John 5 begins: [1] After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
[2] Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a
pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
[3] In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk,
of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
[4] 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.
"When
you look at that the chapter introduces a rather pathetic-looking scene. That
word ‘Bethesda’ means ‘the house of mercy’ in Hebrew.
"All
these people have no strength or ability to help themselves," explains Richard Jordan. "The particulars
are they are blind, they’re halt, they’re withered. Their eyes don’t work, they
can’t walk, their limbs, their hands are withered up and they’re waiting.
"What
they should be waiting for is redemption in Israel (Luke 2), but these people
are waiting for the pool of water to have an angel come stir it. They’ve heard
this story about that and they’re waiting for the troubling of the water.
"What
all this is really is a picture of the nation Israel and the spiritual
condition the nation’s in at this time.
"After
this there was a feast, not of the Lord, but of who? The Jews. It’s not just a
pathetic picture here; there’s a prophetic picture. It’s just an empty Jewish
ceremony. It’s just outward religious observation by a rebellious, unbelieving
people.
"They’ve
still got the rite, the ritual, the outward. But it’s really not the Lord in it
anymore. It’s theirs.
"Paul
said it about himself in Galatians: [14] And profited in the Jews' religion above many my
equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of
my fathers.
"You’ll
see Paul categorizes all these things (Philippians 3) that were just death and
loss. Well, that’s where Israel is here.
"John
said it. He came to His own and His own did what? They believed Him not. In the
Book of John, this is the assumption from the get-go, because that’s the
spiritual condition Israel is in.
"In
Matthew, Mark and Luke you don’t come to this conclusion until the ends of
those books. But the Book of John isn’t looking at the credentialing of the
Lord; it isn’t looking at His ability to work or His connection with the
Abrahamic Covenant. It’s just looking at the spiritual condition of the nation.
"In
Romans 9:30-33, Paul asked the question: ‘Why did the Gentiles, who didn’t
follow after the law, get things and Israel, who followed after the law and had God’s
Word, why did they not get it?’ He said, ‘Because they sought it not by faith.’
"What
Paul says in Romans 9 is the reason Israel missed the Messiah when He showed up
is they weren’t walking by faith all along; they had long forsaken faith
in God’s Word. They still had all the ceremonies; they still had God’s law.
"Here
you are at the house of mercy and it’s got five porches that everybody’s laying
in. Now five in the Bible is the number of death. By the way, how many books of
Moses are there in the Bible? Five. The books of Moses are called the law and the law
works what? Death.
"Here’s
Israel sitting over here by the sheep market, which is over by the sheep gate. In
Nehemiah 3 when they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, they rebuild the wall and
the chapter starts with them rebuilding the sheep gate. Then they go around to
all these other gates and finally wind up back at the sheep gate.
"It’s
sort of like the Sphynx. You’ve got the head of the lady, the virgin, Virgo.
And the body of the lion, Leo, and there’s the Zodiac. It starts with Virgo and
ends with Leo; starts with the first coming and ends with the Second Coming.
"Well,
the sheep gate starts with the rebuilding of the wall, goes all the way around until it's full-circle. The gate right before the sheep gate is finished. It’s called a Hebrew word meaning judgment.
"The
names of the gates describe what they did in those. The sheep gate was where
the sacrificial lambs were brought in and out and when they brought them in,
they brought them to a market where they’re going to sell them for the feast in
verse 1.
"Three
times in the year all of the men in Israel were required to go to Jerusalem.
Deuteronomy 16:
[16] Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
[17] Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. [18] Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
(new post tomorrow)
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