Tuesday: The Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 1st of October 2024
The next sign John records took place at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9). It was believed that an angel caused movement in the water and that the first sick person to enter the water would be healed. As a result, the porches of the pool were crowded with those hoping to be cured at the next occurrence. Jesus went to Jerusalem, and as He passed by the pool, He saw the waiting throng.
Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com
What a sight it must have been, too! All these people, some surely quite ill, waiting and waiting by the water for a cure that surely will not come. What an opportunity for Jesus!
Read John 5:1-9. Because anyone by the pool obviously wanted to get well, why did Jesus ask the paralytic if he wanted to be healed (John 5:6)?
When one has been sick a long time, the sickness becomes the norm. And strange as it may seem, it can sometimes be a bit disturbing to leave the disability behind. The man implies in his answer that he wants healing. The problem is that he is looking for it in the wrong place—while the One who made man’s legs is standing right in front of him. Little did the man know who was talking to him; although after the healing, he might have started to understand that Jesus was, indeed, Someone very special.
“Jesus does not ask this sufferer to exercise faith in Him. He simply says, ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’ But the man’s faith takes hold upon that word. Every nerve and muscle thrills with new life, and healthful action comes to his crippled limbs. Without question he sets his will to obey the command of Christ, and all his muscles respond to his will. Springing to his feet, he finds himself an active man. . . . Jesus had given him no assurance of divine help. The man might have stopped to doubt, and lost his one chance of healing. But he believed Christ’s word, and in acting upon it he received strength.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, Pages 202, 203.
|
Jesus later encountered the man in the temple and said, “ ‘You have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you’ ” (John 5:14, NKJV). What is the relationship between sickness and sin? Why must we understand that not all sickness is a direct result of specific sins in our life? |
(19)
It is vital to consider the broader context when interpreting specific passages. In many situations, Jesus healed people regardless of their past sins, highlighting God’s grace, mercy, and the redemptive aspect of suffering rather than a strict cause-and-effect relationship between sin and sickness.
Understanding that not all sickness is directly tied to sin encourages a compassionate response to those who are suffering. It helps guard against the stigma often associated with illness and encourages community support rather than judgment.
You are right, Simeon. Past sins are not a prerequisite of healing. Neither is faith, as we think of it. "Jesus does not ask this sufferer to exercise faith in Him." But it sure helps. What if the man by the pool did not obey?
When the Lord, our Christ Jesus said to the Iseralites many years before His time on earth. I will remove these illnesses from you. Don't you think He ment I will teach you healthful living?
Deuteronomy 7:15.
I felt impressed to add this quote with source and page number.
...Because I live, He says, "ye shall live also." John 14:19. This is the life we are to present to the sick, telling them that if they have faith in Christ as the restorer, if they co-operate with Him, obeying the laws of health, and striving to perfect holiness in His fear, He will impart to them His life. When we present Christ to them in this way, we are imparting a power, a strength, that is of value; for it comes from above. This is the true science of healing for body and soul. The Ministry of Healing, p. 243
I believe this puts Miracles in perspective.
Exactly. God made us with the power of choice. Jesus teaches us how to live in order to stay healthy. We're to choose to follow his advice.
We could be physically or spiritually sick due to the consequences of sin. A repeated sin becomes a habit and eventually becomes a character we find difficult to shed. Same sin can develop into a physical ailment when a repetition of it becomes an abuse of our bodies. Sickness might not be from one's sins but by the actions of others (Exodus 20:5-6). We should therefore be conscious of our actions and the effects they have on us and others. We will definitely account for all actions and sit at a courtroom such as in Matthew 25:31-41
All diseases come from the fact that sin entered the planet. But in Jesus' times, diseases directly resulted from sins committed by people or their parents. It was a heavy laden. Back then and now, Jesus is not only able to cure any disease but also to forgive sins! He is the answer to all of our problems!
Jesus is always the initiator in our lives
I may be wrong, but I believe in the fact that not all sicknesses are sin caused. Sicknesses can also be inherited. Look at a child who is born with type 1 diabetes, or cancer, same thing, she/he didn't sin. I'm not even blaming the parents, especially the mother. She could have taken such good care by doing the right things while pregnant, but yet the child ends up this way. Thus my point of sin caused sicknesses.
