Do You Want to Be Made Well?

Do You Want to Be Made Well?

From Grace for All by Jim Stovall, Greta Smith, First United Methodist Church, Maryville, TN

May 24, 2026 · 5 min · Season 24 · Episode 919

About this episode

The episode explores the question posed by Jesus about wanting to be made well, reflecting on personal limitations and identity.

John 5:6-8 (NRSV) "When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?' The sick man answered him, 'Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.' Jesus said to him, 'Stand up, take your mat and walk.'" I'll be honest with you. The first time I really sat with this passage, the question Jesus asks made me a little uncomfortable. Not because it seemed cruel — but because I recognized myself in the man's answer. Jesus walks up to someone who has been ill for thirty-eight years and asks, "Do you want to be made well?" Which sounds almost absurd. Of course he does. What kind of question is that? But notice what the man says. He doesn't say yes. He explains why healing hasn't happened yet. He's got the whole system figured out — the pool, the stirring of the water, the people who get there ahead of him. Thirty-eight years of the same obstacle, recited like a script he's memorized so well he's stopped hearing it. Jesus asked if he wanted to be healed. The man answered with his limitations. I don't say that to be hard on him…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jim Stovall, Greta Smith

Topics covered

  • healing
  • faith
  • identity
  • spiritual growth
  • overcoming obstacles

Keywords

  • healing
  • Jesus
  • faith
  • identity
  • spirituality
  • obstacles
  • John 5:6-8

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: First United Methodist Church

Places: Maryville, TN

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