Picture: Bethesda and the Sanhedrin 3TC 122.1
This chapter is based on John 5.
“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed.” 3TC 122.2
At certain times the waters of this pool were agitated, and many people believed that this was supernatural and that whoever stepped in first would be healed of whatever disease he had. Hundreds of sufferers visited the place; but the crowd was so great when the water was troubled that they trampled underfoot men, women, and children weaker than themselves. Many who succeeded in reaching the pool died on its brink. People had put up shelters around the place. Some of the sick spent the night in these porches, creeping to the edge of the pool day after day, hoping for relief. 3TC 122.3
Jesus was again at Jerusalem. Walking alone, in apparent meditation and prayer, He came to the pool. Seeing the poor sufferers, He longed to exercise His healing power and make every one of them whole. But it was the Sabbath day, and He knew that such an act of healing would stir up the prejudice of the Jews so much that it would cut short His work. 3TC 123.1
The Savior, however, saw one case of supreme wretchedness, a man who had been a helpless cripple for thirty-eight years. People considered his disease as a judgment from God. Alone and friendless and feeling shut out from God’s mercy, the suffering man had spent long years in misery. When it was expected that the waters would be troubled, those who pitied his helplessness would carry him to the porches. But at the crucial moment, he had no one to help him in. He had seen the rippling of the water, but he had never been able to get farther than the edge of the pool. His constant efforts and continual disappointment were quickly wearing away his strength. 3TC 123.2
The sick man was lying on his mat when a compassionate face bent over him. The hopeful words, “Do you want to be made well?” got his attention. He felt that in some way he was going to have help. But the glow of encouragement soon faded. He remembered how often he had tried to reach the pool. “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.” 3TC 123.3
Jesus did not ask this suffering man to exercise faith in Him. He simply said, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” But the man’s faith took hold of that word. Every nerve and muscle in his crippled body thrilled with new life. He set his will to obey Christ, and his muscles responded. Springing to his feet, he discovered the he could move freely and easily. 3TC 123.4
The man could have stopped to doubt and lost his one chance of healing. But he believed Christ’s word, and in acting on it he received strength. Through the same faith we may receive spiritual healing. Sin has cut us off from the life of God and crippled us. By ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than the sick man was capable of walking. Many who realize their helplessness and long for spiritual life are trying in vain to obtain it. The Savior is bending over these discouraged, struggling ones, saying, “Do you want to be made well?” 3TC 124.1
Do not wait to feel whole. Believe His word, and put your will on the side of Christ. In acting on His word, you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil that binds both soul and body, Christ is able to deliver. He will give life to the person that is “dead in trespasses.” Ephesians 2:1. 3TC 124.2
The restored paralytic bent down to pick up his rug and blanket, and when he straightened up, he looked around for his Deliverer. But Jesus was lost in the crowd. As he hurried on his way with firm, free step, rejoicing in his newfound strength, he told several of the Pharisees of his cure. He was surprised at the coldness with which they listened. 3TC 124.3
They interrupted him, asking why he was carrying his bed on the Lord’s Day. In his joy, the man had forgotten it was the Sabbath. He answered boldly, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’” They asked who had done this, but he could not tell. These rulers wanted direct proof so that they could condemn Jesus as a Sabbath breaker. He had not only broken the law in healing the sick man on the Sabbath, but had committed a serious evil by telling him to carry his bed away. 3TC 124.4
The Jews had so perverted the law with meaningless requirements that they made it a yoke of slavery and made observing it an intolerable burden. A Jew was not allowed to kindle a fire nor even light a candle on the Sabbath. As a result, the people were dependent on the Gentiles for many services that their rulers told them they must not do for themselves. They thought salvation was restricted to the Jews, and that since others were already beyond hope, doing these forbidden things would not make matters worse for them. But God has given no commandments that cannot be obeyed by everyone. 3TC 124.5
In the temple, Jesus met the man who had been healed. He had come to bring a sin offering and also a thank offering for the great mercy he had received. Jesus made Himself known to him. The healed man was overjoyed to meet his Deliverer. Not knowing how they hated Jesus, he told the Pharisees that He was the One who had performed the cure. “For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.” 3TC 125.1
Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin to answer the charge of Sabbath breaking. If the Jews had been an independent nation, such a charge would have served their purpose to put Him to death. But their accusations against Christ would have no weight in a Roman court. They hoped, however, to accomplish other goals. Christ was gaining an influence greater than their own, and many who were not interested in the rantings of the rabbis were attracted to His teaching. He spoke of God not as an avenging judge, but as a tender Father. By His words and works of mercy, He was breaking the oppressive power of human commandments and was presenting the love of God. 3TC 125.2
