Pool of Bethesda, St. Anne Church, Jerusalem, Sick Lame Man Healed, John 5:1-24, Birthplace of Mary
See and learn about the Pool of Bethesda, the place where an amazing miracle of a lame man was healed. Close-by is the Church of St. Anne, which is the believed place where Mary the mother of Jesus was born.
Location
1. The Pool of Bethesda is located on the property of the Church of St. Anne.
2. The Church of St. Anne is located just inside the Lions’ Gate at the eastern entrance of the Old City.
3. The Church of St. Anne is known for its extraordinary acoustics, and visitors singing hymns of praise to God can often be heard there.
4. The ruins of the Jewish, Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader eras are still well preserved at the Pool of Bethesda.
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Historical Background
1. The Pool of Bethesda marks the place where a sick man was healed.
2. Bethesda means “House of Mercy” and has been associated with a place of healing for many years. According to the Gospel of John, Bethesda was a bathing pool with five porticoes or porches. Remains of part of these porticoes can still be seen today.
3. It should be noted that the pool that can be seen today is the corner of the southern pool. You will also note that it is significantly below the level today of the city today. That is because Jerusalem is really a large tel. A tel is something that develops and grows in height as one civilization builds upon another. Therefore, since the time of Christ, the city has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. That is why the pool is below the surface of the city today.
4. In around 700 BC, during the time of King Hezekiah, there was a large cistern built here to capture the water from the area and use it for the temple use of purification and animal preparations.
5. Later, in around 200 BC, another pool was built beside the first one. The first pool would become known as the southern pool, and the second one as the northern pool.
6. These pools, or also known as cisterns, were close by to the Temple Mount and there was a gate close by known as the sheep gate that led up to the Temple
