Coptic Orthodox Answers

In the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

Welcome to Coptic Orthodox Answers Deep Dive where we're studying together the Gospel of John. We saw, in the last few episodes in John 4, how Christ thirsted for the Samaritan woman and thirsted for her salvation. And then, He healed the child of the nobleman. And today, we'll move on to chapter 5 together.

So, the first event in chapter 5 is the healing of the paralytic man and this miracle became one of the main causes of the tension between Christ and the Pharisees, because this miracle was done on the Sabbath. Let us read:

'' 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.'' (John 5:1)

So because, here, St. John does not specify which feast it is, many different people came up with different conclusions, but St. Cyril and St. John Chrysostom both agree it is the Feast of Pentecost. And this here is very... and a very important detail, because that shows to us how to read the remainder of these fifteen verses, as we shall see.

But before moving on, we have to understand that here, this Feast of Pentecost is related to the harvest and the harvest is where you gather the crops. But before gathering the crops, there's a seed and the seed must die, right?, because it is buried in the ground and only then does it bring forth life. And this, here, is a symbol of baptism where we die with Christ, we're buried and we are raised, like in Romans 6:4 or Colossians 2:12.

The Church has understood this from the beginning. So, it's not a surprise that already in verse 2 we find that it talks about a pool. It says:

'' 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. » (John 5:2)

So, the five porches were five colonnades or five rows of columns. So, the pool of Bethesda was pretty much two pools, right?, and you would have a colonnade all around, so one on each side, so that makes four of them. And between the two pools, we'll have a fifth colonnade. That's how it was built at the time.

So, in verse 3, it says:

'' 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.'' (John 5:3)

Here, this verse is talking about the level of sicknesses and the general state of humanity prior to baptism. So, you have three different kinds of people: you have the blind, the blind that is not able to see, but still the person can somewhat move around with a bit of assistance, right?, you have the lame that can barely move and you have the one that is completely paralyzed.

So, this here is what humanity looks like prior to baptism. The soul within, because of the amount of sins and the corruption inside, right?, is deforming the image of God, and therefore, we're not able to connect with God. And since we're not able to connect with God, we're not living life as it should be. Life is not as meaningful as it should be. Life is not as happy and joyful as it should be.

Instead of giving ourselves to others, we want to take and want to consume. And we end up being blind, lame and paralyzed in this world, not knowing, you know, where to go, what to do and so on. And all of humanity, symbolized by these three types of sicknesses, were waiting for a miracle, were waiting for the moving of the water. They're waiting for recreation within, which happens in baptism.

Verse 4 says:

'' 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.'' (John 5:4)

Remember, we're talking about the Feast of Pentecost, which was a shadow of the Feast of the Pentecost in the New Testament. So, the Old Testament one is a shadow of the New Testament one, where the disciples received the Holy Spirit. So here, we have all of this being symbolic to us receiving the Holy Spirit in the mystery of baptism. That's why we have the water that is involved. This water becomes alive, is living. And here, the Holy Spirit is symbolized by an angel that is moving this water.

And in this water, healing is found. And truly, what happens in the Coptic Church, in the rituals of baptism, is that the priest ends up stirring the water as he's saying psalms, right? Just prior of putting the holy oil of myron that grants, you know, this water to be life-giving, and prior to this, even prays a full-blown liturgy on the water. So, the water is alive and it truly becomes a participation of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. And in it, we find healing for our souls. Again, the image of Christ within us is restored. And we find the true and deep and ultimate meaning to life.

So, based on this understanding, the Church, every Lent on the 5 th Sunday, would put this Gospel of the paralytic man as a symbol of baptism for those catechumens that were sitting there, being instructed in the Word and in the sermon, right?, before their baptism that was about to happen a few weeks later.

But the idea, also, is that these texts also have to do with the tears of repentance. So, once we are baptized, this recreation of the soul or the image of Christ within us also happens through the tears of repentance. So, the Church gives us this beautiful time of Lent where the catechumens are getting ready for their baptism. The faithful who already believe and are baptized are offering repentance in this journey of repentance, which we call the Great Lent, awaiting Passion week and the Feast of the Resurrection.

But notice also how it says whoever stepped in first, that person is healed. So, there's two points here. First is that there's one person that is healed, and second, he's the first one that stepped in that is healed. Who is this talkin' about? It is talking about Christ Himself. Christ is the firstfruits of humanity. Through Him being healed, humanity now has access to that healing, right? So, He's the firstfruits. He's the first one, right?

But not only is He the first one, right?, He is also the only one in the sense that when we are baptized, we become part or members of His body. And since this body is healed, He is now a full human being as God the Father designed. I now have access to that healed humanity. So, in reality, only the body of Christ is healed, only Christ Himself. And that body of Christ is the Church and the Church has many members. So, we are all healed in Him. He is the firstfruits and because He provided that healing within humanity, I also can have access to this healing.

Moving on to verse 5. It says:

'' 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ''Do you want to be made well?'' '' (John 5:5-6)

This seems like a very weird question, because obviously, the man wants to get healed. Not only is he in front of the pool awaiting the moving of the water to try to go in and be healed, he's also been in that state or that condition for 38 years. So, it's a very weird question to ask, to say the least.