One of the earliest prophecies of Christ says, 3TC 125.3
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
Genesis 49:10 3TC 125.4
The people were gathering to Christ. If the priests and rabbis had not gotten in the way, His teaching would have brought about such a reformation as this world has never witnessed. But these leaders determined to break down Jesus’ influence. It would help if they could arraign Jesus before the Sanhedrin and have Him openly condemned. Whoever dared to speak against the rabbinical requirements was regarded as guilty of treason. On this ground the rabbis hoped to create suspicion of Christ as someone who was trying to overthrow established customs, in this way causing division among the people and preparing the way for the Romans to trample them down completely. 3TC 125.5
After Satan had failed to overcome Christ in the wilderness, he combined his forces to oppose Christ and hinder His work. He matured his plans to blind the minds of the Jewish people so that they would not recognize their Redeemer, filling their leaders with his own hatred against the Champion of truth. He would lead them to reject Christ and to make His life as bitter as possible, hoping to discourage Him in His mission. 3TC 126.1
Jesus had come to “magnify the law and make it honorable.” Isaiah 42:21. He had come to free the Sabbath from those burdensome requirements that had made it a curse instead of a blessing. For this reason, He had chosen the Sabbath for the healing at Bethesda. He could have healed the sick man on any other day or simply have cured him without telling him to carry away his bed. But He selected the worst case and told the man to carry his bed through the city to call attention to the great work done for him. This would open the way for Him to denounce the Jews’ restrictions regarding the Lord’s Day and to declare their traditions not valid. 3TC 126.2
Jesus stated that the work of relieving the afflicted was in harmony with the Sabbath law. God’s angels are always ministering to suffering humanity. “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” All the days are God’s, in which to carry out His plans for the human race. If the Jews’ interpretation of the law was correct, then the One who instituted the Sabbath must bring a temporary close to His labor and stop the never-ending routine of the universe. 3TC 126.3
Should God forbid the sun to perform its function on the Sabbath? Must He command the brooks to pause in their watering of fields and forests? Must wheat and corn stop growing? Must trees and flowers put forth no bud nor blossom on the Sabbath? 3TC 126.4
God could not for a moment remove His hand, or mankind would faint and die. We also have work to perform on this day. The sick must be cared for and the wants of the needy be supplied. God’s holy rest day was made for us. God does not want His creatures to suffer an hour’s pain that can be relieved on the Sabbath. 3TC 127.1
The Sabbath law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the Lord. The work that earns our livelihood must stop. No labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful on that day. But as God ended His labor of creating and rested on the Sabbath, so we are to leave the occupations of daily life and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, worship, and holy deeds. Christ’s healing the sick honored the Sabbath. 3TC 127.2
But the Pharisees were still more upset. Jesus had not only broken the law, according to their understanding, but in calling God His Father, He had declared Himself equal with God. They accused Him of blasphemy. These opponents of Christ could only refer to their customs and traditions, and these seemed weak and stale when compared to the arguments Jesus had drawn from the Word of God and the unending round of nature. But the rabbis evaded the points He made and tried to stir up anger against Him because He claimed to be equal with God. If they had not feared the people, the priests and rabbis would have killed Jesus on the spot. But popular sentiment in His favor was strong. Many justified His healing of the lame man at Bethesda. 3TC 127.3
Jesus rejected the charge of blasphemy. “My authority,” He said, “is that I am the Son of God, One with Him in nature, will, and purpose. I cooperate with God.” 3TC 127.4
“The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do.” The priests and rabbis were taking the Son of God to task for doing the very work He had been sent into the world to do. They felt self-sufficient and sensed no need of a higher wisdom. But the Son of God was surrendered to the Father’s will and dependent on His power. Christ made no plans for Himself. Day by day the Father unfolded His plans. So should we depend on God, so that our lives may be the simple working out of His will. 3TC 127.5
The words of Christ teach that we should think of ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our status in life, we are dependent on God. He has appointed us our work and has given us resources for that work. As long as we surrender the will to God and trust in His strength and wisdom, He will guide us in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His plan. But those who depend on their own wisdom and power are separating themselves from God and fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and humanity. 3TC 128.1
The Sadducees believed that there would be no resurrection of the body, but Jesus told them that one of the greatest works of His Father is raising the dead, and that He Himself had power to do the same work. “As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” Christ declared that the power that gives life to the dead was among them, and they were to see it revealed. This same resurrection power gives life to the soul and sets us “free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2. Through faith we are kept from sin. Those who open their hearts to Christ become partakers of the mighty power that will bring their bodies out from the grave. 3TC 128.2
