John 5:1-17
After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now in Jerusalem, by the sheep (market), there is a pool that is called in Hebrew “Bethesda”, having five porches. In these were lying a [great]T multitude of the ailing, blind, lame, (and) withered, {waiting for the moving of the water. [For (supposedly*) an angel at a set time was going down in the pool, and was troubling the water. The first one then going in after the troubling of the water became whole of whatever sickness he had.]T}1
Now there was a certain man there being in his ailment thirty-eight years. Jesus, seeing him lying, and knowing that he had been in that state a long time, said to Him, “Do you wish to become well?”
The ailing man answered Him, “Lord, I have no man when the water is troubled, that he might put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” And immediately the man became well, and He took up his bed, and was walking, and it was a Sabbath on that day.
Then the Jews said to him that had been healed, “It is a Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up the bed.”
He answered them, “He Who made me whole, that One said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’”
They questioned him, “Who is the Man Who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk?’”
But he who was healed did not know Who He was, for Jesus moved away, there being a multitude in that place.
After these things, Jesus found him in the Temple, and said to Him, “Behold, you have become well. Sin no more, lest something worse may happen to you.”
The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who made him whole.
And because of this, the Jews were persecuting Jesus, [and were seeking to kill Him,]T because He was doing these things on a Sabbath.
But He answered them, “Until now, My Father works, and I work.”
Number of Fish: 1
Total Fish: 41
- Here’s a synopsis of the search results from the Logos Bible App for the manuscript evidence for the last part of John 5:3 and verse 4. Personally this does seem to not follow anything the Bible teaches about healing, and is more based on a superstitious belief from a later scribe. If it were true that an angel caused the stirring and healed people, Jesus could have said that He would help the man into the pool and block the others. Jesus seemed to ignore the belief in His response to the sick man.
The manuscript evidence for John 5:4 is complex and suggests that this verse was likely a later addition to the original text. According to the articles, the earliest and most reliable Greek manuscripts, including Papyrus 66, Papyrus 75, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Bezae, do not contain verse 4[1][2]. This absence is also noted in early translations such as the Old Syriac, Coptic versions, and Latin Vulgate[2]. The verse is considered by scholars to be an expansion added to explain the man’s statement in verse 7, using vocabulary that is not typical of John’s writing style[1][3]. The earliest known reference to this verse comes from Tertullian, suggesting its later origin[2]. Some later manuscripts include verse 4, along with an additional line in verse 3, explaining the belief about an angel stirring the waters[3]. However, the variations in manuscript evidence, including some that omit only part of verse 3 or only verse 4, further support the view that these were later additions[4]. Due to this evidence, many modern translations either omit verse 4, place it in brackets, or mention it in a note[3].
[1] Houghton, H. A. G. 2018. “The Text of the Gospel and Letters of John.” In The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies, edited by Judith M. Lieu and Martinus C. de Boer, First Edition, 13. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
[2] Robertson, A.T. 1933. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.
[3] Barry, John D., Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar. 2012, 2016. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Sailer, William, J. Creighton Christman, David C. Greulich, Harold P. Scanlin, Stephen J. Lennox, and Phillip Guistwite. 2012. Religious and Theological Abstracts. Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts. ↩︎
153 Fish 