In this particular story, the pool of Bethesda is notable because it provided an avenue for healing, yet its hard to tell if the man was taking advantage of it. Therefore, even before baptism made water a symbol of rebirth, it was associated with healing and being closer to God. And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. It is also a testimony to the fact, of Moses having written those books, which were then, and are still, known by his name. (Alford). E And he had to pass through Samaria. L Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. vi. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had., Since this line doesnt appear in all or most manuscripts, its hard to say how accurate it is. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. The man replied that he had no one to get him to the pool and someone else got in first. G. Connor Salter is a writer and editor, with a Bachelor of Science in Professional Writing from Taylor University. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. 30 Morning Prayers to Start Each Day with God, Lessons Learned in a Mothers Bible Study, The Truth about Why Men Hate Going to Church, 10 Things You Should Never Say to Your Pastor, 10 Things Everyone Should Know about the Methodist Church, 5 Ways Selfishness Shows Up in Society Today, Pentatonix Sings 'Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)' A Cappella, Good Night Prayers for Evening and Peaceful Sleep at Bedtime, 4 Areas Women Can Experience Freedom in Christ, An Important Lesson on Distraction from Mary and Martha, Yes, the World's Gone Crazy; Here's Why That's Good for the Church, Encouragement for the Special Needs Mom Struggling with Worry, This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2022, Crosswalk.com. Remember God cares about what is good, not necessarily what is proper. This is one of multiple times in the Gospels where Jesus healed someone on theSabbath, a day of rest where people werent supposed to do anything. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Get up; he is calling you. And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. We arent told whether the pool of Bethesda was a hot pool or a cold pool, but either would have made it a healing site. Hot water could soothe skin conditions, be used in hot compresses and similar treatments. Granting the fact that were not sure how much the man could move (were his legs crippled? One of the harder questions we all need to ask is if its time to wait patiently on God or knock at doors (Luke 11:9) and see what opens. Whether Godanswers our requests immediately or later, we have to be ready for him and respond when that moment comes. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. This article is part of our larger resource library of Christian questions important to the Christian faith. Labs P If they had acknowledged Christ as the only teacher, they must have given up the good opinion of the multitude; and they chose rather to lose their souls than to forfeit their reputation among men! (Clarke), iii. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. W But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. He might even enjoy doing the thing thats a bit shocking to make a point about where our priorities need to be. Jesus was typified in the rock that gave Israel water in the wilderness (Numbers 20:8-12 and 1 Corinthians 10:4). Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. vii. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. Later Jesus would solve the problem of humanitys sin by dying on a cross, a very improper event that was the last thing anyone expected would be useful. He called them to believe what Moses, what the Scriptures, what His works, what John the Baptist each testified about Jesus: that He is the Messiah, the Son of God and God the Son. He is described as being an invalid for 38 years, and when Jesus learned this, he asked the man if he wanted to get well. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. Like with the man at the pool, it may come when we least expect it (and on the last day we expect it). Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. She said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Read the Bible, discover plans, and seek God every day. C No wonder Jesus could say Behold, I come; in the scroll of the Book it is written of Me (Psalm 40:7). YouVersion uses cookies to personalize your experience. That being said, the extra line in John 5 would explain the invalid mans comment about the water moving and the first person into the pool getting healed. N They pointed on to other things, which came to pass when He came. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Theres plenty more than we can say about the pool of Bethesda story, but here are three specific lessons we can all learn from it: Consider whether youre being patient or passive. But he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me! And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Take heart. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. TopicalBible Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. What Does the Bible Say about Women Pastors? S The ministry of Jesus was shown in almost every aspect of the seven different kinds of offering that God commanded Israel to bring (Leviticus 1-7). b. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. M Cold water refreshed people and kept them clean.

So, because you are lukewarmneither hot nor coldI am about to spit you out of my mouth. Laodicea was built on a river and had public baths, making it an important site for medical needs. We are faced with a problem similar to the woman caught in adultery mentioned in John 7:538:11. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me: These religious leaders rejected Jesus because they rejected Gods word through Moses. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. To us, this setup would look a lot like a modern-day public swimming poolan area of water in the center with structures around it to provide shade. Why Did the Pool of Bethesda Heal People? We must be prepared for God to answer in his own time, in his own way. V There is also debate on whether Jewish people used the pool for ritual bathing (an important part of Old Testament laws about staying clean and avoiding uncleanliness), or whether it was a healing pool that the Romans built by one of their pagan temples. H

