1: After
this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem 2: Now
there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool which is called in the Hebrew
tongue Bethesda having five porches 3:
In these lay a great multitude of sick blind crippled atrophied waiting for the
moving of the water 4: For an angel went down at a certain season into
the pool and troubled the water whoever then first after the troubling of the
water stepped in was made whole of whatever disease they had[1] [2] 5:
And a certain man was there which had an infirmity [weakness/sickness] thirty
and eight years 6: When Iesous saw him lie and knew that he
had been now a long time in that case he asked him Will you
be made whole 7: The sick man
answered him Sir I have no one when the water is troubled to put me into the
pool but while I am coming another steps down before me 8: Iesous
said to him Rise take up your bed
and walk 9: And immediately
the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked and on the same day was
the Sabbath 10: The Jews therefore said to him that was cured It is the Sabbath
day it is not lawful for you to carry your bed[3] 11:
He answered them He that made me whole the same said to me Take up your bed and
walk 12: Then asked they him What man is that who said to you Take up your
bed, and walk 13: And he that was healed knew not who it was for Iesous
had conveyed himself away a multitude being in that place 14: Afterward Iesous
found him in the temple and said to him Behold you
are made whole sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee[4] 15: The man departed and told the Jews that
it was Iesous who had made him whole[5] 16:
And therefore did the Jews persecute Iesous and sought to kill him
because he had done these things on the Sabbath day
[1] The Bible is full of what this writer
calls out-of-the-box moments or
events. These are anomalies, if you will, that don’t fit with established
theology and are treated (for the most part) by traditional theologians as only
interesting stories. In reality, these are treasure troves of information about
the greatness and compassion of our God and give glimpses into the limitless
ways he provides for the needs of his creation. Why was only one person at a
time—only the first person to step in when the waters moved—healed? Could that
be an example to God’s people to unhesitatingly act when we understand God is
moving on our behalf? The pool of Bethesda
was an out-of-the-box example that presents more questions than answers to
those who belong to Christ but still has much to teach about faith, obedience,
and not limiting God by theology or our own finite understanding Proverbs
3:5
[2] It can be inferred from reading this
account that it was an absolute dependable fact that the first person to step
into the water while it was being stirred by the angel was going to be healed. This had obviously never failed. It was a fact
of faith. There is something to be learned in this account about how God
teaches his people to follow his leading in faith. Note that those who sought
healing at the Pool of Bethesda were
required to wait until the water was stirred up (moved) before stepping in.
This calls to mind the Israelites who were not permitted to break camp until
the Pillar of the Cloud moved Exodus 40:36-37. There was never any
explanation given as to why they had to encamp for up to two years at times before
moving on. It was simply a matter of
trust and obedience. In other scripture accounts, the armies of Israel were
required to wait until they received certain signs from the LORD before going
out to battle 1 Chronicles 14:15. All of these accounts had to do
with God’s timing and the faith and obedience of his people. Healing comes from
the Lord, and, according to many Bible promises, belongs to God’s people.
Christians have a scriptural right to ask for and to expect healings from God. Jesus said, healing is “the children’s
bread.” Christians are children of God. But all healings from God come in his
time and on his terms John 9:1-7. No one dictates to the Almighty
how he should perform his Word. There are no formulas or rituals involved in
petitioning God to meet our needs according to his promises. Our part in the
process is only to ask, believe, and obey. The Pool of Bethesda serves as an example and reminder of this.
[3] The Jews who objected to the man
carrying his bed on the Sabbath likely knew full well of the great miracle that had
just taken place. They had religion, but they did not have faith. True religion
would have rejoiced at what God had just done, but the religion practiced by
the Jewish sects of the Pharisees and the Sadducees prevented them from
rejoicing when God performed miracles. In fact, their religion caused them to
hate God even as they went around affecting piousness. James wrote that true
religion loved people and provided for their physical needs, but the false
religious piety of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (both sects were a
combination of both religious and political power) would have left this man
sick and afflicted for the rest of his life, whereas faith said, “You are made
whole” and lovingly warned, “Go and sin no more.”
