Here we have the story of 2 healings. Jesus returns to Galilee, even though He is not honored there as in other places (v4:44). Even still, the gospel is clear to point out that Jesus has the power to miraculously heal in Galilee (v4:54).
Verse 48 is puzzling to me: "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe". But is this an indictment of the people of Galilee or just a truth spoken by Jesus? Certainly Jesus' miracles authenticated him as being from God. Even today, without Jesus physically present to work miracles, we can see the work of the Holy Spirit changing people's lives.
Back in Jerusalem, Jesus passes the pool called Bethesda where "a great number of disabled people used to lie - the blind, the lame, the paralyzed". Why do the disabled people not lie there anymore at the time when the gospel is written? Certainly, it could be because the pool is no longer there. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. But I rather like to think that the reason that there were no longer disabled people there was because Jesus healed them all!
The account of the healing at the pool is nearly tragic. The man that Jesus heals did not know who healed him at first. He would have had physical healing without receiving what he needed even more - forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus returns to him and talks to him about his need for forgiveness.
Final thought: how evil is it that Jesus was forced to slip away after healing the invalid? For 38 years the man suffered. Then he is healed by Jesus and the religious leaders focus on the fact that he told the man to pick up his mat. The application to me is to never cover over and smear the glory of God with legalism. Lord, let my focus be on Your glorious acts and not on petty human rules and restrictions that are not your law.
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We have just seen Jesus present the gospel to the Jews (Nicodemus), then to a Samaritan woman, and now he reaches out to the nations (a Gentile official) to demonstrate the expansion of the gospel to all nations (Acts 1:8). "Signs and wonders" are performed, especially for Gentiles, so they may believe (Ex 7:3,5; Dan 4:1-3;Acts 15:12). "Jesus gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and Passover, for he himself is the meaning of all these signs." (CCC 1151)
ReplyDeleteNearby the northwest Sheep Gate, through which sheep were brought to the Temple for sacrifice, was the pool of Bethesda (near the Temple entrance) that was fed by two springs. This pool in New Testament times was used to bathe the sheep in preparation for sacrifice and by men for bathing and purification purposes (symbolizes baptism). You can still see the ruins and step down into the water today (Ray). One of the best parts of the Gospel of John is that John usually has a deeper meaning in most of his writings. The name "Jesus" is Greek for the Hebrew name "Joshua" and means "Savior." Joshua led the people out of the wilderness after 38 years of wandering and into the Promised Land. The early Jewish converts understood this episode in John's Gospel as a picture of salvation of the Jewish people through baptism, freedom from the condemnation of the Law (CCC 430-431). The man in the story had been an invalid for 38 years. "Certain scholars think this passage is an allegory. The man stands for the people of Israel. The 5 porches stand for the 5 books of the law. In the porches the people lay ill. The law could show a man his sin, but could never mend it; the law uncovers a man's weakness, but could never cure it. The law, like the porches, sheltered the sick soul but could not heal it. The 38 years stands for the 38 years the Jews wandered in the desert before they entered the promised land; or for the number of the centuries men had been waiting for the Messiah. The stirring of the waters stands for baptism." (Ray) The number 38 is used only twice in scripture, here and Deuteronomy 2:14.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a cool interpretation! This is interesting because it would explain why some of the details are mentioned (e.g., the number of colonnades/porches, the number of years the man was invalid).
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