Healing at the Pool of Bethesda
Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda who had sat by the pool for thirty eight years. He just laid there by the pool and did nothing to help himself. Many people do that today. They get ill and they just do nothing. What they should do is pray for healing. Trust in Jesus and His healing power. We can never forget the power of prayer and the healing power of Jesus.
John 5:2-16
Jesus went up to Jerusalem to observe a feast of the Jews. He was at a pool by the Sheep Gate where there was a sheep market. The Hebrew name for the pool was Bethesda and there were five porches around the pool.
There was a great multitude of helpless people, some were blind, lame or cripple, or withered which is wasted or weakened that were waiting for the moving of the water.
An angel of the LORD went down at a certain time into the pool, and moved the water. Whoever was first after the water was moved would step in and was made whole of whatever the disease they had.
If the person was blind they could see again. The lame person would be able to healed, the paralyzed could walk, and the people who were wasted or weakened would become strong when the moving of the water occurred.
There was a certain man at the pool of Bethesda who had not been able to move for thirty eight years. This man’s infirmity left him weak, unhealthy probably both physically and spiritually.
Jesus came by and saw the man. Jesus knew that the man had been weak, unhealthy and had been lying by the pool side. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made whole.
The man answered him that he did want to be made whole. The problem was he didn’t have anyone to help him into the pool. When the water was stirred, someone would get down into the pool before he had a chance to get down there.
Jesus told the man to Rise, take up his bed, and walk. Immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and was made whole. This happened on the Sabbath. Jesus disappeared into the crowd of people before the man had a chance to thank him.
Some Jewish rulers that were in the crowd saw what had happened. They were upset because the man who was curried was carrying his bed on the Sabbath. You see, it is against the law to do any kind of work on the Sabbath.
The curried man told the Jewish rulers that the man who had cured him told him to rise, take up his bed, and walk. This made the Jewish rulers upset and they ask him who it was that healed him and told him to carry his bed on the Sabbath.
The man did not know who had healed him because Jesus had gone into the crowd and there He disappeared.
Later Jesus saw the man in the temple and told him now he was whole and he should not sin any more. If he does then a worse thing will come to him.
The healed man went to the Jewish leaders and told them that it was Jesus who had made him whole. The Jewish leaders persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him because Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath.
What Can Be Learned From This Lesson?
Jesus healed the man at the pool and he was able to walk again. There is a lot that can be learned from the man who had the infirmity for thirty eight years. He just laid there by the pool and did nothing to help himself. Many people do that today. They get ill and they just do nothing. What they should do is pray for healing. Trust in Jesus and His healing power.
Read what James has to say about what we should do if we are afflicted with an illness or someone we love is sick.
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:13-16).
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Healing at the Pool of Bethesda:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2069,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, January) “Healing at the Pool of Bethesda:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2069,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “Healing at the Pool of Bethesda:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2069, (accessed).
