Messiah in Yom HaBikkurim Chapter 85
Sign #3, Miracle #14. Healed Man Crippled for 38 years.
- The Third Sign and Fourteenth Miracle of Messiah
- Opening-up questions and clues
- The Unknown Feast
- “Seeing” the Sign of the Akedah
- “Seeing” the Sign of the New Moon in the Heavens
- Searching for Redemption in a Time of Testing
- The Scroll of the Second Chance
- The pool of Bethesda
- The House of Mercy and Grace
- Responding to the Movement of the Spirit of Holiness
- “Thirty-eight years…” (the Third Sign)
- 38 years of Israel wandering in the wilderness in a state of spiritual paralysis
- The paralyzed man is a type of Modern Israel
- Israel has been in a state of spiritual paralysis for a long time
- “Do you wish to get well?”
The Third Sign and Fourteenth Miracle of Messiah:
Yochanan 5:2-9
וּבִירוּשָׁלַיִם בְּרֵכָה עַל־יַד שַׁעַר הַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר יִקְרְאוּ לָהּ בְּלָשׁוֹן עִבְרִית בֵּית־חַסְדָּא וְלָהּ חֲמִשָּׁה אֻלַמִּים׃ שָׁמָּה שָׁכְבוּ חוֹלִים וְעִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים וִיבֵשֵׁי־כֹחַ לָרֹב (וְהֵמָּה מְיַחֲלִים לִתְנוּעַת הַמָּיִם׃ כִּי מַלְאָךְ יָרַד בְּמוֹעֲדוֹ אֶל־הַבְּרֵכָה וַיַּרְעֵשׁ אֶת־מֵימֶיהָ וְהָיָה הַיֹּרֵד רִאשׁוֹן אֶל־תּוֹכָהּ אַחֲרֵי הִתְגֹּעֲשׁוּ הַמַּיִם הוּא נִרְפָּא מִכָּל־מַחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר דָּבְקָה בּוֹ)׃ וְשָׁם אִישׁ אֶחָד וְהוּא בְחָלְיוֹ שְׁלשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה׃ וַיַּרְא אֹתוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ שֹׁכֵב וַיֵּדַע כִּי אָרְכוּ־לוֹ יְמֵי חָלְיוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הֲתַחְפֹּץ לְהֵרָפֵא׃ וַיַּעַן הַחוֹלֶה אֲדֹנִי אֵין־אִישׁ אִתִּי לְהַשְׁלִיכֵנִי אֶל־הַבְּרֵכָה בְּהֵרָעֵשׁ הַמַּיִם וּבְטֶרֶם אָבֹא וְיָרַד אַחֵר לְפָנָי׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו יֵשׁוּעַ קוּם שָׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ׃ וּכְרֶגַע שָׁב הָאִישׁ לְאֵיתָנוֹ וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וַיִּתְהַלָּךְ וְהַיּוֹם הַהוּא יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת׃
בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, עַל־יַד שַׁעַר הַצֹּאן הָיְתָה בְּרֵכָה, שֶׁנִּקְרְאָה בֵּית חַסְדָּא, וּסְבִיבָהּ חָמֵשׁ אַכְסַדְרָאוֹת בַּעֲלוֹת עַמּוּדִים. בָּאַכְסַדְרָאוֹת הָאֵלֶּה שָׁכְבוּ הַרְבֵּה חוֹלִים וְעִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים וִיבֵשֵׁי אֵבָרִים. הָיָה שָׁם אִישׁ אֶחָד וְהוּא בְּחָלְיוֹ שְׁלוֹשִׁים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה שָׁנִים. יֵשׁוּעַ רָאָה אוֹתוֹ שׁוֹכֵב וְיָדַע כִּי זְמַן רַב הוּא חוֹלֶה. שָׁאַל אוֹתוֹ: “אַתָּה רוֹצֶה לִהְיוֹת בָּרִיא? הֵשִׁיב לוֹ הַחוֹלֶה: אֲדוֹנִי, אֵין אִתִּי אִישׁ שֶׁיָּטִיל אוֹתִי לַבְּרֵכָה בְּעֵת תְּנוּעַת הַמַּיִם. עַד שֶׁאֲנִי בָּא, אַחֵר יוֹרֵד לְפָנַי. אָמַר לוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ: קוּם, קַח אֶת מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ. מִיָּד נִרְפָּא, לָקַח אֶת מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ. אוֹתוֹ יוֹם הָיָה יוֹם שַׁבָּת. פ
בירושלים, על-יד שער הצאן היתה ברכה, שנקראה בית חסדא, וסביבה חמש אכסדראות בעלות עמודים. באכסדראות האלה שכבו הרבה חולים ועורים ופסחים ויבשי אברים. היה שם איש אחד והוא בחליו שלושים ושמונה שנים. ישוע ראה אותו שוכב וידע כי זמן רב הוא חולה. שאל אותו: אתה רוצה להיות בריא? השיב לו החולה: אדוני, אין אתי איש שיטיל אותי לברכה בעת תנועת המים. עד שאני בא, אחר יורד לפני. אמר לו ישוע: “קום, קח את משכבך והתהלך. מיד נרפא, לקח את משכבו והתהלך. אותו יום היה יום שבת. פ
