Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – John 5:1-10, Mark 2:1-12

Highlight Verses:

“Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!””
‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
““Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Jesus healed a lot of people.

Some came to him. Some He went to.

Some healings ticked off the religious leaders.

All were healed.

He usually gave them marching orders:
• Go and sin no more.
• Go to the priests (to be declared free from Leprosy).
• Stick out your hand.
• Stand up and pick up your mat.
• Or, curiously, don’t tell anyone.

That last one deserves a study of its own, so we’ll save that for later.

But why did He tell at least two of the people He healed to stand up and pick up their mats.

They both happened on the Sabbath so some would say it was specifically to make the religious leaders angry.

I wouldn’t rule that out as a partial reason, but I think it goes deeper.

Notice that neither of these men came to Jesus for healing.

The first was brought by his friends.

The second had been beside a healing pool for 38 years.

Yes – thirty-eight years.

Neither of them was healed by his own faith.

Both needed to make that healing theirs.

By standing up, they each did something they had not been able to do in a long time. If they did not believe they could stand, they would have stayed on their mats.

By picking up their mats, they left their old life of relying only on others and stepped forth to do something for themselves.

We all need healing at times. It could be physical, emotional, or other.

Whether we sought the healing ourselves or others brought it to us,

we each need to accept that healing by faith and step forth, leaving our old unwell self behind.

What kinds of healings have you received from Jesus?
What did you have to leave behind?