"Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14).
In the entire account of the healing of the paralyzed man, nothing was said concerning a change in his spiritual condition until verse 14. By the power of His word, Jesus healed the sick man. Yet He did not make any statement concerning the man’s need for forgiveness. Unlike other healings, such as the case of the paralytic who was let down through the roof to find not only physical healing but forgiveness in Christ, Jesus did not immediately emphasize the man’s need for spiritual healing. Commentators speculate that Jesus waited to confront the man with his sin because He wanted him to consider the power of the One who had healed him. Often God will use physical healing as a prelude, as a means of digging up the hardened soil of our hearts, to prepare us for spiritual healing.
Some commentators have assumed that when Jesus found the man in the temple (notice the man is in the temple worshiping God and not frolicking in the streets) and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you,” that He was referring to some sin that was the cause of the man’s illness. But this is not clearly stated, and we should thus abide by Jesus’ teaching in John 9:3 that we should not assume sickness is related to a specific sin unless it is made clear either by God’s providence or to our conscience.
Jesus, therefore, warned the man not to remain in his sinful condition. He called him to repentance, to “sin no more,” just as He commanded the adulterous woman to go and “sin no more” (John 8). The fruit of a regenerated heart is a life of repentance. This is Jesus’ point.
If we continue in sin, no matter how much physical health we may enjoy, we will suffer a worse fate: eternal damnation. To avoid this, we must be reconciled to God and live a life of repentance, of daily putting our sin to death. If this is not the prevailing character of our lives, we are in danger of “something worse.” Let us, then, heed Jesus’ warning to sin no more (which means not to “practice” sin), to spend the rest of our lives being transformed into His image by putting off works of darkness and living as a child of the Light.
Each night this week, write down the sins you committed that day (in thought, word, and deed). Confess each to God and ask Him to give you the corresponding grace to battle these sins (i.e. in place of anger, a gentle, quiet spirit or in the place of lust, purity). Each morning review the list and be on your guard.
