Lenten Devotion - A Clean Heart

by D'Janapha Fortune on March 31, 2025

Lent is a beautiful season of consecration and remembrance as we reflect on the life of Jesus, particularly the journey to the cross. One key aspect of this journey is the combination of miracles and revelation that reinforced the deity of our Christ, including signs of healing such as that of a physically disabled man found in John chapter 5. The chapter opens with a picturesque scene at a pool of water called Bethsaida in Jerusalem. A man who had been sick for thirty-eight years lay in the presence of others, also restricted by sickness, awaiting the opportunity to receive physical healing by entering the pool of water at just the right time.[1] On this particular day, Jesus approaches the sick man, hears his story, and immediately heals him. In today’s Scripture, we find Jesus reencountering the now fully healed man:

Later, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you” (John 5:14).

What would lead to such a long-term debilitating sickness– was he struggling with suppressed anger, unforgiveness, a tendency to speak malicious words toward others, or something else? It is no coincidence that the details of the healed man’s sins are not revealed to us. The lack of detail causes us to center on a man carrying an intensely heavy and immobilizing burden, a burden that shifted the way he experienced life. Unhealed, this man was stuck and distant from the love of God, a circumstance God did not want for any of His children.

In meditating on this story, I realized Jesus could have continued his ministry for far more years than He did if healing of ailments was sufficient for the type of suffering present. However, this was not the case. Although a miracle of physical healing required power and attentiveness, the miracle of heart healing (e.g., forgiveness of sins) required authority and sacrifice. In His perfection, our Lord offered Himself up as the ultimate sacrifice through death at just the right time. Jesus recognized that humanity would be in need of ongoing reconciliation and restoration.

What a blessing to know and believe that there is no lifestyle or heart too impure for the Lord. He has always been in the business of healing hearts because it is a clean and pure heart that spreads the Good News (John 5:15) and turns more hearts toward Him. So, as we look ahead to resurrection, may we not forget the path of crucifixion that made it all possible. A path filled with grace, mercy, forgiveness, and the empowerment to overcome anything that would keep us from our God.

Reflect:

1.) Is there any part of life where you are currently feeling stuck or burdened?

2.) What changes would you experience (emotionally and physically) if you gave Jesus the heaviness of your heart in exchange for his grace?

[1]Some translations include an angel would stir the waters of the pool every so often and whoever entered the pool first would be healed.