The Pool of Bethesda
What Was Really Going on at the Pool of Bethesda = Jhn 5
We recently listened to a sermon, in which the preacher went to great lengths to say that v4 was not in the original text.
"For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." Joh 5:4
He said it was a scribe's addition, because under pagan influence, the Jews believed a pagan myth, that really there was a secret spring that periodically shot water into the pool, and so it moved, and in fact became brown and swirled, and since the scribe wanted the myth replaced with something that honored God, he put the story in about an angel. That was his attempt to explain away a simple, straightforward statement in the bible. His explanation was convoluted and kind of funny, but it definitely was sad! He was a preacher of the gospel, I assume a true Christian; why would he say things like that?
The bible says an angel come down and stirred the waters, so that people would know healing could occur; simple.
There are several things we will look at to show that is really what happened.
First, what are some of the things angels did, for that will tell us their normal sphere of work?
Second, what did the movement of the waters mean? What is the connection to the healings that were occurring, and the moving water?
Third, why was this man not healed before?
But before we address those 3 items, there are TWO (2) ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM that we must recognize:
1) The water did move! The question is, What made the water move? A secret spring? But Jesus did not say to the man, "What are you crazy! Its not an angel that makes the water move, its that secret spring." A demon/spirit according to the pagan myth? But would a demon do a miracle that brought glory to God or healing to men? And again, Jesus did not say, "No it is not an angel, you are all wrong, it is a demon operating within the Temple grounds, who does this, it is not a myth pagan myth, it is true!"
2) People were in fact being healed! No one would sit around the pool, waiting for the waters to move, if no one was being healed! Would a spring effect healing; would water be able to make a lame man walk?
So let's look at our three (3) questions:
First, could an angel have done it? Are there angels? What do they do?
This Blog is not about angels per se, so let me just say, the bible has so many accounts and statements about angels that I can not even begin to list them. The bible clearly states that angels exist. We will look at a few examples to show that angels have done similar things to other people, so they could have done this; it was not outside their power or sphere of work.
The Angel of Death who killed the first born of Egypt, Exo 12. He walked around and killed.
The angel who grabbed Lot and pulled him back into the house, Gen 19.
The angel who killed 70,000 people when David numbered the people, and whom David saw, ready to slay the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 2Sa 24.
The angel who woke up Peter sleeping in a jail, by poking him in the ribs, Act 12:7.
The angel who touched Herod, and thereby caused worms to come up in his body and he died, Act 12:23
The angel who rolled the stone away from Jesus tomb, Mat 28:2.
The angels who ministered to Jesus after his victory over Satan in the wilderness, Mat 4:11, probably both verbally and physically, and then again the angels in the garden when he was in agony, and sweating as it were great drops of blood, probably wiping his brow, Luk 22:43.
If angels have done those things, and NOBODY questions the truth of those accounts, what is the big deal, or cause for wonder, if an angel comes down from heaven and causes a pool of water to move around??
Of course God could just utter a divine command for something to happen, like "let there be light," but in the above examples we see he used means, and somethings the means he uses is an angel physically doing something.
Second, what did the movement of the waters mean? What is the connection to the healings that were occurring?
People were being healed, not just at random times, but whenever the water moved, on a sufficiently regular basis, that people went there every day, and sat around waiting for it to happen, so they could be healed. They expected the waters to move! How often, we don't know, but if it was once a year, people would not hang around; once a month too would be pushing it; once a day?, we don't know, but regularly enough that people came and waited for it to happen.
The moving of the water meant that healing was available to the first one who went into the water. People knew the routine: the water moves, people rush to get in so they can be healed, but then they see it is only the first person in that gets healed. The second, third, and forth person to get into the water, are standing in the water, but do not get healed; this happens a few times and people learn the routine.
Now just to clarify, I am not saying the waters became possessed of, or were infused with healing power, so that they could effect healing in and of themselves, so that if a cup of water was taken and poured onto someone, they would be healed (even though, in a similar way, that is how healings were effected in Act 19:12 with the fabric Paul had touched). Since this was limited to the first person to go into the waters, I would say the movement was simply to show people that healing was available from God at that point of time, based on faith, not in a pagan spring myth, or demon, but on the mercy of God, as with the woman healed of her bleeding, who touched Jesus, and was healed: Mat 9, Mrk 5, and Luk 8.
The angel made the water move, simply to show God would heal; he was an agent announcing healing was available; God healed, not the water.
Third, why was this man not healed before?
The fact that God limited his healing only to the first person to enter the water is an interesting fact. Does he have the right to do that? Well of course he does, he is God.
And why did this poor man have to wait 38 years! Had he been coming basically every day for that entire 38 year period? We don't know. And it was not an issue of faith, this man had faith, he kept going to the pool hoping he could somehow be the first one in and be healed. Like the person who wants to be saved, and prays and prays, goes to church, reads the bible, but for a long time nothing happens, God does not save them. Why? There is no answer, it is above our pay-grade! Why did God not enable him, at some point in time, to be the first into the water? We don't know, but there is a lesson here.
Some people run all over listening to this preacher, and that preacher; going to this Conference, and that Conference; reading this book, and that book; but nothing. Nothing happened to this man until he met Jesus, and then something did happen, he was healed; he was healed when he met Jesus.
The main purpose of this Blog is to show that the simple statement of an angel moving the water to show healing was available is exactly what happened: IT WAS AN ANGEL.
But a present day application is to those who run all over the place, doing this, doing that, but never stop and go directly to Jesus. My extended family is so diligent to do all the rituals their church tells them to do, be it ever so hard, but they have not been saved. Their church cannot save them, church rituals will not save them, there is no preacher, no TV evangelist who holds the keys to eternal life, whose preaching must be heard to be saved.
There are not magic waters, Holy Water, Holy Oil, Holy Palm Fronds; there are no sequence of prayers: The Prayer of Jabez, The Rosary, The Stations of the Cross; there is no "silver bullet" to get saved!
The moving water does not heal/save, it is God. The moving waters showed healing was available; the bible tells us salvation is available: "Come unto me," and "I came to see and save those who are lost," and "There is one name given under heaven by which we can be saved."
Stop looking to churches and men; look to Jesus, to him alone. See in the healing of this man, so long bound by his inability to do anything for himself, the saving power of Jesus. He said he came to seek and save the lost (Luk 19:10), miracles like this, show he has the power to do just that: to save from sin those who come to him by faith. That is a clear lesson learned from this event.
Go to him in prayer, an ask him to come to you and save you.
22 April 2025