After these things, there was a festival [ראש השנה-Rosh HaShanah] for the Yehudim, and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. In Yerushalayim there was a pool near Sha’ar HaTzon which is called in the Hebrew language Beit-Chasda. It had five stoas (ulamim, five porticoes). There lay many sick, blind, lame, and weak people who were waiting for the water to move. (For an angel descended at its appointed time to the pool and agitated the water in it.) The first one to go down into it after the water churned would be healed from every ailment that clung to him. There was a certain man with a disease for thirty-eight years. Yeshua saw him lying there and knew that the days of his disease were very long. He said to him, “Do you desire to be healed?” The sick man answered, “My master, there is no one with me to cast me into the pool when the water is agitated, and before I come, someone else goes down before me.” Yeshua said to him, “Arise, carry your bed, and walk.” Instantly, the man regained his strength, picked up his bed, and walked. That day was the day of Shabbat.
Opening-up questions and clues:
The following opening-up questions and clues are provided as an introduction to this study on the 3rd Sign & 14th Miracle of Messiah:
1. Look at the symbolism of the above miracle narrative: At what location does the miracle occur?
2. What is the meaning of the place name, “Yerushalayim?”
3. What is the meaning of the Hebrew word “Beit-Chasda”?
4. Of all of the festivals of Israel which festival is referred to as the festival of the unknown day?
5. In what one place in the Tanakh is the term “38 years” used?
6. Why was it that two years after our people (Israel) left Egypt our ancestors were made to wander in the desert for an additional thirty-eight years?
7. What acts of disobedience and slander did our ancestors commit toward God that resulted in their judgment? (Be specific.)
8. After the old disobedient generation of Israel died in the wilderness what did the new generation of Israel do?
The Unknown Feast:
“After these things, there was a festival for the Yehudim.”
The events of the 3rd *Sign & 14th Miracle of Messiah occurred at the observance of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Teruah in Yerushalayim (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם). The meaning of the city of Jerusalem is the “Foundation of Shalem.” In Jerusalem this was the time of the unknown feast (Yom HaKeseh), for the day and the hour of it no one knows but HaShem Avinu (cf. Psalm 81:4-5; Beitzah 16a).
*A Hebrew sign (אוֹת-ot) is a unique kind of miracle (נֵס) and wonder (פֶּלֶא). It is a coded communication, a special message. There are seven special coded messages that are embedded in the 49 recorded miracles of the Messiah (cf. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
Why is it that the city of Jerusalem is called the “Foundation of Shalem”?
The city of Jerusalem is the Foundation of Shalem because it is the place where universal atonement was made for sin through the once-in-eternity sacrifice of the Messiah of God. In Genesis (14:18; 22:14) the deeper meaning of Yeru-Shalem, therefore, is interpreted as a combination of the two words: yir’eh – He (the LORD) will “see” (to it) and will “provide” it; and (Salem) Shalem – (what is) whole, complete, perfect.
We have shalom with God because He provided a substitute Akedah (binding sacrifice) for us on Mount *Moriah.
*Moriah means “Chosen of HaShem” (ה’-Yah). The word moriah (מוֹרִיָּה) is derived from raáh (רָאָה); meaning to “see,” “consider,” and “perceive.”
