Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Robert P. Lightner
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Pursued by Killers
Portrait 6
John 5:1–18
While looking at this portrait of the Lord Jesus, we see Him beside the pool of Bethesda. He is talking to a crippled man who had never walked. Jesus tells him to get up and walk. Can you imagine Jesus saying that to a man who could not walk?
In the background of this picture stands a group of Jews who voiced great opposition to what Jesus did for the cripple. Why? Because at Jesus’ command the man picked up his make-shift “bed” and walked. I wonder why that upset the Jews. Why were they not happy that the man, who they knew could not walk previously, could now walk without any help? Did they have no concern for the less fortunate? Apparently not. As we look closer, we will find out why they acted as they did. More than that, we will also discover why these same Jews set out to kill Jesus. These were some He came to save, but they received Him not.
The Miracle That Caused the Pursuit, vv. 1–9
Jesus and His disciples came back to Jerusalem from Galilee for another one of Israel’s special feasts, most likely the Passover. As soon as they arrived, they were met with increased rejection and outright hostility from the Jews. While there in that environment, Jesus performed His third miracle recorded by John.
This portrait seems to have been painted right after Jesus had ministered to the woman from Samaria and the nobleman from Cana. There was fierce opposition and rejection of Jesus by members of His own nation. They were determined not to receive Him. Instead, they leveled the most serious charges against Him and even tried to use the Law of Moses as their authority.
The pool of Bethesda was near the sheep gate of the temple. There were five porticoes or cloisters close by the gate apparently to provide shelter for the sick who often gathered there. The St. Anne’s church is located close by this gate today. It was here that those with physical infirmities came in search of deliverance.
The pool referred to was longer than it was wide and was used to clean animals that were brought to the temple for sacrifice. The water was not deep and not very clean either. Interestingly, archaeologists have found the remains of such a pool. Bethesda means “house of mercy.”
It seems a view developed that there was some healing power in the water which was caused by an angel who visited the pool and stirred up the water (v. 4). The paralyzed man Jesus spoke to there must have believed this, as did others. But he was not able to get up and go into the water. He must have been brought there by someone else, maybe on a regular basis. Some Greek manuscripts do not contain the last part of verse 3, “waiting for the moving of the waters,” and all of verse 4 which speaks of an angel coming regularly to stir the water. There those who stepped into it first were healed of their malady.
We are not told how old the man was Jesus talked with. Nor do we know his name. We are told though he was “in his sickness thirty-eight years” (v. 5). When Jesus saw him, the man was lying down which probably indicates he was paralyzed. Also, from what Jesus said to the crippled man later, after Jesus had healed him, implies rather strongly that his problem was caused by sin in his life. Jesus did say to him, “Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may befall you” (v. 14).
The man there under one of the cloisters had his affliction for thirty-eight years (v. 5). Imagine not to be able to walk for that long. That’s bad enough, but add to that the horrible letdown, the disappointment he faced time after time as he came there to be healed and had to be carried home no better than when He came.
This then was the occasion and setting for this portrait of Jesus pursued by killers. What next? It is the miracle. Jesus healed this dear man on the spot. And He did so simply by the spoken word. And He did it, according to the text, without screaming at him or striking him as so many self-professed “healers” do today.
Jesus knew the plight of this man and exactly how long he had his paralysis. He did not need anyone to tell Him. As the Son of God, He knew all things past, present, and future about all people everywhere. His was and is a supernatural knowledge. The question Jesus asked the man does sound a little strange and at first seems unnecessary. However, ever thirty-eight years it would not be surprising that one may have at times given up. Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” Without knowing or probably caring who was speaking to him, the man in need answered with a sad complaint. “No one has ever tried to help me when I try to get into the water”, he said. “In fact, they always rush ahead of me” (v. 7), he added.
Immediately, Jesus responded by telling him to get up, pick up his pallet, and walk (v. 8). What a bold request that was for one who had not walked for thirty-eight years. But the disabled man did exactly what Jesus told him to do. He did it immediately without any prodding or repeating of the instruction. Though not a problem with Jesus or with the healed man, what both had done was a big problem for the Jewish leaders who either witnessed the miracle or were told about it. The incident took place on the Sabbath. That was their problem
In the minds of the Jews, both Jesus and the healed man had violated the fourth commandment, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The Jewish leaders who were already trying to find some fault with Jesus, trying to trap Him, had added much to the law of Moses. What they added, in time, became just as authoritative as the law itself for them and the people in general. Both Jesus and the healed man probably did violate the tradition of the Jews, but neither of them had violated the true meaning of the law God gave Moses.
The Murmuring Jews’ Response to the Miracle, vv. 10–18
It seems that the Jews, a specific group of leaders, did not let the man who had just been miraculously and marvelously healed walk very far before they approached him. They did so not to rejoice with him at what Jesus had done. Oh no, they only wanted to accuse him of carrying his pallet on the Sabbath (v. 10). He was not at all concerned about what day of the week it was now that he could walk. No longer would he ever have to come hoping for someone to help him get into the water as he had done for years and years. He was healed! He could walk. He could even carry his pallet!
Without hesitation, the healed man told his accusers that whoever it was who healed him told him to pick up his pallet and walk. In other words, he was not about to quibble with the Jews over what day it was. What he really did in his response was tell the Jews to go away, find the One who healed him and air their scrupples with Him (v. 11).
It seems these accusing Jews pretended they did not know who it was who told the cripple to get up, pick up his pallet, and walk. Truthfully, the one-time cripple told them he did not know who it was. We can almost see him turning away then from the Jews and joyfully maybe even jogging away from them. Maybe as he was leaving, he turned his head back and said, “I really don’t know who told me that.” There was a large crowd there and Jesus had slipped away on purpose.
Very likely, after seeing the paralyzed man get up and walking and carrying what he had been lying on, Jesus went to the temple and even there looked for him. He found the man and approached him. We must remember this one-time cripple did not know who had spoken to him and enabled him to walk. Jesus said to His friend, “Behold you have become well” (v. 14). But He did not stop with that. He went on to tell the man to go and sin no more. And Jesus added, “So that nothing worse may befall you.” These words from Jesus seem to imply that the man’s physical handicap may have been the result of some sinful behavior.
The walking miracle went away and told the Jews, probably the same ones who had come to him before, that Jesus had performed the miracle. Ah, the Jews now had the excuse they were looking for to persecute Jesus. Little did these people care whether or not the handicapped man walked. It is in fact obvious they did not care about him at all. As far as they were concerned, Jesus had violated the law according to their tradition. He had not only worked on the sabbath but told His convert to work also on the sabbath.
Jesus’ answer to the Jews who were persecuting Him was, “My Father is working until now and I myself am working” (v. 17). This statement angered them even more and resulted in more heated persecution of Jesus. Jesus called God, in His reply, His Father. They took that to mean He