Don’t Be Fooled By What Attracts You Emotionally; Seek The Truth For What You Need
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(1) After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. (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.’ (John 5:1-4)
The recent ‘No Kings’ protest, in my opinion, was attended by people, who – for the most part – are into the ‘flavor-of-the-week’, or the popular in-thing to do trending at the time. Social influencers such as movie stars, Tik-Tok video providers, and podcast pundits attract those who are ‘social sheep’. The attraction is the sense of ‘belonging’ with no real desire in the political aspect of the gathering.
But I’m certain some who attended this protest did so with some conviction, however. Truthfully, we must recognize that most of us are drawn to certain philosophies or groups that we follow in a secular sense. ‘No Kings’ were those who follow a more liberal political stance, while those attending the recent Turning Point USA rallies follow a more conservative political stance.
Some of these attractions are due to our interests and the benefit in the affirmation we get from organizations that are more like-minded. I believe I have been open (perhaps out-spoken) on 2nd Amendment advocacy in having gun rights, so I have membership in pro-gun groups such as Gun Owners of America, Firearms Policy Coalition, and the National Rifle Association, while shunning gun control groups who do not hold such views as most want to take away those rights. There is, in the advocacy of any attraction, a form of self-service; I want to own firearms and use them, so I lean toward the groups that advocate for me to have that ability.
We must be wary, though, that there are advocacy groups that use false narratives to scare and attract people to their cause. In gun control groups, it is often to instill the fear that all gun owners want to kill people, a patently false statement; the factual evidence is there are more guns than people in the US, and trillions of rounds for those guns, so if gun owners really wanted to kill people, we’d all be dead by now. Even in the pro-gun movement, the fear of gun confiscation is often used to drum up donations and support. Both can be false or at least an exaggeration of the truth at hand.
In the ‘No Kings’ protest, the fact that they were carried out visibly demonstrated we have no king. (If there was a ‘No Kings’ protest in Saudi Arabia, for example, it would be likely those who organized or attended such an event on Saturday would not be alive today to hold a second rally.) But the fear of some government programs getting cut, such as Social Security, are being used despite the visible and credible evidence to the contrary.
Nevertheless, these movements often draw on people’s desires and fears at that particular time, and become, as I call it in terms of an ice cream shop, the ‘flavor-of-the-week’. This week, chocolate is the flavor most want, but next week the draw may be vanilla-peppermint. Social causes, like ice cream flavors, can also change in popularity just as quickly.
In an earlier Word-of-the-Day (the WOTD of 13 August 2025), we looked at John 5:13-14, which we looked at the man who was waiting to get into the Sheep Gate pool to be healed, when Jesus was walking by him, and told him to get up and walk, which the man did without having to get into this pool. Today, let’s look at this pool. It’s interesting this pool was near the Sheep Gate, and that this pool, according to Hebrew legend, healed people.
The legend was an ‘angel of the Lord stirred the water’ and when it was stirred, the first person in the pool was healed, so this attracted many afflicted people to gather at the pool, to include the man Jesus had healed. Some of these people stayed near the pool for a lengthy duration to have their chance to get into the pool. Today, we see some flock to the ‘Sacred Grotto’ in Lourdes, France, for a similar chance of healing, according to Catholic tradition.
John 5:4 is not in the original Greek text of the Book of John; it was likely added in later translations (including the King James Version), but in many modern translations it is left out as it is not in the original Greek (such as the NLT and NIV). It is likely John did not consider the legend important, as it could not be verified or he (and likely others) were skeptical of its claims. To be healed by the pool was not a personal transaction between God and the person; instead, it was by chance – first come, first healed.
The angel did not appear physically (this would have been ‘BIG NEWS’), so the invalids were probably looking for the water to ripple. Like paint drying on the wall, watching a pool of water can get boring after a while. If you miss it (get something to eat, go to the bathroom), someone else will jump in IF the water ripples. And what if the water ripples, and no one is paying attention? Did the angel waste a trip?
This is, in my humble opinion, this is simply a legend without basis in fact. (Although I find it dubious, it could be true as God can do anything He wants. I just doubt it is true.) Many people are sheep (hence the symbolic Sheep Gate) and will follow the crowd to the ‘flavor of the week’ – drink the latest health drink (Gatorade, or ‘Kabala’ Water), go on the latest fad diet (South Beach, Keto), or follow the TV evangelist with the best ‘name-it-and-claim-it’ message (“Be happy! God wants you to be a millionaire, and wants you to drive a Mercedes!”).
Their faith is either in the action or the product to get the desired end result until they realize that their desire is not met. Jesus fell out of the favor of many ‘groupies’ that followed him in the same fashion. Jesus was their ‘flavor-of-the-week’ and was with Him right up to His entering Jerusalem on the donkey, screaming ‘Hosanna!’, then turned on Him and yelled for His crucifixion days later because the end result that they desired, a military victory over the Romans to create an independent Jewish kingdom, did not pan out. His true Disciples were the ones who stayed Faithful after His death, and saw Him arise in Resurrection and then His Ascension.
Even the modern Christian church has gone through movements that, in my opinion, are the equivalent of trying to hit the lottery. Movements such as the ‘Prayer of Jabez’ or the ‘Purpose-Driven Church’ come and go as many churches try to grab something sensational to promote growth or be the new or next-best-thing going, like the people who gathered at the Bethesda pool were, or at the Lourdes grotto currently are, hoping to hit the lottery.
But it is the tried-and-true Gospel that has proven time and again is the only thing that works. Jesus showed that true healing doesn’t come through chance, or having hope in achieving an earthly desire, but to have a personal relationship with Him and having Hope in His promises. Those who have Faith in Christ will be healed, or in the case of man at the pool is healed by the Faith of others that Christ will heal them.
Don’t jump on the social or even pseudo-Christian ‘flavor-of-the-week’ bandwagon, or place hope on a ‘lottery’ waiting your turn to be picked by God. Stay on the train of Truth in firm and never-changing Word of God; if you believe and have Faith in the Gospel message of Christ, you have been already picked by God and have won His lottery. You only have to accept His prize, His son Jesus as Lord and Savior over your life, in eternity with Him.
