At one time, biblical scholars tended to think that John's story of the pool was purely symbolic with no historical basis. The "five portico" represented the Old Testament, the five books of Moses, but archaeologists followed the details in John's Gospel, excavated the place and found the pool with "five porticos" The name of the place was Bethesda, meaning "House of Mercy" or "House of Grace".

Though the man whom Jesus encountered had been paralyzed for almost forty years, he could not be healed because he had no one to help him reach the water in time. So practically speaking the place was not a place of mercy or grace for him until Jesus came. There was no healing for him in the Old Testament. The presence of Jesus made the place a real "House of Mercy" for him.

As noted, before, in these reflections, many miracle stories in the Gospels can be read as parables. To prove this story's more profound revelation value, we can use symbolism and draw out the meaning for our spiritual lives. But we can never deny the real historical truth of the life of Jesus.