Contemplative Bible Reading

John 5:13 (New Living Translation)

13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd.

This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus healing a lame man in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate at the pool of Bethesda. This caused a controversy because it was the Sabbath or day of rest. As instructed by Jesus, the lame man picked up his mat and carried it away. Carrying your bed was forbidden on the Sabbath day as it was an act of work, not rest.

Therefore, the religious leaders were questioning this man about his working instead of resting. It seems that a miracle had been performed. “Who did this miracle?” asked the leaders.

The man didn’t know. Jesus, without announcing himself or leaving his business card, had disappeared into the crowd.

That was like Jesus. Jesus just didn’t seem to know how to act. Jesus neglected all the societal norms of that day and our day today. When you do something good, you just have to let everyone know who you are, right?

Well, Jesus didn’t do it that way. There were times when Jesus did miracles without claiming any credit. Is that the way we are supposed to do good? Just do it and don’t say anything? Shouldn’t we say, “We do this because we follow Jesus and this is what Jesus would do.” Well, nothing wrong with saying that. Jesus did that sometimes. The followers of Jesus did that sometimes. Then there were other times, like in this case, where Jesus said nothing.

This man’s life had been given back to him. I emphasize “given” as this was a gift. Nothing was bought; nothing was earned. It was a gift. And the man didn’t know the source of the gift.

The man, however, knew that something miraculous had happened. Something good had happened. The religious leaders knew these things as well.

Despite claims to the contrary, folks know there is a God. Folks know there is something that cannot be explained. There is a part, sometimes a tiny part, inside folks where they want to believe in something that cannot be explained.

Let’s do the good that Jesus would do. Sometimes we explain it with Jesus; sometimes we don’t say anything. Still, let’s do the good and the loving that Jesus would do.