This is a story of Jesus and James from The Chosen. This conversation is not mentioned in the Bible. It is an imagined script from the series, but there is a beautiful and meaningful truth inside this story that made me think deeply.
Once James was chosen by Jesus as one of His disciples, he followed Jesus for a long time.
Every day, he watched Jesus heal the sick, restore the broken, open the eyes of the blind, and bring hope to people who came to Him.
But James himself remained disabled.
He walked with difficulty, carrying the weakness in his legs wherever he went. He used a stick while walking.
One day, James finally asked Jesus the question that had been growing inside him:
“Jesus, why haven't You healed me?”
He had seen Jesus heal so many others.
He had witnessed miracles with his own eyes.
And yet, despite walking beside Jesus, his own condition remained unchanged.
Here is the conversation between them:
Jesus: “James, do you want to be healed?”
James: “Yes, of course, if that's possible.”
Jesus: “I think you've seen enough to know it's possible.”
James: “Then why haven't You?”
Jesus: “Because, I trust you.”
James: “What?”
Jesus: “James, I could heal you right now and you would have a good story to tell, yes?”
James: “Yes, that you do miracles.”
Jesus: “That's a good story. But there are already dozens who can tell that story and there will be hundreds more, even thousands. But think of the story that you have, especially in this journey to come, if I don't heal you? To know how to proclaim that you still praise God in spite of this. To know how to focus on all that matters, so much more than the body to show people that you can be patient with your suffering here on Earth. Because you know you'll spend eternity with no suffering. Not everyone can understand that.”
James wanted to be healed. Of course he did.
But Jesus showed him something he had never considered.
James was faced with a choice.
He could receive the healing he desperately wanted—or continue following Jesus without receiving the thing he had been asking for.
And James chose Jesus.
James said to Jesus:
“I don't want to be healed.”
He chose Jesus simply because Jesus was worth following.
This scene made me think about something much deeper.
There may always be a greater reason behind the things Jesus does not do in our lives.
Sometimes He doesn't answer our prayer in the way we expect.
Sometimes He doesn't allow something we desperately want.
Sometimes He doesn't remove the suffering we have been asking Him to remove.
And we may ask:
“Why, Jesus?”
But what if there is a reason behind His silence?
What if there is something He is building in us that we cannot see yet?
What if the thing we are asking Him to remove is somehow becoming part of the story He is writing through our lives?
When we come to know the reason behind why He didn't do something, why He didn't answer a prayer, or why He didn't allow something in our lives, perhaps the reason will be more precious than we ever imagined.
That scene made me ask myself:
If Jesus never gave me what I am praying for, would I still follow Him?
If He doesn't give me the blessing I am waiting for, will I still worship Him?
If He doesn't remove the problem I am asking Him to remove, will I still trust Him?
If my prayer remains unanswered, will I still say:
“Jesus, You are enough for me”?
Sometimes we follow Jesus because of what we hope He will give us.
But true surrender asks a deeper question:
“If I receive nothing from His hand, will I still choose His heart?”
James's greatest testimony was not that he received the good thing he wanted in his life.
It was that he followed Jesus even though he didn't see the good thing he was hoping for.
He chose Jesus even without the healing.
Because following Jesus is not about what we receive from Him.
It is about who He is.
And perhaps this is the question we all need to ask ourselves:
