Jesus Asked an Unusual Question
Divine Grace In Action
Jesus asked an unusual question—and it changed everything. Discover a story that reveals how God’s grace shows up when we least expect it.
As Christians, we often say that God is gracious—and He is.
When Moses asked to see God’s glory in Exodus 33:18, God told him no, saying no one can see His face and live (v. 20). But He also said:
“And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’”
— v. 19
Then God promised Moses that when His glory passed by, He would let Moses see His back (v. 23). He fulfilled this shortly after in Exodus 34, when He appeared to Moses and declared:
“…The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
— v. 6
Here, God Himself tells us that He is gracious and compassionate. So when we say God is gracious, we are not making it up.
But what does it mean, in practice, to say that God is gracious, merciful, or kind? A story in John 5:1–15 illustrates this.
Undeserving Grace at the Pool of Bethesda
The story of the invalid (disabled) man at the pool of Bethesda is a picture of undeserving grace. Jesus, in Jerusalem at this time, went up to a popular pool called Bethesda, a Hebrew name that means House of Mercy. Disabled people gathered there, not to beg, but to await a miracle.
According to the NKJV and KJV:
“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.”
— v. 4
You won’t find verse 4 in the ESV, NIV, or other Critical Text translations. However, there is no reason to doubt this detail, precisely because of what follows and because verse 7 tells us that something happens when people get into the pool after the water is stirred—by angels.
At this pool was a man who had an infirm condition for 38 years. He had never heard of Jesus before and didn’t know Him at all. Jesus, knowing he had been in this condition for a long time, came to him and asked:
“…Do you want to be made well?”
— v. 6
If this seems like an unusual question, it is—because you would expect a man in that condition to want to be healed. But it shows how God operates: He usually doesn’t do anything for anyone unless they ask Him—this is what praying is. Jesus needed to make sure this man wanted to be healed.
The man didn’t give a direct answer, but from his reply in verse 7, it was clear he did. And Jesus proceeded to heal him.
Three Insights About Grace
1. Grace is God doing for you something you didn’t even ask Him.
Jesus approached the man, asked if he wanted to be healed, and healed him anyway, even though the man didn’t give a direct answer. Although normally God wants us to ask in prayer, He does so much for us that we didn’t even ask. He delivers us from dangers and enemies we aren’t even aware of.
2. Grace is receiving favor and help from someone you don’t even know.
This man didn’t know Jesus at all. We see this when the Jews, a euphemism for the religious authorities, told him it was unlawful to carry his bed on the Sabbath (v. 10). He replied:
“He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
— v. 11
When pressed about who this man was (v. 12), he didn’t know (v. 13). Only later, after Jesus met him again (v. 14), did he realize who Jesus was.
I experienced a similar kind of grace while flying through the UK. I almost got stranded at Heathrow after missing my flight. I tried to get my original airline to rebook me, but they said they couldn’t because the flight was operated by a third-party airline. The third-party airline had already told me to go through the original airline, so I was stuck.
As I was trying to figure out what to do—facing the possibility of paying to get back to the US—an airline employee I had encountered before came to me and connected me directly to someone from the third-party airline. She had already explained my situation, without me knowing or asking, and it was as if she was waiting for me. I was rebooked and got back to the US the same day.
This was uncanny grace. Till today, I am still amazed at the extraordinary effort this airline employee made—and I didn’t have to pay anything extra. God orders our steps and orchestrates opportunities we wouldn’t have had otherwise. This is what it means that God is a Just-in-Time God.
3. Grace is God giving you what you don’t deserve.
When Jesus met the disabled man again, He said:
“…See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
— v. 14
It appears his condition was connected to sin. We don’t know what his sin was, but Jesus warned him to stop, or something worse could follow. Grace is not a license to continue in sin. Sickness is not always caused by sin, but sometimes it is. This statement is one of the few times the Bible links sickness and sinful living.
The takeaway: God’s grace is always available to forgive and restore.
The Picture of Grace
This is what grace looks like. If you’ve experienced it in any of these ways, please share in the comments to encourage someone who needs it.