John Bible Study - Lesson 13

John Bible Study - Lesson 13

Read the passage below using the 2 different Bible translations:

John 5:1-15 New International Version (NIV)

The Healing at the Pool

Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. ² 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. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. ^[4]  5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ 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?”

⁷ “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.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰ 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.”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

¹² So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ 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.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

John 5:1-15 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Heals a Lame Man

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. ² Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. ³ Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. ⁵ One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ “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.”

⁸ Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

⁹ Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, ¹⁰ 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!”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹² “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

¹³ The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. ¹⁴ 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.”¹⁵ Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Note:

Here are the 3 questions for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the questions to help you understand the passage. Answer the questions first yourself before you look at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask God to help you understand what you are reading.

3 questions to answer:

1.    Content: What is this passage about?

2.    Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

3.    Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

Answers to the questions above and some background:

Content: What is this passage about?

·        Jesus goes to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals

·        Jesus comes to the pool of Bethesda where many blind, lame, or paralyzed people are and asks an invalid who has been paralyzed for 38 years if he wants to get well

·        At first the paralyzed man says he couldn’t get well because he is unable to enter the pool at the time the water bubbles up.

The Pool at Bethesda:

The Pool of Bethesda was used in ancient times to provide water for the temple. The name of the pool, “Bethesda,” is Aramaic. It means “House of Mercy.” John tells us that “a great number of disabled people used to lie there—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed” (John 5:3). The covered colonnades would have provided shade for the disabled who gathered there, but there was another reason for the popularity of the Pool of Bethesda. Legend had it that an angel would come down into the pool and “stir up the water.” The first person into the pool after the stirring of the water “was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted”    

·        Jesus tells the man “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 

·        After Jesus spoke the man was healed instantly

·        The man rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking

·        This healing took place on the Sabbath

·        The Jewish leaders were angry because according to strict Jewish law, no one can work on the Sabbath. “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

·        The man tells the Jewish leaders that the man who healed him told him to Pick up his mat and walk

·        The Jewish leaders wanted to know who told the man to pick up his mat.

·        The man did not know the name of the man who healed him

·        Jesus later found the man at the temple and told him now that he was well physically, he should stop sinning or something worse would happen to him

·        Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

·        People back then and now believe in superstitions

·        The evidence of real healing and spiritually change can be found in Jesus

·        Jesus deliberately goes to a place where many sick pick were. Isaiah’s prophecy foretold that the Messiah, “Jesus”, would come and heal the blind, deaf, lame and mute

Isaiah 35:1-6 New International Version (NIV)

Joy of the Redeemed

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.

·        The invalid, in his desire to be healed, obeyed Jesus’ command to pick up his mat and walk.

·        If we desire to be healed by Jesus we must first show our obedience, display our faith and take action on what Jesus tells us to do.    

·        Not only was the man physically healed but also spiritually as he acknowledges Jesus to be the healer.  The man displays His faith in Jesus this by telling the Jewish leaders that Jesus healed him. We too should state out faith and trust in Jesus to be our spiritual healer. The man was putting himself at great risk due to the growing hatred of Jesus by the Jewish leaders.

·        We should not be ashamed of our identity in Christ even though it may mean persecution.

·        It is important to note that Jesus was not done with the man after healing him physically. Jesus wanted to heal him spiritually as well. That means for us that Jesus’ desire is to rescue His people from sin and death.

·        Jesus desires for us to have an abundant life

 

John 10:10 International Standard Version
The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

·        Acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savoir

·        Take risks with your faith, don’t fear the repercussions

·        Follow the spirit of the law that Jesus was modeling. For instance, doing good on the Sabbath.

Don’t forget:

John’s main purpose in writing this Gospel:

·        To tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles

·        The events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life

John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Questions to ponder:

·        Who is Lord over your life?

·        Are you willing to go deeper in your faith than just checking off your religious boxes?

·        Do you realize that you can’t save yourself by your deeds?

·        Do you want to be healed spiritually?

Have a great week…………….Dave