Second Pascha.

Healing of a paralytic at the Sheep Gate pool.

(John 5:1-16).

This event is narrated only by Saint John, informing us in his Gospel about the Lord’s every feast day visit to Jerusalem. On this particular occasion, it is not clear on which particular feast day that the Lord arrived in Jerusalem, but more than likely, it would have been either Pascha or Pentecost. Only on this premise, does it equate to the Lord’s public ministry continuing for three and a half years — just as the ancient Church accepted this, guided specifically by the chronology of the fourth Gospel. Thus, nearly half a year elapsed between the Lord’s Baptism and the first Pascha, as narrated in the second chapter, then a further year — before the second Pascha, as mentioned in the fifth chapter, then another year — before the third Pascha, which is described in the sixth chapter, and finally another year, the third — to the fourth Pascha, before which our Lord suffered.

At the Sheep’s Gate — so named because sacrificial stock was driven through them on the way to the temple, or, because there was a market beside it that sold sacrificial stock. On the northeastern side of the city walls, on the way through Cedar’s flow in Gethsemane and toward Mt. Of Olives, there was a pool, which was called in Jewish — Bethesda, which means “house of mercy,” or God’s mercy: the water used to gather from a curative spring. According to the testimony of Evsevius (in the 5^th century AD), the pool had 5 porches. This healing spring attracted many people with different ailments. However, this was no ordinary healing spring: it manifested its curative power only at times, when God’s Angel descended and stirred up the water, and upon the water being stirred up, only the first person to immerse into the pool was cured; evidently, the water retained its healing properties for a short time only, thereafter, losing them.

Here, by the pool, lay a paralytic who had suffered for 38 years and who had almost lost all hopes of a cure. Particularly — as he explained to the Lord — not having an assistant, he was incapable of utilising the miraculous spring, as he didn’t have the strength to move fast enough to immerse himself into the water, immediately after it was stirred. Taking pity, the Lord instantly cures the unfortunate with only His words: “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” With this, the Lord showed through His saving grace, His superiority over the Old Testament methods.

However, as this was Saturday, the Jews — under which name John the Baptist usually suspected them of being Pharisees, Sadducees and Jewish elders — hostile towards the Lord Jesus Christ, instead of being happy for the unfortunate individual that had suffered for so many years, or be amazed by the miracle, were annoyed because the former paralytic had the audacity to violate the tranquillity of the Sabbath — and rebuked him. However, the cured paralytic, not without some effrontery, began to justify himself, stating that he is only carrying out the wishes of Him, Who healed him and Who in his eyes, had sufficient authority to release him from conforming to the rather narrow-minded regulations regarding Saturday. With traces of contempt, the Jews inquired of the former paralytic as to Who was the Person, that had the audacity to permit him to violate a public regulation?

Blessed Theophilactus notes interestingly on this: “Here is the meaning of evil! They do not ask, Who cured him, but Who ordered you to carry your bed. They are not interested in that, which brings you to amazement, but that which is censured.” Although they were not certain, they most probably guessed that the Healer was none other than the hated Jesus from Nazareth, and therefore did not want to discuss the miracle. The cured paralytic could not answer them as he did not know Jesus.

Soon afterward, he most probably went to the temple in order to bring a sacrifice, in gratitude for his healing. Here, the Lord met him with significant words: “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” From these words, it can be seen that sickness overtakes a person for his sins, and the Lord warns the cured paralytic against repeating the sins, so as not to be afflicted with a greater punishment. Recognising his Healer, he went and told the Jews about Him: not with any evil intent, but just to raise the authority of Jesus Christ. This evoked a new rage of hatred in the Jews, and they “sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.”