1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
In verses 1-18 Jesus returned to Jerusalem. There He healed a lame man on the Sabbath. He received criticism for healing on the Sabbath.
Chapters 5 through 7 depict rising hostility against Jesus. This continues the apostle John’s emphasis on unbelief. The healing of the lame man led to a conflict with religious leaders. Each step along the way, more people resisted Jesus and His message.
5:1
After this
The words “after this” indicate a move to a new scene and situation.
there was a feast of the Jews,
The “feast” here was probably a pilgrim festival, either the Feast of Weeks or Feast of Tabernacles. This is the only unnamed festival in John.
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
The synoptic gospels record one trip to Jerusalem, but John set forth a number.
5:2
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool,
The Sheep Gate was located near the northeastern end of the temple complex. Nehemiah built an outer wall that included the Sheep Gate (Ne 3:1,32). This was the gate where sacrificial animals were brought to the temple.
John was the only biblical writer to mention this “pool.”
which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda [house of mercy],
The word “Hebrew” here can refer to both Hebrew and Aramaic languages.
having five porches.
Archeologists found this pool with five porticoes north of the Sheep Gate. A portico (porch) is a covered pathway undergirded by columns. The rediscovery of this site confirms the authentic nature of the gospel of John.
5:3
In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed,
Many disabled people surrounded the pool hoping to be healed.
waiting for the moving of the water.
The pool was fed by an intermittent spring.
5:4
For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water;
This description of an angel stirring up the water at the pool of Bethesda was hearsay.
then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
The idea of the healing of people by stirring of the water was superstition. There is no evidence to support this idea in the Bible.
Manuscripts before 400 AD do not contain these words in verse 4.
5:5
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
“Infirmity” is any kind of incapacitating condition. This man was unable to go to the pool on his own accord. He may have been paralyzed. The length of this man’s paralysis showed the hopelessness of his situation.
PRINCIPLE:
The Bible never supports superstition.
APPLICATION:
Superstition is misplaced credulity in the supernatural (Ac 17:22). This always leads to irrational fear and other problems.
Where in the passage does the Apostle John indicates that this angel stirring up the water at the pool was a superstition? Some believe that this text is not in the better Greek manuscripts.
JROCK, In writing this section I did not want to get to the problem of manuscripts here (i.e., the majority text vs. the critical texts) because it would be too technical for this audience but the text issue does bear on the issue.
The superstition aspect comes from the fact that it runs counter to biblical thought as a whole. That is, there is nothing in the passage itself that ratifies the idea of an angel stirring the water nor anywhere else in Scripture. Also, Jesus never asked him to get into the water but simply to stand up, take up his bed and walk and not get into the water.