The Fourth Commandment requires the people of God to imitate God, who rested on the seventh day of creation. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, That You Might Believe: A Study of the Gospel of John, In Pennsylvania, the penalty for cursing is a forty-cent fine. But he may take vinegar with his food in the ordinary course of affairs, and the Rabbis philosophically concluded, if he is healed he is healed (Shab. Why would we suppose there were miracles on tap for those who waited for an angel to trouble the waters at the pool of Bethesda when this was not a time for miracles? I do not dispute that this man supposed the pool had healing powers at certain times, but I do seriously question that this is indeed the case. A man was healed specifically by the word of Jesus. What chaos there would be! Apparently a primary word; a year. 219 I guess that this means one cannot dance at night. John 5:1-5 explains that the pool of Bethesda was by one of Jerusalem's gates, known as the sheep gate, and was surrounded on five sides by colonnades (covered columns). They prove that the Father has sent me. He was waiting at the water's edge for years hoping to find healing. 19Jesus said to the Jews, I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. Jesus heals him without even requiring faith of him. Pool of Bethesda Meaning, Bible Story, and Importance They think they see what is important, but in religious matters there are none so blind as those who are always certain that they see (cf. Otherwise, the item could be carried, but not in the usual way. Nor indeed can it be known how long there had been such a preternatural motion in this pool, and such a miraculous virtue in the water; some have thought, that it began at the repairing of the sheep gate by Eliashib, in Nehemiah's time; so Tremellius and Junius, on Nehemiah 3:1; and others have thought, that it had been some few years before the birth of Christ, and about the time that this man was first taken with his disorder. Whoever doesnt honor the Son doesnt honor the Father who sent him. If He is the Son of God, then He also has the authority to act in Gods behalf, indeed, to act as Godhealing on the Sabbath, forgiving sins, or cleansing the temple. 4 For an angel of the Lord went down and stirred up the water at certain times. If they obeyed my word, they will obey yours too. (I was in Jerusalem in 1967, shortly after the porches were discovered.) John 5:5 Commentaries: A man was there who had been ill for thirty Charles Swindoll shares this story in an issue of Leadership magazine: In 1965 the Viet Nam War began to stagnate and bog down. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! The paralytic betrays our Lord by identifying Him to the authorities. Jesus graciously heals those who gather. What is the significance of Jesus telling the lame man to, "Take up We cannot help but notice that those who are most in the wrong here are those who are most assured of being right. Simons words (paraphrased) are almost a rebuke: Lord, where have you been! 247 No doubt they would point to texts like Exodus 20:10; Nehemiah 13:15; and Jeremiah 17:21-22. 234 The Greek New Testament manuscripts differ as to whether the definite article is to be found with the word feast. The NET Bible has chosen (with what seems to be the majority of conservative scholars) to follow the texts without the article. Jesus did no such thing, here or elsewhere. The first of these is almost certainly right, not only on various transcriptional grounds, but because it is now supported by the corresponding Hebrew name in the Copper Scroll from Qumran, first published in 1960. We therefore learn to make our rules more and more specific, lest our child fail to behave as we intended. In archaeological digs conducted in the 19th century, Conrad Schick discovered a large tank situated about 100 feet (30 m) north-west of St. Anne's Church, which he contended was the Pool of Bethesda. We are only told that after this confrontation, the man goes to the authorities to reveal Jesus identity to them. 1 After this there was a234 Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. about this miracle. Does God really heal someone because he can push and shove and bully his way into the pool first? This may be a comfortable place, out of the heat of the sun and the biting cold of the winter winds. Every ailing person there at the pool is in competition with the rest of the multitude who are also hoping for a healing. After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 244 Just as the thirty-eight years prove the gravity of the disease, so the carrying of the bed and the walking prove the completeness of the cure (Barrett, p. 254). Cited by Carson, p. 244. We had fun getting into the backstory of the pool and the reasons that John uses specific numbers and words. American Standard Version And a certain man was there, who had been thirty and eight years in his infirmity. 22The Father doesnt judge anyone. We would love to be able to give our children a very general principle or guideline, and trust them to follow it. And a certain man was there, who had been thirty and eight years in his infirmity. Do not understand me to say that those whom God heals are those who receive grace, and that those who are not healed are those from whom grace has been withheld. Jesus saw this man and had compassion on him. This clearly implies that the carrying of the couch by itself is culpable.233. Rejecting Him is to remain destined for hell. