I have no man… – Fr. Gavril Galev
Posted By Macedon on May 26, 2024
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This historical event (see John 5,1-15) from the life of the God-Man Jesus examines (looks into) many questions of Orthodox symbolism and the life of man in general.
First of all, we can see the theme of the meaning and the comparison between the Old and the New Testament. Next, the bath signifies the Holy Sacrament of Baptism through which man is born for life eternal. The movement of water symbolizes the grace of God. Also, this event symbolizes the repentance and zeal with which that baptising grace moves within us – It transforms us and heals our passions, etc.
In this event we can also analyse the psychological structure of a group of people who call themselves righteous and fulfillers of the law. Who, in fact, possessed by the sufficiency of their own ego and vanity, filled with the perfidious passions of egoism, vanity, high self-esteem, selfishness, envy, jealousy, etc., cannot see the truth and correctly set the real values in life in which man is the holiest thing and therefore they set their false principles above love.
That way, they close their hearts for other people and unconsciously persecute and kill God (in man). Such “righteous” Pharisees, just like the Jewish elders, if they take hold of leadership positions in the hierarchy, become persecutors of Christ: “They persecuted Jesus and wanted to kill him.”
They blinded themselves, their hearts have turned into stone and they show no mercy and love towards their fellow man, so, in the name of some law, they trample and kill certain (concrete) people.
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