Title: Society and Today in Bethesda
Contents
Subject: Society and Today in Bethesda
Text: John 5:1-8
There was a pool called Bethesda near the gate that went northeast of Jerusalem. In the old days, this gate was called “Yang Gate” because it was the gate for the sheep to enter. The Pool of Bethesda was the little pool in front of the gate. Next to it were five hangars, which were full of many sick people. Because in the legend of that time, an angel came down and moved the water, and it was believed that the first person to jump into the pool at that time could cure any disease. Hearing this rumor, thousands of patients from all directions gathered to form a crowd.
In it, there were blind people, lame people, thin people, and it was another community of people suffering from various incurable diseases. It's hard to find a normal person here. However, what we should note here is that the society we live in today is very similar to the situation at that time. So, today, we are going to look at the social situation of Bethesda pool, discover how the society full of chronic ills has changed, and apply it to life in this age.
1. The pool of Bethesda was a society of patients.
It was a community with no normal people and only patients. Numerous patients, including the blind, the lame, the withered, and the 38-year-old, were lying in bed waiting for the water to move. In a word, it was a society of patients in need of treatment. Isn't it similar to the society we live in today? This society is full of abnormal people rather than normal people. In a word, it is a society of people who need treatment. As a normal person who sometimes feels when reading news through newspapers or broadcast media, how can he do such a thing? Sometimes there are a lot of surprises.
And I've been there a few times when the members of our church were tried in Beomjeong. While waiting for the trial, I went in first and saw someone else being tried, and I saw that this society was full of people who needed treatment. It seemed that this society was tainted with problems, such as those who were judged and those who were being judged, filled with distrust and self-will, and patients would treat patients and perform surgery. In a word, it is a society that is deeply ill and desperately needs treatment and surgery. So, like the society at the pool of Bethesda, it is a society of the sick. If this is not treated, our sickness will only deepen and the pain and suffering will only increase, like the moans heard at the pool of Bethesda.
2. The pool of Bethesda was a selfish society.
As soon as the water in the pool of Bethesda moved, the patients who had gathered there jumped in first by all means and methods to cure their ailments, regardless of whether there were patients more severe than them. There is no time to look back or think about others. In a nutshell, isn't today's society the only one who doesn't think about the rest? society.
Aren't modern people who do not choose any means and methods to achieve their goals, a society where there is only me and no us? Isn't it a society we're used to in an unusual way rather than just fighting and winning? Therefore, this society, like the society at the Pool of Bethesda, is a society steeped in disease. Without treatment, we cannot endure the terrible judgment of God. The book of Isaiah reveals that the reason the nation of Israel fell to Assyria and Babylon was due to the selfishness of the leaders and people who did not conduct a fair trial and practiced lawlessness for their own profit and loss. Therefore, we must be cured of the dreadful disease of selfishness that is endemic in this society. Otherwise, there is no hope. The pain only deepens, and only the terrible judgment draws near.
3. The 38-year-old sick man healed in this society
In a sick society, a selfish society, there was a 38-year-old sick man. This patient was pushed aside by their selfishness and competition, which only added to the pain. I desperately wanted to jump into that pond, but there was no one to help me. In that society, he was only growing sick, unable to move and exhausted. Then Jesus came. Jesus did not go to a city full of abundance and joy, but to a sick society in need of comfort and help in poverty, disease and despair. It means that Jesus is coming because this society is a sick society.
The problem was that there were many patients in that society, but only a 38-year-old sick man could see Jesus, and by meeting Jesus, he was able to be released from that terrible disease. Pain turned into joy, and it became a blessing. Therefore, it is not the environment that sick societies and sick individuals are treated and changed. Technically, it's not the pool of Bethesda. It was Jesus.
So, what was the secret that the patient was able to meet Jesus only among the many patients? He has lived with patience and perseverance for 38 years, waiting for the day of treatment, without ever getting frustrated or losing hope in the midst of suffering. I didn't give up. The environment was an environment where we could only give up, be frustrated, and be disappointed. The body is getting older and the condition is getting worse. There is no one to support anyone. When the water in the pond moves, younger people with less ailments jump in first, and it is an environment in which it is unlikely that they will have a chance. And yet, he did not give up, disappointed, or frustrated, and waited until the end of the day when he was healed there. This was an opportunity to meet Jesus.
Therefore, even if this society is a sick society without any hope, if you do not despair, do not compromise, and only look to the Lord, you can be healed like a 38-year-old sick person. So let me make this dark and corrupt society of patients a healthy society.
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