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. These Jews have already determined that Jesus must be put to death. Second, the alleged miraculous healings at the pool of Bethesda are not like any other healing I find in the Bible. What are you doing out here, praying? In each and every Gospel, Jesus is accused of violating the Sabbath. If this man has become a believer, why does John not mention it, as he has each previous time? Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. Jesus does not need the angel-troubled waters of the pool of Bethesda to heal the paralytic. The attitude to healing on the sabbath is illustrated by a curious provision that a man may not put vinegar on his teeth to alleviate toothache. 303-304. There are few evils as great as doing wrong in the name of doing what is right. In this light, v. 7 reads less as an apt and subtle response to Jesus question than as the crotchety grumblings of an old and not very perceptive man who thinks he is answering a stupid question.242. He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3, NKJV). Our text has several more lessons to teach us, which I shall briefly mention. 1. It is said that when the water of the pool bubbled up, the first sick person to enter the pool would be healed! Suddenly, when we reach this fifth chapter of John our Lords miracles actually precipitate intense opposition and persecution. It is offered to all who will receive it. The Jews therefore object, and persecute him for it. It accredits His ministry and message. Believing on Him is the only way to heaven. Let us be careful that we do not serve men, assuming they will be saved. The Persic version here adds, "and was reduced to such a state that he could not move". Worse yet, why does John inform us that the man subsequently seeks out the Jews to tell them that the One they are after is Jesus? Until now, signs and miracles may not have convinced all, but they definitely were instrumental in drawing some to faith. 245 Notice how John refers to this fellow as the man who had been healed, while the Jews can only see him as the man carrying his mat on the Sabbath. Sermon Notes: Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda 3 Crowds of sick peopleblind, lame, or paralyzedlay on the porches. Because it is grace, and cannot be earned, it must be sovereignly bestowed. The Miracle At Bethesda - Word of God Today The pool of Bethesda was discovered in the 19th century under the ruins of a Byzantine church. In chapter 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000, but after He informs these would-be disciples that they must trust in His sacrificial death, virtually all forsake Him. Life Lessons From the Healing Of The Sick Man At The Pool Of Bethesda Study Guide for John 5 by David Guzik 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. The first point of controversy is the Sabbath (5:9ff. 38So you dont have the Fathers message within you, because you dont believe in the person he has sent. 20 Remember what I told you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. This man (I'll call him Amasai) has been an invalid for 38 years -- the greatest part of his life. A certain man who has been sick for 38 years was there, the nature of the sickness was not specified but from the response of the man to Jesus, it seems that the sickness has made him unable to walk and the sickness looks incurable. Doing what is right may very well produce a favorable response. John wrote this Gospel to convince you of this truth (20:31). In this episode, we talk about the specific healing that happened at the Pool at Bethesda. John 5 NKJV;NIV - A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda - Bible Gateway Jesus can help those who want to be . Don't Let Your Life Stagnate Christ knew this man could not walk and was lowered into place by the pool, hopelessly waiting for a miracle. Jesus has chosen me from among Many Read John 5:1-4 The Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John record 34 Miracles that Jesus said to have performed during his earthly ministry. John 9:1,21 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. Recording Date: 11/07/2018. 30 Simons mother-in-law was lying down with a fever, so they spoke to Jesus at once about her. (The inference is that if He could command him to walkand he did walkthen surely he would be wrong to fail to obey Him when He commanded him to carry his bed.) The worst of all was that Jesus permitted and approved it.222, In the above citations, J. W. Shepard is referring to the Sabbath laws of Jesus day, but we would be incorrect to suppose things have improved with time. According to John, however, Jesus performed many other miracles that are not even recorded in the Bible, ( John 21:25 ). Hurry and SAVE on a yearly membership! - He asked the man if he wanted to be made well. His legs have been paralyzed so long that they are thin, withered, atrophied. He had been unable to walk for 38 years. Even in the case of the bronze serpent, referred to in John 3, everyone who looked up to the serpent was healed. Copyright 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by Gods Word to the Nations Mission Society. There, the disciples automatically assumed that the mans blindness was the result of someones sin. 233-235) most interesting. [ b] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 229 This is my understanding of the view expressed on pages 66-67. The man who was healed at the Pool of Bethesda is said to have an infirmity which is an illness or weakness for 38 years. At His command, the man who has been disabled for 38 years gets up and walksnot only walks, but carries his bed with him. