The prophet Ezekiel is shown a vision of water flowing from the temple, which represents God’s presence and blessing. The water begins as a trickle and deepens as it flows eastward, eventually becoming a mighty river. This imagery is rich with symbolism, reflecting themes of life, healing, and divine provision. God’s influence starts as a trickle of water and, as we journey, it widens and deepens.
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Jeremiah 11:18-20
John 7:40-53
Ezekiel is a significant biblical figure whose life and prophetic ministry are documented in the Old Testament. As a member of a priestly lineage, he served as a prophet during the tumultuous period of the Babylonian exile, when the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon in 597 BCE. He warned of the impending destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, which indeed occurred some 10 years later.
His prophecies encompassed themes of judgment upon surrounding nations and the future restoration and blessing of the exiled Israelites, while also challenging them with stern warnings. Ezekiel’s final vision was of the coming Second Temple and its glory in the world to come.
Ezekiel’s Vision
Our first reading today is from Ezekiel 47. The prophet Ezekiel is shown a vision of water flowing from the temple, which represents God’s presence and blessing. The water begins as a trickle and deepens as it flows eastward, eventually becoming a mighty river. This imagery is rich with symbolism, reflecting themes of life, healing, and divine provision.
The reading starts with:
The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,south of the altar. [Ezekiel 47:1]And concludes 11 verses later with:
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine. [47:12]I found this to be remarkably similar to this vision in the final chapter of Revelation:
Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. [Revelation 22:1-2]Both Old and New Testament verses refer to God’s gift of “living water” to provide a growing, life-giving, and spiritual sustenance to the people.
I really liked the visual imagery that Ezekiel used to portray the expanding depth and breadth of the source of water (or life) flowing from the temple. It started out as a trickle, and with no additional sources from springs or tributaries, it would grow.
The “angel,” described in Ezekiel 40 as a man whose appearance was like bronze and who held in his hand a linen cord and a measuring rod, provided detailed measurements as they went. Every thousand cubits (about a third of a mile), Ezekiel was told to wade into the water. First, it was ankle-deep. Then up to his knees. Then up to his waist. At the fourth stop, Ezekiel discovers that the trickle has become a river, too deep to wade across, impassable, he observes.
The angel in the vision has Ezekiel sit down on the tree-lined bank and goes on to explain:
Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes. [Ezekiel 47:9]This source of life is flowing from the temple, signifying that true life and sustenance come from God. This is a powerful reminder that the temple is not just a physical structure but a source of spiritual nourishment for the people of Israel.
The flowing river in Ezekiel 47 can be seen as foreshadowing the living water Jesus speaks of in the New Testament, connecting the themes of spiritual renewal across both Testaments. Consider how these might relate to last week’s reading about the Samaritan woman at the well, who asked Jesus how he could have the audacity to ask her for a drink.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” [John 4:10]It’s a miracle!
Our Gospel reading for today comes from John chapter 5. It tells the story of the seven miracles or “signs” of Jesus according to John. Can you list those? Yeah, I couldn’t either. Here they are for our enlightenment:
The Seven Miracles
• Turning Water into Wine (John 2:1-11)
• Healing the Nobleman’s Son (John 4:46-54)
• Healing the Crippled Man (John 5:1-9)
• Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-14)
• Walking on Water (John 6:16-21)
• Healing the Blind Man (John 9:1-12
• Raising Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-44
These miracles are not just acts of power; they serve as signs that reveal Jesus’ identity as the Son of God and His mission to bring salvation. Each miracle illustrates a different aspect of His divine authority and compassion, inviting believers to trust in Him for eternal life. Today’s Gospel is Miracle Number 3.
John 5:1-16 recounts Jesus healing of a man who had been disabled for 38 years, demonstrating His authority, compassion, and the spiritual significance of faith and obedience. This event occurs in Jerusalem at a pool called Bethesda. The pool was believed to have healing properties, but that part of this Gospel reading is curiously blank.
Rabbit hole moment
If you go to the Books of the Bible section on the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) site for John 5 ( https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/5 ), you will find that verse 4 has an asterisk but is otherwise blank. OK, so go down to the smart notes and read the explanation for the “blank verse.”
Toward the end of the second century in the West and among the fourth-century Greek Fathers, an additional verse was known: “For [from time to time] an angel of the Lord used to come down into the pool; and the water was stirred up, so the first one to get in [after the stirring of the water] was healed of whatever disease afflicted him.” The angel was a popular explanation of the turbulence and the healing powers attributed to it. This verse is missing from all early Greek manuscripts and the earliest versions, including the original Vulgate. Its vocabulary is markedly non-Johannine.
We return to our Gospel, already in progress
A man who had been crippled for 38 years was present. Jesus saw him and asked, “Do you want to be healed?” The man explained his difficulty: whenever he tried to enter the pool, someone else would get there ahead of him. Jesus then commands him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately, the man was healed; he took up his mat and walked, astonishing those who witnessed it.
Here’s what happened:
Jesus knew that the man had been ill for a long time. No one told him. He didn’t have to ask. We are not told that Jesus was “moved by compassion,” but he probably was.
After 38 years of suffering (like Moses and company in the desert?), Jesus asks the man, “Do you want to be well?” It wasn’t a question of faith, but more of a test of desire and commitment, like asking if you want to be sober.
Jesus did not have physical contact with the man. He simply tells him to “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
That worked! The power of healing did not need the bubbling pool. Obedience to the words of Jesus received an immediate response.
We are told that “Jesus had slipped away, because a crowd was there.”
But wait, there’s more!
This miracle occurred on a Sabbath, which led to controversy. Jewish leaders criticized the healed man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, as work was prohibited by Jewish law. When confronted, the man explained that the man who made him well told him to carry the mat. When pressed for more details, the man was unable to identify the man who did the healing. Later, Jesus approaches the healed man in the temple area, remarks on how well he looks, and reminds him to sin no more. The passage ends with the man realizing that it was Jesus who had healed him and reporting this to the Jewish authorities, prompting further scrutiny of Jesus’ actions on the sabbath.
If we read beyond today’s Gospel, the next two verses in John 5, we get Jesus’ response when confronted:
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason, the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. [John 5:17-18]And so it begins . . .
God’s influence starts as a trickle of water and, as we journey, it widens and deepens. There is so much to learn, and the living water Jesus is there to guide, heal, and support us. Are you ready to wade in?