John
5:1-16
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. 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. 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?”
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
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. The Jews
therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for
you to carry your bed.”
He
answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”
Then
they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and
walk’?” But the one who was healed did
not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.
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.”
The
man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
For
this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had
done these things on the Sabbath.
A
Little Background
We
don’t know which feast is mentioned here. Either the Passover (Spring) or the
Feast of Tabernacles (Fall) could be the occasion of Jesus’ being in Jerusalem.
Some
Explanation
According
to modern archeology, the pool at Bethesda was likely a mikveh, which was a bath for ritual cleansing before coming to the
temple for worship (see here).
The
belief regarding the angel’s stirring up of the water is a mystery. Some Greek
manuscripts do not contain verse 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.” However, without verse 4, verse 7 has no
context, “...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.”
There
is no additional Biblical information about the phenomenon of the angel stirring
up the water. Also, there is apparently no extra-Biblical (evidence from
literature outside of the Bible or non-Biblical) research about what might have
been happening either. Regardless of what was happening in the pool and the
activity of the people, the problem of this invalid man is the focus of Jesus’
miracle.
Observations
and Insights
As I
read this account, I can imagine the man’s plight. How many other sick are
clamoring and pushing to be first to get to the water? How often had he tried
previously to get to the water? He has had his infirmity for 38 years. Surely
he felt hopeless. I wonder why he had no friends to help him like the paralytic
of Capernaum who was let down through the roof, yet somehow, he got to the
pool. I noticed that he never replied to Jesus’ question, “Do you want to be made well?” Instead, he equivocates and makes an
excuse for himself, “...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.”
Without
any affirmation of the man’s faith Jesus heals the him and tells him to take up
his bedding and quickly slips away. When the man picks up his bedding, the Jews
(Pharisees) are right there, quick to charge him with “working” on the Sabbath.
The once invalid, now healed man, deflects responsibility on Jesus.[1]
Later
when Jesus found the man at the temple and revealed Himself as the one who
healed him, He told the man, “Sin no
more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” This alludes to the possibility
that the cause of the man’s infirmity was some kind of sin. So what did this
man do? Did he fall at Jesus’ feet and worship Him or even thank Him for
virtually giving him a whole new life after 38 years of being ill? No, instead
he took those newly strengthened legs straight to the Jews and told them that
it was Jesus who healed him, thus facilitating the Jews to look for a time to
kill Jesus.
Betrayal!
I confess that I found it difficult to put my thoughts about this passage into
writing. The actions of the healed man are troubling to me. Some commentators
gave the man a “pass” regarding his telling the Jews who healed him. Their
reason is that the Jews were very powerful and the man could have feared
reprisal. That is a possibility, but I am still irked by what he did. To me, he
betrayed his healer, and I think that the clue is in Jesus’ command to him at
the temple, “Sin no more, lest a worse
thing come upon you.”
Was
the invalid man offended by Jesus command? Did Jesus’ comment reveal the depth
of his heart? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our hearts are deceitful above all
and desperately wicked. How many times have I wanted something changed in my
life for the sake of my own selfish desires? I often pray for financial needs
to be met—but to what end? ...So that I can spend more on myself? And if I were
healed of my ailment, would I continue in my poor health choices? And in doing
these things, am I not just as guilty of betraying the one who healed me as
this invalid man seemed to be?
Jesus
knew the man’s heart and the ultimate result, yet He healed him anyway. Jesus
knew the heart of Judas, yet He chose him to be part of the twelve. “...but God shows his love for us in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Yes, the actions of the
man make me angry, but in truth, I am that invalid man. I do not deserve Jesus’
sacrifice for me. My heart was alienated from Him; I was His enemy. Yet He died
in my place when I was unable to atone for my own sin. He is deserving of a
heart that is submitted to Him, that allows Him to search out my own selfish
desires. May we each crucify our selfish flesh so that we may follow Him in
true devotion, that our lives would be blameless. May we give no opportunity
for reproach or betrayal to the One who bought us.
[1]
This
reminds me of Adam and Eve in the Garden when God asked them why they were
hiding. Adam said, “The woman You gave me, she gave me...”
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