John Chapter 5 – Lesson 1
Healing by the Pool of Bethesda
John 5:1
(ESV) After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John
does not specify which feast was being celebrated, but the Jews traveled to
Jerusalem for one of three feasts – booths, Passover, or Pentecost.
John 5:2 Now
there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda,
which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind,
lame, and paralyzed.
This
pool was thought to have healing properties especially when “stirred.” Some
manuscripts have a statement about it being “stirred by an angel” but the most
reliable versions omit that verse. The pool was probably fed by a spring which
would cause it to bubble up occasionally rather than being supernaturally
moved. Some
historians also believed the pool could have been red with minerals that would
have an effect on some diseases. Therefore, people with various kinds of
physical limitations would have their families bring them there for the
opportunity to get into the pool.
John 5:5 One
man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
John
shares the specific length of time the man had been an invalid to validate the
reality of the need and the authenticity of the miracle. Many people knew the
man and could testify to the fact that he was not “faking it.”
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long
time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
What
a thing to ask. Why would Jesus ask the obvious? Of course, it is better to ask
than to make assumptions. The person may have a greater need for something on
the inside than the obvious outward problem. When you are healed on the inside,
then healing can work its way to the outside. The outside, the body, is
perishing anyway if you really think about it. Internal, spiritual needs are of
the greater importance.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for
I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at.
People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
The
Lord sees both the physical and the spiritual needs of a man just as He can see
past the physical beauty to discern whether a person’s heart is right with Him.
John 5:7 The
sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the
water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
The
belief was that the healing was on a first come, first served basis. The man explained that
he had been trying to get into the pool for healing, but was beat out by others
who were more able-bodied every time. This meant the man had to hurry up and
wait again. The
man thought healing would only come if he could perform the necessary action of
getting into the pool while the waters were stirred.
John 5:8
Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man
was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
There
are some questions here. Why this man instead of the others? Why this day, why this
man? As
stated before, it would be a powerful miracle when the people knew the man was
truly ill for such a long time. We know Jesus could see the man’s potential for
faith.
This confirms the sovereignty of our Lord. He heals whom He chooses. Also, no
action was required of the man other than getting up healed. He did not have to
“perform” in order to merit the healing.
What
gave the man confidence to act on Jesus’ command? He did not know who
Jesus was. Jesus was a perfect stranger. I suppose he had waited 38 years, so
he had nothing to lose and thought he might as well give it a go. Perhaps he felt renewed
strength surge through his body. The power of Jesus' words also imparted the
faith needed to obey. For whatever reason, he stood, and finding he could
stand, he obeyed by taking up his sleeping mat and walking. These straw mats
could be easily rolled up to be carried.
John 5:9b Now
that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed,
“It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”
It
was the Sabbath, the day of rest, but what the Jewish officials are concerned
about is the added conditions and traditions of men. Instead of being
delighted that a man who had been ill for THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS had been healed,
they are concerned about him breaking a Sabbath tradition by carrying a mat. They are nit-picking
instead of seeing the big picture. They are majoring on the minor things and
minoring on the major.
John 5:11
But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up
your bed, and walk.’”
He
told them that the Healer had instructed him to carry his mat. I suppose he
thought someone with the power to heal him probably had the authority to tell
him to “Take up your bed, and walk.”
John 5:12
They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”
13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had
withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.
The
Jews demanded to know who dared to tell him to break their Sabbath traditions. The man was possibly in
shock with overwhelming joy, and at that point Jesus’ name was the last thing
on his mind. I
was thinking, “Did this guy have no curiosity at all?” I believe my response to
being healed would have been, “Who ARE you?” But as Susan said, he was probably
in shock. Jesus had stepped away, so he couldn’t even point Him out to the
Jews.
John 5:14
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well!
Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
Finding
the man in the temple would be like finding the proverbial needle in a
haystack, but because Jesus was no ordinary man but was also extraordinary God,
He knew right where the man would be. Jesus was not necessarily saying that a
specific sin had caused this man’s malady but addressing the fact that sin
often has the naturally consequence of physical illness. He was asking the man
to live to the glory of the God who had healed him.
John 5:15
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
The
man went back to the Jews to give a detailed account of exactly who it was that
had healed him. Jesus would have known, of course, that the man would report
back to the Jewish officials.
