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IMPOTENT FOLK

John 5:3
"In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water."

We are reading verses in the Gospel of John that demonstrate the compassion of our Lord and Savior. The location is the Bethesda Pool and is described as having five porticoes. It is next door to the Temple. This pool was a "mikveh." which is a Jewish ritual bath. Where ceremonies of purification are performed. In this pool, people believed that when the water bubbled up, the first person in the water would be healed. So, there are lots of people here hoping to win the lottery of bubbling water. With many people here waiting and not "winning", they turned to begging. Making this place known for both suffering and hope. Into this situation the Son of God stepped.

Today's verse describes it this way, "In these lay a great multitude of IMPOTENT FOLK..." We have all encountered IMPOTENT FOLK. Further described as "blind, halt, withered..." If we are honest with ourselves, we are all IMPOTENT FOLK at one time or another. We all need some degree of healing. If we are blessed to not need physical healing, we might need mental, emotional or spiritual help. We might find ourselves seeking out our own pools in Bethesda. Hoping to get to the bubbling water before anyone else...

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