It is a simple command and yet its position near the town leaders response is striking. Did they not know the lame man, who for 38 years had lain on that mat? Yes, surely they did know, and to reprimand him for carrying it when the healing was so obvious is more a statement about them than anything else.
So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy. [1 Peter 1:13-16]