During our daily meditations, we concentrate on the supernatural power of the Lord Jesus when He walked among us. Today, we will examine the healing of an invalid:
1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When 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." 8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked (John 5:1-8).
The apostle John writes about a pool near the Sheep Gate on the north side of Jerusalem called Bethesda. He describes a scene of utter misery, with a “great number” of people lying there. How many would be considered a great number? (v. 3) More than a hundred, perhaps? They were all as close to the water's edge as possible, cramped and huddled together, desperately waiting for any movement in the water. As you will notice from the passage above, verse 4 of the New International Version of the English Bible is omitted—I do not know why. In the King James Version, verse 4 says, “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” (John 5:4 KJV).
According to the description in the KJV, the healing of anyone gathered around the pool depended on how quickly they could enter the water after ripples appeared on the surface. Perhaps it was their desperate faith that God would heal through the water that led to their healing. God answers desperate and faith-filled prayers. From the Scripture passage, it appears that after the angel stirred the water, God healed the first person who entered the pool. Some, like the invalid, were at a severe disadvantage. Everything depended on how quickly a person could get into the water when the ripples occurred; the closer someone was to the edge of the pool, the better their chances of being healed.
Amidst the degradation of the place, we read about Jesus visiting this mass of desperate humanity. The invalid had been in this condition for thirty-eight years (v. 5) and had no one to help him into the pool. The Father recognized this man’s desperation and sent Jesus to assist him. Only when Christ came to him in grace would he finally experience the healing mercy of God.
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?" (v. 6).
This man was searching for an angel to stir the water when the Lord Jesus, God Incarnate, was present to personally minister to him, yet he still asked for help to enter the water! Later, when they inquired who had healed him, he responded that he didn’t know. Scripture states that Jesus had “slipped away into the crowd.” Christ had been there "incognito." As soon as He healed the man, Jesus left (v. 13). This withdrawal by the Lord reveals much about His character. Jesus performed miracles and healings solely to alleviate the suffering of those in pain and to glorify the Father. The Lord didn't even demand faith in His true identity as the Son of God, as He never disclosed who He was.
Jesus told the man to do something impossible: "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk" (v. 11). God instantly healed him as he began to obey Christ. The Lord did not lay hands on him or even help him get up. Nothing! Just imagine the scene. A word of command, and healing was the result! The Scripture says, “At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked” (v. 9). How kind the Lord is! Keith Thomas
The complete study is found in the All Studies box on the Home Page. Click on the Gospel of John and then the 10th study, The Healing at the Pool.
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