Which had been thirty and eight years (τριακοντα κα οκτω ετη εχων). Literally, "having thirty and eight years," "having spent thir…

An infirmity A weakness. We do not know what his disease was. We know only that it disabled him from walking, and that it was of very long…

Thirty-eight years.—The period expresses not his age on the one hand, nor the time of his being at Bethesda on the other, but the …

After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called…

St. Augustine of Hippo: After the miracle in Galilee, Jesus returned to Jerusalem: After this there was a feast of the Jews,…

Jesus selected for his attention the person who seemed most needy. Confinement to a bed for thirty-eight years would leave the sufferer so weak tha…

And there was a man there. The Evangelist collects various circumstances, which prove that the miracle can be relied on as certain. The lo…

And a certain man was there
At Bethesda's pool, in one of the five porches, or cloisters, that belonged to it:

We are all by nature impotent people in spiritual things: blind, lame, and withered. However, full provision is made for our cure, if we pay attent…

John 5:8: Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your bed and walk.” [n. 716]