2. The Cleansing Pool
Key Verses: John 1:19-34, Exodus 27:1-7, 38:1-7
The Cleansing Pool (or Laver) was just outside of the Holy of Holies. It was used by priests to cleanse themselves before entering into the presence of God. They had to fully wash their hands and feet. If not, it was said that they would die.
The Bible takes time to point out in Exodus 38:8, that this cleansing pool was made from the mirrors collected from the Israelite women of the camp. By cleansing yourself right before entering into the most Holy place, you are forced to reflect on who you are and who God is. It’s one last reminder that you are not God; that it is only by his goodness and mercy that you are here. It’s no coincidence that later on, Christians adopted the practice of baptism as a symbol of joining the church. Baptism signifies a transition point from your old perspective to a renewed one; one in Christ.
Women at the Well and The Pool of Bethesda The Gospel of John has many stories that expound upon this theme of water and the Cleansing Pool. The clearest parallels are found in John 4 and 5.
In John 4, Jesus goes out of his way to the Samaritan town of Sychar. There he meets a Samaritan woman who had a bad reputation around town. This had to do with the fact that 5 of her marriages failed and currently she was living with a 6th man; unmarried to him. The Bible doesn’t tell us why this is. Some have speculated it may be because she is a widow or unable to have children. Women didn’t have financial or societal status apart from living under a man in Jesus’ day. So, it is no wonder that she is living with this 6th man.
In John 5, there was a man who had been crippled for 38 years. He sat by a pool everyday because there was a superstition that when the water bubbled, the first person into the water was cured. In all his time sitting there, he never got there first. His situation seemed impossible and after 38 years he decided to stop trying. Can you imagine his frustration? Religion at this time taught that sickness was a sign of God’s punishment. Tradition taught that he was unclean. Superstition said that the only way to get cured was through your own achievement (getting to the pool first). All areas of this man’s belief system condemned him.
In both stories, we read of very toxic situations. But they both had one thing in common. Instead of having to strain their way to the Cleansing Pool to be cleansed, the Living Water came to them. There was nothing the Samaritan woman or the crippled man could do. It was Grace that found them where they were and transformed their situations. For the Samaritan women, it was a question of finding a new source. For so long, she had looked for validation in her marriages to fulfill her. But the validation that gave her the confidence she needed only came from Jesus. For the crippled man, it was a question of if he wanted healing. For so long he had accepted that his situation would never change, but Jesus stepped in and healed him. Jesus didn’t just heal his legs, he also healed his belief system.
Water is a popular symbol throughout the Bible as it appears 722 times. At the start of Genesis, Water is used as a description of the formless chaos God begins to bring order to. Commonly, it symbolizes deliverance, God’s Spirit, and cleansing. In classic literature, water is representative of reflection. The passage in Exodus takes time to mention that the Cleansing Pool was made from the mirrors of the Israelite women. This means every surface from the actual pool to the water in it was reflective.
Reflection is an important spiritual tool. It offers us the chance to be able to pause and look back on how we got where we are. In John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Here, Jesus uses water as a metaphor for how we get our needs met. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. So much of sin comes from a mismanagement of our desires. However, desires are not bad. As a fellow human, I have the desire to be loved and understood. But how I get that need met is the difference between maturity and sinful immaturity.
Lent is one of my favorite times of year. It starts with Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is when you receive ashes on your forehead and receive the words, “from dust you come, and to dust you shall return.” (I know. Sounds like a real party!) But, it is a practice I enjoy because of how deeply reflective it is. Ash Wednesday gives me the emotional space to be able to express my mortality and finality, while still challenging me with the spiritual discipline to release things holding me back during the season of Lent.
