Gospel in Art: The healing at the pool of Bethesda

Christ healing the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo © National Gallery, London

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 12 March 2024
John 5:1-3,5-16

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people - blind, lame, paralysed - waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, 'Do you want to be well again?' 'Sir,' replied the sick man 'I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.' Jesus said, 'Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.' The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.

Now that day happened to be the sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, 'It is the sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.' He replied, 'But the man who cured me told me, "Pick up your mat and walk."' They asked, 'Who is the man who said to you, "Pick up your mat and walk"?' The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, 'Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.' The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.

Reflection on the painting

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo painted this canvas between 1667 and 1670, for the church of the Hospital de la Caridad in Seville. The Caridad was a charitable brotherhood dedicated to helping the poor and sick of the city. Murillo himself was a member. He painted this canvas to illustrate today's Gospel reading, as part of a series of six paintings. These six canvasses illustrate six acts of charity: helping the sick, feeding the hungry, replenishing the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, and visiting prisoners.

Our painting depicts the act of helping the sick. We see the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, which was periodically visited by an angel. We see this angel hovering in the sky amid golden light. Whoever first touched the water after the angel's visit would be cured. The man in our reading was too sick to ever be first to enter the pool. He was desperate, having been ill for over thirty-eight years. Murillo depicts Christ gracefully outstretching his arm, inviting the elderly man to stand. The poignant mirroring of their hands captures the powerful connection between them. The man's raised arms create an upward motion, as if he is being lifted from the ground by an invisible force, a visual rendering of the miracle taking place. Peter, John and a third apostle witness the event.

We view the scene from beside the man, the same viewpoint he would have had of Jesus. We too are looking up at the imposing and dignified figure of Christ. The placing of some familiar objects in the scene such as the jug, the bowl, the man's crutch and a sniffing dog help to convey a sense of familiarity, drawing us further into the scene.

Jesus' question to the man, 'Do you want to be well again?' may sound strange to our ears. Yet, perhaps Jesus needed to know if he still had the hope of being cured after being ill for so long. The Lord will always want us to keep hoping... and responds to our hopes.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-5-1-35-16-2024/