John 5:14
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.”
Back when President Regan was in office, his wife Nancy, was leading the charge on the war on drugs, especially in schools among school-age children. Her slogan was simple, "Just Say No!"
"Just Say No" was an advertising campaign prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s as a part of the U.S.-led war on drugs, aiming to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no.
The man that Jesus found was sitting by the pool of Bethesda. He was lame for 38 years and came to this pool because it was believed that at certain times of the day, angels from heaven would stir the waters and healing would come those who were in the pool.
But every time the waters stirred, he could not get into the pool, for there was no one to help him in. Along comes Jesus and He finds this man lying there, helpless, but already knew about this man and his condition. Jesus asks him if wants to be made well. He hears this man tell his story. Then, Jesus tells the man to take up his bed and walk.
This was done on the Sabbath and it aroused the anger of the religious elites. Later Jesus sees the man and tells him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
Was it sin that made this man lame in the first place? Hard to say, but sin may had something to do with it, as it sometimes brings bad things into our lives when we choose to live outside God's will. Sometimes it comes in the form of illness, or financial distress, among other things.
The point of this story is that the faith of the man was resting in the waters of that healing pool, but it quickly shifted when he met Jesus. A greater faith was manifested within the man when Jesus commanded him to get up and walk.
The fact that Jesus said to the man, "sin no more" was evident that the man's sin was always before him and always tempted him to find healing in a place other than God.
Just as we are tempted to sin, even unintentionally, there ought to be a greater sense within us to just say "No" to sin. For Jesus also said to the man, "lest a worse thing come upon you.”
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