I think SIN as in the sinful condition of the world causes all sins. If Lucifer and later our first parents had not fallen, there would be no disease or genetic issues. So in that sense, sickness is caused by sin, but don't confuse that with sins. Though some disease can be caused by these sins, many are not. And we cannot control the choices of our forbears.
The element of faith reminds me of the Israelites in the wilderness.
Here it was only FAITH. Faith in just looking at the bronze snake made the Israelites well. Jesus doesn't force us to obey and act on His words. The choice is absolutely ours. The people well knew that there was no power in the serpent of brass to cause such a change in those who looked upon it. The healing virtue was from God alone. But those who did so by/in faith were made whole.
It was because that generation Complained against God and Moses, God allowed them to experience life in the desert without His protection. It was through experiencing the bite of the serpent resulting in death that brought the people to repentance. A remedy was given that made no sense without faith in the one who supplied the remedy.
As time went on and the successive generations didn't have that experiential knowledge, the bronze serpent became the sting death for some and they bowed down before it, worshiping it, it became an idol and Hezekiah destroyed it 2 Kings 18.
The sin of God's people is failure to pass the experiential knowledge of Jesus to successive generations. The cross of Jesus appears nonsensical to those without faith, without saving faith we are left exposed to the deadly bite of the serpent. God's remedy, look upon the Son of God lifted up on a pole and live. Father has given to us the most sacred responsibility, share all the experiential knowledge He has shared with us, with the successive generations, look to Jesus and live.
John 14:12-14 –
”Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Not losing hope, not giving up desiring the improvement of circumstances, is a sign of ‘keeping the faith’. 'Struggling' is the effort to trust, have faith, in believing that the Love our heavenly Father has for us is ultimately sufficient for that day. I like the familiar saying: ‘Hope springs eternal’; it's about that our ‘faith is kept alive by eternal hope’ in the promise - Rev.22:3-5.
It is said that man can have eternal Life - John 3:16; John 5:24. Though every day can bring challenges to maintaining faith in God's love for us, we still believe that He wants the best for us. Jesus assured us that ‘whatever we ask in His name’ will be granted to us so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. It starts with faith and hope expressed in this life, but ultimately, it is achieved when man receives eternal life to manifest His Glory.
The Father and the Son are present in our life in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times. When all is said and done, 'Faith' is not about our 'comfort', it is about accepting the Will of God and His purpose for our life. Our faith and trust in Him needs to include ‘allowing Him the liberty of choosing the outcome’; it is about truly leaving it up to Him to work His Will in our life.
Our struggle is about believing that Faith can move mountains. Though, if God does not will the mountain to move and it remains where it is, this outcome ought not to diminish our faith that He can.
Shalom my friends, i have waited to post this until the time was right, second guessing myself not desiring to be a burden to the faithful members of this forum. I have been blessed to study these things and learn from those who are connected to the land and the people of Israel. There's a lot that John doesn't say that was known in his day that gives context to this healing. The name of this place Bet-Cheseda in the Hebrew language means house of kindness. The location was in the temple complex of the god Esclipion (Escleepion), this was the god of healing, the actual temple was usually a cave that had steps leading down to it, It was located just below the pool. The symbol of the god was a snake on a pole. If a person had means and needed healing they could bring their gift to the priest, the priest would consult the god and bring back a remedy to the one requesting healing.
The stirring of the waters by a messenger and the resulting healing of the first to enter is an example of a healing not of God. Satan has the authority to inflict disease and heal, I have personal experience with both.
Why was Jesus directed to go to this place to a certain man to make him whole? John records Jesus telling us that He never acted on His own, He never spoke His own words and, neither does the Holy Spirit. Father was directing Him to go to this place and make this man whole. If you've ever been directed to go to a certain place and given certain words to speak to a certain person, this is understandable. I have been used in this way, when I do as directed, there is blessing but, there are times that I've gotten in the way, added words and diminished the message, for this I have received correction.
