This first Sunday of Lent (18/2) at our 10am worship, we are considering one of the strangest works of healing Jesus did is the restoration of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. The man has no faith in Jesus, he does not even know who he is. The unexpected healing comes with an unexpected warning for the man to change his heart unless something worse than 38 years of disability befalls him. In the end, the man betrayed Jesus because he was seeking the approval of the authorities rather than the approval of God. This leads Jesus to give us the most detailed description we have in his words of his relationship with God the Father. The teaching comes with a warning that unless we are seeking approval from God, we will not hear what God is saying to us through his Son, Jesus.​