The Pool Of Bethesda

John 5:2-6 

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?'"
 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
And that day was the Sabbath"

Imagine being sick for 38 years, so near to your cure and yet so far.  This man was not only sick, he had no friends or family to help him into the pool.
He sat on one of the porches by this pool near the Sheep gate called "Bethesda."  There were five porches in all.  

The name Bethesda tells a story all it's own like all names in the Bible.  Beth means "house;" Hesed means "grace," in Hebrew.  It was the "House of Grace" with five porches.  

Church, who are we, or should I say, Whose are we?  The sheep of His (Grace) flock. Five is the number of Grace!

(Pool of Bethesda unearthed in early 1900's)

So 38 years after becoming infirmed, along came Jesus one day to the Sheep Gate where this Pool of the Waters of the House of Grace were with it's Five porches.  He asked the man if he wanted to be made well.  The unnamed man with this unspecified infirmity doesn't answer Jesus' question but instead, talked about his situation.
Jesus didn't ask again or wait for an answer.  He simply gave him a command:  "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  IMMEDIATELY the man was made well!  

He was WASHED BY THE WATER OF THE WORD OF GRACE PERSONIFIED, Jesus Himself.  He now carried that which had carried him and walked out of the place fully restored to life and health!

Look at that!  No request by the man for healing.  No sermon about having faith for healing.  No qualification of any kind.  Yet obviously the man heard Jesus' words, believed and acted on them.  This, to the Pharisees' chagrin, happened on the Sabbath.

One word of Grace from the Master Himself, Jesus, and we can walk with ease, physically and spiritually made whole again!

(God provides meat for the Israelites in the wilderness)

This man's story is hidden in the Old Testament, like everything else in the New. He is a picture of Israel wandering in the wilderness for 38 years.

"38 years," you say?  "I thought they wandered for 40."

Well, yes, they were IN the wilderness for 40 years but their wandering or "lost-ness," to coin a phrase, was actually only 38 years.  

The first two years were not a judgment against them.  In their last year, almost all the unbelieving Israelites had died off.  Also in the last year, all three of these people:  Miriam, Aaron and Moses, died.  It was shortly after their deaths that they entered the promised land under the leadership of Joshua.

In the first year and again in the last year, year 1 and year 40, they had two different "Rock" encounters.  The first occurred when the children of Israel 

A complete article on that subject and learn what happened to Moses can be found at the link below:

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/07/speak-to-rock.html

These two encounters, the 38 years of wandering and the entering into the Promises Land are also a timeline.  These encounters represent Jesus' first and second comings.  The 38 years depicts the Jewish dispersion which came to an end in 1948 when Israel came back as a nation. 

True to this timeline, many of our Jewish brethren in these last days are indeed being healed of their long infirmity as they are washed by the water of the word of grace at the porches of the House of Grace by the Master Himself:  JESUS.

He is the true Pool of Bethesda!