When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said to him, Will you be made whole?
and knew.
John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Psalm 142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
Hebrews 4:13,15 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do…
Wilt.
Isaiah 65:1 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
Jeremiah 13:27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?
Luke 18:41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition
The man's prolonged suffering is emphasized, highlighting Jesus' omniscience and empathy. The text suggests that Jesus knew the man's history without being told, demonstrating His divine insight. This aligns with other instances where Jesus knew people's thoughts and pasts, such as with Nathanael (John 1:48).
He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
This question may seem unnecessary, but it serves to engage the man's faith and desire for healing. It also reflects the biblical principle of free will and personal responsibility. Jesus often required a response of faith before performing miracles, as seen with the blind men in Matthew 9:28-29. The question also invites introspection, prompting the man to consider his true desires and readiness for change.
Jesus’ first action is noticing the individual in the midst of a crowded pool.
• Scripture repeatedly shows the Lord’s eyes settling on specific people—Luke 19:5: “When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry down….’”
• His seeing is never casual; Mark 6:34 records Him viewing the multitude and being “moved with compassion.”
• Our faith rests in a Savior who sees us personally, not abstractly (Psalm 33:13–15).
The man is motionless, unable to help himself.
• His posture pictures helplessness—exactly where grace meets need (Romans 5:6).
• Psalm 38:6 echoes such brokenness: “I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.”
• Though physically immobile, he is positioned for divine intervention—reminding believers that acknowledging weakness opens the door for Christ’s power (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Jesus knows the length and depth of every struggle.
• John 2:24–25 states that He “knew all men… He knew what was in man.”
• Omniscience does not distance Him; it draws Him closer (Psalm 139:1–4).
• The passage affirms literal foreknowledge: thirty-eight years of suffering have not gone unnoticed.
The Lord initiates; the man does not cry out first.
• Throughout the Gospels, Christ steps toward the needy—Matthew 11:28: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened….”
• Revelation 3:20 shows the same heart: “I stand at the door and knock.”
• His questions are invitations, stirring faith and personal engagement.
More than information, this probes desire and readiness.
• Healing—physical and spiritual—flows where willingness meets divine power (Mark 1:41).
• John 8:36 promises true freedom: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
• 1 Peter 2:24 anchors ultimate wholeness: “By His wounds you are healed.”
• The question still confronts every hearer: acknowledge the need, consent to His cure, rise in new life.
John 5:6 reveals a Savior who sees personally, understands history, initiates compassion, and invites willing faith. The verse assures each believer that no length of suffering escapes His notice, and that Christ still asks, with power to act, “Do you want to get well?”
(6) And now Jesus sees him lying there among the throng of sufferers, and every ache of every limb, and. every sorrow of every heart told of the perfection of life marred by the curse of sin; but this man's own sin had left its mark upon him, which men may read and condemn, though within the whited fairness of their own outer deeds, the soul's life was by sin palsied to its very core. But he hears, in tones that went to the heart as he listened to them, the strange question, stranger indeed than "Wilt thou. . . .," "Wiliest thou to be made whole?"Verse 6. - When Jesus saw him lying there, and perceived (came to know by his searching glance and intuitive knowledge of the history of others) that he had during a long time already been (in that condition, or in sickness,) said unto him - spontaneously, in the royalty of his benefactions, not demanding from the man even the faith to be healed, and dealing with him almost as he did with the dead - Wilt thou be made whole? The leper came beseeching him, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The leper was quite sure of his own intense desire for cleansing, and all he questioned was the will, not the power, of Jesus. The admission of the power was a tacit cry for healing. The questioning of Jesus on this occasion involved an offer of mercy. "Dost thou veritably wish for health and strength?" The question implies a doubt. The man may have got so accustomed to his life of indolence and mendicancy as to regard deliverance from his apparent wretchedness, with all consequent responsibilities of work and energy and self-dependence, as a doubtful blessing. He whined out, with professional drawl, his oft-told story, reflecting very much upon his lovelessness and quarrelsomeness, and ugly temper. There are many who are not anxious for salvation, with all the demands it makes upon the life, with its summons to self-sacrifice and the repression of self-indulgence. There are many religious impostors who prefer tearing open their spiritual wounds to the first passerby, and hugging their grievance, to being made into robust men upon whom the burden of responsibility will immediately fall. In this case the sign of his palsied nature was written upon his face, and was probably known to every passerby.