The Healing at the Pool; John 5:1-30

Third Sign: From Signs to the Savior (John 5:1–15)

Have you ever felt stuck or trapped in a situation that seemed unchangeable? Maybe it’s a sickness that won’t go away, a habit you cannot break, or a prayer that feels unanswered. Imagine carrying that burden not for weeks, months, or years, but for thirty-eight long years. This was the reality of the man at the pool of Bethesda. Day after day, year after year, he lay there with no hope, clinging to a belief that maybe, just maybe, if he could reach the water first, he would be healed. But Jesus stepped into his story and changed everything—not with a touch of water, but with the power of His Word: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” (John 5:8).

As we dive into the 3rd sign Jesus performed, we are told: Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.

” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Points from the Third Sign of Jesus Christ

What points can we draw from this third sign of Jesus Christ?

There are some points I want us to highlight so that we may understand the miraculous sign and the message that our Lord Jesus intends us to grasp.

1. The Author’s Intention

First, let’s keep in mind the intention of the author. John says the miracles reveal the identity of Christ Jesus—for us to believe that He is indeed the promised Messiah and the Son of God.We are not only supposed to be amazed at the healing of the man who was paralyzed, but we must dig deeper into the meaning of this sign. The reason why Jesus performed signs was to help us see that only God can perform such miraculous works. If Jesus performed what only God could do, it's evident He is truly God in the flesh, as John says: “The Word became flesh.”

2. The Pool of Bethesda and the Myth of Healing Waters

We are told that those who were sick were there waiting for the water to be stirred. They believed the water had some power to heal them. An angel, they thought, came to stir the water and whoever dipped in first was healed.But let us note:

• There is no evidence in the Bible that anyone was ever healed this way.
• Early manuscripts do not contain verse 4 about the angel stirring the water.

Let us reflect: does God heal in such a manner, that only the one who wins the race to the pool is healed, while the rest remain sick?Picture this—many people were there, all wanting to be healed. When the water moved, there must have been chaos—people stepping on each other, pushing, competing to get in first. The most sick had no opportunity; only those less ill might manage to get in. Would God really work this way?In the Bible, angels are never involved in healing. They are messengers, worshipers, fighters, and executors of God’s will. This gives us doubt that the angel stirred the water. We can conclude it was just a myth.I recall visiting my aunt in Meru, where there was a spring of mineral water. If you put dirt in it, instantly the water purified itself. I tried many times to make the water dirty, but I was unable. If you threw in an insect, it died. And when you drank it, you could never be full. The locals believed it had power to cure certain diseases. But it was just a myth.

3. The Healing of the Paralytic Man

We are told the man was paralyzed for 38 years and waited for someone to help him into the water, but no one was able.When Jesus approached him and asked if he wanted to be healed, he gave excuses about how others were not helping him. But graciously, Jesus healed him even without the man having faith in Him or begging Him.Jesus told him: “Get up, take your mat, and walk.”

The man obeyed, picked up his mat, and walked. On his way, he met the Jewish leaders, who accused him of breaking the Sabbath law. It was unlawful to carry anything on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders had made additional Sabbath laws. For example:

• You were not supposed to spit on the ground, because if saliva made a hole in the dust, it was considered “work.” You had to spit on a rock.
• You were not allowed to walk on grass, because it was considered as threshing.

When they asked the man, he blamed Jesus, saying, “The man who healed me told me to take up my mat and walk. "At first, they didn’t know who it was. Later, Jesus found the man at the temple and told him: “Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.” But the man gave Jesus by revealing His identity to the Jewish leaders, who then plotted to kill Him. From this man we see:

• He lacked faith. Jesus healed him regardless of lack of faith
• He believed in the myth of the healing waters even though jesus wanted to heal him
• He gave excuses. in spite of jesus willingly healing him
• He was healed purely because of Jesus’ mercy, not because of his faith
• Even after being healed and warned, he still gave Jesus to the Jewish leaders.

Lack of faith! He still expected Jesus to help him into the water, yet Jesus wanted to heal him.

4. Why the Jewish Leaders Opposed Jesus

• Why did the Jewish leaders want to kill Jesus, even though they saw the miraculous sign He had done?
•  Why did Jesus perform this miracle on the Sabbath, knowing it would land Him into deep conflict? 
• why did Jesus heal only this man and not all who were waiting at the pool? The answer is that Jesus had reasons for all this.

• He healed on the Sabbath to reveal himself to the Jews that He was truly the Messiah whom they had been waiting.
• By claiming God as His Father, He made Himself equal with God. They understood His claim well, that He was claiming himself to be God, which is why they wanted to kill Him. To break. 

