Give an account of the miracle of healing at Bethzatha and indicate the two reasons...

Explanation

In Jerusalem, by the sheep gate, there was a pool called Bethzatha where a multitude of invalid people assembled. There was one of them who had been paralysed for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw the lame man and asked if he wanted to be healed, the man said he had nobody to put him into the pool. Jesus then told him to take his pallet and walk. Immediately, the lame man took his pallet and walked. That was on the Sabbath day. When the Jews saw the man who had just been healed carrying his pallet on the Sabbath, they accused him for doing what was unlawful on the Sabbath. The man told them that it was Jesus who instructed him to carry his pallet. He was told to identify the man, but he could not because Jesus had walked away into the crowd. Later in the day, he saw Jesus in the temple who warned him to sin no more, lest worse evil would befall him. The man went to tell the Jews that Jesus was the man that healed him. The Jews accused Jesus of healing on the Sabbath. Jesus told them that since his father was still working, he too was active.

Two reasons why Jesus was criticized are:

(i) He was criticized for calling himself the son of God, thereby claiming equality with God. This was considered a blasphemy.

(ii) He was equally criticized for working on the Sabbath day, i.e. He did not keep the Sabbath law.