THIS quiet, peaceful pool surrounded by rocks and beautiful trees, looks very inviting. The woman in the boat must be enjoying it as she rows about in the water.
I wonder how many of you little readers know about the Pool of Bethesda! We are told about it in the 5th chapter of John’s Gospel. This pool was at Jerusalem, and had five porches. Many years ago, when the Lord Jesus was on earth, any one passing by this pool would have seen a great crowd of people on these porches. What do you suppose they were doing there?
If you read the chapter, you will find out that they were sick or in trouble of some kind. Some were blind and some were lame.
But why do you suppose they had come or been brought to these porches around the pool? Our chapter tells us that at times an angel went down into the pool and stirred up the water.
Generally, a pool is quiet, and smooth like the one in our picture. So, the people watched the water, and as soon as they saw it getting rough, they hurried to get down into the pool. The one who got in first was cured. If he was sick, he became well. If he was blind, he could see after he had stepped into the water. If he was lame, he could walk all right again.
One day Jesus was down by this pool, and saw a man there who had been sick for 38 years. Jesus asked him if he would like to be well. The man said he had been trying to get into the pool, but was so sick he couldn’t move fast enough, and he didn’t have any one to help him, so someone else always got into the water first. Then Jesus said to the man.
“Rise, take up thy bed and walk” (John 5:88Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. (John 5:8)), and the man was cured at once, and able to go home.
When Jesus was here He cured a great many sick people, because they had faith in Him, and believed He was able to make them well.
Many of us have strong healthy bodies, and don’t need to be cured, like the people who waited at the Pool of Bethesda. But we all have sinful, bad hearts that we cannot make good of ourselves, but Jesus is just as able to cleanse us from our sins, as He is to heal our diseases. If we have faith in Him, our sins are forgiven.
ML 05/08/1927