The Miracles of Jesus - The Healing of the Paralytic at Bethesda

 

By: Rev. Dr. George Toma

 

For today I prepared for you a miracle that happened during Pentecost, one of the three major religious feasts in Judaism.

 

This miracle is written in (John 5: 1–15) After these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there was at Jerusalem a baptismal pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five entrances. And at these entrances a great many sick people were lying, the blind, the lame, and the crippled; and they were waiting for the water to be stirred up; For an angel of God went down at a certain time to the baptismal pool and stirred up the water; and whoever went in first after the stirring of the water was healed of any disease he had. A man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw this man lying down, and he knew that he had been waiting for a long time; so he said to him, Do you wish to be healed? The sick man answered, saying, Yes, my Lord; but I have no man, when the water is stirred up, to put me into the baptismal pool; but while I am coming, another one goes in before me. Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your quilt and walk. And the man was healed immediately, and he got up and took his quilt and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to him who was healed, It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your quilt. He answered, saying to them, He who healed me told me, Take up your quilt and walk. And they asked him, Who is this man who said to you, Take up your quilt and walk? But he who was healed did not know who he was; for Jesus was pressed by a large crowd which was at that place. After a while, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, Behold, you are healed; do not sin again, for something worse might happen to you than at first. And the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

 

Based on the history, Judaism celebrated the following three major religious feasts and all adult males were required to participate in them:
1. Passover
2. Pentecost
3. Tabernacles

 

All the Church Fathers confirmed that Jesus participated in the Feast of Pentecost, even though He was not obligated to attend as duty for God. His love to His people pushed Him to take part in this occasion and to be present in the Temple at Jerusalem. Jesus teaches us that it is important to worship together with people of God at the same occasion.

 

It mentioned in the story that Jesus went to the Temple alone and without His Disciples. There was a reason behind that. In fact He wanted to go to a particular part of the Temple. He wanted to go to the famous Pool of Bethesda. The Bethesda means the house of mercy.

 

What was going on in this area of the Pool was opposite of its name. In other words there was no mercy. People were interested only in themselves or in a sick member of their family. Each one was thinking to be the first to get into the troubled waters. They were self-centered, and at the same time there was a competition among people. Each wanted just to be the first one into the pool. However, when Jesus came, everything changed.

 

Let us have an idea about the Pool of Bethesda. Its location is near the major pillars or entrances. The pool was deep enough for a person to swim. This Pool had five entrances, at them a great number of sick people were lying. It was fed by an underground steam, and from time to time the steam bubbled-up and disturbed the waters of the Pool. The belief by that time was, that this disturbance was a sign for presence of an Angel of God, and whoever first in that moment plunged into the Pool, he/she would be healed completely from any serious sickness, as it is written in (John 5: 3,4) “…and they were waiting for the water to be stirred up; For an angel of God went down at a certain time to the baptismal pool and stirred up the water; and whoever went in first after the stirring of the water was healed of any disease he had.”

 

There was another reason behind the Presence of Our Lord at the Pool, which was to be among suffering people, who gathered there watching and hoping an Angel of God to come down and stir up the water. Jesus saw that at this place a great number of people in need for disturbing water such as; the lame, blind, paralyzed, handicapped came or were brought by a family member or friend hoping to be healed.

 

Jesus paid attention and singled out a man, who was handicapped for around 38 years. His problem was that he was paralyzed and unable to move. His condition enabled and prevented him to enjoy and celebrate the Feast. We see in this occasion that the life of this person changed forever. In this festival he was cured and healed from his paralyzing condition and was able to enjoy the feast.

 

We need to ask ourselves, who was behind the delight and happiness of this person? Who brought joy to this paralyzed man? Of course Jesus Christ was the reason for that.

 

We as humans are not able to explain a miracle, because it is supernatural, and that can’t be explained naturally. We are limited and we can’t go beyond our limitation. For this reason we should never eliminate the role of the Spiritual Power behind the stirred water even though the stirring was either from the bubbling-up from underground or from the touch of the Angel of God.

 

We should remember that we are God’s creation, and we can never enjoy His mercies until it comes to the moment, in which we meet Jesus Christ. So, within these wonderful and marvelous miracles we discover the wonders of the love of God for His creation (people). We learn also that God was and is at work among and in His people forever.

 

If we take a look in the story, we see that Jesus asked the paralyzed man a particular question to stimulate his faith, as it is written in (John 5: 6) “…Do you wish to be healed?” For sure his answer would be “Yes”. Who would not want to be healed after 38 years of suffering and paralyzing? Is it possible that Jesus as God manifested in the flesh appealed to the conscious of this man? Is it also possible that appealing to the depth of the heart was just to know the real reason behind not healing from the sickness? This question was meant the heart of this man and not the physical condition.

 

As in the story we see that this man used excuses for not healing. Read (John 5:7) “The sick man answered, saying, Yes, my Lord; but I have no man, when the water is stirred up, to put me into the baptismal pool; but while I am coming, another one goes in before me.” He said to Jesus that he was the victim of the situation at the pool. He blamed others and added that the circumstances at the pool were behind his condition for 38 years. Now a days this is the situation in our society. We always blame others instead of taking responsibility of our own action. Some blame their childhood while others blame present circumstances. We try always to offer ourselves to Jesus as victims.

