The Pool of Bethesda, Jerusalem
John 5:1-9
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
The Jews were required to keep three feasts a year. Passover, called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks, and Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths. Studies of these Feasts are fascinating and can give one an insight into Christ’s ministry to us as well as open up our understanding of the Hebrew culture.
It is not known which feast the Lord was keeping when He went to Jerusalem. Here’s what David Brown says on this topic:
What feast? No question has more divided the Harmonists of the Gospels, and the duration of our Lord's ministry may be said to hinge on it. For if, as the majority have thought (until of late years) it was a Passover, His ministry lasted three and a half years; if not, probably a year less. Those who are dissatisfied with the Passover-view all differ among themselves what other feast it was, and some of the most acute think there are no grounds for deciding. In our judgment the evidence is in favor of its being a Passover.
Bethesda has been spelled in different ways and has three meanings. Beth means “house,” and -thesda is said to mean “grace” or “mercy.” It can also mean “place of two outpourings,” which would make sense because there is archaeological evidence that two adjacent pools of water served that area in those days, including the pool of Siloam. The Bible also mentions these waterways in the Book of Kings and in Isaiah.
I think all of the meanings of this place are significant: Jesus chose to come here where there were two outpourings of water to show or pour out His grace and mercy on the one who was healed!
For many years the Pool of Bethesda was considered a “made up” place, contributing to the speculation that the Bible was fictitious or that John’s gospel was written much later than claimed. (John’s gospel is the only one in which this incident is discussed.) In the 19th century, the pool was discovered near St. Anne’s church but there was some doubt as to the validity of that claim. However, in 1964 further evidence was uncovered.
Some Byzantine and Crusader churches, Hadrian's Temple of Asclepius and Serapis, the small healing pools of the Asclepieion, the other of the two large pools, and the dam between them were found there.
It was discovered that the Byzantine construction was built in the very heart of Hadrian's construction, and contained the healing pools.
Near the pool is the Sheep Gate, translated in the King James as “sheep market” gate. I think it’s interesting that the Holy Spirit wanted us to see Jesus, the Lamb of God as John called Him, at this location.
There is some controversy surrounding the King James Version of John 5. Apparently the best manuscripts don’t have the end of verse 3 and leave out all of verse 4. But as Wiersbe says, the event and the man’s words in v. 7 wouldn’t make any sense without them.
In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
It is interesting that this man was sick for this length of time. The only other thirty eight year period of time mentioned in the Bible is found in Deuteronomy. The Jews left Egypt, went to the Land of Canaan and had the spies check out the land. Some of the people wanted to go in right away, but several also were afraid and would not go in. So God let them wander in the desert for the length of time it took that the unbelieving among them would die:
And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them.
It takes the gift of mercy to even go to where there are sick people. I think it also takes the gift of cheerfulness in order to heal. I can imagine Jesus coming, looking around the pool, and seeing all these people and having compassion on them. But he singled out one man.
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"
What a question! I think Jesus asks this of us as well. What is your infirmity? What have you struggled for years to overcome, or perhaps you have been overcome by it? I think it’s interesting that the word translated here “paralyzed” is also translated “impotent.” Some synonyms for this are powerless, helpless, weak and ineffective. Do you feel like this? I know I have certainly felt so. I can imagine his disgust with this…probably sick and tired of being sick.
The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus asked a question, “Do you want to be healed?” Why would He ask this question? I think Jesus wanted the man to recognize his condition. Jesus did the same thing with the woman at the Samaritan well—He asked her to bring her husband and return to Him, but she told Jesus she wasn’t married. He tells her how many times she was married, pointing to her condition—the debauchery of her lifestyle.
But this man answered with an excuse. He must have felt powerless to the point that his will was affected. I have felt this so many times! I have been in my sin and problems so long that I have given up on resolving them. Jesus has the answer:
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
Act. Jesus gives a command. The Lord has given me commands that would help me overcome my own issues. For many years I had a problem with fear. God commanded me to stop being afraid. These are the scriptures God gave me:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
I knew I needed to make a choice not to be afraid. I had spent many years being fearful, partially because of my upbringing. My father as a young man (he has since been healed of this by God) gave out both discipline and love capriciously, and I could not know which would be mine in any exchange with him. I think this is the foundation from which I learned to fear. It affected my relationship with my father and mother, and relationships with others. Further, it made me think my Heavenly Father was capricious as well.
The Lord would have me to not be afraid in how He would treat me; God would have me to honor and respect His power, and to “fear” in the sense of this reverence, but not fear how He would treat me. Here are some verses that pointed out how I should feel about my Father in heaven.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Tithing is one of these things as far as many are concerned. All believers are required to tithe. What percentage of people in the church does this? As of 2002, six percent of us do so. That means that 94% of Christians do not tithe.
I feel badly for those who don’t know the blessing of tithing! I have purposed to give even when I’m not making much money. Yes, I could use every penny to take care of my needs, but God provides for me, I think because I tithe, in miraculous and wonderful ways. I am making half (or less than half) of what I made last year, but God has given me so much. Why? Is it because I trust Him? Maybe.
The question is, “do you want to be healed?” Jesus may be asking you this very question. Do you?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment