Are we right, or are we right beside the pool?
The 6th Chronological healing recorded in the Gospels marks the beginning of the 2nd year of Jesus’ ministry. Healing #6 is what my NIV study Bible calls “The Healing at the Pool.” John’s Gospel is the only of the 4 to record it. John only recorded a few of the healing that Jesus performed so we better queue in.
John 5:1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 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." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Just a quick note of interest: you may have noticed that there is no verse 4. I almost always use the NIV; it’s just easier to read and it’s rumored to be better translated from the original text. The NIV left verse 4 out because it’s translators felt that verse 4 was inserted by a later copyist to explain why people waited by the pool. Most other versions do go with verse 4, well except for the Message which didn’t really break up any of the verses by a numeral indicator. One commentator on this subject stated that “verses 3 and 7 could not be properly understood without verse 4. Also, at the excavation site of the pool of Bethesda, archaeologists found a faded fresco on the wall depicting an angel and water.” Anyway enough wasting time; let’s get to the meat of the story.
In this story we have 3 types of people, you decide which group you fall into. The first group is those in need of healing (i.e., the sick). Second we have the rule enforcers; they are right in what they say but they’re missing the real issue. Third we have the one who has phenomenal poolside manners. We’ll look at all 3.
The 1st Group: The Sick
John 5:3 said a great number of disabled people hung out at this pool. The AMP Bible put it this way: “In these lay a great number of sick folk--some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up)--waiting for the bubbling up of the water.” You can say this pool was a hospital of sorts. All of these people were poolside waiting desperately for their healing. In Verse 5 we find the main subject of this story. We don’t know how old the man was at this time of the story, but we do know that he was sick for 38 years. Again, the AMP Bible says in verse 5 that this guy “had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years.” How do you properly and Christian-ly say: That Sucks! Thirty-eight years is a long time to be in that condition. Do you realize that this guy had been sick longer than Jesus had been alive? Jesus was probably 31 by now. I am sure this sick guy tried everything to get well and this pool was his last hope. This pool was either people’s shortcut or last hope to health. Because of the way verse 7 reads, I believe it was this guy’s last hope. He’s desperately miserable.
We’ll leave that group right there; on to the next.
The 2nd Group: The Rule Enforcers
We don’t know how long he, the sick guy, had been poolside by the time of his healing but from reading into this story I think it’s safe to assume that the rule enforcers had no idea how long either. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe they knew who he was. Here, let’s read verse 10: “and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.’” If they knew this guy and his prior condition then they would have cared less about the law and rejoiced at the fact that he was even able to carry the mat while walking around. I don’t think the rule enforcers ever hung out poolside. It’s not like the pool was far away from where they were at. The guy just got his legs back under him; he would not have got far from the pool. What they were saying was not wrong, the guy was carrying around his mat on the Sabbath; but maybe, just maybe if they opened their eyes they would have noticed the miracle walking before them. They, the rule enforcers, were so worried about the rules that they forgot about visiting the sick, the hospital.
We’re done with that group.
The 3rd Group: The Healer
Now, look at who was poolside. John 5:6; using the AMP again: “When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]” Jesus had to be poolside to see this guy. On top of that, Jesus knew that he had been sick for a long time. I bet this was not the first time for Jesus to be poolside. At this time Jesus would have been about 31 or32. I wonder how many times on the way to these Jewish festivals Jesus passed by this pool. Luke 2:39 states that Jesus’ parents moved to Nazareth, but in Luke 2:42 it picks up the story of Jesus at the age of 12. If Jesus made the trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem just once every year from the age 12 until He was 31 then that would have been 20 trips. Nazareth was to the North of Jerusalem and the pool of Bethesda was a little to the north of the temple. That means Jesus would have passed this pool about 20 times, if my calculations and geography are correct. There were 3 pilgrimage feasts that all Jewish males were expected to make - Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. If He made the 3 required pilgrimages every year from age 13 to 31 then that would be a potential 57 times that Jesus passed by this pool; and I am only counting the trips to the temple. I mean I am not including the trips back from the temple. So that bumps up the number to 114 times that Jesus could have walked by this pool. I think that over the years He would start to recognize a few people’s faces. In all of Jesus’ travels of back and forth, before His ministry started, I wonder if He longed for the day when His healing touch would begin and He could empty the poolside. Did He notice this guy laying there before His ministry started? Sure there would be new faces at the poolside all the time, but Jesus would start to recognize the faces that were always there. We do know from John’s account that Jesus noticed this guy and knew he had been sick for awhile. Like I said before, this dude was sick longer than Jesus had been alive. So, whether this was Jesus 115th time of walking by the pool or just his first, he still knew this guys condition and did not leave him the same as when he found him. Jesus completes the Healer group.
So, which group do we fit into: the sick, the rule enforcer, or the healer? When I started this study of the healings of Jesus, I wanted to get a better understanding of faith and how it works-- specifically towards the need for health/healing. As I continue this study I find these stories have so much more to do with living the life than just about healing. The healings in these stories are like a fine tasting frosting on top of an already yummy cupcake. . . But back to the question that started this paragraph. Which group do we fit into? If we fit into the sick group then we need to keep studying the word, reach out in faith, and never give up hope. Remember that Jesus, during His earthly ministry, never left anyone sick who wanted to be healed. If we fit into the rule enforcing group then it’s time for us to open our eyes and behold the opportunities for miracles that are right next door to us. If we fit into the last part, the healer, then it’s time to find some poolsides. You might say only Jesus fits into the healer group. Well that’s true sort-of; but Jesus told us in His Great Commission to Go Preach the Gospel, Signs & Wonders will follow, Don’t walk in Fear, and Lay hands on the sick and the sick will get…. What? I can’t hear you, what is the final part of the Great Commission? “The Sick will get well!” Mark 16:18. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go do some poolside struttin’.
Stay blessed y’all, it your choice.
jimmy
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