John 5 has one of the most bizarre verses in the Bible. I’m talking about verse 4 of that chapter. This verse is so bizarre, it doesn’t even appear in a lot of versions of the Bible. Go open up your Bible and check right now; it might just say verse 1, verse 2, verse 3, verse 5.

It’s like your Bible forgot to count. But actually, some versions just take verse 4 right out and pretend it isn’t there.

What is so bizarre about John 5, verse 4? Well, this is the story about the man who had been lame since birth. He laid every day by the pool of Bethesda. Jesus comes along and heals this man in this story and says, “pick up your mat and walk.”

So it’s a very well-known story, but verse 4 stands out as particularly odd. 

I’ll pick it up starting at John 5:3

3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 

This strange reference to an angel who created healing waters on a regular basis is not really mentioned ever again after this, it raises some provoking questions, and then it never answers them. And as I said, many versions of the Bible don’t even include this verse because it’s just too out-of-left-field.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. But also why it’s not in every Bible.

Turn to John 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - The Story and Context

8:00 - A Textual Error?

11:15 - An Angel- Just Like the Bible Says

19:10 - Next Time

21:00 - Closing Thoughts

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor