In this account, five physical details represent a sinner's spiritual condition:

» First, some were too sick and disabled to walk to the pool. Sins are physically—and even more so—mentally incapacitating, keeping the sinner down emotionally and spiritually.

» Second, some were too weak to do anything about their condition. Sin leaves people without the vigor and resources to overcome it.

» Third, some were blind. Sin maintains spiritual blindness, producing a lack of discernment between right and wrong.

» Fourth, some were lame or crippled. Sin debilitates so that one cannot walk uprightly in God's way of life.

» Fifth, the limbs of some had withered and atrophied through paralysis. Sin paralyzes people's efforts to improve themselves, and without the power of God's Spirit, they are unable to produce the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:21-22).