When Jesus Wept - By Bodie Page 0,72

want to be made well?”

The sick man seemed befuddled by the question. He gave the answer of one who had stopped hoping. “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the angel stirs the water.

When it is stirred up, while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus took in his explanation and said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

Immediately, Bikri was made well. He sat up, picked up his mat, and walked.

My eyes widened. I gasped and stood back as Bikri raised his mat above his head and roared to his fellow inmates, “Look! Look at me! Look! I am standing! Healed. Walking!”1

Jesus put his arm on my shoulder, and we quickly escaped the uproar of astonishment that followed.

“How?”

“What happened?”

“Did the angel stir the waters?”

As we retreated up the street toward the Temple Mount, the quiet Sabbath morning was shattered as their cries pursued us up the incline.

At the top of the hill Jesus stopped beside the potter’s shop and turned to see what would happen next.

Carrying his mat, Bikri emerged from the entrance to the pool and was almost instantly accosted by two Pharisees on their way to the Temple.

“It’s the Sabbath! It’s not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

I plainly heard Bikri’s reply. “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ I didn’t want to argue … after all—”

The Pharisees demanded, “Who made you well?”

“Who did this?”

“Who commanded you to break the Sabbath?”

“Tell us!”

Bikri shrugged and deposited his mat at the base of a pillar.

“I don’t know his name. No idea.”2 He squinted at his bed and muttered to himself. “No one will steal it. It’s Sabbath after all. Who would pick up a beggar’s mat and walk away with it?” He laughed. “Who would want it?”

“So! He healed you on the Sabbath. Commanded you to break the Sabbath.” The Pharisee pointed his finger in the old man’s face. “If you find him, report his identity to us.” Bikri shrugged. “How much will you pay me?” Jesus and I turned away from the scene as more Pharisees joined the crowd.

When we entered the Temple courts, the disciples of Jesus waited for him on the steps near the Treasury.

“And now, my friend?” Jesus asked me as we walked.

“The leaves that blocked the sun are stripped away.”

“Yes. The sin he committed against you and your family will no longer burden you. You have chosen the better part, and now the path to eternal life is his to choose or reject.”

“I understand.” I felt an enormous weight had been lifted. “Thank you. I suppose he’ll pick up where he left off. Continue in his ways. Do just as he did when he was young.”

“And what’s that to you? What’s important is that you’ve done the right thing. In bringing me to him, you’ve let go of him. Maybe he will repent and do good, or maybe he’ll cling to his sin and do evil. If he does right, you’ve saved him from hell. If an evil man is warned and doesn’t repent, then his blood isn’t on your hands.” Jesus raised his chin and fixed his gaze inside the Temple gate.

Bikri entered, looking frantically around the place. Spotting Jesus, the old man ran to him. Bikri grinned at Jesus with broken teeth. “Lord! Please tell me your name! They asked me why I carried my mat on the Sabbath, and I told them you commanded me to walk and carry my bed away. They want to know who you are … a Sabbath-breaker, they say.”

Jesus considered the man before him, then gave the warning, “See, you’ve been made well. Don’t sin again, or a worse thing will come upon you.”

I knew in the instant of hearing that Jesus was telling Bikri there would be no more chances for him to get it right. What could be worse than living as a cripple for thirty-eight years? Only one thing could be more terrifying: death and judgment.

Bikri insisted, “But what should I say to them that question me? About breaking the Sabbath and all?”

Jesus answered, “Tell them it was Jesus of Nazareth who told you to rise and walk and carry your bed on the Sabbath.”

“Ah. Jesus of Nazareth. All right, then.” Bikri did not stay to hear Jesus teach. He scuttled off to find the Pharisees who had questioned him.

I heard later that Bikri told them it was indeed Jesus of Nazareth who had broken the