Here's another piece of the backstory, Exodus 34, God reveals His Glory to Moses, in verse 6 He proclaims "abounding in kindness" (Hebrew Chesed). So we now we know that Jesus is Kindness personified, Kindness is directed to go to the house of kindness to minister kindness to one has been dealt cruelty and suffered for 38 years, who is desperate for healing and waiting for the moment when he might be first into the water. Jesus is directed not just to heal him but to make him whole.
There's a story in 2 Kings 5 about a girl, a man, and a prophet. The man Naaman had been afflicted with leprosy, the girl a captive Israelite had compassion on the man and showed him kindness by telling her mistress about a prophet in Israel who could heal him of his leprosy. In 2 Kings 5:14 Naaman came up out of the water the seventh time and his flesh was restored to that of a youth. This battle-hardened warrior who probably had flesh scarred and tough as leather, now had supple unscarred flesh of a youth.
It was God's desire to use Jesus, (His Kindness) to make this man whole, which is more than just healed. In Joel 2 we see that repentance leads to restoration, Joel 2:5 I will restore the years the locust has eaten. This man lost 38 years to affliction. Myself I was 38 when I was finally ready to leave my old life and master behind, I had lost 38 years of relationship with my father, the last ten of those years I was a church member but still clinging to my old way of life and mannerisms. In 2000 I came face to face with who I was, it was the last year I made pilgrimage to the major annual events associated with my former life and, I began to value my relationship with my Father more and more. Spending much more time with Him, learning from Him, praising and praying to Him. And in general Glorifying His Name. He delivered me of demon possession and made me a whole new man. He set my life on a course I would not have chosen for myself.
The man explained his circumstance, Jesus replied with a question. Do you want to be made whole? This is the same question the Author of Kindness asks me and you today. Do you want to be made whole? Take up your cross and follow Me is His response to the penitent sinner.
The author John again shows us one of the Divine attributes of Jesus, Kindness. I can't read these stories, especially this one, and not relate to the way my Father has acted in my life, remembering all that He has delivered me from, restoring my life and making me whole.
Shalom
Dear Joshua - yes, indeed! You are the living testimony that Jesus not only heals but makes us whole! Thank you for sharing with us your journey of being made whole; may we always chose to reflect God's Glory through kindness!
It seemes to me, often it is overlooked that the gospel of John is a gospel of miracle-signs pointing to events of salvation performed by Christ. (John 20:30-31) In healing the paralytic who lived in his sad situation for 38 years (John 5:5), Jesus is acting a miracle-sign with the intention to make known his power operating in the the resurrection of the dead. The same power operating in the healing of this paralytic would be in operation in the resurrection of the dead at present time and in future time, as Christ is explaining later (John 5:24-25.28.29) .
After his discussion with the jews accusing him of breaking the sabbath, Jesus comes to the point in talking about the resurrection of the dead that his miracle-sign was pointing to. (John 5:21) Jesus explains further: "He who hears my word and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to live." John 5:24)
This is a present resurrection from the dead: having passed from eternal death to eternal life -- eternal life is beginning right now -- having passed from darkness to light, from disbelief to believing in Christ, from being far away from Christ to coming near to Christ, from the kingdom of the world to the kingdom of God.
The condition of dead in sin, is a known metaphor, which reveals the need of the resurrecting power of God in Christ to get into operation right now as present salvation. (Luke 15:24; Ephesians 2:1-4)
Christ is differentiating the present resurrection and the future resurrestion: "I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." (John 5:25) Then Christ is coming to the climax of the resurrection of the dead taking place at his second coming: "The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth...." (John 5:28-29) That is furure salvation.
Present salvation in the resurrection from some kind of sin is preparation for the coming of Christ when the spiritual resurrection is climaxing in the physical resurrection.
Winfried Stolpmann
Thank you, Winfried, for proclaiming this living truth. This is the resurrection that precludes the second death, eternal destruction (Jn 5:24)
James 5:15 states, "and the prayer of FAITH shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up". The verse continues, "and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him".
FAITH is the victory!