The Second Sign and the Pool of Bethesda
The second sign at Cana and the healing at the pool of Bethesda — two of John's miracles, reproduced at true scale on genuine Egyptian papyrus, both sides visible in acrylic.
& 5:1–23
(Bodmer Papyri)
Library
Two of John's miracles,
front and back.
On the front, a royal official begs Jesus to come and heal his dying son. Jesus never makes the journey — he heals the boy from a distance, with a word: Go your way; your son lives. John calls it the second sign Jesus did, coming out of Judea into Galilee.
Turn the leaf and you are at the pool of Bethesda, where a man has been ill thirty-eight years. Rise, take up your mat, and walk. Because it happened on the Sabbath, the healing sets off the confrontation that gives us one of the most striking sentences in the Gospel — my Father is working until now, and I am working — which his opponents heard as making himself equal with God.
From the evangelist's century to yours
Healed with a word — and “my Father is working”
The two sides of the leaf, side by side.
John 4:50
“Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way. Your son lives.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.”
John 5:8–9, 17
“Arise, take up your mat, and walk. … My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”
Made by hand, made to order.
When P75 came to light, its text matched the great fourth-century Codex Vaticanus about 92% of the time in John. That near-identity showed the careful Alexandrian text was not a late invention but was already in circulation by around AD 200. Kurt Aland called P75 “the key for understanding the primitive textual history of the New Testament.”
Common questions
Is the display stand included?
The stand is optional. Choose “Add display stand” (+$20) to have it shown upright as in the photos, or “Replica only” for the framed piece on its own.
Is it really made on papyrus?
Yes — every replica is reproduced on genuine Egyptian papyrus, then set by hand in a front-and-back acrylic display so both sides are visible.
How long does it take to ship?
Each piece is made to order through a multi-week hand-replication process. Your exact timeline is shown at checkout, and we ship to the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
Can I see the text translated?
Yes — this leaf has a companion reading page with the full line-by-line transcription and a word-by-word translation of John 4:46–5:23, letter by letter.
Two of John's miracles,
in an ancient hand.
Museum-grade, made to order, and framed to be read from both sides.