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971), p. 305, fn. One final observation: Jesus does not heal all because His mission is to bring about a much deeper and much more permanent healing from our sins: I said, LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You (Psalm 41:4, NKJV). It appears, therefore, that by the early church this pool was viewed as Bethzatha. Enter code FAITH and have answers to your Bible questions at your fingertips. Healing is also the easy thing for Him to do. It has been so highly refined that now one cannot carry something which he unknowingly took with him. Usually they spoke of our Father, and while they might use My Father in prayer they would qualify it with in heaven or some other expression to remove the suggestion of familiarity. The Pool of Bethesda. But since Jesus is God, then He, as God, must work at that which His Father is working. Although the miracles of ch. This may be why the man seems almost defensive as he seeks to explain to our Lord why his method didnt work. Third, this was not the time for miracles. 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He habitually thought of God as in the closest relationship to Himself. We know this much for certain: The man is guilty of some sin he has not yet given up. For that is what I came to do. 39 So he went into all of Galilee preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons (Mark 1:29-39). By ch. He argues that God is constantly at work, even on the Sabbath. John 5:5 One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Why then does Jesus find the man in the temple? William Hendriksen writes: After much guess-work with respect to the identity of this pool, its site has finally been established to the satisfaction of most scholars. Therefore, the least needy would probably be the one cured, while all the rest struggle to get out of the pool, get back to their stations, and await their next chance. Any one, some one, a certain one or thing. Think about it. These are not my words; they are His words, and you must determine whether or not you believe Him. Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, Were Israel properly to observe two Shabbathoth, they would immediately be redeemed (Shabbath 118b). 64-65) may provide some support for this view. Carson, p. 247. Of uncertain affinity; there; by extension, thither. Pressing this point further, notice that our Lord ministers to this ailing man, knowing he will not come to faith. He who is the Word, the Logos, who created the world with a word, is the One who heals with but a word. On the other hand, Tertullian (about 145-220 A.D.) already shows that he knows this passage; for he states: An angel, by his intervention, was wont to stir the pool at Bethsaida. Healing would make Jesus too popular, too quickly, and thus undermine His mission of proclaiming the truthand ultimately of dying on the cross of Calvary to atone for mans sins. 298-299. Jesus heals very selectively because of His mission. An enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object. William Butler Yeats - The Ballad Of Father O'hart Lest we think lawmakers wish to spend all their time making up silly laws, let me suggest that they must do so because of whacky folks like you and me. 33) that the word rendered slip out is found only here in the New Testament, and that it means to bend the head aside (AS), and thus to dodge.. At this pool Jesus healed a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years. How Long Have You Been Waiting at the Pool of Bethesda? The man had lain on the ground every day, waiting for the waters of the pool to be . Jesus does not say, Our Father is working until now, and I too am working. He says, My Father is working until now, and I too am working.252 The inference is very clear: Jesus is claiming that God is His Father; He is claiming to be God. How eager all of them would be to believe the stories they heard about miraculous healings at this pool, even if they had never actually seen anyone healed. Naaman was healed of his leprosy when he obeyed Elishas instructions to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5). However, the law does not restrict them from buying shotguns., A Minnesota law requires that mens and womens underwear not be hung on the same clothesline at the same time., In Joliet, Illinois, women are not allowed to try on more than six dresses in one store.. The pool (or, in reality, the reservoir which formed it) was laid bare in the year 1888 in connection with the repair of the church of St. Anne, in n.e. Everything our Lord says and does hangs on this single issue: is Jesus who He claims to be? His Memories A Man Young And Old: 7. He is constantly moved with compassion toward those who are afflicted. There is no indication of any repentance, no mention of faith, and no inquiry as to who Jesus is or what He is about (as with the Samaritan woman). First, let me ask a question: Do you assume that just because someone goes to churchany churchthat they are true believers, there to worship in spirit and in truth? In the time of our Lord it had five porticos or covered colonnades where the sick could rest, protected from inclement weather.235, Multitudes of the physically infirmed are gathered around this pool. It is located near the Church of St. Anne, in the north-east quarter of the Old City (near Nehemiahs Sheep Gate). It is almost too terrible to be true. Suddenly, the waters of the pool begin to boil, or bubble, or froth in some way, and pandemonium breaks out. Shabbat. Signs and wonders do not necessarily produce faith, and the faith they do produce is second-class, in and of itself (2:23-25). Have you ever read of any such miracle in the Bible, where an angel somehow energizes the waters, and the first person into the water is healed? The scrupulosity of these Jews about the Sabbath was ridiculously extreme. And a certain man was there, who had been thirty and eight years in his infirmity. