Omnipotence confronts impotence

John in the book of John 5:5 draws our attention to one one, a desperate and undoubtedly well-known case around the pool of Bethesda (House of Mercy) where lay a miserable group of people, many helpless but all hopeless. The Bible gives a picture of two confrontations that take place, first involving Christ and the man who had been sick for 38 year (John 5:6-7), second between Christ and the Pharisees (John 5:16-18). May God confront our addictions, struggles with hope and mercy.