Pio Cristiano Sarcophagus 31546: Detail, Jesus Cures the Invalid at Bethesda

The paralytic's scene here appears to refer to the cure at the Bethesda pool in John 5:1-8 rather than the synoptic accounts (Matthew 9:1-8, c.f. Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26). The Bethesda incident was taken by the commentators to be a symbol of baptism, and here it is juxtaposed with the miracle in which St. Peter produces water from rock in order to baptize his jailers. Also, this is one of the few sarcophagus images of Jesus and the paralytic in which no one else is pictured. In the synoptic accounts the man has friends who bring him to Jesus, but in John 5 he has no friends and Jesus speaks to him alone.

As usual in sarcophagus images of the paralytics' cures, the man's figure is pictured half as tall as Jesus and the cot is a simple flat with four short legs. The scroll in Jesus' hand is also a common feature in both types. It is echoed by Peter's rod, an incidental reminder of the source of his authority and power.

View the entire sarcophagus frontal.
Read more about the miracles at Capernaum and Bethesda.

Photographed at the Museo Pio Cristiano by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.