[4] It is politically incorrect these days
to make any connection between sin and sickness, but Jesus did so, and he is our
ultimate authority on any subject. Is all sickness or physical
affliction/infirmity a result of a sinful lifestyle? No, Job is proof of that.
His afflictions were a direct result of a Satanic attack. The man born blind in
John chapter nine is also proof that all sickness is not caused by sinful
choices. When the disciples asked who had sinned, this man or his parents that
he was born blind, Jesus’ answer was, “Neither.” However, this was not the case
with the man at the Pool of Bethesda.
Jesus specifically associated his affliction with sin the man had personally
committed, and admonished him not to return to his old ways lest something even
worse that what he had endured for the past 38
years came on him. Yes, God forgives
sins. Yes, God heals the sick. But this man was required to suffer the
consequences of his sins for 38 long years.
Out-of-the-Box moment: It is notable that Jesus had mercy on
the man in spite of the reason for his sickness. He sought him out and met his
need for healing even before addressing the sin that caused the affliction in
the first place. Then, because of love, he sought him out again and warned of
the dire consequences if he returned to his old ways.
[5] The religious leaders of the Jews in
those days held fearful power over the lives of those in the Jewish community.
The woman set up to be caught in adultery and dragged before Jesus to be stoned
is proof enough of that. This man who was healed likely reported back to the
Jews out of fear more than anything else.
Special Features of the HHBC
1. The main body of
scripture text in this commentary is based on the Received Text (Textus
Receptus) of the NT and the Ben Chayyim Masoretic text of the OT as found in
the Original *Strong’s Concordance, 1894, by James Strong, and compared
diligently with the work of respected scholars.
2. **Archaic language
is updated in most cases, but The AV is followed unchanged where the language
and sense of the translation is clear to the modern reader.
3. Where a Hebrew or
Greek word has no good English equivalent, the original word is left
untranslated, in italics, and, in
some cases but not all, with the *Strong’s Greek [G] or Hebrew [H] reference
number notated beside it (see list of untranslated words below).
4. Where the Old
Covenant is quoted in the New Testament, the Hebrew words may be used and left
untranslated
5. In New Testament
quotes of Old Testament that include the word “Lord” in referring to Jehovah
[YHWH], the word LORD will be capitalized
6. Proper names and
the names of God are often left untranslated
7. The names and
titles of God are in bold print
8. The words of Jesus
are in bold print
9. Scripture
cross-references are noted in line with the text
10. There is little
punctuation used in the main body of the scripture-commentary text
11. Brackets [ ]
indicate alternate rendering or short commentary
12. Longer commentary
is located in footnotes
*20th
Century editions of this work, such as, The New Updated Strong’s, and, The
Strongest Strong’s, are not referenced in the HHBC as they do not correspond to
the Textus Receptus or the Ben Chayyim Masoretic Text this commentary is based
upon.
** Historically
loved, poetic and extraordinarily beautiful, passages of the King James
Version, such as portions of the Psalms and Beatitudes, etc., will be left
largely unchanged except for where updating archaic language would not
interrupt the poetic flow.
Untranslated Words in this Chapter
or passage of the HHBC
Audawm The phonetic
spelling and pronunciation of the Hebrew (H120) adam. In the HHBC, when H120 is used in reference to groups of both
females and males, or of the human race in general, the phonetic spelling of “audawm”
will be used. In both Old and New Testament commentary in place of androcentric
translation such as mankind or human race, the phonetic spelling
of audawm will be used.
The word “Adam” will be used only
when the text is specifically referencing the first male.
Iesous Pronounced
Ee-A-Soos G2424 translated Jesus: Yeshua
is the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Joshua.” Iesous is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and its
English spelling is “Jesus.” Thus, the names “Joshua” and “Jesus” are
essentially the same; both are English pronunciations of the Hebrew and Greek
names for our Lord. For examples of how the two names are interchangeable, see
Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 in the KJV. In both cases, the word Iesous refers to the Old Testament
character Joshua
No comments:
Post a Comment