John 5 - NIV Study Bible
5:1 one of the Jewish festivals. Probably Passover, Pentecost or Tabernacles. The identity of this festival is significant for the attempt to ascertain the number of Passovers included in Jesus’ ministry, and thus the number of years his ministry lasted. John explicitly mentions at least three different Passovers: the first in 2:13,23 (see note on 2:13), the second in 6:4 and the third several times (e.g., in 11:55; 12:1), suggesting a public ministry lasting between two and three years. However, if the festival of 5:1 was a second Passover or assumes that a second Passover had come and gone, Jesus’ ministry would have lasted between three and four years. See chart.
5:6 Do you want to get well? The man had not asked Jesus for help.
5:7 when the water is stirred. The man did not see Jesus as a potential healer, and his mind was set on the supposed curative powers of the water.
5:9 the man was cured. This episode represents Jesus’ authority to heal rather than any faith the man might have. Sometimes, faith in Jesus was essential to the cure (e.g., Mk 5:34), but here the man did not even know who Jesus was (v. 13). So while Jesus sometimes healed in response to faith, he was not limited by a person’s lack of it.
5:10 the law forbids you to carry your mat. It was not the law of Moses itself but their traditional interpretation of it that prohibited carrying loads of any kind on the Sabbath. The Jews had very strict regulations on keeping the Sabbath but also had many curious loopholes that some of their teachers made full use of (cf. Mt 23:4).
5:12 this fellow. The Jews were contrasting the authority of the law of God, which in their view prohibited the action, and that of a mere man (as they considered Jesus to be) who permitted it.
5:14 Stop sinning. Might imply that the man’s sins had caused his disability. In 9:1 Jesus repudiates the idea that disabilities (such as blindness there) are always caused by sin, but he does not say they are never caused by sin. something worse. Jesus warns the man that to relapse into sin could result in even greater judgment.
5:16 was doing these things on the Sabbath. It is always lawful to do good and to save life—including on the Sabbath (see v. 17; 7:23; Lk 6:9; 13:15; 14:5 and notes). The continuous action points to more than one incident, and the Jews (see note on 1:19) apparently discerned a pattern. began to persecute him. John does not tell us what form the persecution took.
5:17 My Father is always at his work. Jesus’ justification for his action was his close relation to his Father. Since God alone is allowed to work on the Sabbath, Jesus is here claiming deity (v. 18).
5:18 his own Father. Referring to a special relationship. The Jews did not object to the idea that God is the Father of all, but they strongly objected to Jesus’ claim that he stood in a special relationship to the Father—a relationship so close as to make himself equal with God.
5:19 can do nothing by himself. Because of who and what he was, it was not possible for Jesus to act except in dependence on the Father (see 4:34 and note).
5:20 the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Love produces revelation. The Father revealed to the Son his plans and purposes, and the Son obediently carried them out (17:4). greater works. The Son’s activities in raising the dead and judging (see following verses).
5:21 the Father raises the dead. A firm belief among the Jews (except the Sadducees; see chart), who also held that the Father did not give this privilege to anyone else. Jesus claimed a prerogative that, according to his opponents, belonged only to God. the Son gives life. Probably refers to Christ’s gift of abundant life here and now (10:10), though possibly also to the future resurrection (see 11:25 and note).
5:22 entrusted all judgment to the Son. The Jews believed that God is Judge of the world, so this teaching seemed heretical to them. For other NT assertions that Jesus will be the eschatological Judge, see Mt 25:31–33; Ac 10:42; 17:31; 2Co 5:10; 2Ti 4:1; 1Pe 4:5 and note.
5:24 believes him . . . has eternal life. Faith and life are connected (see 20:31 and note). has eternal life. A present possession (see notes on 3:15,36). has crossed. The decisive action has taken place, and the believer belongs no longer to the realm where death reigns supreme but to the realm of life.
5:25 is coming and has now come. A reference not only to the future resurrection but also to the fact that Christ gives life now. The spiritually dead who hear him receive life from him.
