Jhn 5 (2014) As we enter int chapter 5, let s remember that Jhn has specific purpses in mind as he wrte his Gspel Tnight, a cuple f thse purpses are squarely in view First, Jhn explres the unin f the deity f Gd with the humanity f human frm Jesus lwered Himself t becme man, and in the frm f man, He became a servant f the Father But hw des Gd serve Himself in that sense? Hw can One part f Gd be a servant t anther part? This relatinship between Jesus incarnate and the Father in Heaven is a central fcus in Jhn s Gspel it fascinates us t cnsider the ramificatins f Gd becming man And we pnder hw that change manifested itself in Jesus But as we ll see tnight, the unique relatinship that resulted frm Jesus incarnatin yielded a mdel fr ur wn relatinship serving the Father Secndly, Jhn highlights the way Jesus was cnstantly cntending with religius authrities Why wuld men wh suppsed represented the Father have such cncerns with the Sn f the Father? Wuldn t we expect that men appinted t teach Israel abut Gd wuld be the first t embrace the very Gd they studied in the scriptures? In this chapter, Jesus and the Pharisees will cnflict ver certain rules f life that the religius leaders impsed but Jesus ignred S the questin arises why are these cnflicts happening, and what d they say abut Jesus and these men The first part f chapter 5 describes a miraculus healing which sets up the cnflict with the religius leaders 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 2 f 26 The secnd part revlves arund the leaders challenge t Jesus teaching and Jesus respnse Jhn 5:1 After these things there was a feast f the Jews, and Jesus went up t Jerusalem. Jhn 5:2 Nw there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pl, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five prtices. Jhn 5:3 In these lay a multitude f thse wh were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [ waiting fr the mving f the waters; Jhn 5:4 fr an angel f the Lrd went dwn at certain seasns int the pl and stirred up the water; whever then first, after the stirring up f the water, stepped in was made well frm whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] Jhn 5:5 A man was there wh had been ill fr thirty-eight years. Jhn 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a lng time in that cnditin, He said t him, D yu wish t get well? Jhn 5:7 The sick man answered Him, Sir, I have n man t put me int the pl when the water is stirred up, but while I am cming, anther steps dwn befre me. Jhn 5:8 Jesus said t him, Get up, pick up yur pallet and walk. Jhn 5:9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began t walk. Nw it was the Sabbath n that day. As we saw back in chapter 2, Jhn again describes a feast in Jerusalem that requires Jesus t travel back dwn t the city Generally, when Jews talk f a feast withut mentining it by name, they are referring t the feast f Passver, which was the mst imprtant feast n their calendar Like tday, we might say the hlidays, and it s understd we mean Christmas and New Years S this is the secnd time Jesus travels t Jerusalem during His earthly ministry That wuld set the time f these events t be abut a year after the events in chapter 4, almst halfway thrugh his earthly ministry Ging back t Jerusalem meant Jesus wuld als run int the Jewish religius leaders Jhn sets up ne such cnflict with a stry f a healing by a pl in the city called Bethesda 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 3 f 26 It was lcated by the Sheep Gate, which was lcated in the nrthern part f the city wall accrding t Nehemiah The name f the pl prbably means huse f mercy A pl has been excavated in that place, and tday it s called St. Anne s pl Interestingly, Jhn says the pl has five prtices, which isn t significant t the accunt - Except perhaps because the number five in scripture is the number f grace Jhn says that arund the pl lay a multitude f sick wh came t the pl fr healing Why did they cme t pl fr healing? In vs.3-4, we re tld peple gathered arund the water because they believed the angel f the Lrd stirred the waters frm time t time And when the waters were stirred, the first t enter the pl wuld be healed This pssibility had attracted a large number f sick, wh sat arund the pl watching the water fr hurs r days at a time As we cnsider this explanatin fr a mment, it s sunds very curius and a bit suspect Only ne persn received the benefit f the Lrd s mercy n matter hw many were present arund the pl It was like Gd was dispensing His mercy n a lttery system As if He nly had a limited supply f healing pwer t g arund Why wuld the Lrd ever dispense His mercy and grace in such an capricius and inevitably frustrating way t thse wh seek after it? Secndly, this prcess required a measure f human effrt r wrks t benefit frm Gd s mercy T be healed, smene has t have