John 5 - NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

5:1—8:11 Rising Opposition: More Signs, Works, and Words. This records the shift from people being merely reserved and hesitant about Jesus to people openly and sometimes officially opposing him.

5:1–15 The Healing at the Pool. This is another of Jesus’ signs (see “signs” in 6:2; see also Introduction: Purpose and Addressees).

5:2 covered colonnades. Walkways with rows of columns supporting the roof and open on the side facing the pool. This site is probably the twin pools near the present-day Saint Anne’s Church. There would have been a colonnade on each of the four sides and another between the two pools.

5:3–4 See NIV text note, which includes text that does not appear in the oldest and best manuscripts; but v. 7 shows that it matches a popular belief at the time. Intermittent springs that fed the pools may have stirred the water. But how the pool worked is not essential to the story.

5:5 invalid. John does not identify the illness, but based on v. 7, the man is probably paralyzed or lame.

5:6 learned. Or “knew,” suggesting supernatural knowledge (cf. 1:47–48; 4:17–18). Jesus compassionately initiates this healing; the person who is disabled did not ask for it.

5:7 See notes on vv. 3–4,5. A charitable reading sees the disabled person as aptly answering Jesus’ question (v. 6). But given how John darkly depicts the disabled person (he parries the accusation of the Jewish leaders by blaming Jesus [v. 11], does not even know Jesus’ name [v. 13], and reports Jesus to the Jewish leaders [v. 15]), this is likely the grumbling of an imperceptive man who thinks he is answering an obvious question.

5:8–9a Jesus commands the man to do what the man is unable to do, and his powerful word heals the man (cf. vv. 25, 28–29). mat. Normally made of straw; light enough to be rolled up and easily carried on a healthy person’s shoulder.

5:9b on . . . a Sabbath. This triggers controversy (vv. 16–17; cf. Mark 2:23—3:6; Luke 13:10–17; 14:1–6).

5:10 the law. Not the OT (where “work” seems to be one’s customary employment) but detailed regulations or traditions that the Jewish leaders added when they interpreted the OT.

5:11 The man defends himself by blaming Jesus (see note on v. 7).

5:12 There may be a hint of irony here: when the Jewish leaders hear of the miraculous healing and the formal breach of their code, they are interested only in the breach. They think they see what is important, but in religious matters there are none so blind as those who are always certain that they see (9:39–41).

5:14 at the temple. Somewhere in the temple precincts. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. Some—but not all (e.g., 9:2–3)—instances of suffering are the direct result of specific sin. something worse. May refer to final judgment (see v. 29).

5:15 The man ingratiates himself with the Jewish leaders.

5:16–30 The Authority of the Son. Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath (vv. 1–15) triggers some opposition that he quickly transforms into a teaching about the nature of his sonship to the Father (see “Sonship”). The Father has granted the Son authority to raise the dead (see “Death and Resurrection”) and to judge (see “Wrath”).

5:17–18 Jesus could have defended himself by distinguishing between the OT and their traditions (see note on v. 10). Instead, he argues that he too is “working”: what justifies God’s continuous work from creation on also justifies Jesus’ continuous work (the Jewish rabbis agreed that God works continuously). Jesus’ work includes telling the disabled person to carry his mat, but it also includes the healing itself and all his redemptive activity. In Mark 2:23–28, the disciples can “pick some heads of grain” (Mark 2:23) on the Sabbath since Jesus is “Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28); here the disabled person can carry his mat since Jesus’ work falls into the same category as his Father’s.

5:18 making himself equal with God. The Jewish leaders rightly understand at least part of what Jesus implies (see note on 1:1). Claiming to be God’s equal is far more serious than breaking their Sabbath law, so their desire to murder Jesus intensifies. But Jesus is not claiming to be another or a competing God (vv. 19–30; see 10:33 and note).