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried up, who was placed every day at the temple gate called the Beautiful Gate so he could ask for money from those going into the temple courts. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, [] paralyzed, [] waiting for the moving of the water. Why does Jesus ask this man if he wishes to get well? . Wikipedia. 10So the Jews told the man who had been healed, This is a day of resta holy day. The day that Jesus healed the paralyzed man was the Sabbath day. But God may also use physical affliction in the life of the Christian to produce spiritual depth and growth, and thus to be a blessing to others (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). The man isnt even thinking in such terms. There is a specific sense in which God has been at work from the time of creation on, bringing about salvation for fallen men. 235 William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to John, 2 vols. 32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and demon-possessed. 30I cant do anything on my own. If we are honest, we will quickly admit that we, too, are unworthy recipients of His grace as demonstrated by our salvation. The introduction to this message provides examples of the extremes to which some Jews went to protect the Sabbath. He can, however, reverse his pocket, expelling the object unnaturally, and thus legitimately. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; andthese are they which testify of Me. 2 Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. People are healed individually and specifically, not in some kind of whoever can get there the first manner. Ending soon! For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light. While Im trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.. 1) "Now there is in Jerusalem near the sheep Gate a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda (house of olives or house of mercy).. in these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralized" Verse 2 Observation THE SICK BY THE POOL OF MERCY! This information is not supplied to amuse you, but to prepare you for the issues that arise in our study of John chapter 5, as well as later on in Johns Gospel. From asthenes; feebleness; by implication, malady; morally, frailty. This just happens to take place on the Sabbath. Have you experienced this healing? Jesus walked over to a man who couldn't walk and healed him on one of the porches of the Pool of Bethesda. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda,[ a] with five covered porches. 35 Then Jesus got up in the darkness of the early morning and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. This now seems to be quite certain. Signs and wonders have a diminishing effect. 5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival. It is completely clear that John claims Jesus is God come down to earth, having taken on human flesh. It consists of two pools fed by springs and runoff. Some ignorantly or foolishly say that Jesus did not claim to be God. (1-4) The pool of Bethesda. Exod. This man had an infirmity for 38 years. In the preface to this work the author writes, The Mishna (Chagiga: Chapter 1, Mishna 8) likens the laws of Shabbath to mountains hanging by a hair, in that a multitude of precepts and rules, entailing the most severe penalties for their breach, depend on the slightest of indications given by a biblical verse.224. i.e. The Jews demand to know just who this person is who told him to take up his mat and walk. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20, NKJV). The Death Of The Hare A Man Young And Old: 5. There is a huge crowd of sick people waiting for you back at my mother-in-laws house. The 400 years between the last book of the Old Testament and the coming of Christ were a time of silence. The Man By The Pool Of Bethesda When our Lord went to Jerusalem and cleansed the temple (John 2:12-22), He also performed a number of signs, which caused a number to believe in His name (2:23-25). It seems clear that John did not care for us to know which one, and that this bit of information would not contribute to our understanding of what follows. Many sick people visited the pool believing an angel would come each day and agitate the water and the first person to enter the pool would be healed. (u) De Anima, c. 50. Then the fever left her and she began to serve them. To us, this setup would. 33You sent people to John the Baptizer, and he testified to the truth. When the man did so, he was healed (John 9:6-7). An angel really does come by the pool from time to time to stir it up, and the lucky243 person who manages to out-maneuver all the rest of the ailing folks gets a healing. -Jerusalem is a place of peace but there are multitudes who are not peaceful! His mission is not primarily to heal, but to proclaim the good news of the gospel. which had an infirmity thirty and eight years; what his infirmity was, is not said; he was one of the weak, or impotent folk, for so he is called, John 5:7. But Jesus gives us a very different twist on this. He answers for himself, and reproves them, showing by the testimony of his Father, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Gospels: John 5:5 A certain man was there who had (Jhn Jo Jn).
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