John 5:2
Verse
Context
The Pool of Bethesda
1Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. 3On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
Sermons
St. John Chrysostom
Favell Lee Mortimer
F.F BruceSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
There Is - This is thought by some to be a proof that John wrote his Gospel before the destruction of Jerusalem; and that the pool and its porticoes were still remaining. Though there can be little doubt that Jerusalem was destroyed many years before John wrote, yet this does not necessarily imply that the pool and its porticoes must have been destroyed too. It, or something in its place, is shown to travelers to the present day. See Maundrell's Jour. p. 108. But instead of εϚι, Is, both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Persic, Armenian, and Nonnus, read ην, Was; which is to me some proof that it did not exist when these versions were made, and that the pool which is shown now is not the original. By the sheep market - Rather, gate: see Neh 3:1, Neh 3:32; Neh 12:39. This was in all probability the gate through which the sheep were brought which were offered in sacrifice in the temple. A pool - Bp. Pearce thinks the word κολυμβηθρα should be translated bath, and that this place was built for the purpose of bathing and swimming in. He observes that κολυμβᾳν signifies to swim, in Act 27:43. In proof of this, he cites three of the old Itala, which have natatoria, a bathing or swimming place. Bethesda - This word is variously written in the MSS. and versions: Bezatha - Bethzatha - Betzetha - Belzetha - Belzatha - Berzeta; and many have Bethsaida. But the former reading is the genuine one. Bethesda, or according to the Hebrew ביתחסדה Bethchasdah, signifies literally, the house of mercy. It got this name probably from the cures which God mercifully performed there. It is likely the porticoes were built for the more convenient reception of the poor and distressed, who came hither to be healed. It does not appear that any person was obliged to pay man for what the mercy of God freely gave. Wicked as the Jewish people were, they never thought of levying a tax on the poor and afflicted, for the cures they received in these healing waters. How is it that a well-regulated state, such as that of Great Britain, can ever permit individuals or corporations to enrich themselves at the expense of God's mercy, manifested in the sanative waters of Bristol, Bath, Buxton, etc.? Should not the accommodations be raised at the expense of the public, that the poor might enjoy without cost, which they are incapable of defraying, the great blessing which the God of nature has bestowed on such waters? In most of those places there is a profession that the poor may drink and bathe gratis; but it is little better than a pretense, and the regulations relative to this point render the whole nearly inefficient. However, some good is done.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
sheep market--The supplement should be (as in Margin) "sheep [gate]," mentioned in Neh 3:1, Neh 3:32. Bethesda--that is, "house (place) of mercy," from the cures wrought there. five porches--for shelter to the patients.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market,.... The word "market" is not in the text, and of such a market, no account is given in the Scripture, nor in the Jewish writings; and besides, in our Lord's time, sheep and oxen were sold in the temple; rather therefore this signifies, the sheep gate, of which mention is made, in Neh 3:1, through which the sheep were brought into the city, to the temple. A pool. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read, "there is at Jerusalem a sheep pool"; and so it is interpreted in the Arabic version, and Jerom calls it the "cattle pool" (f). The Targumist on Jer 31:39 speaks of a pool called , "the calf", or "heifer pool", as Dr. Lightfoot renders it; though the translations of it, both in the London Polyglott, and in the king of Spain's Bible, interpret it "the round pool". This pool of Bethesda, is thought by some, to be the same which the Jews call the great pool in Jerusalem; they say (g), "between Hebron and Jerusalem, is the fountain Etham, from whence the waters come by way of pipes, unto the great pool, which is in Jerusalem.'' And R. Benjamin (h) speaks of a pool, which is to be seen to this day, where the ancients slew their sacrifices, and all the Jews write their names on the wall: and some think it was so called, because the sheep that were offered in sacrifice, were there washed; which must be either before, or after they were slain; not before, for it was not required that what was to be slain for sacrifice should be washed first; and afterwards, only the entrails of a beast were washed; and for this there was a particular place in the temple, called "the washing room"; where, they say (i), they washed the inwards of the holy sacrifices. This pool here, therefore, seems rather, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, to have been a bath for unclean persons; and having this miraculous virtue hereafter spoken of, diseased persons only, at certain times, had recourse to it. The Syriac and Persic versions call it, "a place of a baptistery"; and both leave out the clause, "by the sheep market", or "gate": it is not easy to say where and what it was: which is called in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda; which signifies, according to the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions, "an house of mercy", or "grace", or "goodness"; because many miserable objects here received mercy, and a cure. Hegesippus (k) speaks of a Bethesda, which Cestius the Roman general entered into, and burnt; and which, according to him, seems to be without Jerusalem, and so not the place here spoken of; and besides, this is called a pool, though the buildings about it doubtless went by the same name. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read Bethsaida, very wrongly; and it is called by Tertullian (l) the pool of Bethsaida. The Hebrew tongue here mentioned is , "the language of those beyond the river" (m), i.e. the river Euphrates; which is the Chaldee language, as distinct from the Assyrian language, which is called the holy and blessed language; the former is what the Cuthites, or Samaritans used; the latter, that in which the book of the law was written (n). Having five porches; or cloistered walks, which were very convenient for the diseased, which lay here for a cure, so Nonnus: Athanasius (o) speaks of the pool itself, as in being, though the buildings round about lay in ruins in his time; and (p) Daviler observes, there are still remaining five arches of the "portico", and part of the basin. Now this place may be an emblem of the means of grace, the ministry of the word, and ordinances: the house of God, where the Gospel is preached, may be called a Bethesda, an house of mercy; since here the free, sovereign, rich, and abundant grace and mercy of God, through Christ, is proclaimed, as the ground and foundation of a sinner's hope; the mercy of God, as it is displayed in the covenant of grace, in the mission of Christ, and redemption by him, in regeneration, and in the forgiveness of sin, and indeed, in the whole of salvation, from first to last, is here held forth for the relief of distressed minds: and this Bethesda being a pool, some of the ancients have thought, it was an emblem of, and prefigured the ordinance of baptism; and that the miraculous virtue in it, was put into it, to give honour and credit to that ordinance, shortly to be administered: but as that is not the means of regeneration and conversion, or of a cure or cleansing, but pre-requires them; rather it might be a symbol of the fountain of Christ's blood, opened for polluted sinners to wash in, and which cleanses from all sin, and cures all diseases; and this is opened in the house of mercy, and by the ministry of the word: or rather, best of all, the Gospel itself, and the ministration of it, mass be signified; which is sometimes compared to waters, and a fountain of them; see Isa 4:1 Joe 3:18; and whereas this pool was in Jerusalem, and that so often designs the church of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, it may fitly represent the ministry of the word there: and it being near the sheep-market, or gate, or a sheep-pool, may not be without its significancy; and may lead us to observe, that near where Christ's sheep are, which the Father has given him, and he has died for, and must bring in, he fixes his word and ordinances, in order to gather them in: and inasmuch as there were five porches, or cloistered walks, leading unto, or adjoining to this place, it has been thought by some of the ancients, that the law, as lying in the five books of Moses, may be intended by them; for under the law, and under a work of it, men are, before they come into the light and liberty, and comfort of the Gospel; and as the people which lay in these porches, received no cure there, so there are no relief, peace, joy, life, and salvation, by the law of works. (f) De Locis Hebraicis, p. 89. L. Tom. III. (g) Cippi Hebraici, p. 10. (h) Itinerar. p. 43. (i) Misn. Middot, c. 5. sect. 2. Maimon. Beth Habbechira, c. 5. sect. 17. (k) De Excidio, l. 2. c. 15. (l) Adv. Judaeos, c. 13. (m) De Semente, p. 345. Tom. I. (n) In Chambers' Dictionary, in the word "Piscina". (o) Vid. Gloss. in T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 115. 1. Megilla, fol. 18. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 2. (p) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Yadaim, c. 4. sect. 5. Vid. Gloss. in T. Bab. Megillia, fol. 8. 2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
5:2 Greek copyists who had never been to Jerusalem had difficulty interpreting and spelling the name Bethesda, so there are several variants of this name in the manuscripts. The best choice is Beth-esda (“house of flowing”).
John 5:2
The Pool of Bethesda
1Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. 3On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
The Appearing of Resurrection and the Giving of Power
By Newman Sze8201:22:11MAT 28:1MAT 28:19MRK 16:15LUK 24:44JHN 20:19JHN 21:25In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of the 40 days that Jesus spent on earth after His resurrection. He explains that during this time, Jesus trained His disciples to shift their focus from external things to internal revelation, from the flesh to the Holy Spirit, and from the law to life. The speaker shares a personal anecdote about a turbulent airplane ride to illustrate the need for Christians to rise above fear and rely on the Holy Spirit. He concludes by urging the audience to prioritize their personal encounter with the Lord and the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
John 4:54-5:3
By St. John Chrysostom0PSA 103:20MAT 19:12JHN 5:2JHN 5:17ROM 5:5HEB 4:10John Chrysostom preaches on the second miracle of Jesus in Galilee, emphasizing the importance of not overlooking any detail in the Scriptures as they are all inspired by the Holy Spirit. He delves into the significance of the healing at the pool of Bethesda, highlighting how it foreshadows the power of baptism to cleanse sins and make individuals spiritually whole. Chrysostom challenges his audience to reflect on the perseverance of the paralytic man who waited 38 years for healing, contrasting it with the tendency for modern believers to give up quickly on prayer and spiritual pursuits due to slothfulness. He urges listeners to embrace the laborious path of virtue, noting that while vice may offer temporary pleasure, true joy and lasting rewards come from diligently pursuing righteousness.
