John 5:1-16 (Amplified Bible)  1LATER ON there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went up to Jerusalem.     2Now there is in Jerusalem a pool near the Sheep Gate. This pool in the Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches (alcoves, colonnades, doorways).     3In these lay a great number of sick folk--some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up)--waiting for the bubbling up of the water.     4For an angel of the Lord went down at appointed seasons into the pool and moved and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was cured of whatever disease with which he was afflicted.     5There was a certain man there who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years.     6When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]     7The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me.     8Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed (sleeping pad) and walk!     9Instantly the man became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked. But that happened on the Sabbath.     10So the Jews kept saying to the man who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and you have no right to pick up your bed [it is not lawful].     11He answered them, The Man Who healed me and gave me back my strength, He Himself said to me, Pick up your bed and walk!     12They asked him, Who is the Man Who told you, Pick up your bed and walk?     13Now the invalid who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had quietly gone away [had passed on unnoticed], since there was a crowd in the place.     14Afterward, when Jesus found him in the temple, He said to him, See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.     15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had made him well.     16For this reason the Jews began to persecute (annoy, torment) Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. The Pharisees probably knew this man; had seen him many times near the pool.  They knew he had been sick for 38 years.  They knew and recognized that Jesus healed this lame man.  It was a miracle!  But they didn’t rejoice.  They didn’t praise God.  They didn’t congratulate the man.  They chose to be legalistic and self-righteous. It is very easy to be legalistic and self-righteous.  It takes place today in our churches, in our work places, and in our homes.  Christians who get focused on the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law become just like the Pharisees.  Christians who become focused on themselves and allow a place in their hearts for jealousy and bitterness – they become like the Pharisees. And just like the Pharisees, we will allow ourselves to miss the Glory of God Almighty. Don’t be a Pharisee!  Be a Believer – a passionate follower of Jesus Christ!  Walk in the Spirit!  You have been freed from the law! **Lord Jesus, keep me pure in heart.  Help me to see You in everything.  Do not blind me to evil; but help me not to create my own brand of Christianity with a lot of do’s and don’t’s that were never part of Your Way.  Help me to remain close to You through Bible Study, Prayer, and Worship.  I don’t ever want to discourage others from following You.  Amen.