“Seeing” the Sign of the Akedah:
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה־לֹּו הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה בְּנִי וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּֽו׃
ויאמר אברהם אלהים יראה־לו השה לעלה בני וילכו שניהם יחדו׃
Avraham said, “God will provide (literally see [to it], ra’ah-רָאָה) for Himself the lamb (הַשֶּׂה-HaSeh; i.e. שֵׂה הָאֱלֹהִים-Seh HaElohim] for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Isaac (a type of the Messiah Yeshua), prophetically died (prophetic role-play) the day HaShem (the NAME) called father Abraham to sacrifice his son. After a three day journey father Abraham and his son Isaac climbed up Mount Moriah, the same mountain on which the Messiah Yeshua was sacrificed. Thereafter, in the prophetic role-play Isaac ben Avraham was sacrificed and resurrected (given back alive to his father) when HaShem assured father Abraham He would personally “provide” the sacrifice Himself (cf. Genesis 22).
This Binding of Isaac (עֲקֵידַת יִצְחַק), also known as The Binding (הָעֲקֵידָה) and the Akedah of Isaac, is a graphic prophetic picture of HaShem’s sacrifice of His own Son (the second and last Adam), the Messiah, two thousand years after Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Without the Messiah’s righteous sacrifice—the shedding of His blood (i.e. both His physical and spiritual life)—there would be no forgiveness for sin.
Rightly so Avinu Shebashamayim (our heavenly Father) requires that all of our sins be paid for.
HaShem warned the first Adam that the just penalty for His disobedience would be death (spiritual and physical). The first Adam ben Elohim failed as a Kinsman-Redeemer. He sinned. He did not remain righteous and redeem his bride. Instead of being the redeemer of his wife. He became her accuser.
In stark contrast to the first Adam, the last Adam (Ben Ha-Elohim) succeeded as a Kinsman-Redeemer (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). The last Adam paid the penalty for sin for all who believe on his name (trust in his Word). Messiah Yeshua is the Head of the New Creation Order. Rabbi Yeshua (יוֹשִׁיעַ-the Salvation of HaShem), the Messiah, died so that we who are “His people” might be forgiven of our sins and receive Avinu Shebashamayim’s gracious gift of eternal life.
“Seeing” the Sign of the New Moon in the Heavens:
Each year the Sanhedrin, a body of Seventy Jewish religious leaders, carefully deliberate in Jerusalem over two days (Tishri 1-2).
At this time the Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) decide which of the two days should reign (Rosh – be the head day of the Jewish calendar year) over all the rest of the days of the year. No one knows what day this royal day will be until HaShem “reveals” the sign of the New Moon to His servants. The first two days of the sabbatical seventh month of Tishri are also called Yom Teruah (the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar).
The time of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Teruah speaks of a future day of Holy Assembly where those who have believed in the Messiah will be miraculously and instantly translated (alive) and ascended out of the earth (resurrected) into heaven. This sign will occur just before the time of Jacob’s Trouble; prophetically symbolized in the seven intermediate days of *Tishri 3-9.
*The troubling days of Tishri 3-9 are called the (Seven) Intermediate Days of testing and judgment and they are a prophetic template for understanding what today is called the “Great Tribulation.”
Searching for Redemption in a Time of Testing:
Are you ready?
If one is prepared during the time of God’s graciousness (Elul1-Tishri 2) then he (she) will not be required to go through the time of great (global) testing that is prophetically illustrated during the Seven Intermediate Days (TIshri 3-9) of The Ten Great Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim, Tishri 1-10); the latter part of which (Tishri 3-9) are illustrative of the near-future seven year time of Jacob’s Trouble.
The best time for searching for one’s redemption is always right now!
It is never a good idea to put off and delay our need to do Teshuvah, return to the Holy One, and be reconciled to Him in faith and obedient love. It is best to be ready for the day and the hour no man knows (Yom HaKeseh).
The Scroll of the Second Chance:
The Messiah will return to Israel from heaven as the Conquering Messiah Ben David at an unknown future observance of Yom Kippur.