John 5:1-9. the Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda.
By Favell Lee Mortimer0PSA 103:3MAT 9:12LUK 19:10JHN 5:2JHN 7:38Favell Lee Mortimer preaches on the story of the pool of Bethesda, drawing parallels between the physical healing at the pool and the spiritual healing found in Jesus Christ. The pool, named Bethesda meaning 'House of mercy,' reflects the mercy and salvation offered by Jesus through His Word. Just as the sick people waited eagerly by the pool for healing, we are called to seek God earnestly for salvation, knowing that His mercy is available to all sinners. Jesus, the great Physician, shows compassion to a man who had been long afflicted, demonstrating His power and mercy in restoring him completely.
More Archaeological Evidence
By F.F Bruce0JHN 4:23JHN 5:2JHN 7:38JHN 20:31ACT 14:12ACT 18:7ACT 21:28ROM 16:23EPH 2:142TI 3:16F.F. Bruce discusses the archaeological evidence supporting the New Testament, highlighting the importance of inscriptions and papyri in confirming historical events and locations mentioned in the Bible. He explores how discoveries in Jerusalem, such as the temple barrier inscriptions and the pool of Bethesda, provide insights into the cultural and religious context of biblical accounts. Bruce also delves into the significance of Greek papyrus finds in revealing the common language spoken during New Testament times, challenging previous notions about the language of the Holy Ghost. Additionally, he touches on the discovery of sayings of Jesus in papyrus fragments and the Gospel of Thomas, shedding light on early Christian beliefs and Gnostic influences.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
There Is - This is thought by some to be a proof that John wrote his Gospel before the destruction of Jerusalem; and that the pool and its porticoes were still remaining. Though there can be little doubt that Jerusalem was destroyed many years before John wrote, yet this does not necessarily imply that the pool and its porticoes must have been destroyed too. It, or something in its place, is shown to travelers to the present day. See Maundrell's Jour. p. 108. But instead of εϚι, Is, both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Persic, Armenian, and Nonnus, read ην, Was; which is to me some proof that it did not exist when these versions were made, and that the pool which is shown now is not the original. By the sheep market - Rather, gate: see Neh 3:1, Neh 3:32; Neh 12:39. This was in all probability the gate through which the sheep were brought which were offered in sacrifice in the temple. A pool - Bp. Pearce thinks the word κολυμβηθρα should be translated bath, and that this place was built for the purpose of bathing and swimming in. He observes that κολυμβᾳν signifies to swim, in Act 27:43. In proof of this, he cites three of the old Itala, which have natatoria, a bathing or swimming place. Bethesda - This word is variously written in the MSS. and versions: Bezatha - Bethzatha - Betzetha - Belzetha - Belzatha - Berzeta; and many have Bethsaida. But the former reading is the genuine one. Bethesda, or according to the Hebrew ביתחסדה Bethchasdah, signifies literally, the house of mercy. It got this name probably from the cures which God mercifully performed there. It is likely the porticoes were built for the more convenient reception of the poor and distressed, who came hither to be healed. It does not appear that any person was obliged to pay man for what the mercy of God freely gave. Wicked as the Jewish people were, they never thought of levying a tax on the poor and afflicted, for the cures they received in these healing waters. How is it that a well-regulated state, such as that of Great Britain, can ever permit individuals or corporations to enrich themselves at the expense of God's mercy, manifested in the sanative waters of Bristol, Bath, Buxton, etc.? Should not the accommodations be raised at the expense of the public, that the poor might enjoy without cost, which they are incapable of defraying, the great blessing which the God of nature has bestowed on such waters? In most of those places there is a profession that the poor may drink and bathe gratis; but it is little better than a pretense, and the regulations relative to this point render the whole nearly inefficient. However, some good is done.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
sheep market--The supplement should be (as in Margin) "sheep [gate]," mentioned in Neh 3:1, Neh 3:32. Bethesda--that is, "house (place) of mercy," from the cures wrought there. five porches--for shelter to the patients.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market,.... The word "market" is not in the text, and of such a market, no account is given in the Scripture, nor in the Jewish writings; and besides, in our Lord's time, sheep and oxen were sold in the temple; rather therefore this signifies, the sheep gate, of which mention is made, in Neh 3:1, through which the sheep were brought into the city, to the temple. A pool. