Forget the Pool, Give Me Jesus
Hello. My name is ...well, my name is not really important, but I had an incredible, life changing experience that I would like to tell you about.
I had been handicapped for about thirty-eight years and I use to lie down at the Bethesda pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. There were many disabled people around the pool, because every so often, the angel of the Lord would come and stir the waters and the first one into the waters would be healed from whatever disease they had. As you can probably figured, we would all just sit and wait to see the waters stir. I had seen blind men gain sight, leapors healed and many more had also been healed. Because I cannot move quickly, someone always beats me to the pool.
One day, I overheard some of the disabled around the pool talking about a man who had been traveling from town to town and would occasionally heal people. One of the men joked about how nice it would be for that man to come to the pool and heal those of us who were not well enough to get to the pool before the others.
At that point I began to daydream about being well and being able to run around and enjoy games with my friends. (Friends that I would make after I was made well)
At this time, it was nearing time for a feast of the Jews and some had speculated that this healing man would be coming to Jerusalem. I was afraid to give way to my imagination and get my hopes up, so I dismissed all thoughts of this man that had been healing others. For all I knew, it was a myth, or a cruel joke made up by someone who wished to make our lives harder.
After I had resigned myself to ignoring those around me, I closed my eyes and laid back to take in the warmth of the sun. Out of nowhere I heard a voice say, "Do you want to get well?" I opened my eyes and looked up to see who was speaking; I saw a man standing beside me and realized that he was speaking to me. I said, "Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." I thought that maybe by telling him this, he would be compelled to offer me assistance to the pool the next time that the angel of the Lord stirred the water. In contrast however, the man commanded, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." So, I picked up my mat and walked!
It was incredible! I had been healed! I could not contain the excitement that I felt! As I was walking through the streets proclaiming the miracle that had just been performed, on me, I approached by some Jews. They were scorning me because it was the Sabbath and I was carrying my mat; the law forbids any work on the Sabbath. When I told them how a man that commanded me to pick up my mat and walk had healed me, they inquired about whom had healed me. It was then that I realized that I did not know who healed me. I had no idea! After I had been healed, the man must have slipped away.
Later, while I was in the temple worshipping, the man approached me and said, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." Then I found out that this man was Jesus! This was the Jesus; the man that had been the talk of Jerusalem had come to heal me!
SOURCES:
John 5:1-15 and my own imagination
Forget the Pool, Give Me Jesus
- Who would come stir the water every so often?
- What kinds of people would you find lying around the Bethesda pool?
- How do you think you would have felt after the angel came and stirred the waters but you did not make it to the pool first?
- What might the man have been thinking when Jesus told him to pick up his mat and walk?
Christina J. Fullerton
Forget the Pool, Give Me Jesus
OUTLINE:
- Introduction
- People at the pool
- Conversation at the pool
- Daydreaming by the pool
- Jesus Approaches me
- I proclaim through the city
- I meet Jesus
PROPS:
- Beggar clothing
- Walking Stick
- Mat
ANSWERS FOR COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
- Who would come stir the water every so often?
The angel of the Lord
- What kinds of people would you find lying around the Bethesda pool?
Disabled; sick; handicap; injured (anything along these lines)
- How do you think you would have felt after the angel came and stirred the
waters but you did not make it to the pool first?
Discouraged; angry; sad; upset (anything that fits how the child thinks that he or she might feel; there are multiple possible answers)
- What might the man have been thinking when Jesus told him to pick up his
mat and walk?
Why is he asking me to do this (again, this is a chance for the children to analyze another person thoughts, or put themselves in someone else’s place, so there are multiple possible answers)