The Pool of Bethesda was located on the eastern side of the city near the Fortress of Antonia. The name Bethesda means "house of mercy." The water source was a nearby spring. The Pool had five porches and according to the Bible there was a tradition that an angel moved the waters at certain times and healed the sick. It was here that Jesus healed the man who was lame for 38 years. Being at this site was really the first time I felt like I actually was where Jesus had been - at least in the general vicinity. We know he healed the paralytic man and we know that it was at this pool He did that!We got a little Crusader history at this site. The Crusades were a series of military conflicts of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal threats. Crusades were fought against Muslims, pagan Slavs, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, and political enemies of the popes. Crusaders took vows and were granted an indulgence for past sins. The Crusades originally had the goal of recapturing Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule and were originally launched in response to a call for help against the expansion of Muslim Turks.
The Crusaders defeated Jerusalem in 1099. However, the feudal lords that "ruled" Jerusalem after the Crusaders defeated it, started dividing the unity. Not far away, Saladin the Great, a very powerful Muslim military leader heard of the "disunity" and found the weakness a good time to conquer Jerusalem. He captured 40,000 Crusaders in the process but did not kill them. He gave them three choices:
* take what they would and leave
* stay and pay tribute to him
* embrace Islam
Very interesting!
