Do You Want To Be Made Well?

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home › resources › literature › Do You Want To Be Made Well?

Keraza Magazine issue 13-14 March 28, 2014

When the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to heal the infirm man who lay by the pool in Bethesda, He first asked him, "Do you want to be made well?" (John 5:6). This question might seem out of place to many who ask, "Isn't it only logical for a man who's been ill for thirty-eight years to not only want to be made well, but rather eagerly await it impatiently?" Why then, does the Lord Jesus Christ ask this puzzling question?

Reality is that the Lord Jesus Christ asked not only the infirm man of the Bethesda pool if he wants to be made well, but He also asked the two blind men: "What do you want Me to do for you?" (Matthew 20:32), and likewise asked Bartimaeus the blind man: "What do you want Me to do for you" (Mark 10:51). Here we also wonder at the apparently odd question that seems out of place. Why then did He insist on asking them what they wanted?

Does this not remind us of standard hospital procedure throughout the world? Hospital administration requires the patient (or a representative) sign a release before any surgical intervention is initiated in which there is potential danger of mortality or side effects. The hospital requires this signature as a release of any legal responsibility, in case of an unwanted outcome.

But, does the Lord Jesus Christ ask regarding the person's willingness to heal likewise as a safety precaution?

To answer, we need to return to the story of The Fall. God created Adam in His image and likeness, but He did not prevent him from falling, giving him free will to choose to gravitate towards God, or choose to gravitate away from Him. This free will was the reason for Adam's fall and disobedience, having gravitated away from God. As God did not force Adam to obey Him, likewise, He does not force His salvation on humanity. This salvation is conditional upon the human will. Perhaps this is what prompted St. Augustine to say, "God who created you without you, will not save you without you."¹

God "desires all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). God's capability acts automatically on His will; when God wills, He can: "If You are willing, You can" (Mark 1:40), but God will not will if the human does not first want: "How often I wanted... but you were not willing" (Luke 13:34). Human will differs from God's will in that it does NOT possess the ability, and yet, when the powerless human will gravitates towards God, it unites with His capable will, and so takes from His capability. Therefore, the ushering question about a person's willingness for God's healing work is not a safety precaution to release God, the Doctor, of any responsibility. Rather it is an incomprehensible work of love, in which God guarantees that the human can fully obtain God's salvific healing capacity. This is God's commitment to us, as long as we will. The Holy Spirit works in us to want. He arranged that the daily rituals and prayers do not lack proclaiming frequently, in both clear and implicit ways, that our will is inclined towards God. Yes, O God, "We follow You with all our hearts, we fear You, and we seek Your face". Amen.

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

¹ St Augustine, Sermo 169, 13 (PL 38,923).