Jesus Heals A Man Beside The Bethesda Pool On The Sabbath
There were many people in Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover, and Jesus, following the law, was also there. Near the sheep market, there was a pool where the lame would wait for the waters to be stirred; the first person to enter the water would be healed. There was an unfortunate man who had been lame for 38 years, waiting beside the pool, hoping for someone to help him into the water as it began to stir, but he had no friend to help him. Jesus saw him and asked, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Why would he ask that question? Perhaps this man was profiting from his lameness, and he wanted to hear him say he wanted to be healed. He responded by telling Jesus that he had no one to help him into the water.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. John 5:8
Because it was the sabbath during a holy week, the overzealous people told him it was against the law to carry his bed on the sabbath. They asked who healed him, but Jesus had quickly disappeared into the crowd, so the man didn't know. It wasn't until Jesus saw him at the temple that the man knew who healed him.
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. John 5:14
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:18
Where was their mercy?
Not only did Jesus come to save us, but he also came to dismantle the religious establishment and the zealots that run it. Unfortunately, it is alive and well, organized much like it was back in Jesus' time, disguised as the church. We have seminaries to make sure every preacher follows the established design, and those same professors and leaders use the Bible as a weapon to keep those preachers under their control. If they step out of line, they find reason to ostracize them. They make sure the Bible is understood the way they want the narrative to go, which allows the enemy's talons to gain a stronghold. If we, as Christ-followers, don't do something to change the way things are done, we will lose it all and have to resort to hiding to commune with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I wonder if that's how we should be doing it anyway.
Pictured is the Cathédrale de la Major, Marseille, France
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