Thy Strong Word — John 5:1–15; Mark 3:1–6: The Magnificent 37: Rise and Stretch Out

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“Do you want to be healed?” This is a curious question from Jesus to a man desperately trying to make his way to a miraculous healing pool. Of course he wants to be healed! So, why does he put his hope in this “magical” pool? In this episode of The Magnificent 37, we first follow Jesus to the Pool of Bethesda and then into a synagogue, where He encounters men burdened by infirmity and a religious system steeped in legalism. By commanding the invalid to rise and the man with the withered hand to stretch it out, Jesus “breaks the law” so far as the Pharisees are concerned, but, in reality, He is reclaiming the Sabbath as a day of mercy.

The Rev. Dr. Curtis Deterding, pastor emeritus in Ft. Meyers, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study John 5:1–15 and Mark 3:1–6.

Thy Strong Word kicks off the new year by dedicating our time to study “The Magnificent 37: The Miracles of Jesus.” Christ didn’t just speak the Word; He demonstrated it with power. From the quiet intimacy of water turning to wine at Cana to the earth-shaking reality of the empty tomb, the Gospels record thirty-seven distinct moments where Jesus suspended the laws of nature to reveal the power of his grace. This isn’t just a list of “neat tricks” from history. It is a systematic walkthrough of how God breaks into our broken world to fix it. Why did Jesus curse a fig tree? Why did He need mud to heal a blind man? What does the coin in the fish’s mouth teach us about being citizens of heaven and earth? Host, Pastor Phil Booe and a lineup of guest pastors will take you through each event, verse by verse. We’ll move past the Sunday School summary and get into the meat of the text, including the Old Testament connections, the cultural context, and the immediate comfort these signs bring to your life today.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

John 5:1-15

The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath

5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic[a] called Bethesda,[b] which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.[c] 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews[d] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

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Footnotes

John 5:2 Or Hebrew

John 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida

John 5:3 Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had

John 5:10 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed Jesus in that time; also verses 15, 16, 18

Mark 3:1-6

A Man with a Withered Hand

3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus,[a] to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

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Footnotes

Mark 3:2 Greek him

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org