John 5:3-4

This section of the text has doubtful authenticity. No Greek manuscript before A.D. 400 contains these words. [Note: Blum, p. 289; Tenney, "John," p. 62.] Evidently scribes added these statements later to explain the troubling of the waters that occurred periodically (John 5:7). [Note: For defense of the authenticity of John 5:4, see Zane C. Hodges, "The Angel at Bethesda-John 5:4," Bibliotheca Sacra 136:541 (January-March 1979):25-39.] However these scribal explanations seem superstitious. They appear to have been common in Jesus’ day. A more probable explanation for the troubling of the water is the presence of springs that occasionally gushed water into the pools below the surface of the water. [Note: Carson, The Gospel . . ., p. 242.] Probably the (warm?) water had a high mineral content that had medicinal benefits for people suffering from muscle and joint ailments.