Comment: Ever before Jesus Christ was born into this world, it had been written in prophecy that he would bear the burden of the people and heal them of their infirmities: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4). The Bible in Basic English renders the text thus: “But it was our pain he took, and our diseases were put on him: while to us he seemed as one diseased, on whom God’s punishment had come.”

The text in focus for today shows the unfortunate and hapless condition of a man who the devil had bound in captivity for several years. His desire for divine cure, in addition to his faith, drew the sympathy of Christ to him. The impotent man said: “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” Jesus Christ healed him by saying, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”

This again proves the genuineness of the power of Jesus Christ to heal people of their infirmities. Worshippers of God should resist the allure and smooth words of so-called miracle workers who deceive people with counterfeit healings. – Jeremiah 5:30,31.