The Pool of Bethesda

         
          The past blogs have been about Christ's first year of ministry. However, John obviously left out a lot of Christ's life. For example, we just ended in John 4 with Christ ministering in Galilee a few months after the Passover in Jerusalem. Now, we're in John 5 and Christ is back in Jerusalem for the next passover. So, before we go onto John 5, let's reference the other gospels to know what was going on in between. So far, we know that Christ performed his first miracle at the Cana Wedding in A.D. 29, he has cleaned out the temple in A.D. 30, he has met with Nicodemus and the woman at the well and has performed his second miracle by healing the nobleman's son.

          So, here is what else was going on after all of the above. (Side note, remember, the phrase "after this" represents a gap of time) Christ went from Cana to Nazareth where he was rejected in His own town. He then moved onto Capernaum where he officially called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His disciples. He healed Peter's mother-in-law, he led the four disciples on a preaching tour of Galilee, he healed a leper, a man who was sick from palsy (the guy lowered through the roof), he called Matthew to be His disciples, and "after this," Jesus comes to Jerusalem, beginning his second year of ministry.

So, now read John 5:1-18. At this feast, Christ makes the effort to reveal his deity to his followers. This is the third miracle that Christ performs. This is near the sheep gate of Jerusalem. There were twelve gates that led into the city of Jerusalem and the sheep gate was one of them. This was the one that the sheep were led through to the city to be slaughtered for sacrifices. There was/is a pool close to this gate called Bethesda. This word means "house of mercy." This pool had a sort of awning type structure built over to protect the lame and the sick who came to the pool to be cured of their problems. This pool was cut from a solid rock, is about 55 feet long and 12 feet wide with a flight of steps that go down into the water. It was common tradition that when the water in the pool stirred, it was an angel stirring the water and the first person to get into the water would be healed. This is why the sick and lame would gather around the pool and wait there.

           Christ is at the pool and while there, he speaks with a lame man, who tells Christ his problem. Notice that Christ doesn't rebuke him for his spiritual ignorance here. Instead, he shows his own power, his compassion, and ultimately, his deity. Because this miracle takes place on the Sabbath, this miracle shows Christ's power over time here, proving to the Jewish leaders that he is all-powerful and not held to the time constraints of man.

            We can also learn about salvation here. If you look at the man and have him represent the condition of the world, it creates a beautiful picture of salvation. First of all, the man was physically weak and couldn't even save himself if he wanted to, just like we can't save ourselves either. Secondly, he was lame and couldn't go anywhere for salvation, and we can't go anywhere but to Christ for our salvation. The man couldn't even use his hands to pull himself down to the pool and we can't use our works to save ourselves. The man was waiting at the pool, hoping for a miracle, and many in the world are still waiting for a Messiah. Following along the same lines, the man did not recognize Christ for who he was and many in the world have not recognized Christ even today. Lastly, the man needed help. He didn't really need the water; he needed Christ, just like we don't need anything else in the world but Christ.

After all of this, Christ was persecuted for helping a man and changing his life! This is a good reminder that sometimes we will also face persecution for sharing Christ and changing people's lives. Isn't it reassuring to know that our Savior has walked the road before us?