An Expository Study of John’s Gospel
CHAPTER 5
Scripture Reading: John 5 (KJV)
Introduction
We now encounter another situation in Jerusalem. John puts accounts of events in the sequence they occur. But we cannot say that he is chronological in his treatment; keeping a daily or weekly log of the life of Jesus. John selects certain miracles or signs and describes them because they serve his purpose. John 20:30-31 says, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John carefully chooses certain events in the life of Christ for the purpose of building faith in the hearts and lives of those who would either hear this Gospel account read or would read it for themselves. So, when chapter five begins, we do not know how much time has elapsed. Jumping ahead to chapter six, we read, “After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.” Chapter six puts Jesus again in Galilee. Some commentators, because of this switching of places from Galilee to Jerusalem and back again to Galilee, think chapter five and six have been reversed. But, there is no reason to think this way. Later, in chapter six, we will learn that Jesus traveled because of the Feast of Passover. And, in chapter five, there is a feast which causes Jesus to travel.
THE REVELATION OF THE SON OF GOD TO ISRAEL
5:1, 2… “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.” In those days, a pool was not like our swimming pools, but more like a “pool house” – a place probably similar to the pools in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Where one might go to hopefully gain healing from the water.
5:3, 5 … “In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.” Perhaps Jesus selects him because of his long illness. We are not told for certain that he had come to the pool for 38 years. It would seem that before reaching 38 years, he would have lost faith in the healing powers of the pool and stopped coming. Most of us would. But, it is also possible that Jesus chose him for the very reason that he had been coming to the pool, time after time, for 38 years, yet never rewarded.
The later part of verse 3 and all of verse 4, while included in the text of the King James, does not appear in the American Standard Version. The reason? There is not adequate manuscript support for it to be there. It could be that what was reported or alleged at the time, found its way into the text of Scripture. But nothing about the real essentials of the story is lost in either case. Evidently, for 38 years, this man had been too ill to walk. Because he thought that if he was the first one to enter the water, after an angel came and stirred it up, he would be healed of his problem. Sounds like a legend. If it really had been healing water, why was only the first person entering it to be healed? Normally, God does not work in this fashion. Probably, some thought they were healed by being dipped in that water, much like some faith healers claim to heal today. The man had stayed near the pool week after week, evidently year after year, hoping for a miracle.
5:6… “When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?” Seems like a strange question. Jesus probably asked him this question because he was perhaps as feeble in mind and spirit as he was in body. However long he had been coming without results, he probably had despaired of ever having any improvement. He did not know Jesus, so, when the Lord said, “Do you have the will to get well?” He may have been challenging the mind of the man before asking him to exercise his body. Jesus had good reason to ask the question. Notice what happens.
5:7… “The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” In other words, he says, “Lord, the reason I am in this situation is because no body has ever helped me.” He gently blames others for not helping him get into the water. He indicates that after a period of time, he would make it to the water, perhaps dragging himself, but by the time he got there the healing power of the water was gone. At least, that was his conclusion of the situation. That may explain why he was not more spirited in response to the Lord’s question.
5:8… “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” Isn’t that something!” “Do you really have the will to get well?” “Well, Lord, I have been coming for a long time and nobody has ever helped me and I have not been able to achieve it by myself, so, here I am.” Jesus then tells him to, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” Here is a real challenge. Would the man struggle and strain to do that or would he say, “You are being cruel to me. I’ve been this way for 38 years and you want me to just get up and walk?” That is exactly what the Lord wants him to do. Just get up and walk. And that is what the man does. The Lord establishes a measure of faith in this man, even if it is out of desperation.
5:9… “And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.” Imagine the people, who had come and filled the porches around the pool, who probably knew this man, having seen him around the pool many times. People who had never seen a man with an obvious incurable disease get well. Then they see this event take place probably within a matter of minutes. They must have been astonished and speechless. We learn in the next verse there was a problem.
