The weakening one answered him, “Lord, I do not have a man in order that, when the water may be disturbed, he may put me into the bathing-pool. In fact in that I myself am coming, another descends before me.”
Apparently, there were cures at this Bethesda Pool from time to time. But this “someone” was too weak to lift himself into the water and all the others there looked after themselves rather than him.
This “someone” had nobody who could help him with this. No hope. Things are not that much different today – when push turns to shove and we’re all protecting ourselves from Covid – not too bothered about curing others.
Jesus states to him, “Rise up! Take your mat and walk!” And immediately the man came to be whole and took his mat and was walking. In fact it was a sabbath on that same day.
Someone does care. As soon as Jesus, having asked, is told that this “someone” does want “to be well”, he sees to it. Direct. No water. No magic.
So the Judeans were stating to the one who having been healed, “It is a sabbath, and it is not permitted to you to take the mat.” In fact he answered them, “That same one who made me whole—that one said to me, ‘Take your mat and walk!’”
The devout, religious folk in Jerusalem had not earlier bothered about this “someone”. But they suddenly spring into action. Although “made well”, he mustn’t carry his mat around. Not on the Sabbath.
The trouble was that it was the man who had made him well who had told him to walk around carrying his mat. He had also made him well on the Sabbath. A new “Sabbath” had arrived on earth - in Jerusalem. The religious were unaware. This universal “weakening” – no matter how long or how advanced or how bad – was now reversible. At last.
So they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take and walk!’?” In fact the one who was healed had not discerned who it is, because Jesus edged away, a crowd being in the place.
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