The humble Nazarene rose above humanity, threw off the appearance of sin and shame, and stood revealed, the Son of God, One with the Creator of the universe. His hearers were spellbound. No one ever spoke words like His or carried himself with such kingly majesty. His words were clear and plain, fully declaring His mission. “The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. ... The Father ... has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” 3TC 128.3
The priests and rulers set themselves up as judges to condemn Christ’s work, but He declared Himself to be their Judge and the Judge of all the earth. Every blessing from God to the fallen race has come through Him. As soon as there was sin, there was a Savior. He who has given light to all, He who has followed us with tender pleading, seeking to win us from sin to holiness, is both our Advocate and Judge. He who has been seeking through all the ages to free the captives from the deceiver’s grasp is the One who will pass judgment on every person. 3TC 128.4
Because He has tasted the last drops of human affliction and temptation and understands our frailties; because He has withstood the temptations of Satan and will deal justly and tenderly with those that His own blood has been poured out to save—because of this, God has appointed the Son of man to execute judgment. 3TC 129.1
But “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17. And Jesus declared to the Sanhedrin, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” 3TC 129.2
“The hour is coming all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” 3TC 129.3
The only light that can lighten the gloom of the grave was shining on Israel. But self-will is blind. Jesus had violated the traditions of the rabbis, and they refused to believe. 3TC 129.4
The time, the place, and the intensity of feeling that filled the assembly combined to make Jesus’ words before the Sanhedrin even more impressive. The highest religious authorities of the nation were seeking the life of Him who declared Himself to be Israel’s Restorer. The Lord of the Sabbath they called before the court to answer the charge of breaking the Sabbath. His judges looked on Him with astonishment and rage, but His words were unanswerable. He denied the right of priests and rabbis to interfere with His work. He refused to plead guilty to their charges or be taught by them. 3TC 129.5
Instead of apologizing, Jesus rebuked the rulers for their ignorance of the Scriptures. He declared that they had rejected the Word of God because they had rejected Him whom God had sent. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” 3TC 129.6
The Old Testament Scriptures radiate with the glory of the Son of God. The entire divine system of Judaism was a compact prophecy of the gospel. Through the patriarchal line and the legal system, heaven’s glorious light made plain the footsteps of the Redeemer. Every sacrifice showed Christ’s death. In every cloud of incense, His righteousness ascended. In the awe-filled mystery of the Holy of Holies, His glory dwelt. 3TC 130.1
The Jews supposed that in their mere outward knowledge of the Scriptures they had eternal life. But having rejected Christ in His Word, they rejected Him in person. “You are not willing to come to Me,” He said, “that you may have life.” 3TC 130.2
The Jewish leaders had studied the teachings of the prophets, not with a sincere desire to know the truth, but with the purpose of finding evidence to support their ambitious hopes. When Christ came in a manner different from what they expected, they would not accept Him and tried to prove that He was a deceiver. The more directly the Savior spoke to them in His works of mercy, the more determined they were in resisting the light. 3TC 130.3
Jesus said, “I do not receive honor from men.” It was not the Sanhedrin’s approval He desired. He was clothed with the honor and authority of Heaven. If He had wanted it, angels would have come to worship Him. But for their own sake and for the sake of the nation whose leaders they were, He wanted the Jewish rulers to recognize His character. 3TC 130.4
“I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.” When others would come, pretending to have the character of Christ but seeking their own glory, they would be accepted. Why? Because those who seek their own glory appeal to the desire for self-exaltation in others. The Jews would receive the false teacher because he flattered their pride. But the teaching of Christ was spiritual and demanded the sacrifice of self; therefore, they would not accept it. To them His voice was the voice of a stranger. 3TC 130.5
Are there not many religious leaders in our day who are rejecting the Word of God in order to keep their own traditions? 3TC 131.1
“If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” If they had listened to the divine Voice that spoke through their great leader, Moses, they would have recognized it in the teachings of Christ. 3TC 131.2
The priests and rabbis saw that there was no excuse for their opposition to Jesus, yet this did not quench their murderous hatred. Fear seized them as they saw the convincing power that accompanied His ministry, but they locked themselves in darkness. 3TC 131.3
They had failed to undermine the authority of Jesus or alienate the people, many of whom were convicted by His words. The rulers themselves felt deep condemnation, yet they were determined to take His life. They sent messengers to warn the people against Jesus as an impostor. They sent spies to report what He said and did. The precious Savior was now most surely standing under the shadow of the cross. 3TC 131.4