5:10… “The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.” Jesus performed this miracle on a Sabbath day, thus putting a different light on the event. Not only did the Jewish leaders believe that Jesus violated the Law by healing on the Sabbath; they also believed the man healed violated the Law by taking up his bed and walking on the Sabbath. There are lessons for our time in this verse; so many of our “conclusions” about Bible things are so “final” and unchangeable. Probably many of the Jewish leaders of the Lord’s day felt comfortable with their conclusion that no one should do anything that even gives a hint of work activity on the Sabbath. It is true that one of the Ten Commandments said we are to rest on the Sabbath. But the Jewish leaders never considered that God is not only a God of love and compassion, but also of mercy. On one occasion the Lord said that He desired mercy and not sacrifice. Mercy takes priority over anything enacted as a way to protect man from working all the days of the week; overextending himself. Man needed at least one day to rest the body. But God never discouraged mercy on the Sabbath day. And, working for God was never discouraged on the Sabbath day. The most active people during any day of the week were the Levites and Priests, on the Sabbath day, when everyone brought sacrifices and offerings. All the animals had to be slain; stripped of their hides; quartered and prepared according to the directions of Leviticus. They worked all day long on the Sabbath. It was the work of God, so no one ever questioned their work. But, here a sick man is healed by the Lord on the Sabbath and the leaders think it is terrible and they are ready to take up stones – no further evaluation necessary. How often today do we arrive at conclusions that have no foundation? Perhaps when they get to know the Lord better, they will treat Him better. That does not happen. Prejudice is very strong and often it will motivate us to do what our previous level of faith would never motivate us to do. Sometimes churches have strife and/or difficulties leading to division. Those angered by the situation often become even more vigorous in their anger after the split. Our anger, resentment and envy can become stronger than our previous level of faith. The same was true of the Scribes and Pharisees. Their prejudice overrode any faith they might have had in Jesus; from seeing Him perform miracles. In Luke 16:22-31, the rich man in torments wanted somebody to go back and warn his five brothers so they would not end up in the same place. Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” The rich man knew that was not enough and said, “but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” In other words, he felt they would not listen to Moses or the Prophets. The reply came back, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” This truth has been proven by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To this day, millions still do not believe.
5:11… “He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.” This is a very good answer. If we had been sick for 38 years and someone healed us, telling us to do this or that, we would, no doubt, immediately obey him, if for no other reason than the fact that he had just healed us. He did not react to what Jesus said because he had a better understanding of the Sabbath than the leaders of the Jews. He reacted only out of his gratitude for mercy.
5:12, 13… “Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.” This does not mean that the man was ungrateful. While his heart was pumping and his body was moving around; a body that had not moved on its own for 38 years; he had to first be certain that he was secure on his feet. While he tested his legs, and probably thought to himself, “I’m really walking. I’m really carrying my bedroll.” Jesus simply left the scene.
5:14… “Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple . . .” Jesus was not disinterested in him, because here Jesus seeks him out in the temple, saying unto him, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” The inescapable conclusion is: the man’s sin had in some way contributed to his illness. In effect, the Lord says “You have known illness, going years without a cure. Now suddenly you are cured and now aware that your sin made some contribution to your illness. Therefore, be sure and walk in the right way.” To each Christian, who through baptism has been buried into the Lord’s death and raised to walk in newness of life, the Lord says the very same thing. In effect, He says, “It was your sins that made it necessary for Me to die for you. Your desire to be immersed into My death, thus receiving the benefits of My shed blood, says to Me that you recognize and acknowledge the purpose of My death. You did this in order to be made whole. Sin no more, or a worse thing will befall you.” Peter says, “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again-entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning” (2 Peter 2:20). A person who simply throws over his faith in the Lord, doing his own thing in total disregard of the Lord, is referred to as one who crucifies Him anew and puts Him to an open shame and it is impossible to renew such a one by repentance (Heb. 6:6). We must never tamper with our relationship to the Lord – we have been redeemed at such a frightful price. God does not take likely abuse toward His Son.
5:15… “The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.” Surely the man knew the Jews had not asked him, “What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?” with a wholesome purpose in mind. When they first asked him the question, he did not know the answer, but now he does. It appears he sought out the Jews, much the same way the Lord had sought him out. When he found them he “put the finger on Jesus,” seemingly not caring what might happen as a result. He did this to Jesus, after the Lord had healed him.
