The Miracles of Jesus
Lesson 9: Jesus Heals the Lame Man
John 5:1-18
Jesus Heals the Lame Man
Background to the Miracle
 It occurred at a “feast of the Jews”
(John 5:1; cp. 2:13; 6:4; 7:2; 10:22; 13:1-2).
 It occurred “in Jerusalem by the sheep gate”
(John 5:2).
 It occurred at a pool with five porches known as
Bethesda (John 5:2).
Jerusalem in
Jesus’ Day
Archeology at the Pool of Bethesda
The Pool of Bethesda is located near the Sheep
Gate just north of the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem. In his gospel account, John
describes such a pool, surrounded by five
covered colonnades (John 5:2). Until the 19th
century, there was no archaeological evidence
for the Pool of Bethesda. Today, there’s really no
question that archaeologists have uncovered the
actual Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the
invalid (John 5:1-15).
Site of the Pool of Bethesda
Looking Down into Bethesda Pool
Model of the Pool of Bethesda with
the Temple in the Background
Textual Issue in John 5:3-4

Some translations, such as the New American
Standard, omit the words from the last phrase of
John 5:3 through verse four.
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
The words are included in a footnote.
The New King James includes the words, but notes
that they are omitted in the Nestle Greek text.

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The matter is difficult even for Greek textual scholars.
The King James New Testament is translated from a
Greek text that relies on a large number of manuscripts
that are copies of copies of copies… The New American
Standard and similar modern versions rely heavily on a
few recently discovered ancient manuscripts (e.g.
Alexandrinus, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus)
The Ryland’s Fragment of John 18:31-38
Textual Issue in John 5:3-4
Two things we know:
 God promised that His word endures forever
(1 Peter 1:25)
 The lame man believed that he could be helped if
he got in the water when the it was stirred (5:7).
 The question is, did an angel actually came down to
stir the water, or was it merely a superstition?
 If it occurred, would this periodic miracle have
conformed to what we know from Scripture about
the purpose of miracles?

Jesus Heals the Lame Man
John 5:1-18
Details of the miracle
A multitude of afflicted lay in the porches of the pool
waiting for the stirring of the water (5:3-4)
 The lame man had been infirm for 38 years (5:5).
 Jesus knew of the lame man’s long affliction and
inquired if he wanted to be made well (5:6)
 The lame man believed two things prevented his
cure (5:7):
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He had no one to put him in the water.
When he attempts to get in, another gets there first.
Jesus Heals the Lame Man
John 5:1-18
Details of the miracle
 Jesus gave three commands, which the lame man
obeyed as he was healed (5:8-9a)
 It was the Sabbath (5:9b, cp 7:22-23; 9:14-16)
 The Jews objected to the man carrying his bed on
the Sabbath, and questioned him about it (5:10-13;
cf. Jeremiah 17:21; Luke 14:5)
 Jesus later told the man to “sin no more” lest a
“worse thing” come upon him (5:14)
 The lame man revealed to the Jews that it was
Jesus who had healed him (5:15)
Jesus Heals the Lame Man
John 5:1-18
Result of the Miracle
 The Jews sought to persecute and kill because He
had healed on the Sabbath (5:16)
 Jesus asserted that His identity as God’s Son
meant that He must continually work – the miracle
was a SIGN of this fact (5:17)
 The Jews sought to kill Jesus because, in their
estimation, He had worked on the Sabbath and
made Himself equal with God (5:18)