"the Five Porches Of Misery."

SRIPTURUAL REFERENCES

(John 5:1-4) (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."

(John 5:5-6) (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?"

(John 5:7-9) (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."

PROLOGUE

I chose the above scriptures because they give us a picture of some suffering encountered in some of our churches today, and let’s face it, the world is becoming a dangerous place. People are seeking answers, including contemplating taking their own lives because they have run out of reasons to live.

Our founding scriptures describe five porches of misery. I want to pose an important question: “Which one are you on?” One thing that caught my attention is that you had to enter through the sheep gate to reach the porches, where the pool was called Bethesda. Did you know that archaeologists discovered the pool site and a stone with the inscription of an Angel troubling the water?

We all know that Jesus walked by and healed the man waiting on the troubling of the water. Do you remember his excuse that while he was coming, another man stepped down before him and was healed of whatever disease he had? Do you remember that Jesus did not look at him with pity but asked him, "Wilt thou be made whole, Then he followed the question with a command, "rise, take up thy bed and walk."

Sometimes, we encounter difficult times and may get upset at those who caused our problems. We may even get angry with ourselves and question if God truly loves us. Beloved, sometimes we face trials and persecutions that cause us to question our walk with God, even entertaining thoughts like, "Lord, I thought you were my friend, not my enemy." Beloved, this is what I call "hard grace."

I want to speak concerning the story found in John 1:5-9- of a man who was lame in his feet and whom Jesus visited on a very important feast day. The story tells of how his loved ones carried him to sit by a pool of water so that he could wait for an Angel of the Lord to come at a specific time and trouble the water.

The story describes how those who can enter the water will be made whole when the water is troubled. The problem is that others are more physically fit than this man, who can get into the water before him, thus leaving him lame and lying by the pool.

The pool of Bethesda was discovered in the 19th century under the ruins of a church? The archaeological evidence shows a pool varying from 165 to 200 feet divided into two pools. We find in this setting a place called Bethesda, which means "house of mercy" or "flowing water " in the Greek language. In Hebrew, it means “house of mercy” or “house of grace.”

In earlier studies, I noticed that you had to enter through the sheep gate to enter this dwelling, which consisted of five porches where people from all walks of life complained about their problems while waiting for the Angel of God to come at a specific time and trouble the waters of the pools. The scriptures describe this place as the five porches of Bethesda, but I like to call it “The Five Porches of Misery.

“THE HEALING POWER OF FAITH”

The lame man being healed by Jesus at the waters of Bethesda reminds me of the old saying, “Woe is me and misery on me.” Can you imagine all the complaining and crying of desperation as each of those five porches attempted to out-cry the other one, especially if a sick person entered the water at the same time? The Angel moved it, and they were healed of their infirmity.