John 5 (WEB)
Dr. Halvor Ronning provides an explanation of the history, archaeology, and biblical teaching relating to the Pool of Bethesda.
We're here in the old city of Jerusalem, just inside the St. Stephen's Gate.
And we're standing just outside a crusader church that's still standing from when it was built in the 12th century.
There's scarcely a handful of crusader churches that are still left that weren't destroyed by the Muslims when they drove the crusaders out.
But this one commemorates the tradition of Anne.
It's called Saint Anne's Church, Anne being the wife of Joachim.
Joachim and Anne, traditionally the parents of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Now there's another Crusader church at Sepphoris, just outside Nazareth, closer to where Mary grew up as a little village girl in Nazareth.
And that made the Catholics who control this compound very curious as to how in the world did a spot in Jerusalem get some kind of religious significance that is a bit questionable.
So they started excavating.
And the ones who excavated are the white fathers with their white robes, who have this compound where they bring tired and burnt out Catholic priests and young Catholic priests to study for six months and a year,
getting even more of a background of the land and the scriptures than what we're getting in 10 days.
And they, in curiosity, began excavating and found what lies here behind me.
Now this chart can help us, because what's in blue is Middle Ages, is Crusader.
And we're standing just outside the corner of this yet standing Crusader church.
We'll see there was another Crusader chapel here, which is not still standing in its entirety.
You can only see that semi-circular apse of a part of that chapel that's still standing.
As they went down they found a huge, it's in red on the diagram, a huge Byzantine church with apse at the eastern end, which is just down below behind me.
Well then they really got curious: if the Byzantines wanted to commemorate this, and even in a much bigger way than the Crusaders did, why did they do it?
And so then they excavated still further, and in a moment we're going to go over and… it's quite amazing, because there's a deep drop-off where they realized there was a large reservoir pool.
In fact, there were two of them.
There was one under this plot of land over here near us.
Where the Crusader chapel is, there was a dam, and then where those trees are was another large reservoir, because there's a little side alley, a little side ravine coming through here, and they would collect the rain, the winter runoff,
into these pools.
And so now we are able to understand that these are the pools of Bethesda.
Because the New Testament says there is inside the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethesda with five porticos.
And the idea was that there were colonnaded shaded walkways all around the two pools and across the dam in the middle.
But when that was all destroyed by the Romans and the Byzantines came, they built a church, and there wasn't enough room just to use the dam, so they built a whole series of arches.
And in a moment we're going to step over and we'll see some of these support arches that allowed them to build the church right out over the reservoir pool.
And so because in the early chapters of John it says there is inside the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethesda, and then it tells the story of the man waiting the 38 years.
And we'll get into the scripture when we're over there near just this corner of the pool.
Now the color coding as we're looking is blue for Crusader, and red for Byzantine, and green and yellow for the time of Jesus.
And we see a number of smaller pools where the water out of the big reservoir pool could be brought.
Now what is this business of the waters being stirred?
The thing is that there were shrines to the Greek god of healing throughout the Roman, the Greek Roman world around the Mediterranean.
And so it looks like this was one of those places where that kind of superstition of the water being stirred and the first one would get in would be healed.
And that Jesus came then into a place like this and showed that He's the one who really had the healing power.
1After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, “Bethesda”, having five porches. 3In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; 4for an angel went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. 5A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.”
8Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.”
9Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked.
Now that day was a Sabbath. 10So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”
11He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’ ”
12Then they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat and walk’?”
13But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
14Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
15The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath. 17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”
18For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. 20For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. 22For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
24“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 25Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. 26For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. 27He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. 28Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. 30I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I don’t seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
31“If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid. 32It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. 33You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved. 35He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me. 37The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. 38You don’t have his word living in you, because you don’t believe him whom he sent.
39“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. 40Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life. 41I don’t receive glory from men. 42But I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in yourselves. 43I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
45“Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. 47But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”