To commemorate Jesus healing the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda, Christians controlling Jerusalem in the later Byzantine and Crusader periods added a chapel and churches that now cover the Bethesda Pool complex.Ī sculpture in New York's Central Park by American Emma Stebbins, titled “Angel of the Waters,” was constructed between 18 as a tribute to Jesus’ Bethesda pool miracle. Roman citizens in Jerusalem a century or two later had medicinal baths constructed at the Bethesda Pool. The Bethesda Pool where Jesus healed the paralytic man believed to have been a mikveh, or ritual bath, in the time of Christ. The pool is believed to have been used throughout history for ritualistic baths as well as a place where invalids waited to step into the pool for healing. There are sections of the pool up to 40 feet deep and other areas with small caverns and shallow baths. The site is in Jerusalem, close to the Church of Saint Anne and near the Sheep Gate, true to its location described in John 5:2. The hopeful, diseased people at the poolside believed that the first person to step into the water after it was stirred by an angel was healed ( John 5:1-4).Ī German archeologist living in Jerusalem unearthed surrounded by four porticos-with a fifth portico dividing the pool into two separate pools-in 1956. The Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem was where sick people gathered with hopes of being cured of their illnesses. The Aramaic word Bethesda means “house of mercy” or “house of grace” in English. Lounging at one of the five porticos or porches adjacent to the pool, the ill people waited and watched for an angel to stir the water. What Was the Purpose of the Pool of Bethesda? The miracle of this story is that even though the lame man thought and behaved in a typical, self-defeating way, Jesus noticed him and healed him. The healed, lame man in this story told his arsenal of excuses to Jesus. We come up with reasons for not seeking healing with our whole hearts.

We remain high and dry to the side of the healing waters of our spiritual journey. Perhaps many of us who need healing sit at the side of the pool, but don’t jump in.

Lame definition bible