid felt when he was stopped by the religious leaders for carrying his mat on the Sabbath.

The law being referred to in thier statement, "...the law forbids you to carry your mat." is found in Exodus 20:8. It states, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work..."

Should we obey the commandments that God has given us? Yes, we should. Was Jesus aware of this command when he told the man to carry his mat? Of course. Was it work to heal the invalid? According to the Jewish religious leaders it was. But Jesus advocates acts of compassion on the Sabbath, and reminds these leaders of thier own infraction of this law in Luke 13:15 when he states, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?"

The man, no longer an invalid, was asked the name of the one that healed him, and he didn't know. Later, Jesus finds the man at the temple and warns him to, "Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you." Something worse than being an invalid for 38 years. Sin can cause us to lose our freedom, our health, our peace of mind. Sin can separate us from God eternally.

Jesus cared about the man's physical condition and healed him. He also cared about the man's spiritual condition and took time to find him at the temple and give him instruction.

Obedience to the law is important, but Christ teaches us to temper how we follow the law with compassion.