Therefore, if one is not ready during the time of God’s Graciousness (Elul1-Tishri 2) then there is a second chance during the Seven Intermediate Days (Tishri 3-9) to get ready for the Messiah’s return to Israel on Yom Kippur (Tishri 10). At that time (after the seven years of Jacob’s Trouble) he, our Messiah, will put down the rebellion of humankind against the Holy One (the LORD our God).
After the appearance of the Messiah in Israel: no one in the entire world will ever again be allowed to persecute or harm in any way God’s people (Israel). The Messiah will establish the Rule of God in a newly formed Commonwealth of Israel that will include all of the Gentile nations and peoples in the world. Thereafter, the international reign of the Messiah our King will last a thousand years.
Then will the end of the ages come.
The end of the age will come when the Holy One will exodus His redeemed humanity into an eternal new heaven and earth, where the taint of even remembering the existence of sin and evil will be no more.
The pool of Bethesda:
“Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda…”
North of the Temple area was the sheep gate and a pool called Bethesda. The sheep gate was the preferred gate for the sheep to entrance into the city of Jerusalem. Most oftentimes, during the festivals, the sheep in view were those that were about to be processed (approved) by the priests and prepared for sacrifice at the Temple. A significant portion of these dedicated (for sacrifice) sheep were specifically raised in a designated area near the city of David, at Bethlehem.
The House of Mercy and Grace:
Bethesda (בֵּית־חַסְדָּא-Beit-Chasda) in Hebrew means, “House of Mercy” and “House of Grace.”
When the mind is introduced in the same sentence to the terms “Sheep Gate,” “Pool of Water,” “House of Mercy,” and “House of Grace” it should not be that hard to intuit that the focus of this section of the Testimony of Messiah is about the “Sacrifice,” “Cleansing,” “Mercy” and “Grace of HaShem.”
“Having five porticoes.”
The pool of the House of Mercy and Grace was likely used for ceremonial water cleansing used in association with the Jerusalem Temple. Archaeology has confirmed the pool’s existence; including that its construction included “five porticoes.” As stated before in the Scriptures the number five is symbolic of Divine “grace” and favor.
Portico 1. The witness of the Prophet Yochanan Ben Zechariah.
Portico 2. The witness of the miraculous works of the Messiah.
Portico 3. The witness of the heavenly Father Himself.
Portico 4. The witness of the Tanakh.
Portico 5. The witness of Moses.
Responding to the Movement of the Spirit of Holiness:
שָׁמָּה שָׁכְבוּ חוֹלִים וְעִוְרִים וּפִסְחִים וִיבֵשֵׁי־כֹחַ לָרֹב (וְהֵמָּה מְיַחֲלִים לִתְנוּעַת הַמָּיִם׃ כִּי מַלְאָךְ יָרַד בְּמוֹעֲדוֹ אֶל־הַבְּרֵכָה וַיַּרְעֵשׁ אֶת־מֵימֶיהָ וְהָיָה הַיֹּרֵד רִאשׁוֹן אֶל־תּוֹכָהּ אַחֲרֵי הִתְגֹּעֲשׁוּ הַמַּיִם הוּא נִרְפָּא מִכָּל־מַחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר דָּבְקָה בּוֹ)׃
“In these [two connected pools of water] lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of God went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.”
The central Torah meaning here is very specific. Running (“stirred up”) water is an indication of a ‘movement’ of the Spirit of the Holy One. In this case there was a belief that an Angel of the LORD would at certain times cause the waters to move, so that some fortunate disabled or diseased person might be miraculously healed. We expect this occasional symbolic gesture was meant to inspire faith in the whole assembly of the “sick, blind, lame, and withered” (etc.); not just the person who was miraculously healed.
This charitable, gracious act was a demonstration of the exceptional healing powers of HaShem (the NAME). We know from the D’var HaShem (Word of God) that God manifested many miracles in Israel to increase the faith of His people.
These Bethesda miracles were in no way dependent on faith. Faith was not required. Only opportunity and personal initiative were required. To us the event was no more than a benevolent “sample” (an advertisement) of what could possibly be obtained at any time (not just during “certain seasons”) and at any place (not just the pool at Bethesda). These occasional miracles did not require faith but they did build faith. As the people experienced the miracles their faith would grow. These works of God were meant to stir up faith in His people (the people of Israel). Therefore, it should be said:
Better than dependence on fate is the exercise of faith.
