September 9, 2026 | The Impotent Man & The Man with the Withered Hand | Lesson 354

JOHN 5:1-18; MATT. 12:9-14; MARK 3:1-6; LUKE 6:6-11

Full lesson HERE

THE IMPOTENT MAN: This miracle took place in Jerusalem where Jesus had gone for a feast. John does not tell what feast it was, but most likely it was the Passover. Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda one Sabbath day and there found a man lying on his bed who had been ill for many years and was helpless.

This is the only time the pool of Bethesda is mentioned in the Bible. Although its exact location is uncertain, north of the temple area a double pool has been excavated with ruins of columns, indicating that fine galleries surrounded the pools. John describes the pool as having five porches (porticoes)—that is, colonnades, with five arches above them to give shelter. In these porches lay many sick people. The belief was that the waters of the pool had special healing powers. Occasionally the pool bubbled up, and the people thought the stirring of the water was caused by an angel. The first person to step into the pool after the waters were troubled would be healed of whatever disease he had.

THE MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND: This miracle also took place on the Sabbath in the synagogue in an unnamed location. God had set aside the Sabbath for the Israelites as a day of rest that the day might be a blessing for man. Remembering the Sabbath was part of the Ten Commandments which were principles or laws to guide the people in their daily lives. However, through the years (centuries) the Jews had added explicit rules and regulations covering every possible situation encountered. These rules and regulations were called oral traditions because they were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.

The rules regulating the Sabbath became numerous and exceedingly burdensome. The law stated: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates" (Ex. 20:8-10). But this was not enough for the Jews—they defined work.

Through the years the Jewish rulers developed 39 classifications of work and divided and subdivided each of the classifications. For example, a work that was forbidden was the carrying of a burden. They defined as a burden such trivial things as food equal in weight to a dried fig, milk enough for one swallow, ink enough to write two letters of the alphabet, parchment enough to write, "Hear, O Israel," and on and on. No wonder they condemned the man who was carrying his bed after being healed by Jesus!

Another regulation regarding the Sabbath was the prohibition of healing. This was considered work! A sick person could be treated so he would not get worse, but not so he would get better. For example: if a person broke an arm or leg on the Sabbath, he could be made comfortable, but the broken limb could not be set until the next day; a bandage could be placed over a wound on the Sabbath, but medicine could not be used until the next day; wool could be placed in an ear that was aching on the Sabbath, but drops of medicine could not. If a building fell down on a passer-by on the Sabbath, enough rubble could be cleared away to determine if the person were dead or alive; if the person was alive, he could be removed, but if the person was dead or a Gentile, he had to be left until the Sabbath was over.

These oral traditions developed through the years regulating the lives of the Jews down to the smallest detail were the obstacles Jesus faced as He tried to teach the people about his coming kingdom. The Jewish rulers refused to recognize Jesus as their Messiah and became more and more hostile to him as He performed miracle after miracle, proving his Sonship and demonstrating his mercy and compassion.