John 5
Introduction
John 5 marks a decisive turn in the Gospel. The first four chapters established Jesus' identity through positive responses: disciples believe, Samaritans confess him Savior of the world, an official's household believes. From chapter 5 onward, conflict with the Jewish authorities intensifies steadily toward the cross. The healing at Bethesda triggers a Sabbath controversy, and Jesus' response to it — claiming equality of activity with the Father — provokes the first explicit attempt to kill him (v. 18).
The chapter divides cleanly into two halves. The first (vv. 1–15) is a healing narrative that deliberately omits any expression of faith from the healed man — he doesn't know who Jesus is until Jesus finds him afterward and warns him, and then he immediately reports Jesus to the authorities. The second and larger half (vv. 16–47) is a sustained theological discourse in which Jesus sets out the logic of his relationship to the Father: he does nothing independently of the Father; the Father has given him authority to raise the dead and to execute judgment; the Father, the Baptist, the works themselves, and Moses all testify to who Jesus is. The discourse is addressed to Jewish authorities who are trying to kill him — the most hostile audience in the Gospel — and it is the most direct exposition of Johannine Christology outside the prologue.
The Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (vv. 1–15)
1 Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. 3 On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
5 One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me."
8 Then Jesus told him, "Get up, pick up your mat, and walk."
9 Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day, 10 so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "This is the Sabbath! It is unlawful for you to carry your mat."
11 But he answered, "The man who made me well told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"
12 "Who is this man who told you to pick it up and walk?" they asked.
13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there.
14 Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you."
15 And the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, called in Aramaic Bethesda, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of the sick — blind, lame, and paralyzed.
5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 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 made well?"
7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."
8 Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." 9 And at once the man was made well, and he took up his bed and walked.
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." 11 But he answered them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'" 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take it up 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.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well! Sin no more, so that nothing worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Notes
The pool of Bethesda (Βηθεσδά) — meaning "house of mercy" or "house of grace" in Aramaic — was discovered archaeologically in the late 19th century near the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, confirming John's geographical precision: a double pool with five colonnades, exactly as described. The BSB note (v. 3–4) preserves the longer reading found in many manuscripts about an angel stirring the water; this was likely added by scribes to explain the popular belief implied in the man's answer.
Jesus' question — θέλεις ὑγιὴς γενέσθαι, "Do you want to be made well?" — sounds obvious but is profound. The man has been there thirty-eight years; he may have organized his life around his illness. The question surfaces the will before the healing. The man's answer is not "yes" but an explanation of why he cannot reach the pool — perhaps a non-answer, perhaps the resigned fatalism of decades. Jesus heals him without any expression of faith.
This is remarkable: unlike the official's son (whose father believed the word), the man at Bethesda does not know who Jesus is (v. 13), and after being told (v. 15) he reports Jesus to the authorities — an act of either naïve compliance or deliberate betrayal. John does not explain his motive, but the consequence is clear: it triggers the confrontation of vv. 16–18.
The command of v. 8 is abrupt and total: ἔγειρε ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει — "Rise, take your mat and walk." The word κράβαττος is a colloquial Latin loanword (grabatus) for a poor man's sleeping mat. The healed man walking with his mat is both a sign of genuine physical restoration and the Sabbath-law violation the authorities immediately cite.
Jesus' warning in v. 14 — "sin no more, so that nothing worse may happen to you" — does not necessarily connect the man's thirty-eight years of illness to specific sin. It may simply be a solemn call to wholeness of life now that physical healing has come. But the phrase μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε — "stop sinning" or "sin no more" — is identical to Jesus' word to the woman caught in adultery in John 8:11, where the context is clearly moral.
The Son Does What the Father Does (vv. 16–30)
16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him. 17 But Jesus answered them, "To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working."
18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus replied, "Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
22 Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 23 so 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.
24 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
25 Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come 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 also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. 27 And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
28 Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves 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 by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
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 to God.
19 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. 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. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so 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.
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.
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. 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.