5:16… “And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.” They knew Jesus had performed a miracle and that it was a work of mercy. In Mark 2, we have a different kind of healing, though similar in some ways to John 5. We should try to gain insight into our own prejudice attitudes, because they are stronger than we may think. Usually, we think our prejudice attitudes are not prejudice attitudes at all, but well established, unyielding determinations to stand on the faith. Usually, we can find words which make our prejudice attitudes sound good. But if we look deeper, probably we will see a terrible prejudice.
5:17… “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Did not God rest after He finished His creative work? He rested from His creative activity. God can no more totally rest than we can. If He did, the world would go into confusion; because His upholding and sustaining power has to be continuous. If God totally rested, the planets would leave their orbits and all the laws of nature would not continue as designed. God has to remain in His controlling place. In this way, God works every day. There is no “Sabbath day”, as we know it, for God. He memorialized the Sabbath day and later required the Jews to memorialize it so they could acknowledge their relationship to Him as the One who had chosen them as a nation through whom the Messiah would come. Today, we are not under a “Sabbath day” rest law. We are under a “Lord's Day” law. We should do only God’s work on that day. But, any kind of good can be done on this day, as well as on any other day. Good can be done in season and out of season. The Jews in chapter five did not understand this great truth.
5:18… “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him . . .” It is early in His ministry yet the Jews already want to kill Him, “because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” When Jesus made the statement, “My Father worketh . . . and I work” (v. 17), the wording (in that day) was received by them as meaning that God is His real Father. They simply could not accept Jesus as being the Son of God and equal with God.
5:19… “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” God worked constantly in His Divine role in the heavens. Jesus was God’s counterpart, doing His Divine role on earth.
5:20… “For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.” In Their constant communion, day after day, God unfolded His will to His Son. And, things become more marvelous.
5:21… “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” Up to this point, He has healed a number of diseases, but no one has been raised from the dead. Now, He implies that He can and will.
5:22… “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” Jesus continues describing the things assigned to Him by the Father.
5:23, 24… “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” We are passed from death in sin to life in the Lord. The Lord now makes this clear.
5:25… “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” The very moment they hear Him as the Son of God and respond to Him, He grants them release from their sins. His disciples were performing the same baptism as John the Baptizer. Baptizing for repentance unto the remission of sins, and the Lord granted remission of their sins. Those who accepted and obeyed came from death in sin to life in Him.
5:26… “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” In other words, when the Son pronounced them free from sin, in response to their obediently accepting the baptism of John the Baptizer, the Father honored the pronouncement of Jesus.
5:27… “And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” Jesus has the authority to execute judgment, first, because He is the Son of God and, second, because He is the Son of man. In other words, He is one of us. He can see life from our point of view. He knows what it is like to be tempted and go through all our trials on this earth. He knows all our frailties and faults firsthand. He is the better qualified, by experimentation, to exercise the function of Deity because He is both Son of God and Son of man.
5:28, 29… “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Not only can Jesus talk and be heard by those who are dead in sin while alive physically, but, He can talk and be heard by those physically dead, who will arise and come forth from death into life. Revelation 20 speaks of the first and second resurrection. They both are described within three verses of the fifth chapter of John. “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25). This is the first resurrection. We are resurrected from death in sin to life in Christ. But, then we die physically, which will be covered in the eleventh chapter of John, when the Lord speaks to Martha and Mary. In John 5:28 and 29, in effect, Jesus says, “Do not marvel that I can call you from death in sin to life in Me. I can also call you from the tomb and you will come forth to life in eternity. If you have done good unto the resurrection of eternal life. But if evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
Preview
Anyone making claims of himself, as Jesus did, would need substantiation. Jesus knew He would have to substantiate His claims. In the remaining verses of chapter five, we are introduced to several witnesses. There are two beyond this point, but as we continue with chapter five, five are pointed out.
5:30, 31… “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” In effect, Jesus says “I am trying to be objective because I am not doing this for Myself. I have nothing to gain Myself. I am doing it for the One who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself then My witness is not true.”
