John 5:1-9

1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath.

Healing a Desperate Hope

Another festival for the Jews in Jerusalem is taking place on the Temple Mount and Jesus attends. Close by is a pool that collects water from a very scarce spring and takes time to fill up. This pool was dedicated during the Hellenistic period to Asclepius, who is known in Greek mythology as the god of healing by water.

After the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple in 164 BC, it became known as the pool of Beit-Hesda (House of Mercy), but its reputation and use as a healing pool remain prevalent.

Around the pool are plenty of sick people waiting for the pool to be filled and the water to be stirred. The first person that succeeds to enter the pool is supposed to be healed.

The pool is located in the far eastern part of Jerusalem, a stone's throw from the Temple area.

Jesus comes to the pool intending to see a paralyzed person who has been waiting around the pool for thirty-eight years.

"Do you want to be healed, asked Jesus?" (v. 6). The response of the paralyzed man confirms that he is willing to, but he has nobody to help him be the first to enter the water.

The man suffers paralysis and, even more, despair. He suffers from a hopelessness that prevents him from being cured.

Upon Jesus words, "Stand up, carry your mat and walk" (v. 8), the man stands, takes his mat and walks. He is healed and recovered! This enables him to regain his dignity as a healthy person in his society and to be accepted to enter the Temple without hindrance.

John is telling us that:

Nothing is impossible for God. Through Jesus’ divine nature, He has authority to transform the impossible into the possible.
Jesus always takes the first step to give us life and mercy
Jesus is the helper and the healer of those who have nobody to help them.
Jesus arrives when we think that nobody is there to help and there is no way to overcome despair.
Jesus remains our helper and our hope, especially when we are undergoing sufferings.

When we trust Jesus and believe in His words, we defy the impossible, and regain our courage and our determination to get better.

In dark times, let us return to Jesus as our light and our healer.