Your problem is worse than you think. But the solution is better than you think. We
see this illustrated for us in the third sign John records for us. You can read about it
in John 5:1-15.

After healing the young son of a government official, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a
feast of the Jews. John tells us there is a pool there which attracted a multitude of
invalids—blind, lame and paralyzed. It was believed that an angel would come
from time to time and stir the water in the pool. It was also believed that the first
one in the pool would be healed. It was the kind of atmosphere that TV preachers
dream about.

Then one day, someone better than an angel or a televangelist comes along—
someone who has the power to heal by simply saying the word. Surely Jesus will
tell them to forget about their superstitions and throw a healing party for them all.
But that’s not what happens. Something strange happens instead. Jesus takes a
look at an invalid lying on the ground and asks what appears to us to be a very
insensitive question: “Do you want to be made well?" Instead of saying “yes,” the
man offers excuses explaining why healing is impossible for him. Still, Jesus had
to know if the man really wanted to receive the gift of healing. So he quickly cut
right to the heart of the matter: "Stand up, take your mat and walk." So the man
did. He was healed.

The physical and spiritual significance of this sign is enormous. Why did Jesus
choose this man to heal? Why did Jesus not heal the others there who were sick or
crippled? God’s ways in such matters are often beyond our comprehension, but
perhaps Jesus used a real man and a real healing to paint a picture for us. This is
a picture of someone who, in an altogether hopeless condition, can do absolutely
nothing for himself. It's a kind of parable, a parable of the human condition. Our
condition is worse than we thought.

The invalid in this story likely woke up that morning thinking his biggest problem
was that he was crippled. Jesus shows mercy on him and heals him. Later on
Jesus comes up to him again and makes something clear to him “See, you are
well. Sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you” (v. 14). It is as though
Jesus is saying, “You have a bigger problem than the circumstances in your life.
Your real issue is your sin.” He's saying here that the issue is the man's holiness,
not his health.

Jesus was not content just to heal the man's legs. He wanted to heal his heart.
And Jesus is not content just to take away your biggest physical problem right now.
He wants to heal your heart. Do you see this? He says, “Sin no more. Stop sinning.
My aim in healing your body is the healing of your soul.” The man was in worse
shape than he thought. He was in danger of ignoring the condition of his soul because
his physical condition was so much better.

Many today are confronted by this same danger, the danger of thinking our problems
are only of a physical nature and not a spiritual one. Like the man in this story,
our condition is worse than we thought. But as we discover, the solution is also
better than we might have thought. Much better.