Author Archives: Covenant Presbyterian

Scripture: John 5:4 (KJV)“For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” Note: Many modern translations omit this verse or place it in brackets because it does not appearContinue reading “Waiting for the Water to Move”

Scripture: John 5:3 (ESV)“In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.” Bethesda wasn’t a beautiful sight. It was a gathering place of pain, filled with those whom society often passed by. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed—all lying there, waiting and hoping. This verse sets a heavy scene: human suffering concentrated in oneContinue reading “A Multitude of the Miserable”

Scripture: John 5:2 (ESV)“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.” John draws our attention to a specific location in Jerusalem—a pool near the Sheep Gate, called Bethesda. The detail may seem incidental, but both Calvin and Ryle remind us that nothing inContinue reading “By the Sheep Gate: A Place of Need”

Scripture: John 5:1 (ESV)“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” With this verse, the scene shifts once again—Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish feasts. Though John does not specify which feast, the detail serves a larger purpose: it marks a new phase inContinue reading “A Divine Appointment in Jerusalem”

Scripture: John 4:54 (ESV)“This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.” John brings the account to a close with a simple but meaningful note: This was the second sign. He’s not merely keeping track—he’s pointing us to something deeper. In John’s Gospel, “signs” are never justContinue reading “Signs That Point to Salvation”

Scripture: John 4:53 (ESV)“The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ And he himself believed, and all his household.” This verse is the culmination of a journey—not just the boy’s healing, but the father’s faith. When the official hears that his son was healed at theContinue reading “Faith That Grows”

Scripture: John 4:52 (ESV)“So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.’” The official’s faith, already alive and growing, is now sharpened into wonder. He doesn’t simply rejoice at the good news—he asks when. Why? Because he’s lookingContinue reading “The Exact Hour”

Scripture: John 4:51 (ESV)“As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.” Faith walked before sight. The official had already believed Jesus’ word and begun his journey home. He didn’t demand confirmation in Cana. He didn’t delay in uncertainty. He obeyed in faith. And now, as he’sContinue reading “The Confirmation Comes”