If only we who are in a state of distress and need would exercise an abiding faith in God. Then there would be no need for us to futilely and fatalistically be waiting around for that very impersonal, highly unlikely, once in a lifetime miracle that we so blindly seem to believe will eventually “just come our way.”
In Messiah, the right time (season) for appropriating the charity and graciousness of HaShem our Father and our God is always now. Now is the time to believe and trust in God! Do you wish to be made well?
Trust in God now and He will hear you!
“Thirty-eight years…” (the Third Sign):
וְשָׁם אִישׁ אֶחָד וְהוּא בְחָלְיוֹ שְׁלשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה׃
“A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.”
A partially paralyzed man had been ill for 38 years. This reference to thirty-eight years of time is interesting. The term thirty eight years is only used one time in the entire Tanakh. Thirty-eight years is the exact amount of additional time Israel wandered around in the desert as a result of disobeying and slandering the Holy One. The disobedience of Israel had to do with our ancestors refusing to enter the Land of Canaan to militarily engage the wicked inhabitants (who were fierce warriors). The slander of HaShem was two-fold (cf. Numbers: chapters13 and 14).
False accusation #1. The people of Israel complained that God had led them out of Egypt only to have them destroyed while they engaged in battle with the Canaanites (1, 2).
False accusation #2. The people of Israel wrongly accused God of wanting the children to be “taken as plunder” by the Canaanites so that they would once again live as slaves. (1, 2)
No doubt it was the second false accusation that moved the Holy One to wrath.
As a result of our ancestors’ false accusations against HaShem our God He sentenced them, all of the adults of Israel, to wander around the desert for thirty-eight years; until every last one of the adults died. Only those *persons who were children (under the age of twenty) at the time of the rebellion were allowed to enter the the Promised Land (38 years later).
*There were two exceptions to God’s judgment: (two adults) Joshua & Caleb were allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
38 years of Israel wandering in the wilderness in a state of spiritual paralysis:
Therefore, at the end of Israel’s wandering in the desert (forty years total; two years before the rebellion; 38 years after) and at the threshold of HaShem’s people crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, we read (from the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua):
“For HaShem your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years HaShem your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing… Now arise and cross over the brook Zered yourselves. So we crossed over the brook Zered.”
וְהַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר־הָלַכְנוּ מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ עַד אֲשֶׁר־עָבַרְנוּ אֶת־נַחַל זֶרֶד שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה עַד־תֹּם כָּל־הַדֹּור אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה מִקֶּרֶב הַֽמַּחֲנֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע ה’ לָהֶֽם׃
“Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS (שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה), until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, as HaShem (the NAME) had sworn to them.”
“So it came about when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people…the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan…Now the people came up from the Jordan (into the Promised Land] on the tenth of the first month” (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
The paralyzed man is a type of Modern Israel:
It took 38 years of added time (40 years total) wandering around in the wilderness before the people (children) of Israel could enter the Promised Land. Similarly, it took 38 years of time for this paralyzed man to receive healing. Therefore, the paralyzed man is a type of Modern Israel and like the paralyzed man:
Modern Israel is presently living in a state of hoping for a miracle healing that is not based upon faith but on fate.
In ancient times HaShem Avinu (our Father) supernaturally delivered our people through signs, wonders, and miracles. Our ancestors were unable to deliver themselves through their own resources and initiative. Today Israel is surrounded by a Gentile world that hates us. Without the help of our evangelical Christian friends in America we cannot protect our nation and our people. Modern Israel’s survival is dependent on help coming from somewhere other than its own national resources. We have been waiting for help and as God would have it America, at present, is our greatest friend and ally. But what will Israel do if the people of America cease to be our friend and ally? May it never be. But what if Israel was left all alone; would we survive?
The miracle of Modern Israel is completely a work of God’s Grace.
Like the suffering paralyzed man who needed a miracle, so the nation and people of Israel shall receive its miracle of grace. For even if all of the world abandon us Avinu Shebashamayim will never abandon us. For just as our heavenly Father has promised He will never leave or forsake us; He will (soon) return to us our Messiah:
When the Messiah appears He will establish the “Rule of God” over all of the nations, peoples, and families of the earth.
