Transcription
Heat up. Shalom and welcome to another episode in our series called Picture This from Israel. Today we will see the real authentic site of the pools of Bethesda mentioned in John 5. We're going to see where this amazing miracle took place down below us as we walk through these excavations together. I want you to see if you can picture John five happening right before our very eyes.
Now, it takes a short walk to get to the end of this excavation here on the location where St. An's Church was built in the Crusader period. But as we move closer to seeing the very steps of this pool, this is a real site where we can appreciate the role of archaeology and confirming that this was a double pool and where precisely the the invalid, the paralyzed man for 38 years has mentioned in John I've was healed by Jesus.
Now, this excavation has a lot of ruins in including Byzantine and Crusader. But down below you can perhaps and I'll try to zoom in here are some steps. These are the original steps of the second temple or first century pool. And I want you to picture a man laying on his mat here. He's been an invalid for a long time. Jesus comes along and asks, "Do you want to get well?" It's an interesting question, isn't it? Of man, of a man who's basically lived his whole life here, the majority of his life, and yet Jesus does heal him.
And I want you to picture and now let's walk around to the other side of the excavation as we understand that among all of the ruins that we see, we can literally look down and see the steps. My guess is in my picture of this miracle in John five is that Jesus befriended him right here by these steps. And if we zoom out just a little, you can see the archway, which is much later, well above and hundreds of years later than the original pool as it was built at this lower level. Apparently, there was a dam that regulated the amount of water that goes into this pool. But an amazing story of transformation.
Later, Jesus meets him at the temple, which is only a stone throws away. Stone throw away I should say. And to be here at an authentic place is I think special. Picturing this miracle performed by Jesus here in Jerusalem. So can you picture it happening right below us literally on those steps? This is where this lame man, this paralyzed man was touched by Jesus. Jesus showed and displayed compassion to him. So we need to take out of our mind, out of the picture, all the other ruins that date to a later period and look straight down to those steps. And that's where this miracle took place.
Until next time, shalom.