14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
14 Afterward
Later Jesus found the paralyzed man in the temple. Jesus did not hide from the man but sought him out.
Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well.
Jesus did not forget about this man. He took the initiative to find the healed paralytic man. He did not reproach the healed man but simply reminded him of his healing and the cause for his paralysis. Jesus could have rebuked the man for betraying Him to the Jews but did not take this approach.
“Have been made well” is in a tense in the Greek that means the healing of this man was permanent (perfect tense). His healing lasted, not like many temporary healings of today.
Sin no more,
This statement clearly indicates that this man had sinned and continued to sin as a lifestyle. Jesus indicated that this man’s sin brought on his paralysis. Continued sin may bring on a much worse condition. Evidently this sickness was connected to his sinful life.
lest a worse thing come upon you.”
In many places the Bible does not relate a given sin to suffering because of that sin. Sickness is not always the result of sin in the Bible, but sometimes it is (Ac 5:1-11; 1 Co 11:30). Here, however, Jesus said that the man’s lameness was due to sin.
The “worse thing” here is eternal suffering for sin. That is far “worse” than this man’s 38 years of paralysis.
PRINCIPLE:
The issue of heaven and hell is a sobering thought.
APPLICATION:
It is important that we give a sober warning to those who are heading to a Christless eternity. There is no comparison between suffering in time to suffering in eternity.
The Word of God generally does not connect specific sins to physical problems; however, at times it does. There are some situations where the Bible ties a specific sin to particular suffering.
How can a man who is paralyzed for 38 years was living a lifestyle of sin ,a man who cannot even move into the pool to get healed?????
Cajetan, Christ healed this man to give a clear demonstration of His deity. It was an act of His unadulterated grace. He does not heal on the basis of our merit but due to His sovereign plan.
Cajetan Fernandes, I could be totally paralyzed and sin. We sin in our hearts and our mind all the time. Remember when Jesus was talking about murder and adultery in Matthew 5:21-30; “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Is it also possible that sin caused his paralysis because of something he did — like drunkeness and falling off a cliff; anger leading to a physical fight; etc.?
MissNan, the Bible does not indicate anything of that nature. It would be dangerous to speculate on something that is not explicitly stated in Scripture.