The lame man at Bethesda

“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’” John 5:6
Here in John 5 we have the miracle of the healing of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda. The pool was well-known in Jerusalem in Jesus’ time for having healing properties; specifically, an angel would periodically come down and stir the waters, and the first person to get into the pool after this happened would be healed (John 5:4). But this lame man was at a disadvantage: he was not able to move quickly enough to get into the pool. He had been in this condition for 38 years (John 5:5, although whether he had been at the pool for that long, we don’t know).
I think it’s interesting to note the question that Jesus first asks of the man. He doesn’t say, ‘Do you believe I can heal you?’ but instead, ‘Do you want to get well?’ You see, there are some people who don’t want to get well. They prefer to live in suffering so that other people will pity them. I heard a story once of a man in a wheelchair who went along to a healing meeting, and when told to stand up and walk, he did. But then he went and sat back in the chair, saying, ‘They’ll take my benefit away if they find out I can walk.’ He never walked again.
The same thing is true spiritually. For whatever reason, some people want to stay in a state of spiritual immaturity. They want to play the part of the victim and bemoan their lack of faith. They want to complain about how hard done by they are, to draw attention to themselves.
At least this man had been trying to get in the pool. His actions demonstrated that he did want to get well. The saying ‘God helps those who help themselves’ is not correct, but it is true that God won’t help those who refuse to try.