5:26 has life in himself. Must be understood against the background of the OT, where life is spoken of as belonging to God and as being his gift (see Dt 30:20 and note; Job 10:12; 33:4; Ps 16:11; 27:1; 36:9 and note). The Son has been given the same kind of life the Father possesses.
5:27 authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. As predicted in Da 7:13–14, the exalted Son of Man has the authority to judge human beings because he alone became a perfect human being.
5:29 done what is good . . . live . . . done what is evil . . . condemned. As always in Scripture, judgment is based on what people have done in their lives (see Ro 2:6–8; Rev 20:12 and notes) demonstrated by their faith response to Jesus, the Son. Salvation, of course, is a gift from God in response to faith (see v. 24 and note), but true faith in Christ results in changed lives, lived in obedience to Christ as Lord (see Ro 10:9–10; Jas 2:14–26 and notes).
5:30 By myself I can do nothing. Jesus stresses his dependence on the Father (see note on v. 19). He judges only as he hears from the Father, which makes his judgment fair.
5:31 Jesus’ testimony about himself required the support of all God’s revelation. Otherwise, it would have been unacceptable.
5:31–47 This section stresses the testimonies (see note on 1:7) of John the Baptist (v. 33), of the works of Jesus (v. 36), of God the Father (v. 37), of the Scriptures (v. 39) and of Moses (v. 46).
5:32 another. The Father testifies concerning the Son. The Jews might not accept this testimony, but it was the testimony that mattered most.
5:33 You have sent to John. A reference to the delegation from the Jewish leaders to John the Baptist (see 1:19 and note). he has testified. The testimony of John was important, though not, of course, equal to the testimony of the Father. But if the Jews had believed John, they would have believed Christ and would have been saved.
5:34 Not that I accept human testimony. Probably meaning that he does not rely on human testimony—which is always fallible and often fickle (1Jn 5:9).
5:35 John was. The past tense may indicate that John was dead or at least imprisoned. In any case, his work was done. burned and gave light. John’s giving light was costly to him. for a time. The Jewish leaders never came to grips with John’s message, and their responses to him were always at best tentative and superficial.
5:36 works. The miracles of Jesus, which testified to what he is and to his divine mission (see 10:25 and note).
5:37 the Father . . . has himself testified . . . his voice. Probably a reference to God’s voice in the Scriptures (vv. 38–39). God had also given his voice of approval at Jesus’ baptism (see Mt 3:17 and note).
5:38 you do not believe. These Jewish leaders did not recognize what God was saying, as their failure to believe Jesus shows.
5:39 You study the Scriptures diligently. The Jewish leaders studied Scripture in minute detail. Despite their reverence for the very letter of Scripture (see notes on Mt 5:18–21), they did not recognize the one to whom Scripture bears supreme testimony (see Lk 24:44 and note).
5:41 Jesus did not accept the kind of human praise that his opponents prized (v. 44).
5:42 love of God. May mean God’s love for them or theirs for God. Probably it is the latter.
5:43 if someone else comes . . . you will accept him. See note on Zec 11:17.
5:43–44 The individuals whom Jesus was addressing (v. 16) had their attention firmly fixed on people. Their emphasis on self-seeking and on human praise showed that they did not accept the one who came from God, and therefore they missed the praise that comes from God.
5:45–47 The revelation God gave Moses is inseparable from the revelation God was giving through Jesus (see Lk 16:31; Ro 10:4 and note). Those who refused to believe the witness about Jesus in the earlier revelation would also reject the later revelation coming through him. To their surprise, he declared that his listeners had refused to believe both and should therefore be accused before God by Moses.
5:46 he wrote about me. The authors of the NT books sometimes expressly stressed and everywhere assumed that the OT, rightly read, pervasively points to Christ (see Lk 24:25–27,44–46 and note on 24:44). Here Jesus applies this truth specifically to the writings traditionally ascribed to Moses. He may have had Dt 18:15,18 especially in mind but probably was thinking more broadly of the whole scope of what the Pentateuch disclosed concerning God’s saving program in history, which Jesus the Messiah came to complete.
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