When is “Was” Really an “Is”? (John 5:13)
When Jesus healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda, the Pharisees objected to him carrying his mat on the Sabbath and wanted to know who had told him to do so. Verse 13 says, “But the man who was healed did not know who he was (ἐστιν).” But ἐστιν is present tense. Why do all the translations make it past tense, “was”?