The Man at the Pool of Bethesda: Thirty-Eight Years of Waiting

Biblical Source: John 5:1–15

A standalone biographical passage for the EC–18+ curriculum

Reading level: approximately 660 Lexile (3rd–4th grade)

Vocabulary note: Written using high-frequency Dolch sight words (was, could not, said, went, get, up, help, long, then, walk) paired with AAC core vocabulary (want, help, more, stop, wait, go, no, yes, again, all done), so the passage can support both fluent readers and core-word communicators in the same lesson.

Family and Community

Scripture does not tell us this man’s name. We do not know his parents, where he came from, or what his family was like.

But John tells us something striking about his life:

He had lived with his condition for thirty-eight years (John 5:5).

And when Jesus met him, the man described another important part of his experience.

He had no one to help him.

The Passage

In Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there was a pool called Bethesda. Around the pool were covered areas where many sick and disabled people gathered. John describes people who were blind, people who could not walk, and people whose bodies did not move easily (John 5:2–3).

Among them was a man who had lived with his condition for thirty-eight years.

Jesus saw him lying there.

Jesus knew he had been in this situation for a very long time.

Then Jesus asked him a question:

“Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6, KJV)

The man did not simply answer yes or no.

Instead, he explained the barrier he faced.

He told Jesus that he had no one to help him into the pool. When he tried to get there, someone else reached the water before him (John 5:7).

He wanted to get there.

But the way to the water did not work for him.

And he had no one to help.

Jesus did not take him to the pool.

He did not tell the man to wait for another opportunity.

Instead, Jesus told him:

“Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” (John 5:8, KJV)

At once, the man was healed.
He picked up his mat and walked.
His waiting was over.

Key Verse

“Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”
— John 5:8 (KJV)

The Barrier Was Not Just His Body

This story is often told simply as a story about a man who could not walk and then could.

But John gives us more than that.

When Jesus asks the man what he wants, the man describes a problem with access.

“I have no man” (John 5:7, KJV).

Whatever expectations surrounded the pool, the man believed that reaching the water required getting there before someone else.

He could not do that.

Other people could.

And no one was helping him.

The problem was not only what his body could or could not do. The environment around him also affected his access.

That distinction matters when we talk about disability.

A person can have a physical, sensory, intellectual, or developmental disability while also encountering barriers created by buildings, transportation, policies, communication systems, attitudes, or a lack of support.

Sometimes changing access changes what is possible.

Thirty-Eight Years Is a Long Time

Thirty-eight years is not a brief delay.

It is decades.

For families navigating disability services, that part of the story may feel especially familiar.

There are waiting lists.

Appointments months away.

Services that exist but are difficult to access.

Programs with eligibility requirements.

Transportation problems.

Insurance denials.

Schools, agencies, and systems where the person who needs support can seem to spend an enormous amount of time simply waiting.

Jesus saw him.

Not the crowd.

Not simply the condition.

Him.

And before Jesus acted, he spoke directly to the man.

Why This Story Matters for Our Curriculum

The man at Bethesda gives us a powerful story about disability, access, waiting, and agency.

Jesus does not begin by asking someone else what the man needs.

He asks the man.

That matters.

The man answers by explaining the barrier he experiences: he cannot access what he believes will help him because someone else always gets there first, and he has no one to assist him.

For students with disabilities, there is an important message here:

Your voice matters.

For parents, siblings, educators, caregivers, and advocates, there is another:

Access matters.

And for anyone who has spent years navigating waitlists, service gaps, inaccessible systems, or the feeling of being overlooked, this story recognizes something deeply human.

Sometimes the hardest part is not simply needing help.

It is knowing help exists and still not being able to reach it.

Then Jesus saw him.

Note: Some modern Bible translations omit John 5:4 because it does not appear in the earliest surviving manuscripts. For that reason, this passage does not present the stirring of the water or the belief surrounding it as part of John’s undisputed narrative. Scripture references use standard chapter-and-verse citations so readers can use whichever Bible translation their ministry, classroom, or family prefers. Direct Scripture quotations above are from the public-domain King James Version.