My Father Is Always at His Work
John 5:1-30
Key verse 5:17
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
Introduction:
In chapters 1-4 we have learned who Jesus is. Jesus is the Eternal God. Jesus is the Word of God and co-creator of all things. Jesus is the promised Messiah. Jesus is the giver of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Savior of the world. Whoever believes in Jesus receives eternal life and the kingdom of God.
Now in chapter 5, the unbelief of the Jewish leaders comes into focus as Jesus’ identity is revealed publicly by his miracle; the light of the glory of the Son of God is revealed but those in darkness respond with hostility and they begin to try to take his life. This is a theme that runs from here until the end of chapter 12.
I. Healing of the Man at Bethesda (1-15)
1. Read verses 1-7.
ANSWER:
Jn 5:1-7 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie -- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, 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 trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
‘Some time later’ where did Jesus go? (1-2)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:1-2 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
Jesus went to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.
John explicitly mentions three different Passovers (2:13, 6:4, and 12:1) but, if we assume that the Jewish festival mentioned here was also a Passover feast, it would mean that Jesus’ ministry lasted between three and four years.
Jesus passed by the pool called Bethesda, meaning “House of mercy”.
John presents the scene of this miracle like a movie introduction: He presents Jesus walking through the crowded streets of the city on the happy, festive occasion and then passing by the miserable scene at the pool where he spots the worst of the disabled people, a man who had been there 38 years.
What kind of people were waiting by the pool and why were they there? (3)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie -- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
Many sick people were lying there: the blind, the lame, the paralyzed
They waited for the water to be stirred, as revealed in verse 7. They wanted to get into the pool after it was stirred, thinking that the waters had power to cure them at that moment.
To whom did Jesus speak and what did Jesus ask him? (5-6)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:5-6 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
Jesus spoke to a man who had been an invalid for thirty eighty years.
Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?”. Jesus really wanted to help him.
By healing this man who had suffered the most, Jesus intended to display God’s glory and his identity as the divine Son.
Jesus had a good reason to ask this question: Sick people don’t always want to get well. Begging is easy income and it is comfortable to depend on others and be free from responsibility. The same is true of spiritual sickness: Men love darkness (Jn 3:19) – they love their sickness to the extent that they are enslaved by it; they do not want to get well spiritually.
What does this man's answer reveal about him? (7)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
He lost hope of being healed, so he was complaining about his situation and blaming people who didn’t help him any more. It shows that he was sick inside and out.
The solution to his problem was Jesus, but he couldn’t see it. Instead, he was focused exclusively on getting to the pool. He didn’t realize who Jesus is and what Jesus could do for him.
Perhaps the man even wanted Jesus to help him get into the pool. Similarly, we often look to God to give us what we think we need, when in fact, what we need is God himself.
Just like this man who had used his resources for 38 years to get well, we usually struggle to solve our problems on our own strength rather than relying on God Almighty. When it doesn’t work, we despair.
How might this apply to us?
ANSWER:
The pool could be thought of as a false hope or false Messiah. What is your pool that has offered you so much and delivered so little? What is that pool from which you hope to receive deliverance from your problems?
God is the author of every circumstance in our life and he has a good purpose behind them. Therefore, we should give thanks always.
2. Read verses 8-15.
ANSWER:
Jn 5:8-15 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." 11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
How did Jesus heal him? (8-9a)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:8-9a Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
Jesus healed him by means of his mighty word, “Get up! Pick up you mat and walk.”
We can obey God, not by our own strength, but by the power he supplies (Php 2:13).
Jesus deliberately healed him on the Sabbath and told to him to carry his mat. The spectacle of this man parading his mat through the streets would:
Draw everyone’s attention to his cure especially because it was a Sabbath. This would be for God’s glory.
Challenge the traditions of the Jews and provide Jesus with the opportunity to call them to repent their self-righteous observance of man-made rules.
Provide the opportunity for Jesus to reveal himself as the Son of God.
What did the Jews accuse him of? (9b-10)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:9b-10 The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
They accused him of breaking the Sabbath by carrying his mat. It was a serious charge: The punishment for breaking the Sabbath was death (Exo 31:14).
