Abstract
Among the many stories found in the Fourth Gospel is that of the man at the pool in John 5. Despite a good deal of scholarly attention devoted to this pericope, two particular aspects of the narrative have not yet received sufficient attention. First, with few exceptions interpreters of this passage have viewed the man at the pool in primarily negative terms. However, such a negative characterization does not seem to be the best reading of the text. Secondly, there has been little scholarly reflection upon the relationship between sin and illness implied in Jesus' command to stop sinning lest something worse come upon the man. In order to move the discussion forward on these two aspects of the passage, this reading of Jn 5.1-18 focuses attention upon the characterization of the man who is healed and the relationship between sin and illness.
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