The Infirmed Man at Bethesda

John 5:1 1After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. When Feast March Feast of Purim April Feast of Passover June Feast of Pentecost October Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) Day of Atonement Feast of Tabernacles December Feast of Lights (Hanukkah) Note: Chapter 6:3 in John has the Passover Feast near What Feast do you think this was that Jesus came for in Jerusalem? Feast of Purim. What was the Feast of Purim about? The deliverance from Haman (they read the book of Esther)

Sheep Gate Temple John 5:2 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. What was the sheep gate near? The Temple. Why did it have porticoes? To provide shelter from the elements for those waiting at the pool.

John 5:3-4 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] Do you think this was really the situation, people were being healed? Yes. Do you think there were a lot of people there at the pool? Yes. Why? There were 5 porticoes around the pool, most likely there was little room for people to walk around. Why do you think Jesus went there? Since it was by one of the north gates He would most likely use to go into Jerusalem to teach at the Temple, He was probably passing by and was moved with compassion .

John 5:5-6 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years John 5:5-6 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” Do we know what the illness is? No, but it was something that totally disabled him. How long had the man been ill? 38 years. Why do you think Jesus asked the question He did?

John 5:7-18 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Does the man answer Jesus’s question? Kind of, in an indirect way How does it seem that the man thinks He will be healed? By the pool. Does the man have a clue who he is talking to? None. How long do you think the man has spent at the pool? We really don’t know but I suspect he may have been coming there for years.

John 5:8 8 Jesus. said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk John 5:8 8 Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. What did Jesus do to heal the man? He just told him to get up and walk. What did the man have to show or demonstrate so that he could be healed? Nothing. What did Jesus have the man do? Get up, pick up his pallet (and carry it), and walk away. What were people looking for on this day to happen at the pool? A person to be healed due to an angel stirring the pool and that person entering the pool. Was healing considered by the Jewish leadership as a work? Yes. So why did they not close the pool on the Sabbath? They would not dare constrain God from healing people on the Sabbath.

John 5:10-18 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” What was the concern of the Jewish leadership? That the man was breaking the law with regards to work on the Sabbath. What was the work the man was doing? Carrying his pallet. Which old testament law was this related to? Leviticus 23:1-3 1The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: 3 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings. Why did the man respond the way he did? Fear of the Jewish leadership. What should have been the Jewish leadership’s response of they were Godly minded? Praise to God for healing the man.

Septuagint Talmud (63 sections) Old Testament The Law Historical Records Psalms, etc. Prophets Apocrypha Historical Records God’s Justice Vindicating the Jews Philosophical Treatise Hope of God’s Promises Apocalyptic Mishnah Oral Law From Old Testament Political Laws Civil Laws Gemara (Perfection) Oral Law From Old Testament Political Laws Civil Laws Midrash (Interpretation) Halakah Enlarge on Explicit Portions of the Law Halakic Deduction of Traditional Law Haggadah Develop Meaning or Implication of the Law The Law Based On Revelation From God The Law Based On Traditions of Men

John 5:13 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. How could the man of not known who Jesus was? It was the beginning of Jesus’s ministry and he most likely has spent every day at the pool in an effort to be healed. Not much of a chance he would have crossed paths with Jesus in the current situation. Do you think there were stories some told who were around the pool of a man who healed the sick? Possibly.

John 5:14 14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” What was it that the man did that Jesus would seek him out and tell him not to sin again? Not sure, but didn’t the man throw Jesus under the bus when pressed by the Jewish leadership. He more or less said “It wasn’t my fault I was carrying my pallet it was the fault of this other guy who told me to.” What bad thing might happen to the man that Jesus was referring to? Not sure, but when Jesus healed him, did He just heal the man physically?

John 5:15 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. So what did the man do? He went to the Jewish leadership and threw Jesus under the bus.

John 5:16-18 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. What was the Jewish leadership’s response? To persecute Jesus for helping people on the Sabbath. What is a clear example of how Jesus’s Father was working on the Sabbath? Any healings that had occurred on the Sabbath at the pool. What further infuriated the Jewish leadership? That Jesus referred to God as His Father, and in doing so He declared He was God.

What was Jesus’s mission? To become the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. In what way was He a prophet? In that He would enlighten the world on how to come to God. In what way was He a priest? In that He would offer the most perfect of sacrifices, Himself. In what way was He a king? In that He would become the king of an everlasting kingdom not made with hands. How do His miracles fit in with His mission?