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read, "there is at Jerusalem a sheep pool"; and so it is interpreted in the Arabic version, and Jerom calls it the "cattle pool" (f). The Targumist on Jer 31:39 speaks of a pool called , "the calf", or "heifer pool", as Dr. Lightfoot renders it; though the translations of it, both in the London Polyglott, and in the king of Spain's Bible, interpret it "the round pool". This pool of Bethesda, is thought by some, to be the same which the Jews call the great pool in Jerusalem; they say (g), "between Hebron and Jerusalem, is the fountain Etham, from whence the waters come by way of pipes, unto the great pool, which is in Jerusalem.'' And R. Benjamin (h) speaks of a pool, which is to be seen to this day, where the ancients slew their sacrifices, and all the Jews write their names on the wall: and some think it was so called, because the sheep that were offered in sacrifice, were there washed; which must be either before, or after they were slain; not before, for it was not required that what was to be slain for sacrifice should be washed first; and afterwards, only the entrails of a beast were washed; and for this there was a particular place in the temple, called "the washing room"; where, they say (i), they washed the inwards of the holy sacrifices. This pool here, therefore, seems rather, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, to have been a bath for unclean persons; and having this miraculous virtue hereafter spoken of, diseased persons only, at certain times, had recourse to it. The Syriac and Persic versions call it, "a place of a baptistery"; and both leave out the clause, "by the sheep market", or "gate": it is not easy to say where and what it was: which is called in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda; which signifies, according to the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions, "an house of mercy", or "grace", or "goodness"; because many miserable objects here received mercy, and a cure. Hegesippus (k) speaks of a Bethesda, which Cestius the Roman general entered into, and burnt; and which, according to him, seems to be without Jerusalem, and so not the place here spoken of; and besides, this is called a pool, though the buildings about it doubtless went by the same name. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read Bethsaida, very wrongly; and it is called by Tertullian (l) the pool of Bethsaida. The Hebrew tongue here mentioned is , "the language of those beyond the river" (m), i.e. the river Euphrates; which is the Chaldee language, as distinct from the Assyrian language, which is called the holy and blessed language; the former is what the Cuthites, or Samaritans used; the latter, that in which the book of the law was written (n). Having five porches; or cloistered walks, which were very convenient for the diseased, which lay here for a cure, so Nonnus: Athanasius (o) speaks of the pool itself, as in being, though the buildings round about lay in ruins in his time; and (p) Daviler observes, there are still remaining five arches of the "portico", and part of the basin. Now this place may be an emblem of the means of grace, the ministry of the word, and ordinances: the house of God, where the Gospel is preached, may be called a Bethesda, an house of mercy; since here the free, sovereign, rich, and abundant grace and mercy of God, through Christ, is proclaimed, as the ground and foundation of a sinner's hope; the mercy of God, as it is displayed in the covenant of grace, in the mission of Christ, and redemption by him, in regeneration, and in the forgiveness of sin, and indeed, in the whole of salvation, from first to last, is here held forth for the relief of distressed minds: and this Bethesda being a pool, some of the ancients have thought, it was an emblem of, and prefigured the ordinance of baptism; and that the miraculous virtue in it, was put into it, to give honour and credit to that ordinance, shortly to be administered: but as that is not the means of regeneration and conversion, or of a cure or cleansing, but pre-requires them; rather it might be a symbol of the fountain of Christ's blood, opened for polluted sinners to wash in, and which cleanses from all sin, and cures all diseases; and this is opened in the house of mercy, and by the ministry of the word: or rather, best of all, the Gospel itself, and the ministration of it, mass be signified; which is sometimes compared to waters, and a fountain of them; see Isa 4:1 Joe 3:18; and whereas this pool was in Jerusalem, and that so often designs the church of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, it may fitly represent the ministry of the word there: and it being near the sheep-market, or gate, or a sheep-pool, may not be without its significancy; and may lead us to observe, that near where Christ's sheep are, which the Father has given him, and he has died for, and must bring in, he fixes his word and ordinances, in order to gather them in: and inasmuch as there were five porches, or cloistered walks, leading unto, or adjoining to this place, it has been thought by some of the ancients, that the law, as lying in the five books of Moses, may be intended by them; for under the law, and under a work of it, men are, before they come into the light and liberty, and comfort of the Gospel; and as the people which lay in these porches, received no cure there, so there are no relief, peace, joy, life, and salvation, by the law of works. (f) De Locis Hebraicis, p. 89. L. Tom. III. (g) Cippi Hebraici, p. 10. (h) Itinerar. p. 43. (i) Misn. Middot, c. 5. sect. 2. Maimon. Beth Habbechira, c. 5. sect. 17. (k) De Excidio, l. 2. c. 15. (l) Adv. Judaeos, c. 13. (m) De Semente, p. 345. Tom. I. (n) In Chambers' Dictionary, in the word "Piscina". (o) Vid. Gloss. in T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 115. 1. Megilla, fol. 18. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 2. (p) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Yadaim, c. 4. sect. 5. Vid. Gloss. in T. Bab. Megillia, fol. 8. 2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
5:2 Greek copyists who had never been to Jerusalem had difficulty interpreting and spelling the name Bethesda, so there are several variants of this name in the manuscripts. The best choice is Beth-esda (“house of flowing”).