And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed." But he answered them, "The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.'" (John 5:9-11 ESV)
I love the way this verse so powerfully illustrates the 'newness' of following Jesus. Christ's healing of the lame man on a Sabbath and his command to pack up his bed and walk blew away the legalism that surrounded him. It shows following Jesus is more than adding more religious baggage...it's following a person. The healed man didn't have a new religious system...he had a Savior.
Jesus turns religion and worship on its head. Instead of doing our best to check the blocks and impress God with our goodness, we simply need to respond to the One who has come to us in our lameness and inability to heal us. When we encounter Jesus as He really is, we stop worrying about other's criticism, and we point with confidence to the One who told us to "get up an walk."
The power of Jesus and His word trump EVERYTHING else.
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