Today’s story is from the book of John, and it’s a very special story about a miracle! Do you know what a miracle is? A miracle is something amazing that happens that only God could do! And in this story, Jesus gets to perform a miracle on a man who could not walk for a long time.
One day, Jesus went to a town called Jerusalem, and while He was there, He visited a pool where a lot of sick people were. These people thought that the pool could perform miracles, and if they got in the water, they would be all better. But they didn’t know that only God can perform miracles! There was a man at the pool who was paralyzed- which means that he couldn’t use his legs to walk. He hadn’t been able to walk for 38 YEARS! Wow, that’s a long time! Jesus went up to the man and asked him, “Do you want to get well?” The man thought that Jesus was going to take him down to the water where he thought the miracles happened. But Jesus performed the miracle Himself! Jesus told the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” All of a sudden, the man could walk! He was so excited!
Not everybody was happy about Jesus’ miracle- there were some important Jewish leaders who were not happy at all because Jesus healed the man without following their laws. Even though the Jewish leaders weren’t happy and were very mean to Jesus, Jesus continued to heal people and tell them about God. He was not afraid to tell others about God because He knew that God loved Him so much and would be with Him wherever He went.
How can you tell others about Jesus even when they aren’t kind to you?
Have you ever seen or heard of a miracle that God has done?
Who can you pray for this week who needs God to heal them?
Prayer: God, thank You so much for sending Jesus to heal other people and for the stories that we get to read about Him in the Bible. Thank You that You are still healing people today too! I want to pray for the people in my life who need Your help and ask that You would remind them how much You love them. Help me to tell other people about You even when I’m scared, or they aren’t nice to me, just like Jesus did. I know that everyone needs to hear about You! We love You, God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.