5:19 by himself. On his own initiative. The Son cannot act independently of the Father. can do only what he sees his Father doing. Their Father-Son relationship is not reciprocal; Scripture never says that the Father does only what he sees the Son doing. They have distinct roles: the Father initiates, sends, commands, commissions, grants; the Son responds, obeys, performs his Father’s will, receives authority. The Son is the Father’s agent, though much more than an agent. whatever the Father does the Son also does. This is why (“because”) it is impossible for the Son to act independently and set himself over against the Father as another God. It is also another claim that Jesus is God (see note on 1:1).

5:20 the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. The Father displays his love for the Son by continuously disclosing to the Son all he does. This explains how (“For”) the Son does “whatever the Father does” (v. 19). Thus, the Son is revealing the Father (1:18; 14:9), which depends not on God’s love for us but on the Father’s and Son’s love for each other. greater works. Jesus will exercise the authority and prerogatives of God himself by raising the dead and judging (see vv. 21,22 and notes). these. Jesus’ healing and teaching in vv. 1–20. so that you will be amazed. Marveling at Jesus’ works may be their first step toward faith (10:38).

5:21 For. This verse illustrates vv. 19–20. raises the dead. A prerogative of God alone (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6; 2 Kgs 5:7). the Son gives life. Jesus gives eternal life now (see notes on 3:14–15) and will raise the dead in the future (vv. 25b, 28–29; 1 Thess 4:16).

5:22 Moreover. Introduces a further reason for v. 21: the authority to judge on the last day entails the authority to give resurrection life (cf. the connection between vv. 26–27). judges. A prerogative of God alone (Gen 18:25; Matt 25:31–33; Acts 10:42; 17:31). One of the rights and responsibilities of the king, whether the king is God or someone in David’s line, is to judge impartially and perfectly (see, e.g., Ps 72; Isa 11).

5:23 that. Introduces the purpose of v. 22: the Son is at one with the Father not only in activity (vv. 19–20) but also in honor (cf. Isa 42:8; 48:11). Glorifying the Son also glorifies the Father (12:28; Phil 2:9–11). Therefore, not honoring the Son means not honoring the Father. Jesus is claiming to be no less than God himself, which leaves only three options: (1) Jesus is a liar, (2) Jesus is a lunatic, or (3) Jesus is Lord. Since he makes this claim, it is illogical and unscriptural to consider Jesus to be a good man and/or a great prophet without also honoring him as God.

5:24 hears. Includes believing and obeying. my word. Brings either “eternal life” (see note on v. 21; see also 6:63,68) and cleansing (15:3) or judgment (12:48). believes him who sent me. Because the Son, in all he says and does, mediates the Father to us (vv. 19–23), placing one’s faith in the Son is placing it in the Father. judged. Condemned (as in 3:18). Not being condemned is virtually indistinguishable from the doctrine of justification in Paul’s letters: the believer does not come to the final judgment but leaves the court already acquitted (see notes on Acts 13:39; Rom 3:24). has crossed over from death to life. See Introduction: Characteristics and Themes, 4.

5:25 a time is coming and has now come. See Introduction: Characteristics and Themes, 4. the dead. The spiritually dead, i.e., unbelievers. The same resurrection life that comes to the physically dead in the end time is already being manifest in a preliminary way as spiritual life for some of the spiritually dead.

5:26 life in himself. The Father is not dependent on anyone else; he is self-existent (Acts 17:25). The Father’s granting the Son “life in himself” must be part of the eternal Father-Son relationship; therefore, many theologians tie this to what they call “the eternal generation of the Son.”

5:26–27 These verses explain how the Son can (1) generate resurrection life by his powerful word and (2) exercise divine judgment (vv. 21–25): the Father authorized him to do both.

5:27 because he is the Son of Man. Another reason the Son can exercise divine judgment: he is uniquely qualified to judge because he receives a kingdom that entails total dominion (Dan 7:13–14), and he belongs to humanity (Acts 17:31); rejecting his gracious revelation brings judgment.

5:28 this. That Jesus’ voice will call forth all the physically dead on the last day. Jesus provides a foretaste of this authority in the raising of Lazarus (11:1–44).

