This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in John 5, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.
There was a man who was very sick. He had been sick for 38 years! He couldn’t walk and had to lie on the ground every day. There was a special pool called Bethesda in Jerusalem where many sick people came to be healed. One day, Jesus went to Jerusalem and saw the sick man lying on the ground.
Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be healed. The man said, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Jesus said, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And just like that, the man was healed! He picked up his bed and walked away.
But it was the Sabbath day, which was a special day of rest for the Jewish people. Some of the Jewish leaders saw the healed man carrying his bed and told him that it was not lawful to do work on the Sabbath. The man told them that Jesus had healed him and told him to take his bed and walk.
The Jewish leaders asked the man who Jesus was, but he didn’t know because Jesus had already left. Later, Jesus found the man in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
The man was so happy that he went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. The Jewish leaders were angry with Jesus because he healed on the Sabbath day. But Jesus told them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Biblical Lessons
- Jesus has the power to heal the sick.
- Jesus is compassionate and wants to help those who are suffering.
- Jesus is the Son of God and has the authority to heal and forgive sins.
- Jesus cares about all people, even those who are ignored or rejected by society.