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. https://www.bible.com/bible/1/JHN.5.1-15.KJV, Enter Wild: A 5-Day Devotional by Carlos Whittaker, Forgiving What You Cant Forget: A 5-Day Challenge, Emotional Health and the Miracles of Jesus, Jesus Revealed Pt. Multiple times leaders rebuked Jesus for doing this, missing the fact that getting healed was more important than being proper. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. You can check these in your browser security settings. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . Lukewarm water served no clear medicinal purpose; this is why in Revelation 3:15-17, John criticizes the church of Laodicea for being neither cold nor hot. Click on the different category headings to find out more. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. This is an important testimony by the Lord to the subject of the whole Pentateuch; it is concerning Him. Publication date: Jul 20, 2022. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. There are the characters in the story, and then there are bits of backstory which are only hinted at. They lived on each others praise. F He could teach a Bible study where beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). Thus the writings of Moses were prophetic. Then the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. G On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Either option would make it a healing site that people visited frequently. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. What Is the Mezuzah Prayer and Is it Biblical? D In light of that, its possible that the man had adopted a defeatist mindset. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. Various archeologists have suggested sites that may be the remains of the pool, which might have been attached to a dam or be two pools built next to each other over time. Be alert for when God finally appears. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. What Are the Keys to the Kingdom that Jesus Gave Peter? (Deuteronomy 18:15), ii. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does this have to do with me? If they refused to believe this overwhelming testimony, it was unlikely they would believe Jesus own words. I wish you were either one or the other! As noted above, water was an important part of early medicine and also important to Jewish law, which put a lot of emphasis on being clean versus unclean. Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Leviticus include various instructions about cleaning oneself to get rid of diseases, removing defilement after touching a dead carcass, or for women cleaning themselves after a menstrual cycle. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. For he wrote about Me: Jesus said of the Scriptures that they testify of Me (John 5:39). Could he move his arms and crawl? Find out more about his work here. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. Y v. Jesus and His ministry were shown in the Tabernacle and its service. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy. You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.. As we follow God, we need to be aware he isnt as concerned about propriety and faux pas as we are. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Z. I B O There are the details were told, and there are the details that only appear in some manuscripts. Sometimes the problem is that God has provided the opportunity we need, but we arent fully aware of it or sure about taking advantage of it. Hot water could also be drunk to help with internal problems like digestion (which is why alternative medicine sometimes recommends drinking hot water with various herbs). John 5:1-5 explains that thepool of Bethesda was by one of Jerusalems gates, known as the sheep gate, and was surrounded on five sides by colonnades (covered columns). J ), its hard to imagine he couldnt have found someone to help him reach the pool early. Pools and baths were not just important for hygiene: in ancient societies, water served medicinal purposes. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. They consecrated it and set its doors. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. One place where the New Testament makes this connection is with the word propitiation in Romans 3:25, which speaks of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. The motive of their actions is not love for God but the approval of their fellows. (Tasker), Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses youMoses, in whom you trust. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? Changes will take effect once you reload the page. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. From core beliefs to what the Bible says about angels, we want to provide easy to read and understand articles that answer your questions about Christian living.

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. What Do Christians Believe?How Old Is the Earth?Who Is My Neighbor in the Bible?What Does God Look Like?Are Guardian Angels Real?What Does it Mean to Be Zealous for God? Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. Him you shall hear. After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 5 - Reflecting the Glory of God. However, whether or not the pool brought supernatural healing (similar to Naaman being healed when he bathed in the Jordan) or was just a medicinal site, it still apparently had a reputation for healing people. After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. You can also change some of your preferences. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? K Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. c. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? Thus in this word we find at once the authority and limitation of Moses. (Morgan), ix. He has contributed over 1,000 articles to various publications, including interviews for Christian Communicator and book reviews for The Evangelical Church Library Association. However, there is a genuine difference between waiting for God and making excuses about why we arent moving forward. Publisher: OpenBible.info. a. OpenBible.info Your Bible translation likely includes that passage with a note, how "this story does not appear in many of the ancient manuscripts.". These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Geocoding He would cure him of his leprosy. So Naaman went in and told his lord, Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. The law of the bondservant speaks of Jesus (Exodus 21:5-6 and Psalm 40:6-8). T In 2020, he won First Prize for Best Feature Story in a regional contest by the Colorado Press Association Network. Moses accuses them, because Moses wrote about Jesus and they would not receive the testimony of Moses. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. In that context, the pool of Bethesda can be seen as an opportunity for healing that isnt taken. And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Blog, A i. We may request cookies to be set on your device. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. So what do you say? Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. (Numbers 21:8-9). These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But, oh, how many live on the breath of their fellow men; to be approved to be applauded that is their heaven; but to be despised, to be sneered at, to be called fool, to have some nickname applied to them; oh no, they would sooner go to hell than bear that., ii. U While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me (John 5:7). Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees was their pride, vanity, and self-love. There are also indications that there was something more to this pool than just providing good water. And he said to them, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? But they were silent. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. And they came to Jericho. It can be more tempting to accept our situation as it is, missing out on what Gods providing. In these lay a multitude of invalidsblind, lame, and paralyzed. In these lay a multitude of invalidsblind, lame, and paralyzed. There are times and places for both attitudes. Visit the Bible online to search for words if you dont know the specific passage yourre looking for. The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. Some manuscripts of John 5 have an extra line that says people waited for the moving of the waters. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. The words and writings of Moses fulfill this, prophetically speaking of the Messiah in many places. When Jesus asked the invalid man if he wanted to be healed, he replied, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.

Seeking credit as religious men from one another, they necessarily habituated themselves to current ideas, and blotted out Divine glory from their mind. (Dods), iv. In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. This implies that at times the pools water would be stirred, and people had some idea that whoever got in first received healing. In them nothing was completed. viii. The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. iv. Jesus did not call these religious leaders to a new or a different faith. iii. Q They had accused Jesus of acting independently of God; He now accuses them of displaying that independence. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. R All rights reserved. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. The pool of Bethesda is one of those interesting Bible stories where we dont get the full story. Its interesting that the invalid manwaited at the pool withoutgetting to it, which may mean he wasnt fully committed to getting healed. Article Images Copyright . Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.