He Took Up His Bed And Walked -John 5:1-9

John 5:1-9 ESV
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty- eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 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 going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath.

The feast of the Jews is Passover, to celebrate the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt. The blood on the door frames toward off death symbolized the blood of Jesus that would soon be spilled on behalf of the world.

Bethesda means house of mercy. Jesus later would say His sheep would know His voice. Here were a multitude of invalids, in a state of unease with blindness , sickness, or being crippled with one malady or another. They have been waiting for healing, just as Israel had been waiting for the Messiah. Both would be answered in the coming of this man.

Jesus singles out a man who had lain sick for 38 years, about the same length of time the Israelites journeyed in the desert before reaching the promised land, and He asks what seems to be an odd question. “Do you want to be healed?”

The man's answer indicates yes. It also reveals that he is unable to help himself and needs help to find healing. Because of this answer, Jesus heals the man. He was ready. Our patience can be in short supply and our longing intense, but He will come.

By no coincidence does this healing take place on the Sabbath, the day of rest. Jesus has brought God's rest with Him, the healing and forgiveness of God's grace.


βηθεσδα, η [Aram. ‘house of mercy’; cp. next] indecl. Bethesda J 5: 2 v. l. for βηθζαθα.
βηθζαθα, η [Aram. ‘house of olive (oil) ’] indecl. Bethzatha, name of a pool in Jerusalem J 5: 2. Cp. prec. entry. CGEL

Deuteronomy 16:1
1 “Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

Zechariah 11:17
“Woe to my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!”

Proverbs 8:34-36
Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord,
36 but he who fails to find me injures himself;
all who hate me love death.”

Romans 8:26-29
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

James 5:7-8
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Psalms 142:4-5
Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living."

2 Corinthians 1:8-9
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.