It was not the OT Sabbath law that was violated but the oral tradition of the Jews. The Pharisees adhered to the "tradition of the elders" (Mat 15:2) which contained many prohibitions as a kind of a hedge around the law so that people would not break the law. They set up 39 prohibitions (muktza) to supposedly protect the Sabbath. The 39th prohibition was that you can’t move something from one domain to another.
The Jews had very strict regulations on keeping the Sabbath. But, they also had many loopholes such as the Corban rule (Mk 7:11-13) through which they could make exceptions for themselves.
In reality, their Sabbath prohibitions kept them from bringing rest to God's people as the Sabbath was originally intended.
What was his excuse? (11-13)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:11-13 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
He blamed his healer, saying, "The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.'".
Under pressure, he caved in and sided with the Jews. His response was not like that of the blind man in chapter 9 who sided with the one who healed him out of deep thanks to the end despite intense pressure.
He did not seek to know the one who had healed him, the one to whom he owed much thanks. Consequently, this man “had no idea” who his healer was (13).
Why did Jesus warn him to stop sinning? (14)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:14-15 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Something worse than 38 years of suffering was in store for him unless he repented. Perhaps he was proud and self-righteous, thinking that he was pleasing God by being in the temple, doing some religious acts of outward piety. Nevertheless, he was sinning. He had blamed his healer (11) rather than giving him thanks.
The words “Stop sinning” imply that the man’s affliction had originally been caused by his sin. This man’s will to sin was not broken by his 38 years of suffering or by the grace of miraculous physical healing he received.
The man took offense at Jesus’ truthful words (Jn 3:20). Astonishingly, he used his new healthy body and strong legs to go and report Jesus, the one to whom he owed great thanks, to the Jewish authorities (15). Yet, this man’s response was no surprise to Jesus (Jn 2:25, 6:64).
We should not receive God’s grace in vain or misuse this life Christ purchased for selfish ends (2Co 6:1).
II. Life Through the Son (16-30)
Jesus reveals himself as the divine Son who:
has sovereign power to give life (21, 25)
is equal with God (17, 18)
has authority to judge (22, 27)
must be honored as God (23)
will return to judge the world (28-30)
3. Read verses 16-18.
ANSWER:
Jn 5:16-18 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason 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.
Why did the Jews decide to persecute and kill Jesus? (16-18)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:16-18 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason 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.
They tried to kill him because...
He healed the man on the Sabbath which they thought was a violation of the Sabbath, a sin punishable by death (Exo 31:14). But the fact that God worked this miracle through Jesus showed that their interpretation of the Sabbath was faulty.
They thought he had committed blasphemy by calling God his own Father, a sin which was also punishable by death (Lev 24:16). But the fact that God the Father worked the miraculous healing through Jesus validated his claim to be the Son, having equality with God (Php 2:6).
The real reason they wanted to kill Jesus, however, was because they hated the light of the glory of the Father as revealed through Jesus, the Son. The Jews saw the power of God working in Jesus to heal a man but they did not love God. Rather than thank Jesus for healing this poor man, they saw in Jesus' actions a challenge to their own power. So they used the law (or rather, their skewed interpretations of it) as a means to condemn Jesus.
What is Jesus’ relationship with God?
ANSWER:
He is God, the Son (1Jn 5:20b) who copies everything his Father does. His relationship with God, his Father, is characterized by loving obedience and closeness.
He is equal with God.
Why did Jesus work all the time? (17)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
Because his Father was always working. God the Father does not cease to work even on the Sabbath. Because Jesus is perfectly united with his Father, coworking with him closely, he also is working ceaselessly (Heb 1:3; Col 1:17).
Jesus was defending his right to do good on the Sabbath. His argument might have been:
that he was exempt from the laws for man. The Sabbath law was given by God for man’s benefit (Mk 2:27). Jesus was exempt from having to obey it because, as the divine Son of God, he was equal with God. Rather than resting as the Sabbath law required, he had to fulfill his obligation as the divine Son by doing exactly what he saw his Father doing even on the Sabbath because the Father never ceases in his work.
that doing God’s work was not forbidden on the Sabbath. As the Son, he loved his Father perfectly and therefore did all things to please him in accordance with his Father’s will, including Sabbath healings. Thus, healing on the Sabbath was the will of his Father and was pleasing to his Father, contrary to the way the Jews interpreted the Sabbath law. Furthermore, God the Father was working through his Son even on the Sabbath as shown by the miracle of healing of the invalid man. So, either God the Father was breaking his own law (an absurdity!) by doing miraculous work through a man on the Sabbath, or the Jew’s interpretation of the law was wrong.