 

By reviewing the story and the response of the paralyzed man to Jesus by getting always somebody into water before him, we notice that the man somehow enjoyed being in this condition. It was easier for the man to lay by the side of the pool and blame others. That’s why Jesus wanted first to heal his mind. Read (John 5: 7) “...but I have no man, when the water is stirred up, to put me into the baptismal pool; but while I am coming, another one goes in before me.” In fact there are many people among us, who enjoy having the role of victimhood, and they don’t want to be healed. There are many, who don’t want to take the initiative to solve their own problems.

 

The point is why some people want to be victims? Maybe the reason behind that is, if they have the feeling of victimhood, they have no fault to bear in their problems. However, if they are not victims, then they are obligated to accept their own responsibilities, to resolve the conflicts and to solve any problem they may encounter.

 

If we go back to the previous lessons and miracles, we notice that faith played a big role in healing. Then we can say that there are three faith requirements for any miracle to be accomplished:

1. Faith of the person, who wants to be healed
2. Faith of the witness or sponsor
3. Faith of the Church Universal

 

If we review again the story and the life of this man, we see that he was powerless and unable to achieve anything for 38 years. Others, who got into the pool before him, crushed him. For that he just withdrew into a shell of self-pity. If we look at the story from another perspective, the story itself witnessed that there were people, who were able to enter into the pool, be healed and went to their homes, well, while others including this man were still there. This man said that he had no one to help him. It means he was helpless and hopeless. But in reality Jesus was there. He was and is close to those who were and are suffering. Jesus loves to be friend of friendless and helper for helpless.

 

Jesus had the desire to help the paralyzed man, who waited so long at the pool to be healed. This man wanted help and Jesus helped him. The big step, in which we are to receive help from Our Lord, is to have a desire to heal and change.

Jesus is asking us today as He asked the man in our story if we want to be healed and changed. Read (John 5: 6) “...so he said to him, Do you wish to be healed?” Anyone, if he/she is paralyzed or not, wants to remain as he/she is, there will be no change.

 

According to our life experience we go through the same as the paralyzed man went through many times. In other words, many times we felt and feel others are being helped, and we are ignored or another got an opportunity in his/her life and we do not. Others get support from another and we do not. The man in the story had this feeling for 38 years. For this reason he said to Jesus that always somebody else got in the pool before him as it is written in (John 5: 7) “...Yes, my Lord; but I have no man, when the water is stirred up, to put me into the baptismal pool; but while I am coming, another one goes in before me.”

 

Jesus changed everything. With His arrival He brought hope and cure for this helpless paralyzed man. Even now Jesus brings hope and the cure for anyone who asks fro help. However, and according to the story Jesus wanted first to know if this man was ready to take the full responsibilities for his new life, that’s why the Lord asked him the following question, which is in (John 5: 6) “...Do you wish to be healed?”

 

Our Lord is a God of Mercy and Grace. He granted us grace whenever we are in need of His Grace and Mercy.

• In the following phrases we will find out how much we are blessed by Him:
  In (Matthew 5: 6) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be well satisfied.”
• In (Matthew 7:7) “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.”

From the story we can highlight two characteristics of the paralyzed man, which are as follow:

• He was not able to recognize his own role before God.
• He seemed to be depending on people. Jesus was guiding him. So his heart and mind had to be changed from a dependence on people and to turn to Our Lord. We read in (Psalms 40: 1) “ I waited patiently for the Lord; and he turned towards me and heard my supplication.”

In the story Jesus ordered the paralyzed man to take up his bed and walk, as it is in (John 5: 8) “Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your quilt and walk.” Actually the man was instructed by Jesus not to depend on people but on God. By working together they were able to make changes. God is not able by Himself to make changes without effort coming from a person. There suppose to be cooperation between God’s Will and our will, in order to see the miracle of God in action as it happened in our story when Jesus commanded the man to get up and walk and stop blaming others.

 

Maybe we are not able to imagine the power of words that Jesus used to heal this man, because according to our knowledge this man was paralyzed for 38 years, unable to take care of himself, and now suddenly he heard words of Jesus ordering him not only to get up but also to take his
bed and walk as in (John 5: 8) “Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your quilt and walk.”

For 38 years people carried the man’s bed. However, and according to Jesus’ command the man got up, carried the bed and walked through the streets of Jerusalem for the fist time on this big festival. Even though there was no evidence to rise up and go, but Jesus wanted him to believe in what he could not see. The Bible teaches us the power of faith as it is written in (Hebrews 11:1) “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, as it was the substance of things which have come to pass; and it is the evidence of things not seen.” Actually the Holy Spirit plays a big role in believing in Jesus Christ.

 

Summer Theology Course
At Mar Gewargis Church
July 19, 2006
Summary of the lecture prepared by Jenny Soro