John 5:6-9 - When Jesus saw him [the paralyzed man] lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" 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 going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
When I was a teenager, having a car meant freedom, status among your peers, and access to the world. At that time, a car was the key to unlocking teenage dreams, which was why I was so angry at my older brother, Matt, when he foolishly wrecked the car that we were supposed to share. Matt was fine—don't worry about him! He barely got a scratch. But the car—the car was totaled.
After the wreck, he and my dad took a long walk. I hoped that my dad would give him an earful, that he'd really let him have it. Later, I learned that, instead, dad said something fatherly, like, "We're so grateful you're alive. So thankful something worse didn't happen to you, because you really scared us, son, and you've got to be more careful, because we don't want to lose you, because we love you." Evidently, this wasn't about losing a symbol of freedom and status for my parents. It was about gaining back a son, saved from the clutches of death.
If you read the Gospel of John, you'll notice that much of the controversy around Jesus is triggered by His stance toward the Sabbath Day. The Jewish leaders saw the Sabbath something like how teenage me saw my car, or my parents' car—it didn't ever belong to me. So also, for the Sabbath—this day they were supposed to stop working to rest in God. The Sabbath belonged to God. And God had been using it as a vehicle to win back His sons and daughters from the clutches of death, back into a trusting relationship with God. But in Jesus' day, the Jewish leaders were using the Sabbath to secure their status in the world. The Sabbath would be the key to unlocking their religious dreams—if only everyone kept it perfectly.
And then comes this man, healed by Jesus, following Jesus' instructions, carrying his bed roll on the Sabbath (a form of work, according to one interpretation). And it triggered the religious leaders. All they saw was a fool who was wrecking their religious wish-dreams. But Jesus saw a son—sons and daughters for whom He came to die and rise and win back to faith in God. So, Jesus speaks to the man and speaks up for him. He advocates for him because quibbling about Sabbath rules isn't the point. The Sabbath was just a vehicle. It's the relationship that matters.
Jesus, crucified and risen, also advocates for you, because He loves you. So don't worry about the siblings and the short-sighted critics who accuse you. They don't know the whole story. They don't know you. But Jesus does—all the gritty, embarrassing details about the wrecks you've gotten yourself into. He knows. And He finds you, singles you out, takes you on a walk, and He asks you, "Do you want to be made whole? Do you want to start over with Me? Do you want to see people as I see them? Okay then, Arise. Walk. Sin no longer so that nothing worse happens to you." That's what Jesus says to you today. And if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus the Messiah, the Sacrifice who takes away our sins. And not ours only, but the sins of the whole world (see 1 John 2:1-2).
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, thank You for speaking up for me when no one else would. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. When was a time when you became someone's accuser? Why did you feel they deserved it?
2. Was there anyone who spoke up for that person? What motivated them to be advocate?
3. What does it mean that Jesus stands ready to advocate not just for you, but for the whole world, even the people whom you might accuse?
Today's Bible Readings: Exodus 1-3 Matthew 24:1-28
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