4. Read verses 19-23.
ANSWER:
Jn 5:19-23 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
How did Jesus work? (19)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
He only did what he saw God his Father doing. We cannot see the Father, but Jesus was in his presence and saw everything he did. So, whatever we see that Jesus did, God the Father, whom we cannot see, was doing the same thing. Thus, he was saying that his work equaled God's work.
Jesus revealed his Father, whom we cannot see, through his words and actions. Jesus said exactly what his Father told him to say (Jn 3:34, 12:49) and he did whatever his Father was doing (19). Thus, we can know the Father through Jesus the Son (Jn 1:18). He is the Word through which the Father is made known.
What will the Father show the Son because he loves him? (20)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
He will show him even greater things than miraculously healing an invalid man or healing a sick son from long distance or changing water to wine. God loves him and will appoint and direct him to do greater works to amaze and confound the Jews – miracles such as raising dead Lazarus (21) and raising himself from the dead (Jn 2:19) and judging all people (22).
What authority does the Father give the Son? (21-22)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:21-22 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
Authority to give life (both physical and spiritual life) “to whom he is pleased to give it”. Jesus gave new life to a man who had been lying there like a dead man, burdening everyone, for thirty-eight years. But God would do greater works. By his resurrection power, he would raise Jesus from the dead. God the Creator is the source of life. Jesus also gives life like his Father. Jesus gives spiritual life to sinners who are dead in their sins. Jesus' life is life that will change sinful men into new and godly men (21, 24).
Authority to judge. These Jews were judging Jesus using their own interpretation of the law as a standard. However, this is ironic, because they were not really judging Jesus--they were judging themselves. When they rejected Jesus' words they brought judgment on themselves.
Why did the Father give authority to the Son? (23)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
That all may honor him “just as” they honor the Father and so that he might give eternal life to all that the Father gives to him to save (Jn 17:2).
We must honor and worship and obey Jesus just as we would God the Father. We must honor him by hating our sin and repenting our sin. We must honor him by believing his goodness and love and power, and by giving him our thanks and praise. We must honor him especially by hearing his word (24).
We are commanded to worship God only (Exo 20:3-5) and God does not give his glory to another (Isa 42:8). Therefore, Jesus is saying that he is God.
By saying this, Jesus warned the Jews about the final judgment. He told them that they must not judge the Son, rather they must listen to him (Psa 2:13).
Many claim to honor God but reject Jesus. They are deceived (Jn 15:23; 1Jn 2:23).
5. Read verse 24-30.
ANSWER:
Jn 5:24-30 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time 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 he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out -- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
To whom is Jesus pleased to give eternal life? (24-26)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:24-26 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time 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 he has granted the Son to have life in himself.
Jesus gives eternal life to people, not because of their merit, but because of his special mercy. Man, by nature, stands “condemned” for his sin (24), so he merits only eternal punishment and deserves no mercy.
Jesus gives eternal life to people who are “dead” spiritually. As such, they are incapable of doing anything toward their salvation. But when Jesus speaks through his word, the spiritually dead receive eternal life (25; Jn 6:63; Jas 1:18). They hear his word and believe in him as the one whom God has sent as their Savior and Lord (24).
Jesus’ word comes with power – a life-giving power. We must hear his word. Those who savingly hear it respond to it with faith and repentance (Jas 1:21; Acts 2:37-38).
The word “hears” does not denote the mere outward act of hearing! Instead, it means to humbly pay attention to it and honor it as the living word of God and learn from it and accept what it says (rather than insist on our own idea) and then obey it with perseverance (Jas 1:22-25).
At the final judgment what will Jesus do? (27-29)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:27-29 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out -- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
Dan 12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
Jesus will give a loud command and the dead will hear his voice and come out (Jn 11:43; 1Th 4:16). They will appear before his throne and he will judge them according to their deeds (29; 2Co 5:10; Rev 20:12). Those who have done evil will be condemned and those who have done good will live.
