Why did you heal me?

"Do you want to be healed?" Jesus asked a man who had been sick for 38 long years. At first glance, the question appears strange and pointless, as the answer seems obvious.
But the man's reply was not a plain 'yes' or 'no'; he goes on to beat around the bush, which makes the reader wonder whether he actually wished for healing. Unlike the blind man who had to shout, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:38), despite being rebuked by those around him, or the four men who dismantled the roof to come close to Jesus and receive healing (for their friend), this man just had to lie there. He did not go to Jesus, but Jesus went to him. He did not request to be healed, but Jesus healed him anyway. 

How he responded after he was healed reveals more about his state of mind. First of all, he did not know who healed him. The Bible says Jesus slipped away into the crowd, and so "the man who was healed had no idea who it was" (John 5:13). While the circumstances and the crowd can be blamed, maybe the man was just indifferent and did not care to know his healer. 

Secondly, he blamed his healer (although he did not know who it was yet) when the religious leaders asked why he was working (carrying his mat) on the Sabbath, as Jesus had told him to take his mat and walk. This man had a habit of pointing his finger at others for his misfortunes and even his actions. He initially told Jesus that he had no one to take him to the pool when it was stirred. Also, somebody else always entered first and got healed, thereby depriving him of healing. 

Thirdly, he betrayed Jesus to his (Jesus’) enemies (John 5:15–16) once he got to know it was Jesus who healed him. Perhaps he had built a comfort zone around his sickness and the circumstances into which he was pushed as a result of it. Was he angry with Jesus for healing him? 

He is no different from his ancestors who complained, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt?" (Exodus 14:11–12) after crying out to God for 400-plus years to be saved from their bondage in Egypt (Exodus 12:40; 2:23–25). Earlier, they complained about captivity, and now they complained about freedom. 

How do we respond to healing? Are we interested to know our healer? Are we offering words of praise from a heart full of gratitude? Or has the subject of complaint just changed from illness to healing? 

 Note: This article is based on John 5:1–16.