But this shows to us how Christ does nothing without our own free will. And this applies to us as well. You know, Christ comes and says: I wanna spend time with you. I love you. I care for you. I want your joy. Therefore, I want to heal you. And when you have this healing, you will find true joy, true meaning in this life and in the afterlife. But do you want that?

So the sick man answers:

'' 7 (...) ''Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.'' '' (John 5:7)

An important point to realize, here, that this man was completely on his own. And we have to realize that later on in the passage, Christ says to him: Sin no more. So, this man was a sinful man like everybody else. But here, he's found alone, potentially because he does not fulfill God's commandments. He does not want to live in a community. He does not want to reconcile. He does not love his neighbour.

So, here is a sin that has as its roots the willingness to be away from others or just always wanted to do whatever I want to do, never being able to sacrifice myself to others. So, I end up being alone. My friend annoys me, I cut him off. I cut off this person, that person, and end up being here on earth alone. How many times, sadly, do we see people that pass away on their own, without anybody to care for them, whether in hospitals or at homes? But usually, this happens because these people did not care for others as well. It's a two-way street. It's a double-edged sword.

But we are relational beings. We are created in the image of the Trinity. So, are meant to forgive others. We are meant to reconcile. We are meant to live in a community. This is a man that failed to do this. And when we fail to do this, you know, in this life on earth, the consequences are extended to the afterlife. And that's why one of the characteristics of hell is to be alone or to feel that you're alone.

Regardless, we need to learn from this man and to not commit the same mistakes as him and to live in a community and to be able to forgive and to reconcile and to love our enemies and to sacrifice ourselves for others and so on.

So, in verse 8, Christ tells him:

'' 8 (...) ''Rise, take up your bed and walk.'' '' (John 5:8)

No more of this miserable life, this corrupt life, this paralyzed life where you can't live, you know, the life that you're meant to live. No more of this blindness, like, for others. No more of this lameness for others. Rise. Be alive. Be healed. Adam was supposed to live. He lived a long life on earth, but he lived his death, meaning he lived a life that was not worth living. Christ, here, resurrects this man in his spiritual life, again, and all of this happens in baptism.

Notice how Christ also tells him: Take up your bed and walk. Symbolically or spiritually to us, this could mean, you know, stop being lazy. Take up your bed and walk. No more of you just lying down in your bed. No more of you, you know, being lazy on your couch watching TV, being on your phone. No more of this stuff. Be alive. Live life. Find your purpose. Share the good news at work, at school, at home, in service at church, outside of church, regardless of where it is. Do something. Be alive. Find your purpose in this life. Be the light of the world. And this what baptism does. This is what repentance, confession and the Eucharist do. This is what prayer does: a life that is worth living for God and for our neighbours.

Let us move on to verse 9. It says:

'' 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked...'' (John 5:9)

Here, we see a sense of obedience. Prior to baptism, there was disobedience. There was sin. But here, he truly offered a true repentance and that's why we can see that, immediately, he took up his bed and walked. He followed Christ's commandments.

'' 9 (...) And that day was the Sabbath. [It was Saturday.] 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ''It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.'' '' (John 5:9)

As soon as you start walking on the right path, the path of Christianity, the path of repentance, you always find the devil annoying you one way or another and often it is through people, like in this case.

'' 11 He answered them, ''He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' '' '' (John 5:11)

Verse 12 says:

'' 12 Then they asked him, ''Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?'' 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ''See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.'' '' (John 5:12-14)

The first point to take here is that Christ, continually, was looking for the man or looking after the man. So, Christ went to see him to restart a conversation. And that's how Christ is with us. He's always, continually, seeking to discuss or to communicate with all of us. But the beauty here is that the man, once he was healed, where did he go? He went to the temple. He went to worship. He went to offer thanks.

Baptism is only the beginning of my renewed relationship with Christ. There's still a long life in front of me of a beautiful communion with Him that, again, extends into the afterlife. And this is how we ought to live as Christians today, here on earth.

Another point to consider here is when Christ tells the formerly paralyzed man: Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. What does that mean? St. John Chrysostom clarifies. He says:

''Sometimes because we don't take care of the soul and don't immediately feel the pain as much as with the body, God allows for sickness of the body that through pain, we can be led to repentance and both body and soul are healed.'' (St. John Chrysostom)

So, Christ here does not mean, you know, that I'm so angry and out of retribution, you know, I'll be punishing you, although God does punish, but when He does punish, He punishes for the sake of our own goodness. So here, it is to lead to repentance, that we may be healed.

Verse 15 says:

'' 15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.'' (John 5:15)

Both St. John Chrysostom and St. Cyril of Alexandria agree that this is not about the man betraying Christ. If the man was betraying Christ, he would have said to the Jews that Christ is the man that made him carry his bed, because this was the charge against him. However, here, he says: Jesus made me well, right?

So, in that sense, St. Augustine also agrees that this man went and preached to the Jews who Christ was. And again, once we are baptized and we taste, you know, this grace being united with Christ, what we need to do first and foremost is to go preach His name and to preach the Gospel to others, that they may also have that good news.

Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith. And glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.

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Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.