Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1905-02-10

l. A, Sick Man at the. Pool of
Bethesda.-Vs. Is. /. after these
things" Two or, three months after
the healing of the noblemap's son. "a
feast of the Jews" Probably the Pass
over, possibly Purim month earlier.
1t is a matter of no Importance in
itself which feast it was, except that
scholars have made it a basis for cal
culating the duration Of the ministry
OF Jesus as reported by John. Jesus
went up from Galilee ito Jerusalem"
as was his custom, to attend the
feast. .e
2. by the sheep market" r. w.,
gate" 1t makes no special differ
ence which. word is supplied, as the
market was usually near gate to
the, city. Sheep gate is mentioned in
Neh. 1882; 12:39. "a pool ::
called Bethesda" "House Of
Mercy" or place of receiving and
caring for the sick. "--Thayer's Lexi
con. ~.
3. Lay great multitude. Of i'm
potent folk" Literally, people with
out strength, especially, as here, de-
bility caused by sickness. The class
of diseases brought to these waters
is described as blind, halt" Cor lame,
as from rheumatism), "withered,"
members Of whose body were de-
prived of their natural juices, wasted,
shrunk.
The Troubling of the Waters.
Waiting for the moving of the wa
ter" That there was a moving OF
the water is evident from the state
ment of the sick man in V. Z. But
this part of v. 8 and the whole of V.
4, explaining the cause Of the move
ment, is omitted from both the R. v.
and the Am. w. because they are not
found in the best manuscripts, but
are supposed to have been marginal
explanation, which in time became in
corporated by some scribe into the
text. But this does not necessarily
imply that the explanation was IN
true.
S. Had an infrmity." The Greek
has the same root as impotent in ".
3. Thirty and eight years" How
long he had waited in vain by the wa
tiers is not stated. But the duration
of his sickness is given to show how
hopeless was the case which every eff
fort for thirty-eight years had failed
to relieve, and hence the sympathy
which selected this case, and the
marvel Of the cure as enhancing the
Sign "a.
II. Jesus Heals tho Sic; Man on
the Sabbath.-Vs. GO. &. Jesus saw
him lie" r. ", "lying." GAS the
trained eye of the surgeon quickly
selects the worst case in the waiting
room, so is the eye of Jesus speedily
fixed" on the one who chad been now
Z long time in that case" Hopeless
ness was written on his face. wilt
(wouldest) thou Edo you wish toy be
made whole?" In perfect health,
The object of the question was to
awaken hope in his soul, to arouse
him from his dependency. mot al
ways are the miserable willing to be
relieved" 1.-THE saddest cases Of
paralysis are those where the will
power has almost been lost" ~
7. II have no man, when the water
is troubled" The bubbling of the
healing gases lasted for only a short
time, so that but few could get under
It's influence before it ceased. "While
am coming" etc. "Thus picturing
the extreme haste and rapidity with
which the favorable opportunity was
There was rush and scram-
BILE for the one chance, such as we
have seen for choice seats in a car
or halle. w. Clark.
He probably thought that Jesus
would help him into the pool, but he
did much better than the mans Wild
est hopes, and ". 81 saith unto him,
Rise, take up thy bed, and walk" The
bed was light mattress, or thick
blanket. This command (1) awaken
ed the dormant faith in the man. ca
It aided his will to move him into
action. (9) 1t drew the man to a
realizing sense Of Jesus as the author
Of his cure. (4) It enabled him to
recognize that the cure was perma-
nent. mo doubt, many of the cures
at the pool were merely temporary.
The cures wrought by Christ are per-
feet, and do not only give some re-
lief."-Exp. Greek Test.
9. "Took up his bed" Showing his
faith and obedience, "And walked"
Showing the completeness of the cure.
Light On Present Day Problems.
Sickness and trouble are instru-
ments in Gods providence for leading
US to realize our sins and needs. They
compel us to turn away for a time
from the rush and excitement of
worldly business and pleasure, and
IL quietness look at our hearts and
lives. 1.-THE suffering you see around
you hurts God more than il hurts you
or the man upon whom, It falls. But
he hates things that most men think
little of, and will send any suffering
upon them, rather than have them
continue Indifferent to them. Men
may say, We don't want suffering;
we don't want to be good!' But God
says, I know my own obligations, and
you shall not be contemplate
wretches If there be any resource in
the Godhead.' The God who strikes
is the God whose Son wept over Je-
rusalem. George Macdonald.
AS to the healing of The sick, and
the relief of the suffering bore wit
ness to Jesus that he was the Savior
the Son of God, so one VI the strong
est witnesses to Christianity to-day
is found in what it does for the poor