Born For Challenges: Article 3 – Bethesda House

Pastor Jeremy Empie Jeremy

God has been talking to me lately about the Pool of Bethesda. It is a very interesting portion of Scripture actually…

John 5:1-15:

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days.Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You
can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

“Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen
to you.”Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

The man was sick for 38 years.

The first thing that strikes me is that this man was sick for 38 years. Now, to understand this fully, you must know that the entire Bible is inspired by God Himself – there are no coincidences:

2 Timothy 4:16-17:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

So God put this in here for a reason. I think the reason might be to encourage us that no matter how long it takes to receive your miracle – keep believing and keep asking.

Our sin nature.

We all are selfish – plain and simple. We live in a microwave society. We want it our way and now. This was true even in Jesus’ days. Look at verse 7 again: “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

Jesus had compassion.

I love verse 8: Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” You see friends, Jesus cares about you so much! He cares about the little things and the big things. This is incredible once you get this in your Spirit!

Pastor Jeremy Empie
Jeremy@TheBethesdaHouse.org
(641) 569-7024

Please contact me as I’d love to hear from you!