Does your life show that you are a child of God or an enemy of the cross (Php 3:18-19)? Many who call themselves Christians will rise to be condemned (Mat 7:21-23). Those whose inner being is controlled by the sinful nature will do evil deeds in accordance with that nature. (This is illustrated by the invalid who did not respond rightly to the miraculous grace he received or the words of Jesus.) Those who have received the Spirit by faith in Jesus and whose hearts and minds are ruled by the Spirit (Ro 8:9) will bear the fruit of good deeds in their lives accordingly (Gal 5:22-23). Not just our actions but the words we speak are an especially important criteria by which we will be measured (Mat 12:37).
This is not saying that we are saved by our good deeds but rather that our deeds will show whether we savingly believed in Jesus (1Jn 2:29, 3:7, 3:10). Our poor performance will not be counted against us (Ro 4:6-8). Rather, our sins will be blotted out from his record by his atoning blood and only our “good” deeds, though filthy with sin (Isa 64:6), will be remembered and looked upon as righteous and pleasing acts (Mat 25:21). We rely therefore, not on our good performance, but on the love God has for us terrible sinners in Jesus (1Jn 4:16) and we love him in return. The knowledge of his love that he pours out into our hearts prompts us to love him back (1Jn 4:19).
The first time he came, he came as a Savior and Shepherd. The second time, he will come as the Judge. “[T]hose who have done good will rise to live”. They will live forever in heaven. But, “those who have done evil will rise to be condemned”. They will live forever in hell (Mat 25:46; Dan 12:2; Isa 66:24; 2Th 1:9). Physical death and heaven seem far away from young men and women. But death is a reality. And judgment is a reality. Heaven and hell are real. Jesus promised, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” In John 3:17-18 Jesus said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”
Jesus has been given authority to judge because he is the “Son of Man”, the one whom Daniel prophesied about who was given “authority, glory and sovereign power” (Dan 7:13-14). He has been given authority to judge man because he has taken on the nature of man by his incarnation and therefore understands man (Heb 2:17). The Messiah was prophesied in the OT to be the one through whom God would judge the world (Psa 110:6; Isa 11:3, 42:1, 42:4, 51:5; Mic 4:3).
Why is Jesus’ judgment just? (30)
ANSWER:
Jn 5:30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
Because his judgment is in accordance with what pleases his Father.
Conclusion:
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (17) Jesus knew that his Father in heaven is always working because he was always in the Father’s presence (Jn 8:29, 38; 7:34) and, with a complete love unity, he had to work together with God ceaselessly. But the Jews did not know what to do with their lives because they did not know God. The same was true with the invalid man who was going from bad to worse after he had received healing from Jesus. But Jesus declared himself to be the Son of Man who knows each of us and his Father. So we are assured that he is qualified to guide us into the right path like a good shepherd. In the last part of this passage, the word “hear” appears more than four times (24, 25, 28). We must hear his powerful, life-giving word. Thank Jesus who gives living words so we may be led into eternal life without going astray.
The end.
“a feast of the Jews” can refer to any* feast in the Jewish calendar (the feast of Trumpets, the Purim, Hanukkah, etc.) and not just one of the three principal pilgrimage feasts (Deu 16:16). Jesus, in fact, was at Jerusalem to attend the minor feast of Hanukkah in Jn 10:22.
*Note that this feast could not have been the feast of Pentecost because that always falls on a Sunday (Lev 23:15) and the miracle here takes place on Saturday, the Sabbath (9).