John 5:16
And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these
things on the Sabbath.
The
Jews would forbid even healing on the
Sabbath as that involved “work.” But the Law in no way prohibited doing good on
the Sabbath. Healing
was definitely a good work.
Luke 13:15
But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on
the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to
water him?
Luke 14:5
And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a
well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
Jesus
pointed out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders in the verses from Luke above.
No Sabbath law is broken when caring for an animal, let alone a human.
John 5:17
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Using
the words “My Father” obviously referring to God was another stumbling block
for the Jews. Jesus points out that just as God is continually working on
behalf of mankind, He is taking care of His people as well. In other words, Jesus is
saying that He is equal to the Father, and that made their skin crawl. Even the Jews
acknowledged that God “worked” on the Sabbath since He is constantly sustaining
the Universe.
Mark 2:28 So
the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus
claimed this same immunity to the Sabbath rules (especially those that were
oral tradition rather than scripture) in the statement found in Mark 2:28
above.
John 5:18
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only
was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making
himself equal with God.
The
Sonship that Jesus declared drove them over the edge because they viewed it as
blasphemy since they did not believe Him to be the Messiah. The healing of the man
by the pool of Bethesda is now the third sign John has recorded that serves to
confirm Jesus’ deity, that He is the Son of God.
Q
– Jesus had healed a man who had been laid up for 38 years as attested by many
witnesses. What more proof did the people need? But the leaders of the Jews
still saw Him as a threat and a pretender. Their eyes were closed to the truth.
Has the Holy Spirit opened your eyes to the truth that Jesus is equal with God
the Father? Are you sharing that truth and the changes He has made in your own
life with others? If you have trusted Jesus, you are qualified and even
commanded to tell others.
John Chapter 5 – Lesson
2
Equality with God – Jesus, the Son of
God
John 5:19
(ESV) So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever
the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Jesus
does not back away from declaring Himself to be the Son of God. Instead, He is nailing
that truth down, asserting it authoritatively. He clarifies the fact that in His
position as God-Man, He is submissive to God the Father and can do nothing
apart from what God has shown Him. It is imperative that Jesus’ will is in harmony
with the Father’s will. The Father sustains the universe at all times for the benefit of
man, so why should the Son NOT heal a man on the Sabbath?
John 5:20
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And
greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives
them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
Jesus’
works are congruent to those of the Father. By stating that He is able to do the same
things as the Father, Jesus is blatantly claiming equality with God. What Jesus is saying to
the Jewish leaders is not only making their brains go tilt, but it is fueling
their anger because they do not believe He is who He says He is, the Messiah. He says, “You ain’t
seen nothin’ yet,” as He explains that He will do even greater works such as
raising the dead, something only God could do. In other words, “If you’re mad now, wait
for it. I’m about to raise the dead.” Note the statement that “the Son gives life to
whom He will.” Jesus is not obligated to raise any and all dead people. Being
equal with God gives Him the sovereign right to choose whom He will heal or
raise. I
am sure there were other people named Lazarus. How did Lazarus know that he was
the one Jesus was speaking to when He raised him from the dead? Perhaps it was the fact
that Jesus was standing right outside the tomb containing that specific
Lazarus. I have heard it preached that had Jesus not called him by name, all
the dead might have risen. But we digress…we will get back to Lazarus when we
get to John chapter 11.
John 5:22
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all
may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the
Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
Jesus
has been given jurisdiction over man by the Father. He will be the judge we
face, but He is also the one who paid the death penalty for sin for all who
believe; so we as Christians do not fear Him as judge. You cannot truly love
the Father if you do not love the Son. Jesus makes it clear that He is deserving of
worship as God. This passage is a definitive declaration of the deity of Christ
explained in His own words.
John MacArthur Study Bible
5:23 “Jesus turned the tables on the
Jewish accusation against Him of blasphemy. Instead, Jesus affirmed that the
only way anyone can honor the Father is through receiving the Son. Therefore,
the Jews were the ones who actually blasphemed the Father by rejection of His
son.”
Wow. John MacArthur explained it well.
Rejecting Jesus IS rejecting God.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment,
but has passed from death to life.
Believing
Jesus, trusting in Him, is believing God for life eternally with the Lord. The moment you
surrender your life to Jesus, you have already traded death for life. Eternal life begins
immediately, some to be lived here on earth but most to be lived in Heaven. Eternity is a loooooong
time. Eternity
is forever, infinite.
