The Miracle of the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:5-15)
This account begins with Jesus going up to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival. Near the Sheep Gate was a pool called Bethesda, which had five porticos. In these porticos lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people, waiting for the water to stir. It was believed that from time to time, an angel would descend and stir the water, and the first person to step in afterward would be healed.
A Man with 38 Years of Sickness
Among the crowd was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him lying there, and knowing the long time he had been in that condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?“
The sick man replied, “Sir, 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.”
Jesus’s Command and Instant Healing
Jesus didn’t tell him to get in the water or perform any ritual. He simply said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.“
And instantly, the man was healed. He got up, picked up his mat, and began to walk.
The Sabbath Controversy
The day this happened was the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest. Because of this, the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat and said to him, “It is the Sabbath; it is against the law for you to carry your mat.”
The man replied that the one who had healed him had told him to pick up his mat and walk. When they asked who it was, the man didn’t know because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd.
Later, Jesus found the man in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.“
The man then went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him. As a result, they began to persecute Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
Key Points of this Miracle:
Jesus’s Compassion: Jesus takes the initiative to approach a man who had been suffering for almost four decades, showing his deep compassion.
Healing by the Word: Unlike the popular belief about the pool, Jesus heals the man with his simple command, demonstrating that his power doesn’t depend on rituals or superstitions.
Authority Over the Law: By performing the miracle on the Sabbath and telling the man to carry his mat, Jesus challenged rigid interpretations of the Sabbath law, showing that mercy and life are more important than human rules.
Warning About Sin: Jesus’s exhortation to the man to “stop sinning” suggests a connection between sickness and sin, and it underlines the importance of spiritual and moral healing.
This story in the Gospel of John emphasizes the authority and deity of Jesus, who not only heals the body but also has the power to transform people’s lives.
