In this passage we have two “first mentions” in John’s Gospel. Firstly the Sabbath (vv.9,10,16) and then persecution of Jesus (v.16). This incident marks a significant point in the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He performed this miracle on the Sabbath, He stirred up the anger and hatred of the Jewish leaders and they began to pursue Him, to seek His life.

Provision for mercy (vv.1-2)

John refers to a feast of the Jews six times in his Gospel and this is the only one he fails to identify specifically. John does not name this particular feast because Jesus’ actions on this occasion are not related to a particular feast. 

The Lord Jesus comes to the Sheep Gate (v.2) and pool called Bethesda (v.2). There is a great lesson attached to the location of this sign.

Many sheep had passed through the Sheep Gate for the purpose of being sacrificed in the nearby temple court, to atone for the sins of the people. Standing there was the one who was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)! 

The meaning of Bethesda is “House of Mercy”. It was probably given this name as the people believed that a person would be healed if conditions were right (v.7) and this was an act of God’s mercy, although extremely limited in scope and something that would benefit only the most able invalid! Although mercy is not a word found in John’s Gospel there is plenty of evidence of God’s rich and abundant mercy. The one who would show mercy to multitudes was among them. The provision for God’s mercy was not to be found in stirred waters but in a person who was standing there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Predicament of mankind (vv.3-7)

We see the great predicament of mankind pictured in the scene around the pool.

“In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water” (v.3).

These people were physically diseased, blind or lame. They were desperate for hope and healing. Their enjoyment of life had been severely limited by their ailments and they could not function as intended. This sorry sight brings before us that we live in a “fallen” world. The consequences of sin are manifest in people’s lives, not always but sometimes directly related to their own sin but definitely connected to the fall of humankind (Genesis 3). 

Although I am reluctant, due to a lack of expertise on the subject, to write much about manuscript evidence, it is important to note that the earliest Greek manuscripts (66, P75, B, C, and 33) omit the last phrase of verse 3 and all of verse 4. Interestingly, the omitted section contains more than half a dozen words or phrases foreign to John’s writings – including three not found anywhere else in the New Testament. It would seem that, in the years after John wrote his Gospel, scribes added this material as a marginal note to present an explanation for the stirring of the water (v.7).

What we can be sure of is that the man trusted in this Jewish tradition, and after 38 years of illness he was still trusting that one day it could be his day. It brings before us the plight of those who look for hope in the wrong places. A vain expectation that problems might be dealt with by looking to some religious ceremony or tradition. Still today religion, in all its manifestations, is full of superstition and baseless traditions; promising that if you visit here, if you do this work, if this person touches you, or if you give this amount, you will receive physical and/or spiritual healing.

Standing before this one man, chosen out of the multitudes who lay there, is the Lord Jesus, who asks “Do you want to be healed?” (v.6). The Lord is not looking for information but to draw out from the man his heart’s desire and where he would place his faith. Instead of asking Jesus for healing, the man responds by expressing his belief in the healing powers of the pool. That sums up the predicament of humankind. The Lord Jesus, the one who was able to provide healing, was there, but the man continued to look elsewhere.

Power of Jesus (vv.8-9)

Jesus displayed His compassion and His power by miraculously healing many individuals, all of whom should have responded in thanksgiving, praise and saving faith. But not everyone did; in fact the vast majority did not. He healed tens of thousands, but after His death and resurrection only 120 met together (Acts 1:15).

Jesus spoke to the invalid "Rise, take up your bed and walk" (v.8). There are three imperatives that would have been impossible to obey without divine power being given. The healing was instant and complete. 

“And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath” (v.9).

Verse 9 is of great importance for what it contains (a miracle), what it omits (worship) and what it informs us of (it was the Sabbath).

Persecution by the legalists (vv.10-17)

The Sabbath was a day of rest, given by God to the people of Israel. A day with certain restrictions designed by God for the benefit of His people. The Old Testament prohibited working on the Sabbath (Exodus 31:12-14; 35:2). The Israelites were not to participate in their normal, week-long occupations on that day but acts of mercy were permitted.

Sadly, the Jewish leaders had added their own regulations and laws to God’s word. Effectively they had made their word equal, or superior, to God’s.

Notice the blindness of religious legalists – no concern that a  great miracle had been performed on this man but great concern for the lack of conformity to their own petty rules.

"It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed” (v.10).

Their wilfully blind eyes and prideful prejudice precluded them from acknowledging the person and work of the Lord Jesus. They were fixed and seemingly immovable in their own ideas.

The healed man excuses himself and puts the blame on Jesus – there is no confession of Jesus as the Lord but a reply that could be paraphrased, “He told me to do it”. From v.13 we understand that the healed man did not know the identity of the Lord. Jesus, however, finds him in the temple (v.14) and tells him, “You are well”. He does not say, as in Mark 5:34, “your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

The Lord’s words in v.14 imply that the man’s physical plight had been the result of sin; but Jesus did not say that the man’s sins had been forgiven as He did in dealing with the sick man lowered through the roof (Mark 2:1–12). It is possible to experience a miracle and not be saved from sin’s consequences.

It is in verse 16 that we clearly see the increase of hostility towards the Lord. The evidence of His identity was plain. This fourth sign showed that He was God manifest in flesh, and the One who could do what all the man-made religious systems and superstitions could not do. He could make a person whole.

This fourth sign is designed to point all who desire spiritual wholeness, which comes from an everlasting relationship with the one true God, to the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who alone has made this possible through His death and resurrection.