1 After athis there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus bwent up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem aby the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew,1 Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame,1 paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been inthatcondition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, a“Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And athat day was the Sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; ait is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
13 But the one who was ahealed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. aSin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Honor the Father and the Son
16 For this reason the Jews apersecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.
17 But Jesus answered them, a“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
18 Therefore the Jews asought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, bmaking Himself equal with God.
19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, athe Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
20For athe Father loves the Son, and bshows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
21For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them,aeven so the Son gives life to whom He will.
22For the Father judges no one, but ahas committed all judgment to the Son,
23that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. aHe who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Life and Judgment Are Through the Son
24“Most assuredly, I say to you, ahe who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, bbut has passed from death into life.
25Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when athe dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
26For aas the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have blife in Himself,
27and ahas given Him authority to execute judgment also, bbecause He is the Son of Man.
28Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will ahear His voice
29aand come forth—bthose who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
30aI can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because bI do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
The Fourfold Witness
31a“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not1true.
32aThere is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.
33You have sent to John, aand he has borne witness to the truth.
34Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.
35He was the burning and ashining lamp, and byou were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
36But aI have a greater witness than John’s; for bthe works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very cworks that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.
37And the Father Himself, who sent Me, ahas testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, bnor seen His form.
38But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.
39aYou search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and bthese are they which testify of Me.
40aBut you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
John's phrase "a feast of the Jews," rather than "a feast of the Lord" (Exodus 12:14; Leviticus 23:2, 37), illustrates the spiritual decline among the Jews regarding God's feast days. People often begin with God central to their worship but end up making themselves the main focus. The Jews had transformed this festival into a feast of the people instead of God's feast. Some suggest it was the Feast of Trumpets. Traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus expended considerable effort to arrive in time for this Sabbath, setting an example of spiritual priorities and the sacrifices involved in putting spiritual matters first. Unlike those seeking a convenient religion requiring no inconvenience, Jesus took great pains to fellowship and help the people, especially on the Sabbath.
John 5:1-16
In the healing of the crippled man at Bethesda (John 5:1-16), the man clearly desires to be healed, but no one would help him down to the pool (verse 7). The Bible's mention of this detail is an intentional rebuke of the heartlessness and meanness of human nature. It was every man for himself.
Despite the man's frustration, he still maintains good manners by acknowledging Jesus as "Sir." This word, the Greek kurios, appears over 700 times in the New Testament. Hundreds of times it is translated as "Lord" or "lord," but as "Sir" only about a dozen times. The term shows respect and honor for Christ. In today's society, we see quite a contrast to this example. The opposite attitude is usually present when people address each other, and even when children address parents.
John writes, "[T]here is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches." Bethesda means "house of pity or mercy." Locals believed that the pool could restore health to the sick and infirm. The pool had five porches like covered verandas, open on one side but protected from the sun and rain overhead. The community kindly provided these porches to protect from the elements the invalids who waited for someone to help them to the pool.
In Scripture, the number five often represents grace, and it is grace that was given at Bethesda. Certainly, the grace and mercy of God provides the Lamb of God for our spiritual healing (John 1:29). The Sheep Gate is where sheep were gathered, so perhaps Christ, the Lamb of God, chose this location to aid in identifying Himself to the people.
Christ chose to intervene for this one man, but why him and no one else? More revealing, perhaps, is why He healed any of them. They were all sinners; none of them deserved to be healed. Whenever God chooses to heal someone, it is an act of compassion and grace, but it must also fit into His purpose and time frame. God hated Esau but loved Jacob (Romans 9:13; Malachi 1:2-3). Both were sinners, but God chose only one to accomplish a specific purpose. Jesus chose the crippled man to glorify God and in a small way advance His plan of salvation for all mankind.
Jesus' healing of the crippled man beside the pool called Bethesda is one of nine healing miracles involving water and one of seven performed on the Sabbath. Only the apostle John records it (John 5:1-16). It is impossible to be sure when the miracle occurred other than it happened on a Sabbath day.
John's reference to "a feast of the Jews" (John 5:1) rather than a "feast of the Lord" (Exodus 12:14; Leviticus 23:2, 37) illustrates the spiritual decline that had occurred among the Jews regarding God's feast days. People may typically start out with God being central to their worship, but they end up getting in the way and become the main focus themselves. The people had made this festival a feast of the people instead of continuing it as God's feast.
In His journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus expended a considerable amount of effort to be there in time for this Sabbath. In doing this, He set an example in terms of spiritual priorities and the sacrifices involved in putting spiritual matters first. Some Christians are unclear about spiritual priorities, desiring a convenient religion that requires little inconvenience and no sacrifice. Frequently, those who complain most about not getting enough out of church are often those who attend sporadically and involve themselves the least in church activities. Jesus, on the other hand, took great pains to fellowship and to help the people, especially on the Sabbath.
John's phrase "a feast of the Jews," rather than "a feast of the Lord" (Exodus 12:14; Leviticus 23:2, 37), illustrates the spiritual decline among the Jews regarding God's feast days. People often begin with God central to their worship but end up making themselves the main focus. The Jews had transformed this festival into a feast of the people instead of God's feast. Some suggest it was the Feast of Trumpets. Traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus expended considerable effort to arrive in time for this Sabbath, setting an example of spiritual priorities and the sacrifices involved in putting spiritual matters first. Unlike those seeking a convenient religion requiring no inconvenience, Jesus took great pains to fellowship and help the people, especially on the Sabbath.