The Healings of Jesus II – The Pool of Bethesda

I have good news for you today: God wants you to have a healed body and a sound mind! He wanted it so much that He let Jesus take stripes upon His back and shed His precious blood. Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice to free you from the bondage of sin and disease, once and for all!

If you examine the gospels, you see that Jesus never told anyone, “It’s not My will to heal you.” He willingly and gladly healed all who came to Him with a sincere heart. Last week, we began looking at these accounts of Jesus healing. Studying how others received their healing will help us to receive ours.

Let’s discover more helpful nuggets in another account: the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda.

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. John 5:2-3 NKJV

Notice that the pool was located next to the sheep market. That meant:

            - There was constant activity and noise.

            - The smell made it an unpleasant site for the afflicted to dwell.

Despite that, people who were desperate went to this pool and stayed for long periods of time. Why? To wait 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.  John 5:4 NKJV

It was well known that the first one to get into the water when the angel stirred it would be healed. This was great for the ONE who got in first, but not great for all the others left in their desperate situations. Can you imagine the racing, pushing, and shoving to be the first one? Those who were paralyzed would scarcely stand a chance.

This angel was not the healer; he delivered God’s healing power in a measure—enough to heal one person. This was as the Spirit willed, and so a type of the gifts of healings, which are never initiated by a human.

God is always trying to stimulate our faith. Why? Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” By stimulating our faith through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, He stirs hunger in us to reach out in faith and receive healing.

The pool of Bethesda was a type of this. The healings there showed the mercy of God; He was pointing people to Him, not to the water or the angel. But those who gathered at the pool made the mistake of getting their eyes on the water, instead of on the One Who stirred the water.

The same thing can happen today. We can fail to receive our healing if we get our eyes on the wrong things instead of on Jesus. For example, if you see only the doctors or medicine as your answer, you have taken your eyes off of Jesus. And if you see only your sickness or symptoms continually, you are not looking to Jesus as your Healer. But Hebrews tells us we should be

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Heb 12:2 NKJV

How do we look unto Jesus? It’s simple! By keeping our attention on His Word! Feed and meditate on the Word of God day and night. When you do this, you are “looking unto Jesus” because He is the Word.

What else can we learn from what happened at the pool of Bethesda? These porches contained many people in hopeless situations. The sights and smells were unpleasant. Yet Jesus willingly walked into this setting. Then He approached a man who had been suffering for 38 years.

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?” John 5:5-6 NKJV

Notice that Jesus first assessed the situation and located the man’s will in the matter. There is no healing apart from your consent. Man’s will is a powerful thing. It can cause a person to seek until he obtains. Let’s look at the exchange between the man and Jesus more closely.

“Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]” John 5:6 AMPC

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.” John 5:7 NKJV

Like the others at the pool, this man was looking at the wrong things. He was focused on the water and on finding someone to help him in. Looking at the wrong things will always lead us to make excuses for why we can’t do something or can’t receive something from God.

I want to point something else out: This man waited many years to receive healing. But today we no longer need to wait. The Healer has come! He has already taken your sicknesses. You can receive today. To receive, simply believe and then act, just as this man did.

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. John 5:8-9 NKJV

The man acted by responding to Jesus’ command to rise. By acting on the Word of Jesus, he demonstrated faith, and he was made well.

Receiving healing is not always convenient, but it is never hard.

1.     Be earnest about getting well.

2.     Be willing to be in the right place.

3.     Stop making excuses about why it can’t work for you.

4.     Act upon the Word and believe you receive healing.

5.     Rejoice and glorify God.

If you are earnest about getting well, nothing will be able to stop you from receiving your healing!

I highly encourage you to get a copy of my new daily devotional, Healing Nuggets: 31 Days of God's Word for Health, Wholeness, and Peace, to help you meditate day and night. I believe it will be a blessing to your life.

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