“An Infirmity Thirty and Eight Years” (continue)

While in Jerusalem for a feast, Jesus came to the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. There he encountered a man laid out on one of the porches “which had an infirmity thirty and eight years” (John 5:5). John’s narrative suggests that he suffered from paralysis of some kind that made it impossible for him to reach the waters of the pool without assistance. The connotation is that the malady may have been the result of sinful behavior committed earlier in his life (see John 5:14).

Whatever the case, Jesus looked upon the man and said, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). The invalid said, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me” (John 5:7). At that moment Jesus proclaimed, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8). Immediately, strength surged into his body sufficient to allow him to gather up his mat and walk after almost four decades of infirmity. This miraculous sign of power caught the attention of all present and soon thereafter garnered the ire of the Jewish religious leaders.