After the encounter with the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus continued on His journey northward through Samaria into Galilee.  Toward the end of John 4, we see that Jesus healed the son of a royal officer by long distance from Cana to Capernaum beside the Sea of Galilee. 

God was allowing Jesus to show His power over time and nature and distance.  He would defy all human understanding in every arena possible before He would give His life, be raised again and ascend to Heaven, returning to His place beside His Father.  He departed every city leaving wonder and amazement in His wake! 

Jesus departed Galilee and returned to Jerusalem.  He also had another divine appointment there. A lame man was waiting beside another “well” of water!  Yet another person was depending on physical water would meet the One Who created water, walked on water, and was indeed proven to be The Living Water of salvation. 

John 5 opens with Jesus back in Jerusalem to attend “a feast of the Jews.”  As far as we know, this feast was not named.  Most believe the feast was Passover.  There was a pool in Jerusalem “near the Sheep Gate” called Bethesda.  The word “beth” means house.  The word “esda” is taken from the word “chesed” which means lovingkindness or deep, abiding mercy; thus, the house of mercy or the house of kindness.  Mercy Himself walked right to exact spot where this lame man was lying…helpless.  

Jesus knew his location and came.

Jesus knew his condition and cared.

Jesus knew his solution and cured! 

All around this pool, people would come every day to be near to the “healing” waters of the pool.  Sick people, the blind, the lame and the withered in soul and spirit would linger there.  It was said that an angel would stir up the waters and the first person to be able to climb into the moving waters would be healed.  Earlier manuscripts of later discovered scripture passages have not included the last part of verse three nor all of verse four.  However, read on to see the explanation the lame man gives to Jesus.  He believes the water can heal him.  Thirty-eight years of waiting proves why he came day by endless day.  

Verses 6-8 simply slay my soul. Jesus said basically, “Do you want to be healed?”  Once again, just like with the woman at the well, the human and the divine levels of understanding collide in conversation.  The lame man responds that he has NO MAN to help him get into the waters.  It wasn’t the waters that would bring His healing!  He was listening to and looking at the only “MAN” Who could!!! 

Jesus told him to do three things:  ARISE (get yourself up and on your feet), PICK UP (lift up and carry away) your bed (or mat or pallet) and WALK (convey yourself from one place to another by using your feet).  WHAAAAAAT?!? 

Scripture says “immediately” the man was healed.  His toes, his feet, his ankles, his knees, his legs, his hip joints, his nerves and muscles and ligaments and tendons—everything from his waist down had been bound motionless in atrophy by lying down for thirty-eight years.  Immediately he was healed.  Immediately.  Don’t miss that!  The motionless became mobile with one sentence from Jesus.  Quietly, Jesus slipped into the crowd and left.  

It doesn’t say the healed man danced and jumped for joy.  Somehow, I believe he must have taken a spin around the pool as he carried his mat.  It doesn’t say he shouted out his sudden happiness and amazement.  The Jewish leaders certainly had been drawn there by some event.  I think they saw him dancing with his mat.  Maybe so.  Maybe not.  

They were just offended because this healed man was carrying a “load” on the Sabbath Day.  That was forbidden.  Their laws had been broken. It didn’t matter to them that the man was healed.  He was a Sabbath breaker.  They wanted to know WHO else did WORK on the Sabbath by HEALING someone!  The healed man didn’t even know who Jesus was…not His name, not His healing power.  

The first place he went was into the temple.  He had been forbidden to worship there for 38 years because of his deformity.  Jesus found him there and encouraged him to guard himself from sin. Jesus continued His journey toward Calvary…