Healing at the Pool of Bethesda

1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

1. (verse 1) Why did Jesus return to Jerusalem? Jesus was the son of God, so why did he need to participate in the feasts of Israel?

Christ returned to Jerusalem because of one of the feasts. The Bible does not tell us which feast although some commentators suggest it was the feast of the Passover. As the son of God, you would think that Christ was above the feasts. After all, these feasts were designed to honor God. But Jesus while here on earth participated fully as a man and a Jew. Although the feasts were important religious times, they were also a time for people to gather together and celebrate. Christ understood the deep religious meanings of these events, but he also participated in the social aspect of the feast. Jesus came to show us that God wants fellowship with man.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.

3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

4 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.

2. (verses 2-4) Do you think an angel really came down to the pool, or is John just writing about a legend that the people believed?

The general agreement among scholars is that the author is here simply describing why the people were at the pool. As McGee comments, "This is the explanation of why they were there. The belief was than an angel stirred the water at a certain season." This verse may be explaining the belief of the people, or God could have caused an angel to actually go down there every year. As Fausset remarks, "The angels, in a way unknown to us, doubtless act as God’s ministers in the world of nature. Many curative agencies are directed by them."

As I considered this, I wondered why would God send an angel there. If he did, he would do it for a purpose. Just as he chose the hill that Abraham would lay his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice as the same hill that Christ would centuries later actually pay that sacrifice, God would choose this pool for a purpose.

Let’s examine this. In the previous chapter Jesus had told the woman of Samaria that he would give her living water. Now he goes to the pool to give living water to the infirm man. The name of the pool was Bethesda which means "house of mercy." The man had come to Bethesda, but we can come to the house of mercy. The pool was at the Sheep Gate. Jesus came as the Passover lamb to take away our sins. The man came to Bethesda, a pool of water, by the Sheep Gate to receive healing. We can come to the house of mercy, with living water, as Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, has paid the price of healing for all of infirm mankind. There were also five porches in the house of mercy. Maybe these five areas represent five ways that God ministers to us: prayer, scripture, the Spirit, faith, and guidance.

5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

3. (verse 5) Why did God allow this man to suffer for 38 years? Have you been upset that you had to suffer through some trial?

Sometimes we have to suffer. When this happens, some people get angry at God and complain that life is unfair. This man had to suffer for 38 years. If you haven’t suffered for 38 years, thank God for his mercy. The Lord did a wonderful work in this man’s life. When we have to go through a difficult time, the Lord can also do a wonderful work in our life – if we can learn to trust in him.

6 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?"

7 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."

4. (verses 6-7) Was the man looking to Jesus for healing or the water for healing? Who do you look to for healing?

I think it’s important for us to recognize that the man was looking to the water for his healing. He had to take his eyes off of the water and look to Jesus. If we are looking to other things for our healing or deliverance, let us turn our eyes toward Jesus. The man could not be healed until he looked to Jesus.

8 Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."

9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.

5. (verses 8-9) Now, who do you think the man was looking to for healing? Have you experienced God’s healing?

When Jesus spoke the words, "Rise, take up your bed and walk," he responded in faith to Christ’s words. God is still in the healing business today. But we must be willing to respond in faith.

10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."

11 He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’"

12 Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?"

6. (verses 10-12) Were the Jews more interested in the man’s miracle of healing or in keeping the law? Do we sometimes get bound by religious rules of the church?

These verses tell us a lot about religious people who get bound by rules. They were so concerned with the Sabbath, that they overlooked the miracle of the healing. But we also can become bound by religious rules. We think a Christian must act, or look, or talk a certain way. We may judge people by outward appearances instead of by their heart. We tend to think that if Christians don’t do things the way we were taught, they are somehow inferior, or wrong, or maybe even lost. How many schisms have happened in the body of Christ over petty rules. We need to stand up for the truth, but we must be careful that what we are so adamant about defending is a clear teaching of the Bible. It could be just man’s opinion.

13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.

7. (verse 13) What does this verse tell you about Jesus’ humility? When you hear television evangelists bragging about all the people they have healed, how does that compare with the way Jesus acted?

Notice Jesus did not even wait around to take credit for the healing. This reminds us of chapter 2 when he didn’t take credit for turning the water into wine. Jesus was not in the healing business to become famous.

Someone was once concerned about all the flamboyant claims of healing by some evangelists. They questioned the sincerity of some of the proclaimers of miracles by their own hand. But on the other hand, they did not want to condemn someone who was being genuinely used of God. They asked me if I could help them tell the difference. I told them that God is still in the healing business. The way to tell the difference is after you listen to someone sharing a healing testimony, ask yourself: has the evangelist’s description caused you to praise God for his miracle-working power, or has the description caused you to think, what a spiritual man this is who is healing all these people. The true minister of God always directs you to the Lord who deserves all the credit, but the false teacher tries to direct you to his own greatness.

14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."

8. (verse 14) Why did Jesus find the man again?

From this verse we may have a clue as to why the man was infirm in the first place. Jesus said, "sin no more." Perhaps his life had been one of self-indulgence and abusing his physical body. Today, we find many people who have abused drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or who have had a promiscuous life-style. When the years of neglect of their physical well-being finally catch up to them, they become wracked with disease or weakness. If God chooses to heal them, they best heed the advice of Jesus to this man, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."

McGee writes, "What actually happened was simply this: the Lord healed him physically at the pool of Bethesda but He healed his soul there in the temple. Sin had caused the man’s trouble. First, he got a well body, and then he got a well soul."

15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.

9. (verses 15-16) Are Christians persecuted today for their good works?

Jesus was persecuted for doing good, and so we can expect the same treatment. It is unfortunate, but the scribes, Pharisees, and hypocritical religious leaders are still with us today. Sometimes I think the biggest enemies to the cause of Christ are in the church. In spite of the persecution, Jesus did not stop doing good works. Let us also be faithful to the calling he has placed on our life, and continue doing good no matter how stiff the opposition.

Footnotes:

Fausset: Bible Encyclopaedia and Dictionary pg. 89, Zondervan Publishing House



	A Study of John 5:1-16