Based on John 5:1-15 (New King James Version)
“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.’ He answered them, ‘He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’’ Then they asked him, ‘Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?’ But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 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.’ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
Have you ever asked yourself, “why do sicknesses exist?” And the answer that the Bible gives us is that sicknesses come because of sin. When sin entered in the world through Adam and Eve (because both of them fell), everything that produces pain, damage, destruction, and finally death came in. That is why God cannot stand sin. If we read the beginning of the book of Genesis, we see that God made everything good. The world was not made with sin. Unfortunately, sin was brought into a good world, a clean and pure creation, and it ruined everything. So then, sin itself and everything it brings with it is not what God desires.
The issue is that sin brings death. It produces death, even in that which is good. It contaminates things. For it is written: “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a. And as a consequence, sin produces everything that drives towards death, like sicknesses (because something has to happen so a person can die). So then, we cannot blame God for these things, at least not directly. God wants to produce more of Himself; to produce life. For it is also written: “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23b. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6.
Now then, why do people get sick? There are three main reasons for why a person may get sick (because there may be other reasons). The first one is because we simply live in this world, in a place of sin, an imperfect world. It doesn’t happen necessarily because a person did something wrong individually, or by themselves. In other words, they are not paying for something wrong they did out of their own free will. It happens because we are where we are, and there is nothing you can do about it. For example, a small child has not had the opportunity to sin by their own free will yet (although we are conceived in sin), but they can get sick and/or die also. It happens every day.
The second reason is because of direct consequences from our actions. In other words, a person gets sick because they have done things that naturally produces sicknesses and death. If a person does not take care of themselves, they can cause themselves problems. That is why we must be careful with what we do with our bodies; with what we eat, with what we ingest, and with what we expose ourselves to. And well, there is a list of things that a person should avoid. That’s why drugs are bad; the illegal and legal kind (prescribed by doctors). Drinking alcohol can bring problems also, in any quantity (because everyone is different). Smoking is bad, because it contains things that are harmful. Certain foods, or foods in large quantities can cause harm. That’s why a person should have a balanced diet and do some sort of regular exercise. Being overweight (or underweight) does not help anyone. And like that, there are many other things. Bad lifestyles (certain sins, like fornication and adultery) and physical abuses that not only may cause, but rather, will cause something bad sooner or later, and no one is exempt from that. The Bible teaches us that we become the Lord’s temple when we surrender our lives to Him. He comes to live by faith inside our hearts. So then, His Word teaches us that we must take care of His temple and to avoid things that can affect us, because it also says that He will destroy those that destroy His temple.
And the third reason for why a person can get sick is because of punishment. God can allow for something to happen to someone that didn’t necessarily abuse themselves physically, and here is where we see today’s case. This man who the Lord healed had done something in the past that produced this ailment, because the Lord Himself declared it. He did something that God simply did not like. The Word teaches us this: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10. And we see that despite the Lord healing him, he continues doing evil. Why did he go and tell the Jews who had healed him if he knew they were looking to do something wrong to Him? Even after having received a miracle, undergoing a huge change in life, having suffered for thirty-eight years, he still didn’t learn. That’s why, if God forgives you, and He also heals you, then stop doing what is wrong. Leave sin behind.
There may be other reasons (because we have limited space here), but finally, each person knows why they have what they have. And whatever your condition may be, my counsel is to look for the Lord, and to change what you need to change. Because in the end, even though there may be healing, something worse can happen, whether through your own abuse, or whether you are doing something that God simply does not like. Think for a moment: “What is the intention that God sees in my heart?” Lord bless! John