Why did Jesus ask the invalid, "Do you want to get well?" in John 5:6? Text (John 5:1-9) “After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda. … One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.’ Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now this happened on the Sabbath.” Historical and Archaeological Background Excavations north of the Temple Mount (Conrad Schick, 1888; later digs 1956–1964) uncovered twin pools with five porticoes exactly matching John’s description, confirming the factual setting. The site lies beside the Church of St. Anne and the ancient Sheep Gate, validating the Gospel’s topographical precision. Such correspondence refutes claims of Johannine “symbolic fiction” and underlines the credibility of the account. Reason 1: Engaging Personal Will and Responsibility Thirty-eight years of paralysis foster dependence (cf. Proverbs 13:12). Asking surfaces latent agency, counters learned helplessness, and prevents passive reception. Scripture routinely marries divine initiative with human response: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15) and “Whoever wishes, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). Reason 2: Awakening Faith Prior to the Miracle Miracles in John are “signs” (σημεῖα) designed to evoke belief (John 20:31). Verbal assent readies the man for trust in Christ rather than in superstition about the pool (v7). Parallel pattern: blind Bartimaeus is asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). Reason 3: Revealing Spiritual Need Beneath Physical Ailment Jesus later says, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Wholeness (ὑγιής) is comprehensive. The question draws attention from mere mobility to moral restoration (cf. Psalm 103:3). Reason 4: Exposing Futility of Works-Based and Superstitious Remedies The pool legend offered mechanistic hope; thirty-eight years proved its impotence. By forcing the man to articulate his inability (“I have no one to help me”), Jesus highlights salvation by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), not by self-effort or ritual. Reason 5: Preparing for Sabbath Controversy and Messianic Claim Healing on the Sabbath triggers confrontation (John 5:16-18). The question makes the invalid’s desire explicit, forestalling accusations of unnecessary labor. It also frames the miracle as a compassionate act fulfilling Isaiah 35:6, “the lame will leap like a deer,” a messianic credential. Typological Echoes in the Biblical Timeline • Israel wandered 38 years after Kadesh-Barnea unbelief (Deuteronomy 2:14). • Jesus, the greater Joshua, ends the invalid’s “wilderness.” The parallel underscores faith’s decisive turning point. Modern Corroborative Testimonies of Healing Documented recoveries such as the medically verified multiple-sclerosis reversal of Barbara Snyder (1981; Loyola Med. Ctr.) mirror Christ’s question-and-response pattern: conscious desire, prayer, instantaneous cure—offering contemporary evidence that the same Lord still acts. Practical Application for Readers Christ asks every hearer: Do you will to be made whole—body, soul, and mind? Passive religion, tradition, or science cannot substitute. Responding involves repentance and faith in the risen Savior (Romans 10:9-10). Summary Jesus’ inquiry pierces to the core of human volition, summons faith, dismantles false dependencies, unveils deeper sin issues, and prefaces a sign that authenticates His deity. The question is as relevant today as at Bethesda: our answer determines whether we remain on our mat or rise to walk in newness of life. |
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