John 5:8-18

We are in the middle of the story of the paralytic man Jesus healed on the Sabbath (John 5:1-18).

Read John 5:8-18 Jesus is criticized for healing a man on the Sabbath

This is the first passage in John’s Gospel where Jesus encounters strong opposition from what John calls “the Jews.”  We need to understand what the phrase “the Jews” means.

When John refers to “the Jews,” he means the Jewish religious leaders

Read John 1:19, which is the first time that John uses the phrase “the Jews.”  In 1:19, John says that “the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites” to question John the Baptist.  (Some translations put the words in a different order, but the Greek clearly says that these men are “Jews from Jerusalem.”  The Temple was in Jerusalem.  The priests performed the sacrifices in the Temple, and the Levites had other duties in the Temple.  If someone has the power to send priests and Levites, what does that tell you about their position or power?

The “Jews in Jerusalem” who are doing the sending must be the religious leaders, for they are the only people who would have had the authority to send priests and Levites.  So John is referring to the high priest and the other religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Throughout his Gospel, John uses the phrase “the Jews” as a shorthand for what he said more fully in chapter 1: that he is referring to the Jewish religious leaders based in Jerusalem (and their followers).  When he uses the phrase “the Jews” in this way, he is never talking about the Jewish people as a whole.  Whenever there is a conflict, “the Jews” means the Jewish religious leaders.  Why is this an important thing to understand as we read and interpret the Bible?

The man Jesus healed picks up his mat and walks away, as Jesus told him to do.  He runs into some men who are under the leadership of the Jewish religious leaders.  That is not surprising since the pool of Bethesda was near the Temple.  They don’t like what they see.  In verse 10, what is their objection?

John assumes we know why it would be unlawful for a Jew to carry a mat (or mattress or pallet) on the Sabbath.  Why was that forbidden?

God rested on the 7^th day of creation and told the Israelites to honor the Sabbath by doing no work on that day.  Over the centuries, the Jewish scholars developed a detailed interpretation of what counts as “work” that encompassed almost any exertion.  The prophet Jeremiah, 600 years before the time of Jesus, issues a prophecy saying that no burden shall be carried into Jerusalem on the Sabbath (Jer. 17:19-27).  So now it is not just work for pay that is prohibited, but any exertion.  But what is a “burden”?  By the time of Jesus, the Torah was interpreted so severely that carrying even small items, even your bed-mat, crossed the line and was prohibited.

Sometimes, when we “Arise, take up our mat, and walk” in response to God, we run into trouble from people who don’t like what God is doing.  Have you ever seen or experienced that?  What do you think Jesus would say to you about how to handle it?

Notice what happens in verses 11-12.  The man tells the Jewish leaders two things: a man healed me, and he told me to pick up my mat and walk.  The religious leaders could have asked for more information about either half of his story.  They picked the wrong part to focus on.  Why didn’t they ask more about the unusual fact that the man was healed?

Are we ever like those men, missing something good because we are so focused on the rules?  How does that happen in our day?

Jesus then finds the man.  In verse 14, what does Jesus say to him?

Jesus is not linking all suffering to sin – in John 9:3, he rejects that idea.  But it is possible that Jesus knew that this man had a particular area of sin that he needed to resist or it might lead him to a worse outcome (perhaps he had become disabled in an injury caused by anger, for example, and another incident like that could get him killed).  Or Jesus could be referring to the final judgment of a life lived in rejection to God, since that would be a “worse” situation than simply being disabled.  This may be what John has in mind.

In every age, Jesus says to all people: “Sin no more.”  For your own self-examination, consider this: With regard to sin, what is your point of vulnerability?

How does Jesus guide you and help you to avoid sin?

This man has not thanked or honored Jesus for healing him.  What does he do in verse 15 that makes life more difficult for Jesus?

Now that the man has spoken again with Jesus, he knows who healed him and he reports Jesus’s name to the Jewish religious leaders.  Some scholars see in this the “sin” Jesus warns about in verse 14 when he tells the man not to sin anymore.  This man may be a symbol of people who don’t believe in Jesus (Perkins, p. 959, par. 75): he never indicates any faith and acts in a way that undermines Jesus, whereas the man born blind whom Jesus heals in chapter 9 puts his faith in Jesus and defends Jesus when challenged by the authorities.  For this reason, the New Oxford Annotated Bible goes so far as to call this healing “The sign that failed” (5:1-18 fn.).

Both the religious authorities and the man who was healed, miss the significance of the fact that God is working in their lives.  How might people in our day fail to notice the way that God is at work in their lives?

In what ways are you most likely to forget to thank God or to notice what God is doing in your life?

How do the Jewish religious leaders respond in verse 16 when they learn who healed the man?

How does Jesus respond in verse 17?

Jesus says that, as his Father is at work, so too, he is at work.  This statement seems unrelated, but there is a connection.  Jewish rabbis debated what kind of work God still did even while he rested on the Sabbath: for example, he still sustains the universe, gives life to newborn babies, judges those who die, etc. (New American Bible, revised edition, John 5:17 fn.).  Jesus is saying that they shouldn’t be criticizing him, because he is just doing what his Father does.  His Father (God) works on the Sabbath, and he does too.

When Jesus refers to God as his “Father” in verse 18, this further enrages the religious leaders.  Why?

For the next 8 chapters, every single chapter will include at least one instance where Jesus or one of his followers is threatened.

In this story, there is not a single hint that the religious leaders care at all that a man who was paralyzed now walks free and can live an independent and productive life.  Are there situations where your leaders seem to be so focused on following the letter of the law that they miss opportunities to help people live free, independent, and productive lives?  Explain.

How can you be more focused on healing and opportunity, and not just on protocol?

Take a step back and consider this:

In some ways, the fundamental question about Jesus, which becomes a central issue in this passage, is this: Is Jesus God’s Son, the Second Person of the Trinity?  Is Jesus God?

Throughout history, non-religious people have usually been able to tolerate the Jesus of moral philosophy (“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” etc.).   Some find it much harder to tolerate his claim to be one with God, because it interferes with their own absolutes (or their rejection of absolutes).

Do you believe that Jesus and God are essentially one – that Jesus is God?  If so, why?  If not, why not?  If you aren’t sure, what would you like to explore more in order to answer your questions?

What different does this question make in your faith?