Anchor My Faith

The Paralytic by the Pool

Scripture: John 5:1-6

As we start a new section, we notice that the text begins with the words, “After this.” ^{Jn 5:1} “After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” We must stop and ask the question, “What came previous to this?” Looking back to the end of John 4 at verse 46, we find Jesus in Cana in Galilee. In our current verse we find Jesus in Jerusalem in Judea. Looking back over our lessons, we find that we covered John 4:46-54 in lessons H161 and H162, but this is lesson H272. That means we covered 111 lessons (one of those being the review) between John 4:54 and John 5:1. Those lessons were written from material found in the other three gospels that fit in this time gap in John.

^{Jn 5:2} Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. ⁵ One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ 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?”’

The Sheep Gate was a gate through which sheep were taken into Jerusalem for sacrifice. We find reference to this gate in Nehemiah 3:1 (ESV): “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.” Since animals being brought through this gate were primarily for sacrifice, it seems reasonable that the gate was near the temple, and near the pool called Bethesda. It is believed that this pool is the single large two pool complex located adjacent to the modern Church of St. Anne. The remains found there show enough structure to identify with the pool described here. Around these two pools lay a multitude of invalids: blind, lame, and paralyzed.

Looking at our text in the ESV, you will notice that verse 4 is missing. In some Bible versions (KJV is one) you will find: “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.” This verse is found in some of the later manuscripts, but not in the earliest, as a result ESV does not accept verse 4 as part of Scripture and does not included it. Some think the verse was added to give meaning to verse 7. Something seem to trouble the water and it was believed that the first one into the troubled water would be healed. It was assumed that an angel troubled the water.

Jesus sees this man lying there and knew that he had been there for thirty-eight years; a long time. He goes up to the man and asks him if he wanted to be healed. The fact that Jesus knew, indicates his divine knowledge of the man’s situation, like he knew Nathanael in John 1:48 and the Samaritan woman in John 4:18.

So, how did the man respond? We will find out in the next lesson.

Conclusion

This man being an invalid for thirty-eight years, reminds us of people we know today who are invalid for various reasons. Jesus goes to this man and asks him if he needs help. Who are the ones that need our help today? “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4 ESV).