REFLECTIONS IN THE POOL

There's an interesting story in the Gospel of John in which Jesus exemplifies the healing power of God as he heals a crippled man at the pools of Bethesda. In addition to showing Jesus' power and his grace, it also provides us with a mirror, that when looked upon, will reveal to us those things that we are leaning on to fill the place of Jesus in our lives. It's a subtle image, but once it's seen, it's clearly evident.

This story appears in chapter 5 of John's gospel account. John writes:

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” - John 5:2-9

The first thing that we're shown in this story is the pools of Bethesda. Now, if you look up the passage, you may see something odd. When you look at how the verses are marked, unless you have an older translation, you will notice that verse 4 is missing or bracketed. This is a critical piece to the mirror. Verse 4 talks about the significance of the pools. According to later manuscripts, an angel of the Lord would come and stir the waters of the pools from time to time, and the first to enter the water was healed of whatever infirmity he had. Around these pools is where the sick and crippled would congregate with the hope of getting healed. This is important, I'll come back to this in a bit.

The next piece of this narrative that we're given is a man sitting by the pool who had been crippled for a long time. John tells us Jesus sees this man and knows that he has been in this place for a while. Having this insight into Jesus' knowledge of this man's situation, what Jesus does next should cause us to look a little closer at what's going on here, or at the least raise an eyebrow. Jesus asks the man, “Do you want to be healed?”. Jesus knew the answer to this question before he asked it. We knew the answer to the question before Jesus asked it. So, why did he ask it?

Before we answer that question, let's look at what the man said in response to Jesus' question. If you notice, he doesn't actually answer Jesus' question. The question Jesus asked has a yes or no answer. The man says neither. What the man tells Jesus is why he hasn't been healed. He says “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Upon hearing the man's answer, Jesus simply says pick up your bed and go. And that's where the scene ends. The story continues, but let's chew on this for bit.

I said earlier that the significance of the pools, as highlighted in verse 4, is an important piece to this narrative. Why? These pools offer those looking for relief the promise of miraculous healing. Step first into the turbulent waters and you will be healed. And it delivered … sometimes. Not everyone who came to the pools was healed by them, because only one can be healed at a time – there can be only one “first”. If you weren't that one, you weren't healed. This source of miraculous healing, although it was from God, delivered by an angel, it wasn't God. It was a pool. Churned by an angel. The reason this is important comes to light when Jesus meets him.

God himself, having the power to heal whomever he wishes, comes and asks the crippled man sitting by the pools of healing, “do you want to be healed”. But instead of simply saying yes and letting Jesus heal him, the man explains to Jesus why he's not been healed by the pools. What would cause someone to make such a tragic oversight? Later in the story, John tells us that the man didn't know that it was Jesus who had healed him. He doesn't really say why this is so, but I would venture a guess that it may have been because the man was so focused on the pools, that he paid no attention to who was speaking to him. He was so focused on the tool that God used to heal, that when God himself came to him offering healing, he couldn't see it. Fortunately Jesus heals him anyway. But this interaction between the man and Jesus provides us, as I said earlier, with a mirror in which we can see ourselves.

How many times do we look for God's blessings in things that are not God? How many times do we seek to fill our needs by our own means, becoming so focused on how we think we can get what we need, that we miss God when he shows up and offers it to us freely without condition.

Here's an example from my own life. There was a time in my life when I was looking to fill an empty space that existed in my heart. I thought that I would find the fulfillment to this need in my relationship with my girlfriend at the time. Every moment I was with her I filled the space in my heart with the love that she gave me, but when we were apart, the emptiness came back. All the while, she and I were attending church on the weekends and listening to the preacher talk about God, the giver of all things, freely and bountifully offering all we needed. The message was crystal clear, right there in front of me, but I was so focused on getting my needs met by her how I thought they would be best met, that I completely missed it. Eventually, that relationship ended and I was left with a bigger hole than I what had begun with. Upon offering me His love, I told him all about why this girl had not satisfied my longing for love. Fortunately, he filled me with himself anyway, opened my eyes and began pouring himself into my heart.

What is it that you're looking to to fill your needs. Is it a relationship with someone other than God? Is it a community? A video game? A hobby? … An addiction? Here's a tricky one. I've heard many stories of people looking for meaning, for spiritual sustenance, for fulfillment from a church. The popular thought process seems to be: My life isn't where it needs to be, therefore, I will go to church and the church will make it better. But the church is just like the pools of Bethesda. It may fill your need, but because the church isn't God, it will ultimately not deliver in the way that you need it to. Someone else might get in the way. Your need may not be filled completely, leaving you needing still more from a source that's given all it has to offer. Or it might simply not have what you need at all. But God is right there behind you, asking you if He Himself can fill your needs. Will you tell him why the things that you've replaced Him with aren't filling your needs, or will you turn to Him and accept his offer? It's a decision that all of us face multiple times throughout our lives.

When we really look at this story of the pools of Bethesda, we see in the water our own reflection.