Yesterday I mentioned that some of the Creation events in Genesis are echoed in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospel of John. One of these occurs in the second verse of the Bible:
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2).
Jesus performed a miracle at the Pool of Bethesda by healing a man with an unknown “infirmity,” who had been in this condition 38 years. This time period of 38 years matches the children of Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness, according to Deuteronomy 2:14, and this wilderness experience can be symbolic of our mortal lives. Perhaps this is why we are not given details of the man’s infirmity. In a sense, we are all waiting by the pool for the Savior to rescue us. The Gospel of John is loaded with irony, and this event is no exception. The name of the pool is Bethesda, which means “house of mercy.” But this place is anything but merciful. This, according to tradition, is a healing pool where the object is to get into the pool immediately after the “moving of the water” (John 5:3). The first guy in wins, so it’s not based on mercy, but whoever can run fastest to reach the water—likely the person who needs healing the least.
The moving of the water in this healing pool parallels the Spirit of God which “moved upon the face of the waters” in the Genesis account. Jesus Christ has total control over the waters and the elements of the earth. He also has the power to heal and bless our lives. The miracle in John 5 is a sign or token (semeion in Greek) that Jehovah is the Great Creator, and Jesus is the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14).
A hallmark of Jehovah’s role as Creator is subduing what Bible scholars call “the waters of chaos.” In scripture, there are two kinds of water—chaotic waters and living water. Jesus provides “living water” (John 4:10, 14). Living water fills us up, satisfies, and becomes “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Jehovah, as King Immanuel (D&C 128:22), places His throne on the waters as He rules them. In Psalm 29:10 we read: “The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.” The Lord tells Moses, “Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God” (Moses 1:25).
Untamed water is destructive, and unless it’s living water provided by Jesus, it’s usually a bad thing. Reuben is told, “Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel” (Genesis 49:4). In a messianic psalm it states, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels” (Psalm 22:14).
Jesus Christ “sitteth King forever!” And besides having power over the elements, He has power over sin and death and can provide living water and eternal life for His spiritually begotten sons and daughters.
In the next post, we will examine what happens after the waters are gathered together and dry land appears. (Genesis 1:9)