The Pool of Bethesda - Israel

Read John 5:1-18.  In this account, if you think about it a minute, the man had been ill for 38 years. Jesus asked, "Do you want to be well?” His situation seemed hopeless.  Every time he wanted to get into the waters, somebody else got there first. And there he lay and his situation seemed hopeless.  When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be well, he said “But I have no one to help me.” He is making an excuse for why nothing is happening. He didn’t really expect anything. He didn’t expect Jesus to do anything.  His hope lay in getting into the waters. But he needed to take action and Jesus gave him that challenge and said “Pick up your pallet and walk.” And he did.

Sometimes we think about our situations where we think things are hopeless and it has been this way for 38 years and nothing is ever going to change it.  We need to remember that part of our problem might be that we are making excuses…that we are not expecting Jesus to do anything. We are sitting there in our hopelessness, making excuses, instead of acting on what Jesus has told us to do in His Word, and that by faith, we need to pick up our pallet and walk. And that is the solution, rather than lying in wait in hopelessness, like poor me, I hope somebody comes along and helps me someday.

Come see this site for yourself on our Israel Tour May 25 - June 5, 2017. Click here for itinerary and more information.