– Jesus heals the man in Jerusalem

John 5:1-47 – Jesus heals the man in Jerusalem

                This portion to be to researched and fully understood requires a large segment of time which the next 7 days will require.  Like John 3:16, this portion is rich with Bible truth and should not be glossed over the mined to remove the nuggets of golden truths contained within it.

                Jesus was walking one day in Jerusalem.  He was back in the city after a tour of Judea.  While at the sheep gate near a pool called Bethesda, Jesus saw a man who was an invalid for 38 years.  Jesus wanted to know if he wanted to be made well.  The man said, “yes,” but no one would put him in the water when it was stirred by an angel.  The tradition was that if an angel came and stirred the water that the first one to get into the pool would be healed.  Jesus told the man to take up his mat and walk.  He did and was healed,  While he was walking home the Pharisees saw him and told him that the law forbade him to do that.  He told them a man had told him he could.  Jesus was not there but he found the man later and told him to stop sinning or something worse would happen to him.  The man went back and told the Jews about Jesus.  Then the Jews began to persecute Jesus about this. 

                There is incredible irony in this account.  Jesus healed a man who had been lame for 38 years and all the religious people were concerned about whether their laws and traditions were being observed.  Never allow personal bias, traditions and bias cloud up the big picture.  Keep your eyes on Jesus and this will help.