5:29 done what is good . . . done what is evil. This does not mean that Jesus will judge humans on the basis of their good or bad works; in John’s Gospel, doing good means believing in Jesus, and doing evil means rejecting him. Further, good works spring from genuine faith and thus evidence it (see notes on Jas 2:14–26).

5:30 Reiterates vv. 19–20, specifically regarding Jesus’ authority to judge.

5:31 Jesus is certainly not saying that if he speaks without supporting witness he is necessarily a liar (8:13–14). Rather, the kind of claims he is making cannot possibly be true if he testifies about himself outside the framework he has just established in vv. 19–30 (i.e., everything he says is nothing more and nothing less than what the Father gives him to say). Jesus’ tremendous claims do not depend exclusively on his self-attestation.

5:31–47 Testimonies About Jesus. After his central claims about himself, Jesus names several witnesses concerning himself: the Father (vv. 32, 37–38), John the Baptist (vv. 33–35), Jesus’ own works (v. 36), and the Scriptures (v. 39), especially Moses (vv. 45–47).

5:32 another. The Father (vv. 19–30).

5:33 You have sent. See 1:19. testified to the truth. John the Baptist witnessed to the true light (1:6–9, 19–34).

5:34 Not that I accept human testimony. Jesus himself did not depend on John the Baptist’s witness to establish who he was in his own mind. Jesus did not need a human testimony since the Father testifies in his favor (v. 32; cf. 1 John 5:9). that you may be saved. Jesus mentions John the Baptist’s witness for the sake of his hearers. People are saved by believing in Jesus, and John the Baptist’s witness may help them believe.

5:35 a lamp that burned and gave light. Probably alludes to Ps 132:17. John was “a lamp” but not “the light”: Jesus is “the true light” (1:6–9). for a time. Their commitment was no deeper than the superficial belief of those in 2:23–25.

5:36 works. Include all of Jesus’ ministry, including his “signs” and climactic work of redemption accomplished in the cross and resurrection (cf. 9:3–4; 10:25, 37–38; 14:11; 17:4). Everything Jesus does simultaneously attests to who he is and who the Father is since all that Jesus does is nothing more and nothing less than what the Father gives him to do (vv. 19–30).

5:37 the Father . . . has himself testified. Perhaps a general reference to all of the Father’s revealing work, including Scripture (see vv. 38–39) and at Jesus’ baptism (Matt 3:17).

5:38 for. Introduces the evidence that supports Jesus’ indictment.

5:39–40 Jesus fulfills the OT Scriptures (Matt 5:17–18; 11:13; Luke 24:25–27,45; Heb 1:1–2), so by not believing in Jesus, the Scripture experts show that they have not rightly understood and obeyed the Scriptures. There is nothing intrinsically life-giving about studying the Scriptures if one fails to discern their content and purpose. Jesus—not Scripture itself—imparts life. See Introduction: Characteristics and Themes, 6.

5:41 Unlike Jesus’ opponents (v. 44), Jesus does not depend on human testimony (see notes on vv. 33–40).

5:42 I know you. Cf. 2:24–25. love of God. May mean God’s love for them or theirs for God. Probably it is the latter (3:19).

5:43 I have come in my Father’s name. And thus Jesus shares the Father’s authority (vv. 19–30). you do not accept me. They would if they truly loved God (1 John 3:23). if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. Verse 44 explains why they reject Jesus and accept Messianic pretenders (cf. 12:43; Rom 2:28–29).

5:45 Moses. The very one whom they so highly esteem as the mediator of the law they so highly venerate.

5:46 he wrote about me. See note on vv. 39–40. The Jewish leaders wrongly pin their hopes on Moses instead of the one Moses wrote about, and they do not believe Jesus because they misunderstand and disobey Moses. Ironically, they later publicly execute Jesus by appealing to the law itself (19:7); John is inviting the reader to understand the law in a way that many Jews of Jesus’ day did not (see “Law”).