John 5:6

6 When Iesus sawe him lye and knewe that he now longe tyme had bene diseased he sayde vnto him. Wilt thou be made whoale?

John 5:6 Meaning and Commentary

John 5:6

When Jesus saw him lie
In such a helpless condition:

and knew that he had been now a long time, [in that case],
or "in his disease", as the Ethiopic version supplies; even seven years before Christ was born; which is a proof of his omniscience: the words may be literally rendered, as they are in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, "that he had had much time"; or as the Arabic version, "that he had had many years"; that is had lived many years, and was now an old man; he had his disorder eight and thirty years, and which seems from ( John 5:14 ) to have arisen from some sin of his, from a vicious course of living, perhaps intemperance; so that he might be a middle aged man, when this distemper first seized him, and therefore must be now stricken in years:

he saith unto him, wilt thou be made whole?
which question is put, not as if it was a doubt, whether he was desirous of it, or not; for to what purpose did he lie and wait there else? but partly to raise in the man an expectation of a cure, and attention in the people to it: and it may be his sense and meaning is, wilt thou be made whole on this day, which was the sabbath; or hast thou faith that thou shall be made whole in this way, or by me?

John 5:6 In-Context

4 For an angell wet doune at a certayne ceason into ye pole and troubled ye water. Whosoever then fyrst after the steringe of the water stepped in was made whoale of what soever disease he had.

5 And a certayne ma was theare which had bene diseased .xxxviii. yeares

6 When Iesus sawe him lye and knewe that he now longe tyme had bene diseased he sayde vnto him. Wilt thou be made whoale?

7 The sicke answered him: Syr I have no man whe the water is troubled to put me into the pole. But in the meane tyme whill I am about to come another steppeth doune before me.

8 And Iesus sayde vnto him: ryse take vp thy beed and walke.