“It was located on the NE side of the city near the temple. In 1888 K. Schick excavated a site not far from the church of St. Anne and found twin pools, one 55 ft. (17 m.) long and the other 65 ft. (20 m.). The former one was spanned by five arches with five corresponding porches.” (Merrill C. Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 1: Revised Full-Color Edition) “The pool had five porticoes. These were covered walkways formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the side facing the pool. People could stand, sit, or walk on these colonnaded porches, protected from the weather and the heat of the sun.” (Biblical Studies Press, New English Translation, 2006)
The NIV text note on the word Bethesda reads, “Some manuscripts Bethzatha; other manuscripts Bethsaida”. The NET text note on this word reads, “A lot of controversy has surrounded the name of the pool itself: The reading of the Byzantine (or majority) text (A C Θ 078 Ë1,13 Ï), Bethesda, has been virtually discarded by scholars in favor of what is thought to be the more primitive Bethzatha, even though many recent translations continue to employ Bethesda, the traditional reading....”. (Biblical Studies Press, New English Translation, 2006)
“The name of the pool is said to be derived from the Aramaic language beth hesda (בית חסדא), meaning either house of mercy or house of grace.” (“Pool of Bethesda” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 23 Apr. 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pool_of_Bethesda>)
Note that the cognate for hesda in the Syriac branch of the Aramaic language is hesdo (with an aspirated dh) which also means, “mercy, kindness, favor”. However, hesdo (with a hard d) means something entirely different: “a shameful thing, shame, reproach, ignominy”. (Jessie Payne Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary, Pg 150). These are two different words but with very similar pronunciation. So, by a slight pronunciation change, the name Bethesda meaning “house of grace” becomes “house of disgrace”. And it was a house of disgrace, in a sense, because of all the sick people waiting there to be healed.
Bethzatha, another name for this pool, means, “House of the Olive” (Archibald Thomas Robertson, WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT).
The NIV text note on verse 3 reads, “Some less important manuscripts paralyzed--and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.” The NET text note on verse 4 reads, “Few textual scholars today would accept the authenticity of any portion of vv. 3b-4, for they are not found in the earliest and best witnesses (Ì66,75 א B C* T pc co), they include un-Johannine vocabulary and syntax, several of the mss that include the verses mark them as spurious (with an asterisk or obelisk), and because there is a great amount of textual diversity among the witnesses that do include the verses.” (Biblical Studies Press, New English Translation, 2006)
The man’s action was malicious, of course. He knew that, by reporting Jesus to the Jewish authorities as the man who made him well, he was also identifying Jesus as the man who told him to violate the Sabbath by carrying his mat. He knew from his encounter with the Jewish authorities (10-12) that they were looking to punish the one who had told him to violate the Sabbath by carrying his mat. They had asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” (12) and now he was providing them with the name of the man they were looking for.
The man was certainly not ready for the truth now and Jesus knew it (he is omniscient, Jn 16:30, 21:17, 1:47), so it would seem that Jesus spoke to him in order that, like Nicodemus, he would later come to his senses. Furthermore, Jesus does not always give commands that people can obey (Mat 5:48, 19:17; Luk 10:25-28; Jn 3:7; c.f. Ro 3:20; Gal 3:10, 24). Rather, there are cases in which he can give a command like “stop sinning” with the intent of helping a spiritually blind person come to his senses, realize his slavery to sin (Jn 8:34) and of his eternal danger and desperate need, and then call out to God for deliverance from sin in the name of Jesus (2Ti 2:25-26). In any case, Jesus shows himself here as the Good Shepherd who willingly and knowingly places himself in the path of danger for the sake of sheep (Jn 10:11). And the man’s malicious action was used by God for a good purpose to provide Jesus with the opportunity to teach his enemies about his divine Sonship in the verses which follow.
Yet Jesus did not come to claim his privileges as God and his exempt status. Rather, he relinquished his privileges as God (Php 2:7-8) to become flesh – a man born under law (Gal 4:5) – so that he could live a perfectly obedient life as a man and fulfill the requirements of the law in our place (Ro 5:19).
The phrase “to whom he is pleased to give it” (21) does not mean that Jesus gives life because of a person’s pleasing qualities. The phrase is translated “whom he will” in the KJV and “to anyone He wants to” in the HCSB and “to whomever he wishes” in the NET. Jesus saves sinners despite their unworthiness rather than because of their deservedness (Ro 5:8; Tit 3:5).
There two resurrections: a spiritual resurrection first (25) and a physical resurrection later (28-29). Jesus must resurrect men spiritually because they cannot resurrect themselves. Rather, they are dead in sin. The condition of being spiritually dead is illustrated by the invalid man who amazingly, even after being healed from 38 years of suffering, did not respond with thanks or faith or repentance to Jesus’ gracious miracle or his words of warning but rather responded with hostility. Those dead in sin are proud, ungrateful, insensible to their sin, and incapable of a right response to Jesus’ love and warnings of judgment and offer of salvation even in the face of incontrovertible, clear evidence. They only respond the wrong way and hate the light of his truth (Jn 3:20; Ro 8:7; Jn 8:43-44).
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