John 5:25
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead
will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as
the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in
himself.
We
were all dead in our sin and trespasses. We were all “dead men walking.”
Ephesians
2:1 (NASB) And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…
When
the Holy Spirit draws us into the familyship of Jesus, we are made alive. But to prove His
power to do this, Jesus would also raise physically dead people to life, for
example Lazarus and the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Jesus was not
a created being – He was pre-existent with God the Father. Jesus had no beginning
(see John chapter 1). Jesus always was. Jesus, being equal with God, has the power to
give or take life.
John 5:27
And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of
Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the
tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of
judgment. 30 I can do nothing on my own.
As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but
the will of him who sent me.
Jesus
is the Son of man, defined by the Amplified version of the Bible as “sinless
humanity, qualifying Him to sit in judgment over mankind.” Jesus was the perfect
Lamb who sacrificed Himself for those who would believe which qualifies Him to
be the judge of mankind as well. God has delegated to Jesus the divine
empowerment and
the divine right to judge. Note that all will rise from the tombs, those who have “done
good” to life, and those who have “done evil” to judgement. “Done good” in this context means those who have
surrendered to Jesus’ saving grace. He has been defining good as believing He is
the Son of God. Therefore, the opposite is true as well. Those who have “done
evil” are those who have rejected Him as the Son of God. The Bible makes clear in many places
that we cannot earn or deserve salvation. It is a free gift to those who believe that
Jesus is God. It was not free to the Father or the Son as Jesus chose to pay
the price for our sin. (Read Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:24, Romans 6:23)
Three
great verses about the gift of God quoted from the Amplified Version of the
Bible:
Romans 9:16
So then God’s choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human effort [the
totality of human striving], but on God who shows mercy [to whomever He
chooses—it is His sovereign gift].
Romans 11:6
But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of
works, otherwise grace is no longer grace [it would not be a gift but a reward
for works].
Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw
what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His
grace or to whom He sends His call].
Q
– Jesus made it clear that He is equal with God the Father but in His incarnate
(human) state subjected Himself to the Father’s will. Do you view Jesus as
somewhat less than God? If so, you need to take another look at this passage.
We pray the Holy Spirit is revealing to you through this study in the Gospel of
John exactly Who Jesus was and is and always will be…Sovereign God, King of
kings, Lord of all.
John Chapter 5 –
Lesson 3
Multiple witnesses to the truth of
His deity
Reformation Study Bible:
5:31–47 Jesus addresses four types
of testimony that establish His claims: the testimony of John the Baptist; of
Jesus’ own works; of God the Father; and of Scripture, especially Moses.
John 5:31
(ESV) If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.
Jesus is not implying that He would
be untruthful, but is referencing the fact that testimony in the Jewish court
system required two to three witnesses rather than just one man’s word. He is
about to make the case that there are multiple witnesses to the fact that He is
the Son of God. Jesus identifies His corroborating witnesses to His deity.
Deuteronomy
19:15 The testimony of a single witness is not sufficient to convict a person
of a crime or to find someone guilty of doing something wrong. Every charge
must be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
John 5:32
There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that
he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the
truth.
John
the Baptist had already authenticated Jesus as the Lamb of God, declaring Him
to be the Messiah. In John chapter one, we read that the religious leaders sent a
delegation to interrogate John as to who he was.
John made clear that he was NOT the Messiah, but that Jesus was.
John 5:34
Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so
that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were
willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
Jesus
does not need the testimony of man, but He gave them the example of John the
Baptist as someone they were familiar with who backed up His claims. Jesus is the Light, and
John the Baptist was the lamp that the Light shone through.
Matthew 5:14
(NIV) You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Jesus
is THE LIGHT, but we are lamps that shine His message within our world of
influence.
John 5:36
But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that
the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear
witness about me that the Father has sent me.
Jesus’
miracles were evidence of His divinity. He had said earlier that He could nothing apart
from the Father, and these signs John records reveal His divine nature and authority from the
Father. So far John has reported changing water into wine, healing the
official’s son, and healing the man by the pool of Bethesda. Every one of these
signs demonstrate irrefutably that Jesus must be God’s son and equal to Him in every way.
