Pools of Bethesda & St. Anne Church

 

Introduction

 

Welcome to the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne Church. 

 

1. It was a place where many came to be healed during the time of Jesus.

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2. It's where Jesus healed a sick man who had been going to this pool for 38 long years in the hope of being cured.

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3. The church here marks the location believed to be where Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim, lived, and where Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born.

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4. Around 700 BC, during the reign of King Hezekiah, a large water storage pool was built here to capture water from the area for the purification and animal preparations of the temple.

 

5. Later, around 150 BC, the Hasmoneans built another pool beside the first one. The first pool became known as the Southern Pool, and the second as the Northern Pool.

 

6. Both these pools had water flowing in and out. This means they had what is known as "Living Water" in them.

 

7. These pools, also used as mikvahs, were near the Temple Mount, and a gate known as the sheep gate led up to it.

 

8. During the Greek reign around 200 BC, before the birth of Christ, healing baths were built here dedicated to the Greek false god Asclepius.

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9. These are the highlights of the points of interest we'll see here.

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• The Pools of Bethesda

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• The ruins of the different churches and shrines that were built here.

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• The Church of St. Anne

 

10. Let's explore and experience this site.

 

Location

 

1. The Pools of Bethesda are 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. 

 

Historical Background

 

1. The Pool of Bethesda marks the place where a sick man was healed.

 

2. Bethesda means “House of Grace” 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. The ruins of some 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 city level 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. Around 700 BC, during the reign of King Hezekiah, a large water storage pool was built here to capture water from the area for the purification and animal preparations of the temple.

 

5. Later, around 150 BC, the Hasmoneans built another pool beside the first one. The first pool became known as the Southern Pool, and the second as the Northern Pool. Both pools were approximately 43 feet, or 13 meters, deep.

 

6. Both these pools had water flowing in and out. This means they had what is known as "Living Water" in them.

 

7. These pools, also used as mikvahs, were near the Temple Mount, and a gate known as the sheep gate led up to it.

 

8. Small healing baths, part of an Asclepeion (a temple to the Greek god of healing, Asclepius), were constructed to the east of the main pools by the Romans as early as around 50 BC.

 

9. This complex was later expanded into a large temple to Asclepius and Serapis by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century AD.

 

10. When the Roman Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina in 135 AD, he built a large temple to Asclepius and Serapis, the Greek false gods of healing and believed deities.

 

11. After Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, the temple Hadrian had erected was torn down, and a large Byzantine basilica was built over its ruins around 450 AD.

 

12. Close to the Byzantine Basilica was a grotto dedicated to the believed place where Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim, lived, and where Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born.

 

13. In 614 AD, the Byzantine Basilica was destroyed by the Persians. Later, in 1138 AD, the Basilica of St. Anne was erected over the grotto site, which the Crusaders believed to be the birthplace of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The church is dedicated to Anna and Joachim, who, according to tradition, lived here, and the site where their daughter, Mary, was born in a cave located under the basilica. It is one of the most preserved Crusader churches in Israel.

 

14. The New Testament says nothing about Mary's birthplace. However, an ancient tradition recorded in the apocryphal Gospel of James, which dates back to around AD 150, places the house of Anne and Joachim near the temple area.

 

15. Three episodes from the life of Mary are depicted at the front of the high altar in the Church of St Anne: (1) the Annunciation on the right, (2) the Descent of Jesus from the Cross in the center, and (3) the Nativity of Jesus on the left. On the left-hand side of the altar is an illustration of Mary's education by St Anne. On the right-hand side is a portrayal of the Presentation of Mary at the temple. A flight of stone steps descends from the south aisle to the crypt. This cave is believed to be the supposed site of the house of Anne and Joachim, as well as the birthplace of Mary. Here, in a tiny chapel with a domed ceiling, an altar is dedicated to the birth of Mary. 

 

16. In 1192 AD, after the fall of the Crusader Kingdom, Saladin turned the church into a theological school for the study of the Quran, which is commemorated in an inscription above the church's entrance.

 

17. In the 19th century, the compound was given to the French Catholic Order of the White Fathers. France undertook extensive restoration work on the church, returning it as closely as possible to its original basilica form. A second restoration was necessary after the church was damaged during the Six-Day War in 1967.

 

Places of Interest

 

1. Pools of Bethesda (also used as water storage and as mikvahs)

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As we walk through this archaeological site, let’s also take a moment to explore its history.

 

• In the first century, there were actually two very large rectangular reservoirs here. The first of these pools was built around 700 BC. It was the northern pool, built to provide water, primarily for use at the nearby Temple.

 

• Then, around 150 BC, the southern pool was constructed by the Hasmoneans, and a dam was built between the reservoirs. Both pools had a depth of about 43 feet or 13 meters. 

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• There was a roofed porch surrounding both pools, with a central porch running down the middle over the dam that separated them. These five porches are mentioned in John 5:2. 

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• Today, the northern pool is completely covered, while the southern pool has only been slightly exposed, as can be seen today.

 

• They contained "Living Water"

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• Southern Pool ~ The southern part of the Southern Pool is what's visible today.

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• Northern Pool

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• Ruins of the Roman Temple of Asclepius (god of healing)

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• Pagan Medicinal Baths

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• Ruins of a Byzantine Basilica

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• Ruins of a Crusader chapel

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2. Church of St. Anne

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• The altar at the front of the church depicts three events: (1) the Annunciation on the right, (2) the descent of Jesus from the Cross in the center, and (3) the birth of Jesus on the left.

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• On the left-hand side of the altar is an illustration of the education of Mary by St Anne.

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• On the right-hand side is a portrayal of the Presentation of Mary at the temple.

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• Crypt dedicated to Mary’s birth

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• It features excellent acoustics, making it ideal for those who enjoy singing.​

 

3. Sheep Gate ​​(located where the Lions’ Gate is today)

 

4. Antonia Fortress

 

5. Temple Mount

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Pool of Bethesda in the Bible

 

1. It was a place where many came to be healed during the time of Jesus.
John 5:1–4: After these things, 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, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.

 

2. A sick man had been going to this pool for healing for 38 long years.
John 5:5: A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

 

3. Jesus healed the sick man.
John 5:6–9: When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “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.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.

 

4. Christ revealed to the man why he had been sick for so long.
John 5:9–14: Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”

 

5. Jesus makes Himself equal to God.
John 5:15–18: The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason, the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

Faith Lesson from the Pool of Bethesda

 

1. The sick man had faith in God, as he was in a place where miracles happened. Do we have faith that God can help us with our problems?

 

2. The sick man was patient and went to the Pool of Bethesda regularly for 38 long years. Are we patient and remain faithful even if we don’t understand sickness or problems we might have?

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3. The sick man was alone as no one would help him get into the pool to be healed. Do we need others to help us with our problems because we are alone?

 

4. It appears some sinful activity caused his disability because Jesus told him to stop sinning, or something worse might happen. Could our sicknesses be caused by disobedience and sin in our lives?​

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