John 5 - NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible

5:1–9 As chapter 5 unfolds, John describes Jesus healing a lame man on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders responded by accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. The Pharisees’ vitriolic response provided Jesus an opportunity to offer a glimpse into his self-understanding. After they challenged Jesus on his comments, he called a series of witnesses to confirm the truthfulness of his self-testimony. He concluded with an explanation of why the religious leadership did not believe in him. The question of Jesus’ identity is as controversial now as it was during his earthly ministry.

The next major section of this Gospel is John 5:1—10:42. The events recounted here are characterized by escalating conflict. John selects typical events and discourses to illustrate the Jewish people’s response to Jesus. This large section is sometimes called the Festival Cycle because John shows how Jesus fulfilled and surpassed certain features from some of Israel’s great festivals: Sabbath, Passover, Tabernacles, and Dedication/Hanukkah.

Chapter 5 opens with Jesus’ second trip to Jerusalem recorded in this Gospel. It is impossible to know how much time elapsed between the events in the previous chapter and the healing in this chapter. John does not indicate which festival (5:1) brought Jesus to Jerusalem on this occasion. The healing took place by a pool called Bethesda. The man whom Jesus healed had been crippled for 38 years. His situation had been hopeless. It does not appear that he had any idea of Jesus’ identity. The crucial point is that the healing took place on the Sabbath, as indicated by the repeated references to it (vv. 9,10,16). The Sabbath was considered a weekly festival and governed by strict rules. Jesus broke one of the rabbinic rules governing the day by healing on the Sabbath. In addition, Jesus’ command for the man to carry his mat (v. 8) broke another of the Sabbath regulations. John highlights this healing as the third sign Jesus performed (see note on 2:9–12). Previously Jesus had turned approximately 175 gallons of water into wine and healed a boy from a distance who was near death; here he healed a man who had not walked for four decades.

5:10–15 The Jewish leaders’ response to this healing is the first open hostility toward Jesus recorded in this Gospel; however, conflict was foreshadowed already in the prologue (1:5,11). The religious leaders confronted the healed man about carrying his mat on the Sabbath. He did not know who healed him, because Jesus had slipped away before the man could identify him. Later, Jesus found the man in the temple and warned him about continuing to sin; possibly some sinful activity caused his lameness. The man may have reported Jesus to the religious leaders because he was angered by Jesus’ rebuke.

5:16–18 The Jewish leaders began to persecute Jesus because they thought he broke the Sabbath (though he violated the rules of the religious leaders, not God’s Word). Jesus defended himself by appealing to the fact that he was doing only what his Father does on the Sabbath. The religious leaders understood Jesus to be claiming equality with God, which was blasphemy! They understood his point perfectly and sought to kill him (v. 18).

5:19–23 Jesus did not back down but made his claims even more explicit. He openly acknowledged his dependence on the Father. He did what he saw the Father doing. The Father’s love for the Son was why he showed him all he did. As the Father gives life to the dead, the Son can do the same. Furthermore, the Father gave the Son authority to judge so that the Son and the Father can receive the same honor. If anyone does not honor the Son, they dishonor the Father. Jesus’ statements were claims to deity.

5:24–27 Jesus attributed to himself activities previously ascribed only to God: the giving of life and final judgment. Jesus has authority to give spiritual life and judgment in the present (“now,” v. 25). Those who hear his words and believe in him have eternal life as a present reality and will not come into future judgment. The Father has given the Son the authority to give life and execute judgment because he—the Son—is the Son of Man.

5:28–30 Jesus delineated the same two divine prerogatives as those laid out in verses 24–27 (see previous note), except now they will be executed in the future at the general resurrection of the dead. Jesus’ opponents would have been shocked when he told them that he would call forth the dead at the final resurrection. So while verses 24–25 refer to a spiritual resurrection from spiritual death in the present life, verses 28–30 speak of a future bodily resurrection from the dead. Jesus concluded his comments by again stating his dependence on his Father.

5:31–35 Jesus continued his argument from the previous section. The language is reminiscent of a courtroom. Jesus, however, turned the tables on his opponents and took control of the proceedings. According to the Old Testament, a person’s testimony required at least two witnesses (Dt 19:15), so Jesus called a series of witnesses to substantiate his claims. He called John the Baptist to testify first. The crowds believed John the Baptist to be a prophet of God. Jesus, the light of the world, ascribed a high commendation to John the Baptist by calling him a lamp. The past tense verbs may indicate that John the Baptist was dead or imprisoned at the time of this discourse. Jesus told those who wanted to kill him that he said these things because he wanted them to be saved (Jn 5:34). Jesus desired the salvation of those who hated him.

5:36–40 Jesus’ works were an even greater testimony to his identity than John the Baptist’s words. Jesus’ works were the miracles the Father gave to him to perform. Jesus said again that the Father sent him. Jesus always seemed to keep in the forefront of his mind that he was on a mission from heaven. He chastened his opponents further because they had never heard God’s voice, seen his form, or allowed his word to dwell in them. Though the Jewish leaders studied the Scriptures, they failed to recognize the One to whom the Scriptures bear supreme testimony. The proof that they failed to truly understand the Scriptures was their refusal to believe in Jesus. The very Scriptures they studied pointed to Jesus. They knew God’s word intellectually, but it had never transformed their hearts.

5:41–44 Jesus provided a prophetic critique of the leaders’ rejection of him. Their issue was not intellectual; rather, their longing for self-glory blinded them to Scripture’s true message. Jesus, on the other hand, did not seek human glory. In addition, Jesus knew that the leaders did not love God, because they loved approval of people more than God’s approval. They exhibited an insatiable longing for human praise. If they genuinely loved God, they would have welcomed Jesus as God’s representative. These religious leaders gladly received glory from one another but would not seek the glory that comes from God. This intense longing for human recognition and approval explains some of their inability to believe in Jesus.

5:45–47 The Scriptures, which the religious leaders claimed to believe, would condemn them. They did not believe the words of Moses; thus, they refused to believe in Jesus, whom Moses had written about. Jesus closely connected saving faith and acceptance of what the Scriptures teach about him.