John 5:37
And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you
have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word
abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.
The
skeptics did not recognize God’s voice or outright rejected it. They did not perceive Jesus as the
fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy that they claimed to understand. They kept labeling Him
a blasphemer because they did not and could not believe what they were seeing or connect it with the
truths about Messiah in the Word. They were blinded by their unbelief.
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in
them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet
you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
The
religious leaders were correct in believing the scriptures led to eternal life
but refused to see that they pointed to Jesus as the source of that life. The written word
affirms the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ. But the Jewish leaders refused to trust in Him
for salvation because
they did not see their need for repentance. They were focused on their temporal
desires rather than their need for spiritual healing. Jesus did not conform
to their Messianic ideal.
John 5:41 I
do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love
of God within you.
Jesus
was not a people pleaser. He sought to bring pleasure to the audience of One,
His Father. Had
he appeared on the scene as a military leader to conquer Rome, provide food and
miracles on command (i.e. a floor show), they may have accepted Him. Jesus came to save them
from their greater problem – their sin which separated them from the Source of
all life. Jesus
could see right through their religious exterior to the fact that they did not
love God, nor did they have God’s love flowing through them. Jesus saw that all they
had was rules and no relationship. He had come to offer relationship with the Holy
God, and they rejected His offer.
John 5:43 I
have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in
his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive
glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
The MacArthur Bible Commentary
The Jewish historian, Josephus,
records that a string of messianic pretenders arose in the years before A.D.
70. This verse contrasts the Jewish rejection of their true Messiah because
they did not love or know God, with their willing acceptance of charlatans.
It
was easier to accept the charlatans because they could conform them to what
they wanted them to be, and these fakes promised immediate relief from the Roman rule. They may also have
offered promises but not required accountability. Lest we be too critical
of the scribes and Pharisees, let us look at Paul’s warning about future
generations:
2 Timothy
4:3 (NASB) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves
teachers in accordance to their own desires.
They
will flock to those who preach what they want to hear instead of the need for
self-examination and a life lived according to the word of God. They will have no
interest in the pruning of the Vinedresser because pruning hurts. They do not
want to be made uncomfortable by God, but instead desire a God who caters to their
creature comforts, a cosmic bellhop. Rather than a Master who supplies all their needs, people want a Grandpa who
indulges them in every selfish thing they want.
God does
not always give what we want or even what we think makes sense. But remember
God knows the rest of the story, the end from the beginning. To me it is the
height of arrogance to think we can write a better story than God!
John 5:45 Do
not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you:
Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would
believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how
will you believe my words?”
Reformation Study Bible
5:45 one who accuses you. Moses will
accuse those who do not believe in Christ, because Moses wrote about Him. Jesus
does not refer to any single text in Moses (such as Deut. 18:15), but to what
“he wrote” (v. 46) in a general way. This is similar to what Jesus told His
disciples after the resurrection on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27, 44–46), as
well as to the preaching of the apostles (Acts 3:18; 17:2, 3; 18:28; 26:22, 23;
28:23).
Deuteronomy
18:18-19 (VOICE) I’ll send them another prophet like you from among their own
people. I’ll put My words in the mouth of this prophet who will tell them
everything I command him to say. 19 I, Myself, will punish whoever doesn’t
listen to his words when the prophet speaks in My name.
There
is a good article on Jesus as the Prophet Moses predicted on the Jews for Jesus
website at https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v11-n04/prophet
The
article points out ways in which the Messiah would be like Moses such as:
1. Mediator
2. Sin Bearer
3. Shepherd
Jesus
says Moses is a witness on His behalf and would hold the Jews accountable for
their blatant unbelief and rejection of Him as Messiah. Jesus would not have to
accuse them before the Father because Moses would. They not only had
scales on their eyes, but curtains in front of them so the scales could not be
removed in order to receive Messianic revelation. They remained willfully
blind to the truth that Jesus was the Prophet Moses foretold. Therefore, they
would incur punishment from God as Moses had written.
Q
– Even today judges and jurors need more than one witness to corroborate a claim.
Jesus provided ample witnesses. Today we have the opportunity to testify to the
truth that He is Lord. We are to be living ambassadors to His faithfulness. Are
we faithful to His command to go into the world and make disciples? Do we
testify to the truth that Jesus is Lord, fully God?
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