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All of us have been through a lot over these past eighteen months. Experiences like we have been through tend to cause us to consider what it is we can really count on when we find ourselves in a tough spot. What can we depend on to get us out? Is it our possessions (do we have enough money to pay our way out)? Is it our position (do we have enough pull or ability to get ourselves out, or at least ride it out)? Is it our relationships (do we know the right people who have the answers and can help us get out of this jam)? Those aren’t really new questions. Humankind has been thinking that way almost from the very beginning.
One example is a man who had faithfully gone to a pool each day for thirty-eight years. He was trusting in the miraculous powers of a pool of water to heal him. But he came to learn that there was One in whom he could trust even if the water was gone. He could have confidence even if the possessions, the position, or the relationships suddenly disappeared. There was One who would never fade away or forsake him.
In the 8th century B.C., as the Assyrians were threatening to conquer Jerusalem, King Hezekiah commissioned that a dam be built across the Beth Zeta valley, turning it into a reservoir for rain water. A channel cut in the rock was used to bring water from the reservoir into the city of Jerusalem. Later in the 2ndcentury B.C., a second reservoir (or pool) was added, and the channel was enclosed. In the 1st century B.C., natural caves to the east of the reservoirs were turned into small baths and cisterns.
Under Roman rule, the city walls were extended to include the pools, and five porticos were added to surround this labyrinth of pools and baths. The Romans brought their pagan beliefs with them and likely incorporated them around parts of the Pool of Bethesda. Historians write this site was believed to be an “asclepieion” (a healing place) where a temple to the god Asclepius was located. Considered the god of healing, Asclepius carried a serpent entwined on a staff (the symbol of medicine today). This god was also worshipped as “soter” or savior. It is likely the Roman soldiers who were quartered in the Fortress Antonio in Jerusalem carried on their pagan rituals alongside the infirm Hebrews at these healing pools.
At some point the legend grew that from time to time, an angel would visit the pool and stir the waters – giving the waters healing powers. The first person to then enter the pool once the waters had been stirred would be healed. As you can imagine, the blind, the lame and the paralyzed from all over either came or were brought by family or friends so that they might experience the mercy of this miraculous healing. The place came to be called “Bethesda”, meaning “house of mercy” or “house of grace”.
One day Jesus, entering Jerusalem through the Sheep Gate, came to this place filled with a crowd of the sick and infirm. And one man in that crowd would be changed for eternity – not because of a stirring of the waters, rather because of a stirring of his heart through a personal encounter with Jesus.(1)
As a result of a 19th century archaeological dig, the pools and cisterns which had long been hidden from view were unearthed and identified. Today, though the broken down remnants of the pools and the porches are again visible, the cisterns have all dried up. This “house of mercy (or grace)” no longer draws the crowds of the blind, lame or paralyzed to wait beside its waters. The hope of the healing power of the bubbling water has faded – the water is gone. The reservoir that once was the source of the pool has dried up. The crowds – still seeking a cure – are now gathered at some other modern day source of hope – whose healing powers are truly no greater than the waters that once filled this pool. How willing we are to seek and trust in sources that at their best can only provide temporary relief – and in most instances provide none!
But the same question to those who are broken and hurting remains as relevant today as it was when Jesus first asked it – “would you like to get well?”
The man had not come to the pool that day expecting to encounter Jesus. He was hopeless. He had been sick for thirty-eight years. Even though he was at this place of hope – this house of mercy -- he was fretful that even that hope was beyond his grasp because he had no one to put him “into the pool when the water bubbles up”. He had never heard of Jesus. He didn’t even know His name. His response to Jesus wasn’t one of faith or understanding. In his hopelessness, the man didn’t even know what to ask --- BUT – Jesus KNEW what to answer! His compassion never fails! Jesus responded to his hopelessness. And when Jesus spoke to him, and the man obeyed, he was immediately healed.
He learned an important truth that day – his source of hope was never in a temporal place – it was never in the water. It was never in a person coming to his aid. It was never in a possession that he could ever have. His hope could only be found – only be realized – in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Before his encounter, this man didn’t know to look to Jesus. How many of us who do know Jesus are seeking a cure by going to a place that will provide a change of scenery or momentary relief? When i originally wrote the chapter from which I have adapted this post, my wife and i were in Jerusalem for a time of spiritual renewal. The day prior, we had visited the site of the pools. I found myself asking, “Am i seeking to be refreshed by this unique place, or through a personal encounter with Jesus as i spend time with Him? Our surroundings will constantly change. Even the very places themselves will change over time. People will fail us – even unintentionally. Possessions will never satisfy – most often, they will never be enough. The water will eventually dry up. But the Person of grace and mercy will remain – fresh and new and relevant each and every day.
But, gratefully the story doesn’t stop with the man’s miraculous physical healing. Though we read that Jesus immediately withdrew from the crowd, He soon thereafter sought out the man. Because Jesus’s compassion and purpose went well beyond the man’s crippled body – His concern was for “something even worse” – the consequence of NOT believing and NOT following Jesus.
Let’s not lose sight, that Jesus’s mission was to seek and save those who are lost. As a matter of fact, Jesus was surrounded by “crowds of sick people” that day at Bethesda, and yet we are told He only healed oneman that day. He had knowledge of all, compassion for all, and power over all – and yet He healed only one. He could have stayed there healing the masses, but He didn’t. Because He never lost sight that His mission was – and is – to be about the Father’s business – seeking and saving those who are lost. His mission was not focused on physical healing, but rather spiritual healing. That’s an important reminder for us. Is our primary prayer focus on physical healing (keeping folks “out of” heaven) – or is our prayer focus on the salvation of the lost (discipling them “into” heaven)? Look at your prayer list before you answer that question.
So, here’s the question to consider from Jesus – “would you like to get well?” Are you stuck in a place waiting for a miracle – or are you looking to the “Miracle Worker” to do far more than you could ever imagine? Whatever it is that is going on in your life, you can trust Him. “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk” – with the One who is inviting you to follow Him. He is the One who extends true mercy and grace. He is the One and only true Source of hope! Roll up your sleeping mat and start walking… with Him.
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This post is adapted from Walking With The Master, chapter 13, entitled “What Happens When The Water Is Gone”. This fourth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print and for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
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(1) John 5:1-9
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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