Israel has been in a state of spiritual paralysis for a long time:
וַיַּרְא אֹתוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ שֹׁכֵב וַיֵּדַע כִּי אָרְכוּ־לוֹ יְמֵי חָלְיוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הֲתַחְפֹּץ לְהֵרָפֵא׃ וַיַּעַן הַחוֹלֶה אֲדֹנִי אֵין־אִישׁ אִתִּי לְהַשְׁלִיכֵנִי אֶל־הַבְּרֵכָה בְּהֵרָעֵשׁ הַמַּיִם וּבְטֶרֶם אָבֹא וְיָרַד אַחֵר לְפָנָי׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו יֵשׁוּעַ קוּם שָׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ׃ וּכְרֶגַע שָׁב הָאִישׁ לְאֵיתָנוֹ וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וַיִּתְהַלָּךְ וְהַיּוֹם הַהוּא יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת׃
יֵשׁוּעַ רָאָה אוֹתוֹ שׁוֹכֵב וְיָדַע כִּי זְמַן רַב הוּא חוֹלֶה. שָׁאַל אוֹתוֹ: “אַתָּה רוֹצֶה לִהְיוֹת בָּרִיא? הֵשִׁיב לוֹ הַחוֹלֶה: אֲדוֹנִי, אֵין אִתִּי אִישׁ שֶׁיָּטִיל אוֹתִי לַבְּרֵכָה בְּעֵת תְּנוּעַת הַמַּיִם. עַד שֶׁאֲנִי בָּא, אַחֵר יוֹרֵד לְפָנַי. אָמַר לוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ: קוּם, קַח אֶת מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ. מִיָּד נִרְפָּא, לָקַח אֶת מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ. אוֹתוֹ יוֹם הָיָה יוֹם שַׁבָּת. פ
“When Yeshua saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, he said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Yeshua said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” And immediately the man became well, and took up his pallet and began to walk. And it was the Sabbath on that day.”
Therefore, we would say that “When the Messiah (from heaven) saw his people of (Modern) Israel lying there, and knew that this his people had been a long time in that condition, he said to us (a new generation of Israel), “Do you wish to get well?” Then we said to him, “Master, we have no man (strong enough) to put us into the pool of God’s mercy (chesed-חֶסֶד) and grace (chen-חֵן) – at this specific time when the work of Divine healing is stirring.!” Then the Messiah will say to us (this generation of Israel): “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk!” Then, at the word of Messiah, the power of God will instantly Indwell our body, and all Israel will begin to walk in the power of the Spirit of Almighty God!
“Do you wish to get well?”
כִּי בֶּן־הָאָדָם הוּא גַּם־אֲדוֹן הַשַׁבָּת׃
שֶׁהֲרֵי בֶּן־הָאָדָם הוּא אֲדוֹן הַשַּׁבָּת.פ
For the Son of Man (Ben Ha-Adam) is the Master of the Sabbath!
“Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” One of the great tragedies and ironies of human history is that since the first appearance of Messiah (there will soon be another) the Gentiles have been more receptive than we Jews to secure for themselves the physical and spiritual healing that is freely available from the healing waters (pool) of HaShem’s grace and loving-kindness. Why is this so? Answer:
The existing state of Judaism is one of spiritual paralysis.
Believing Gentiles thus far are stepping into the pool of the five witnesses (cf. *5 porticoes above) before us Jews. Historically this has been due to our orthodox religious leaders telling us the falsehood that the Master of the Sabbath has not yet come. Therefore, we have yet to believe in the Beit-Chasda of God. As a nation and as a people we (Israel) have yet to enter God’s House of Mercy and His House of Grace. However, according to the words of our prophets and Messiah we believe that now is the time when our Messiah once again is saying to our nation and people:
“Do you wish to get well?”
And we believe Modern Israel’s answer shall soon be “Yes!” Then miraculously will our Messiah return to us from heaven and immediately all Israel shall be fully restored. So in a single day we shall finally all enter into the glorious age of the messianic kingdom; the golden age of blessedness that was promised by HaShem our God to our father Abraham and to us (his descendants) almost four millennia ago!
*In the Scriptures the number five is symbolic of God’s mercy and grace.