Sin = Sickness?

"Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." (John 5:14)

As I read this passage from John, there was a moment when this verse bothered me. You know, the Jews thought that illness or physical deformity was a result of sin. In their eyes, lameness or other sickness were a punishment for sins (see John 9:2). It almost seems as Jesus is affirming this in his response to the lame man, but as I reflect, maybe what Jesus is saying is that not being able to walk is a bad thing, but a much worse thing is what sin does to the soul. He is saying, "You know what it is like to be physically handicapped, but what you don't realize is that your sin is handicapping your soul."