The circumstances and events surrounding Jesus’ teachings reveal much that we should know about Him. He used circumstances and events to set the stage for His teaching and to prepare those hearing Him to receive what He is saying. Sometimes, as in this case, it means He will first stir up opposition, then He passionately tells them how they got it wrong! In the end, no conflict! A Master, indeed! For our purposes, we will consider Jesus’ message in the format indicated; first, the event which ignites the passions; and, then, because if its length, His disquisition will follow about where I have placed the ‘underlines’ at the beginnings of various scriptures. And, even this is somewhat arbitrary. Who am I to do that? Also, I’m re-quoting the scriptures, just for convenience. Before continuing, please, spend some time studying the above quotation as a whole; the parts fit much more perfectly when this is done.

“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”

This “feast of the Jews” was probably not Passover. John is careful to identify those specifically. The Jews had seven feasts prescribed to them. Don’t let this confuse you, but the Jews had two calendars. The first, called the “civil calendar”, begins the year about our September. It was established in antiquity, and is based on the lunar cycles, as opposed to our calendar which is based on solar days. The “religious calendar” was instituted at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12) and the year begins about our April. In reality, it begins on the first new moon after the spring equinox, and that varies considerably (check two or three years’ almanacs).

The six feasts are: Passover followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, commemorates the Exodus (April); Pentecost (aka Feast of Weeks), commemorates the Wheat Harvest (June); Trumpets, Leviticus 23: 23 - 32 establishes this feast as a time of sacrificial offering by fire unto the Lord, beginning first day of October and culminating in the “Day of Atonement” on the tenth day; Tabernacles (aka the Ingathering) commemorates the wilderness wanderings, begins on the 15^th of October; Dedication, also known as the Festival of Lights (December 25) commemorates the reconsecration of the temple after the Syrian conquests (St John 10:22 is the only reference to it in the KJV Bible, and is not specifically named); and, Purim (March), commemorates delivery from Haman during the Babylonian captivity, (Esther 9).

In addition to these special events, every new moon (first day of each month) was to be considered a “feast” and a “Sabbath”, and each Sabbath was considered a “feast” (Lev 23:2,3) Each of the special feasts, if longer than one day, had at least one day designated as a “Sabbath”. These are in addition, not in place of, each “seventh day” which was also a “Sabbath”. Consequently, the “Sabbath” could fall on any day of the week, depending on what day the new moon occurred, plus the “Sabbath” designated for the feasts. The rules of the Sabbath applied on each and every one of these days. And we consider one day a week sufficient!! Keep this in mind when we later discuss the meaning of Jesus’ statement, “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

Did you know that in the everyday marketplace of life there is a pool of “Bethesda”, a pool of mercy and lovingkindness? And, that marketplace is swarming with “impotent folk”, blind to the light of life, crippled by tradition, withered by the cares of life, waiting for death, or for God to reveal Himself? I’ve been there; how about you? Praise be to God that one day God “troubled” my water, when I had no one to help me! Oh! The joy of helping others! “For the joy set before Him, Jesus……” And, we don’t even have to go that far! What pitifully small the sacrifices we’re asked to make! And we’re still “stiff-necked” and “hard hearted”: when will we learn and do?