Giving a personal testimony of Jesus requires that one accepts his new life through faith (John 1, 12-13). Faith makes Jesus' life one's own and the example of the Samaritans (John 4, 40-41) shows that even people who did not belong to Jesus recognized him as the true Christ (John 4, 42). The royal servant in John 4: 48-49 asks Jesus for help for his sick son. Jesus points out that faith should not only be based on signs and wonders. When the servant believes in Jesus' word, his son is healed.
In John 5, we meet the bedridden man of Bethesda (John 5: 5-9). This man thinks that someone else should heal him by carrying him into the water. It is not a good idea to expect anything from people. You can wait a long time, because everyone in their selfishness only cares about themselves. And even if he cares for another, it is only because he is interested in him for himself, even if you are not aware of it. When Jesus tells the man: “Get up, take up your bed and walk...”, the man believes his word and is healed. His testimony should encourage others. When someone takes the word by faith, it unfolds and does exactly what it says.
But the whole situation brought up a problem. The Jews had a problem with Jesus (John 5:19-20) because they did not see His unity with the Father. Every person bears witness - either to himself or to the one who sent him. The Jews were fixated on external rites and sought honor from people instead from God (John 5, 44). Jesus makes it clear: those who seek honor from people are dependent on them. True appreciation and love come from God alone. Through faith, we can become children of the Heavenly Father and integrate Jesus' life into our own. These topics are part of the sixth reflection “Themes in the Gospel of John”.