Healing at the "House of Mercy"

Good morning!

The story in John 5 is rather strange, and I again marvel that this one was chosen for inclusion in John's gospel account.

Apparently, just inside the walls of the city of Jerusalem there was a man-made pool, around which the sick would lie, hoping to be healed.  One of the things I learned in researching this is that in that day there was a pagan cult called Aesciepius, who was worshipped by the ancient Greeks as a god of healing and was therefore called by some a savior (because of his healing works).  There were, in the Roman tradition, pools of this type located throughout the Roman Empire.

We find this Jewish man (because he was at the temple later in this story) lying by the pool.  He had been lame for 38 years.  Jesus asks him if he wants to be well, which seems like a strange question. Perhaps Jesus is puzzled at the man's methodology - - - going to a pagan source for healing.  I liken the situation to a Christian going to a witch doctor.

The name Bethesda can have a dual meaning in both the Hebrew and the Aramaic.  It can mean simultaneously "house of mercy" and "house of disgrace".  The Jews of Jesus' day had a prevalent belief that, if a person were sick or disabled, some sin of theirs or of their parents/grandparents, etc. had caused this.  And, such was a cause of shame for the family, hence the duality of the name "Bethesda".

Jesus heals the man immediately, juxtaposing His awesome godliness and power against the impotence of the false god's ritual.  He does not make a big show of it, however, not wanting to get things stirred up.  He does not even tell the man who He is, much less forbid the man to tell others who healed him.

All of this happened on the Sabbath (called the Shabbat - - "on the 7th day, He rested" Exodus 31:17), the Jewish day of rest during the week.  No "work" was to be done on that day, but the meaning of "work" had become so perverted that it had come to mean just about anything other than the bodily functions required to live.  It was ridiculous.

Jesus is accused by the Jewish leaders of "working" and forcing the healed man to "work" on the Shabbat.  In verses 16-47, Jesus brushes aside the Jews' nonsensical accusations and instead basically tells them that He is God.  It takes a lot of words and explanation because the Jews are so entrenched in their belief that Jesus cannot possibly be the promised Messiah.  Jesus explains by making these clear points:
1.  vs. 17 - - He called Yahweh His Father.  The Jews clearly understood that by making this claim, He was claiming equality with God.  Even the Jews called themselves, "children of Abraham", not daring to claim God as their Father.  Jesus had (with the Jewish leaders) "crossed the line" in a huge way.
2.  vs. 19 - - The Father and the Son do the same things/works.  Again, the claim of equality/unity.
3.  vs. 20 - - The Father loves the Son and shares all things with Him.
4.  vs. 21 - - Because the Father raises those physically dead to life, so does the Son.
5.  vs. 22-23 - - The Son has been assigned the role of judge, by the Father, and is therefore due the same honor as is due the Father.
6.  vs. 24-27 - - The Son has been granted the power to save eternally, to raise the spiritually dead as well as the physical dead.  And, here Jesus uses the cryptic name for Himself, "Son of Man" - - God-in-Flesh.
7.  vs. 30 - - Jesus points out that in His humanity, He is able to do all of this because He continually seeks the will of God the Father.  He does not yield to the temptations associated with being veiled in human flesh.

Jesus goes on in verses 31-47 to tell the Jewish leaders that they are lost, because instead of believing Jesus' message of saving grace, they continue to trust in their heritage, their traditions, their interpretations of the Scriptures, rather than recognizing Jesus as the fulfillment of those same Scriptures.  He points out how ironic it is that the very Moses they so revere is the one whose words condemn them, because Moses prophesied of Messiah (in Deuteronomy 18:15, for one).  Here, in John 5:46-47, Jesus is affirming the authenticity of the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament), as He is accepting that the Messianic prophecies contained in those books are not only valid, but fulfilled by Himself.

The central point of Jesus' identification speech to Jewish religious leaders in this passage is that they would not believe in Him, because they did not truly believe in Moses either.  This highlights the connectedness of the Old and New Testaments.  The same assertion can be made toward those today who revere the Old Testament, yet reject the New.

Lord, thank you for letting us take a peek into the life of Your Son, while He was on earth.  I love how He would just cut through the superficial in order to get to the heart of the matter.  In a similar way, your Word cuts through our nonsense and lays our heart bare before You.  Examine us, O Lord! Expose our pretenses and lead us to repentance.  Please do not let us have a hardened heart before You.  In Jesus' name, amen.