The Healing at Bethesda

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This miracle of the Lord healing a man at the pool of Bethesda is an illustration of how the Lord can heal us spiritually. The essential thing is that the man wanted to be healed, for the Lord leaves us in freedom to accept or reject Him. After talking with the man, the Lord told him to pick up his bed and walk. This symbolizes us putting truths into action in our lives.

The Story

Read about this miracle in John 5:1-16.

Healing at the Pool of Bethesda Retold
A simpler version of the story for younger children.

Ideas for discussion

  1. Why did people come to the pool of Bethesda? (Sick people came to be healed.)
  2. How were they healed there? (When an angel came and “stirred up” the water, the first person to step into the pool would be healed.)
  3. The Lord talked with a man who had been waiting there for 38 years. Why had the man been waiting so long? (He didn’t have anyone to help him get into the water, so someone else always got there first.)
  4. What did the Lord ask the man? (“Do you want to be made well?”) Why do you think He asked the man a question before healing him?
  5. What excuse did the man give the Lord? (That he had no one to help him.) Do we sometimes make excuses, perhaps blaming bad habits on other people?
  6. How did the Lord heal the man? (He told him to "Rise, take up your bed and walk.")
  7. This kind of miracle pictures what the Lord can do for our spirits. We can become spiritually “sick” when we believe and do what is false and evil instead of what is true and good. We might say that someone has is “blind” to the truth.
  8. The pool in the story is a picture of true ideas from the Word that can help us heal our spiritual lives. When we look for truths in the Word it is like stepping into the pool after the angel stirs up the water.

Read more about this miracle

Projects and activities for various ages

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