Notes
Jesus' answer in v. 17 — ὁ Πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι — "My Father is working until now, and I am working" — is a compressed theological argument. Jewish teachers debated whether God rested permanently on the Sabbath or continued providentially sustaining the world. Jesus aligns himself with God's continuous creative and sustaining work: the Sabbath law does not constrain the Father's activity, and it does not constrain the Son's. The claim implies the Son operates at the same level as the Father.
The authorities understand the claim perfectly: they charge him with ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ Θεῷ, "making himself equal to God" (v. 18). Many modern interpreters soften this charge, but John does not — the Jewish authorities heard the claim correctly. Jesus' response does not deny equality but reframes it: the Son does nothing independently (v. 19), which is not a denial of divine status but a description of the eternal relationship within the Godhead. The Son's authority is derived from and coordinated with the Father's, not competitive with it.
The theological densities of vv. 21–29 are enormous. Several key claims:
Life-giving: ζωοποιεῖ — "gives life" — this is a divine prerogative in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6). The Son exercises it as freely as the Father.
Judgment: κρίσις has been transferred entirely to the Son. This is not a delegation of a minor function but of the ultimate divine prerogative — the final reckoning of all humanity. The purpose: ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν Υἱὸν καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν Πατέρα — "that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father." Equal honor = equal status.
Crossing from death to life: v. 24 uses the perfect tense μεταβέβηκεν — "has crossed over/passed" — from death to life. The crossing has already occurred for the believer; it is a completed reality, not merely a future hope.
Present and future eschatology: The repeated phrase ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν — "an hour is coming and now is" (v. 25) — holds together the already and the not-yet. The hour of spiritual resurrection (the dead hearing the Son's voice and living — referring to spiritual rebirth) is already present. The hour of physical resurrection (all in the tombs hearing his voice — v. 28) is future. Both are affirmed. John does not dissolve future eschatology into the present, but neither does he postpone all resurrection to the future.
The parallel with Daniel 12:2 in v. 29 — resurrection of the righteous to life and the wicked to judgment — is explicit (the BSB footnote notes it). Jesus is claiming the authority the book of Daniel reserved for God's ultimate intervention in history.
Four Witnesses (vv. 31–47)
31 "If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid. 32 There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that His testimony about Me is valid.
33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.
35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light. 36 But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form, 38 nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent.
39 You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40 yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.
41 I do not accept glory from men, 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in My Father's name, and you have not received Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. 46 If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?"
31 "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 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. 34 Not that I receive human testimony, 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. 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. 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.
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.
41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 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?
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?"
Notes
Jesus marshals four witnesses to his identity, structured as a legal case (the forensic framework of testimony, μαρτυρία, is explicit throughout):
- The Father (vv. 32, 37) — the primary witness, though one his hearers cannot access directly because they have never heard his voice or seen his form
- John the Baptist (vv. 33–35) — a human witness Jesus does not depend on but cites for their benefit. John is described as a λύχνος, a "lamp" — not the light itself (the Prologue had established that: "he was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light," John 1:8), but a burning and shining lamp. The authorities "rejoiced in his light for a season" — they found John useful for a time without truly believing his testimony
- The works (v. 36) — Jesus' miracles are themselves a form of testimony, pointing to the Father who authorized them. These carry more weight than John's witness
- The Scriptures/Moses (vv. 39–47) — the most ironic witness. The authorities' greatest pride — their mastery of Torah — is actually a testimony against them. Moses, their champion, wrote about Jesus. If they truly believed Moses they would believe Jesus. The accusation is devastating: their accuser before the Father is not Jesus but Moses — the very figure they have claimed as their authority
The key diagnosis of vv. 42–44 is spiritual: the authorities seek δόξα, "glory/honor," from one another (human approval, social standing within the religious system) rather than the glory that comes from God. This is why they cannot believe: belief requires reorienting the entire basis of one's honor and identity. ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ — "the love of God" — does not dwell in them; they are not oriented toward God but toward each other's estimation.
The searching question of v. 44 — "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another?" — is not merely a critique of first-century Pharisees. It is a diagnosis of any religious system where human approval becomes the primary currency of spiritual life.