Proverbs 27:17
Monday, October 19, 2026
John 5:1-16 - Jesus Heals Crippled Man at Bethesda: Lesson on Sabbath Priorities
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John 5:1-16
(1) After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (2) Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. (3) In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. (4) For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. (5) And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. (6) When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? (7) The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. (8) Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. (9) And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. (10) The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. (11) He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. (12) Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? (13) And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. (14) Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (15) The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. (16) And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
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Jesus' healing of the crippled man beside the pool called Bethesda is one of nine healing miracles involving water and one of seven performed on the Sabbath. Only the apostle John records it (John 5:1-16). It is impossible to be sure when the miracle occurred other than it happened on a Sabbath day.
John's reference to "a feast of the Jews" (John 5:1) rather than a "feast of the Lord" (Exodus 12:14; Leviticus 23:2, 37) illustrates the spiritual decline that had occurred among the Jews regarding God's feast days. People may typically start out with God being central to their worship, but they end up getting in the way and become the main focus themselves. The people had made this festival a feast of the people instead of continuing it as God's feast.
In His journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus expended a considerable amount of effort to be there in time for this Sabbath. In doing this, He set an example in terms of spiritual priorities and the sacrifices involved in putting spiritual matters first. Some Christians are unclear about spiritual priorities, desiring a convenient religion that requires little inconvenience and no sacrifice. Frequently, those who complain most about not getting enough out of church are often those who attend sporadically and involve themselves the least in church activities. Jesus, on the other hand, took great pains to fellowship and to help the people, especially on the Sabbath.
— Martin G. Collins
To learn more, see:
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Cripple by a Pool (Part One)
Topics:
Bethesda
Fellowship
Fellowship of Believers
God's Feasts
Healing of a Crippled Man
Healing of the Paralytic
Jesus Christ's Miracles
Miracles of Jesus Christ
Preparing for Sabbath
Relationships with Brethren
Sabbath
Sacrifice as a Way of Life
Spiritual Priorities
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This Sunday we celebrate "Reformation Sunday", a characteristic of Christ's church as a church of resurrection. We find our eternal life through the Grace of God which is given as a gift through love.
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Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Jeremiah 31:31–34
Set within the prophetic "Book of Consolation," Jeremiah 31:31–34 announces God’s radical theological shift from an externalized Mosaic code written on tablets of stone to an internalized berit chadashah (new covenant) written directly upon human hearts. Addressing an exilic community fractured by historic disobedience, the passage frames human failure not as an absolute termination of divine fidelity, but as the staging ground for unconditional grace initiated solely by YHWH. The transition from verse 32’s sorrowful remembrance of a broken marital bond to verses 33–34 marks a qualitative transformation: divine knowledge ceases to be an elite, mediated civic pedagogy and becomes an immediate, universal reality shared equally from the least to the greatest. By anchoring this interior transformation in God’s sovereign declaration to remember sin no more, the text establishes that authentic communal renewal begins with absolute divine pardon rather than retributive human effort.
Romans 3:19–28
In Romans 3:19–28, Paul constructs the forensic heart of Pauline theology, demonstrating that while the Torah functions diagnostically to unveil universal human accountability and silence all self-justifying claims, it lacks the ontological power to declare anyone righteous before God. The pivot in verse 21 (Nuni de, "But now") signals an apocalyptic break where the dikaiosynē Theou (righteousness of God) is unveiled apart from legal observance, having been witnessed by the very Scriptures it fulfills. Paul insists that because the shortfall of divine glory is universal, justification operates exclusively as a dōrean—an unearned gift grounded in the redemptive atonement of Jesus Christ and accessed through faith. Consequently, verse 28 dismantles all religious boasting, establishing that human standing before the Creator rests entirely upon divine grace rather than personal achievement.
John 8:31–36
In John 8:31–36, Jesus recalibrates the definition of liberation by confronting a religious community whose assurance of freedom rests in ancestral pedigree and covenantal heritage. Johannine discipleship is characterized by enduring abide-ment (menein) in Jesus' word, which grants experiential knowledge of the Truth that liberates humanity from the insidious bondage of sin. When his listeners appeal to their Abrahamic descent to deny their captivity, Jesus exposes sin not merely as isolated moral infraction, but as an oppressive power structure that reduces humanity to transient, disinherited slaves within the cosmic household. True emancipation cannot be inherited or achieved through ethnic lineage; it requires the liberating agency of the Son, who transforms displaced captives into permanent, familial heirs within the household of God.
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"Furthermore, after Mary has heaped her favors upon her children and faithful servants, and has obtained for them the blessings of the heavenly Father and union with Jesus Christ, she reserves them in Jesus and Jesus in them. She takes care of them, watches over them always, for fear they should lose the grace of God and fall into the snares of their enemies. 'She retains the saints in their fullness,' and makes them persevere to the end, as we have seen." —St. Louis de Montfort, pg. 112
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Examination of Conscience
The daily examination of conscience is an ancient Catholic practice. It’s very simple, and it’s designed to help us identify our sins and weaknesses so that we can improve and grow stronger in the spiritual life, while providing an excellent ongoing preparation for regular Confession. It consists of taking a few minutes at the end of the day to prayerfully review our actions in the light of God’s commandments, followed by the Act of Contrition.
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Review your actions, words, and thoughts today.
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Ask Him for the graces necessary to follow His Will more purposefully tomorrow.
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Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
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This Teaching Clip made me think of you. Watch Monday Night Prayers - Lectio 365 by 24-7 Prayer:
This Teaching Clip made me think of you. Watch Monday Night Prayers - Lectio 365 by 24-7 Prayer:
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