The Sabbath was punishable by stoning; to claim equality with God was blasphemy. But were His claims true? Yes! In John 3, Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, admitted: “No one can perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. "Only God could make a man paralyzed for 38 years walk again. Jesus performed miracles as evidence that He is God. He broke their Sabbath traditions to show that God has never stopped working. From the beginning until now, God works for our salvation.

5. Signs and Faith

Now, let us see why Jesus did not heal everyone at the pool. From the first sign at Cana, to the healing of the official’s son, to this paralytic—Jesus performed miracles for only a few. Why? Because signs do not produce lasting faith. The paralytic was healed, but he did not put his faith in Jesus, nowhere he is mentioned likewise as the Samaritans and royal officer. The man still gave Jesus to Jewish leaders and still clung to his myths.

 As Robert L. (Bob) Deffinbaugh says:

“This passage is a reminder of the weakness of signs and wonders and of the power of God’s Word. Signs and wonders do not necessarily produce faith. The miracle Jesus performs here does not even produce faith in the one who is healed. The paralytic betrays our Lord by identifying Him to the authorities. "Signs may amaze us, but they fade. The Word of Christ is mighty and eternal. Jesus does not need angel-troubled waters to heal. He does not even need our faith. All that is required is His word. At His command, the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years got up and walked. The same Word that created the world healed him instantly.

6. The Primary Mission of Jesus

Finally, let us remember miracles were not Jesus’ primary mission. Mark 1:29–39 shows us that after healing many, Jesus withdrew to pray. When His disciples told Him that everyone was looking for Him for healing. He said:

“Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (mark 1:37-38) Jesus’ main mission was to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ Disappointment with the Jews and the Lesson for Us

Jesus was so much disappointed with the Jews who only wanted the sign. He knew their hearts and minds — they only followed Him because of the signs. That is why He decided to go to another place to preach the gospel. In spite of Him revealing Himself to them as the Messiah, they did not believe in Him. In the Gospel of John, from chapter 2 to 5, we see that Jesus healed in secret. The first sign was only revealed to His disciples and the servants. The second sign was only for the official. The third sign was only for the paralyzed man but surprisingly he never placed his faith in Jesus, unlike the Samaritans and the royal officer. 

Even today, many people go where there are signs, and that is why they are easily deceived. Their faith is not based on the Word but on signs.The problem is that this kind of faith does not last long. The paralyzed man was healed despite his lack of faith. Jesus used signs as evidence that He was the Son of God, but they still failed to believe in Him. By grace, He healed the man even without him asking. He does the same for us today — He heals our sicknesses despite our lack of faith in Him.He is a good God who loves His children. He makes the rain fall on all people. He is a good God and does not discriminate. A good lesson to learn is that even in our lack of faith, God still showers us with His grace and goodness. He is patient, always waiting for me and you to repent and return to Him. He gives life to all.

Secondly, the more Jesus did signs, the more people came to Him. But when He gave them the true Word, the fewer believed and many left Him. We will see in the coming miracle in John 6 that after feeding them, they all left Him when He gave them the true bread of life. In chapter 11, they will even plot to kill Him because of the signs. The signs made Jesus popular but also made Him a target.Lastly, we see the reaction of the religious leaders. Instead of celebrating that the man was healed, they plotted to kill Jesus and were more concerned about the breaking of the law. This revealed what was truly in their hearts. Outwardly they were religious, but deep inside their hearts they were evil. They were jealous of Jesus performing signs because they loved praise from men instead of God. 

The law blinded them from grace. Still, many people in the church today are outwardly religious, but secretly they live a sinful life and their hearts are far from God. As Mark says, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain” (Mark 7:6–7).So, how do you live? Are you outwardly holy before men, but secretly living in sin? God wants you to come to Him so that He may heal your heart and transform you to be like His Son. Stop living in sin, just as Jesus told the man He healed, “Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14). I believe Jesus was referring to eternal condemnation — being cast into eternal fire.The same is true for us today. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) — being separated from God forever. But the good news is this: Jesus came so that you may have life. Come to Jesus because He alone can save you from your sins and heal your heart.

Conclusion

Beloved, the healing at Bethesda shows us:

• Jesus is God in the flesh.
• Myths cannot heal; only His word gives life.
• Miracles alone cannot give saving faith; only His word can.
• Sin is more dangerous than sickness.
• Jesus’ mission was not primarily to heal bodies but to save souls.

Let us believe not only in His signs but in His Word—for His Word is spirit and life (John 6:63).