John 8:14
In John 8:14 we find what some consider a contradiction, but it is not a contradiction at all. The verse reads, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true.” Jesus had said in John 5:31, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” In chapter 5, the Lord expresses Himself in a legal sense. In a legal sense, His testimony about Himself is not acceptable. If a person testifies in his own behalf, he is likely to be prejudice. That is a part of our human nature. In the eighth chapter, the Lord is talking about His competence to bear witness concerning Himself. He goes on to say, in effect, “I know more about Me than anybody.” Surely, we can recognize these two obvious distinctions. In a court of law, our opinion concerning ourselves will not be considered. But, when we are out of a court of law, we can bear witness concerning ourselves. Jesus, in effect, says, “What I say of Myself will be true, because I am competent in giving personal testimony.” His first witness is Himself. But, He realizes that in a legal sense, it would not have validity.
5:32, 33… “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.” They had sent a carefully chosen delegation to John the Baptizer, asking him who He was. John told them he was not the Christ, Elijah or the Prophet. But rather, he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He gave testimony concerning Jesus. Now Jesus says, “Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.”
5:34… “But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.” In effect, Jesus is saying “I do not need the witness of any man, but I must respond to your sense of need and acceptance. So, I call attention to John’s witness.”
5:35, 36… “He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.” The first witness is Jesus, Himself; the second is John the Baptizer. Now, the third witness is His work. Everywhere John uses the word, “works,” in this sense; he refers to “works” revealing the character and mission of the Lord. Not only is it necessary to understand that He is Jesus of Nazareth, but that He is also the Son of God. Many of the Jews accepted Jesus of Nazareth, but rejected Jesus, the Son of God.
5:37, 38… “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.” The fourth witness is God. God bore witness of Jesus: At His baptism; On the mount of transfiguration; And after His triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem.
It is not always clear whether or not the people heard or understood what was said by the Father on these occasions. We cannot imagine a voice sounding as wide-ranging as God’s – a voice coming from heaven. Some may have thought it was thunder. At Saul’s conversion, one Bible version says those with him heard a voice while another says they did not hear a voice. When outside a room, you can often hear people talking in another room. You can hear voices and you know people are talking but you cannot understand what they are saying. Hearing, with understanding, is one thing. Hearing nothing at all is another matter. In Saul’s conversion, the impression is not that the guards did not hear anything, but they did not hear what was said. God spoke to Saul in Hebrew and it is also possible the guards heard the voice but did not understand the language. V. 37 continues, “Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” While they had not heard anything understandable from God and had never seen Him, still there was good evidence it was a heavenly voice and should have been persuasive to them. If, over a period of years studying God’s Word, we have not developed some pre-determined conclusions and if there is not an inner receptivity or an inclination to believe, then many things will not persuade us. God does not expect us to have faith based on inclinations. He does expect us, in time, to settle in with a mature faith, taking the idea of receiving new truths in stride. Many of the Jews who did not want to hear a voice from heaven, would not have understood it, even if it had been intelligible to them. Why? Because they were not pre-disposed to hear or believe. Many of the things Jesus said, though understandable, they did not hear. They heard the oral sound, but they did not hear the intent or content of what Jesus was saying. This is the reasoning of Jesus in v. 38, “And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.”
5:39, 40… “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” The Jews were inclined to search the Scriptures. It was basic to their way of life. But, though they searched the Scriptures, there was much they did hear or receive. Many of them, like many of us, read the Scriptures, but did not hear or read to receive the truth contained therein. How often have you seen someone, who, when reading the Scriptures, was unwilling to accept the content or truth contained therein, though clearly stated. For example, in Romans 6:3 Paul speaks of a burial. How can anyone reconcile a burial with sprinkling or pouring water over someone? There is no similarity. One might say, “What has that to do with baptism?” It has everything to do with baptism. The word, “baptism”, originally meant “a burial”, an “immersion.” Still, some today will not hear or receive it. In effect, Jesus says “Ye search the Scriptures and they bare witness of Me but you still will not accept Me.”
5:41, 42… “I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.” Here is the key as to why they did not understand.
5:43-47 …“I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?”
