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Lesson Notes:

(John 5:5-6) – One man is noted as having an infirmity for 38 years. Later in the text he is found
inside the temple which means he must be a Jew. Knowledge of the details about his illness
suggest that John and others are familiar with him. Jesus-Messiah singles out this man from all
others in the archways, emphasizing further that he is known in the community of Jews. The
Messiah challenges him only, with an astounding question: “wilt thou be made whole”?
The direct question is intended to provoke the man as a member of the house of Israel.
Convicting him as one taught to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but resigned
to wait for a chance miracle from a god of myth and legends.
(John 5:7) – The impotent man responds with reasoning solely focused on getting into the pool.
He explains not having support to assist him once the waters are activated for healing.
The race among the diseased and impaired bodies for a miracle would yield one victor only.
In thirty-eight years, he has not been strong enough to make it into the pool first, but he keeps
trying.
The temple had not assisted the impotent, the blind, halt, or any other diseased person lying in
the nearby porticoes. Laying just outside the north entry of the temple mount the man has not
found help or assistance within his practiced faith and evident by his lingering condition the
alternative mythical legends have also failed him. The question regarding the man being made
whole was directed as much at the nearby religious institution as it was to the impotent man.
The temple in that day, churches and other religious institutions of today, struggle to be agents
of healing to those they are designated to serve and to general members of society.
When ready answers and support are unavailable within faith traditions people are vulnerable
to subscribe to alternate means in search of a miracle. The impotent fell prey to find
alternative hope in legends and fables offered by the secular world he lived in. Modern culture
offers the same alternate hopes in present day societies advertising potions, spells, and false
prophetic readings to people desperate to find answers at any cost.

(John 5:8) – The impotent man’s explanation about his condition is met with a greater
proposition, Jesus-Messiah responds, “rise, take up thy bed, and walk”. The man was
challenged by the healer to rise. This was a startling demand upon someone that has not
walked in thirty-eight years. When speaking, Jesus-Messiah used the Greek word “egeiro” to
command the impotent man to “rise”. The word choice was unusual because it did not mean
to stand, He told him to “awake”. The son of God was not speaking to the man’s impaired body
but to his impaired mind and spirit. His mind is weak (impotent) and spiritually inactive
because his faith has been lulled asleep. In his mind, the man has lost the connection to his
faith. In the absence of active faith, he has surrendered to lesser choices to resolve his
problems and become a victim to hold onto false hope.
There are maladies in the body that also creep into the mind, creating a mental version of their
physical infirmity paralyzing their faith and confidence in God. Other maladies can begin in the
mind and then settle in the body, giving shape to self-inflicted injury that keeps the body from
functioning normally. All these conditions require an awakening to spiritual truth, releasing the

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