the strength t beat every ther cripple t the water 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 4 f 26 S nly thse wh had the physical capacity t enter the water quickly were able t receive the Lrd s mercy The wrst cnditins, the peple wh mst needed the Lrd s help, were excluded frm receiving it, it wuld seem Such a scenari suggests that Gd nly supplies HIs mercy t thse wh have strength t cntribute smething in return But that s never the way the Lrd extends grace and mercy - On the cntrary, the Lrd gives help t the helpless Finally, the accunt says the healing happens because the Angel f the Lrd stirs the water But the Angel f the Lrd is the Secnd Persn f the Gdhead, that is a pre-incarnate Jesus Yet fr the past 30 years, Jesus has lived in human frm S He culdn t have been stirring the waters at Bethesda unless His physical hand dipped int the water and mved it Yet desperate peple have cntinued watching the water expecting healing, which suggests they have been reacting t smething else in the past 30 years The unavidable cnclusin is that the stry f this pl wasn t a true stry The Lrd never stirred the water and this pl did nt prduce healing Nevertheless, a myth had taken hld that many peple have chsen t believe Desperate peple assembled at this pl hping that the superstitin they had been tld was true And perhaps when the wind mved the water r because smene claimed they saw the water stirred, then a great rush f cripples began And perhaps nce in a while, smene claimed t have been healed, but then wh culd be sure S the stry f Gd healing thrugh a pl was nt true, thugh the idea held a pwer ver the peple 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 5 f 26 This still happens tday as cn artists wrk within the church prmising miraculus healing t thse wh meet Gd s arbitrary test Such nnsense serves the same purpse as ther religius superstitin, like weeping statues f Mary r grilled cheese sandwiches that lk like Jesus - They substitute fr true relatinship with the living Gd S why did Jhn include this explanatin in his accunt if it wasn t a true stry The answer is Jhn didn t include this in his accunt Rather, an enterprising cpyist added this detail In my Bible translatin (NASB), the phrase that begins at the end f v.3 and cntinues until the end f v.4 is in brackets Thse brackets were inserted by the translatrs t alert the reader t the likelihd that these wrds are nt reliable They are nt present in the earliest manuscripts, having appeared centuries later The cpyist was attempting t explain why s many gathered at the pl S he inserted cmmentary t explain the myth, thugh he presents the explanatin as if it were true Take cmfrt in the fact that even when smene tries t add smething t the scriptures, the Spirit has insured we can discernment the truth frm what is nt true Back t the stry, Jesus asks a crippled man is he wanted t be healed The man respnds he hasn t been able t be healed yet because he can t make it happen Smene has always beat him t it He s been waiting fr a miracle and has spent 38 years f his life trusting in this superstitin t heal him It s the utter epitme f hpelessness made wrse by the deceptin f pwerless religin 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 6 f 26 I m sure his friends r the religius leaders simply tld him he wasn t wrthy f Gd s mercy But nw here stands Jesus, Wh was prepared t extend Gd s mercy t this man Take nte the man never specifically asks Jesus fr healing Jesus asked if he wanted healing, and the man respnded by explaining why he culdn t be healed Clearly, his answer implies he wants healing But the fact he desn t seek healing directly frm Jesus tells us he didn t realize Jesus culd accmplish such a healing It tells us the cripple was nt as yet aware f Wh Jesus was Nevertheless, at that Jesus rders the man t get up Since this man is crippled and unable t walk, Jesus wrds indicate He has healed the man Nt nly has he been given back the ability t walk, but Jesus als restred strength t the man s limbs After lying arund fr 38 years, he wuld have experienced significant atrphy in his limbs Nevertheless, the man picks up the pallet r mat n which he was laying and he walks away healed This accunt prduces a strng cntrast with the myth The man has been taught a superstitius myth f human religin that emphasized he must be wrthy t receive Gd s mercy And year after he falls shrt It s a discuraging, hpeless utlk And yet this is always the recipe when men invent ways t find Gd - These lies always begin with sme mystery f supernatural pwer - But at the cre, false religin always relies n sme human achievement t please Gd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 7 f 26 - S that when the system fails us, we fall back t blaming urselves fr nt ding enugh t satisfy Gd But the living Gd desn t dispense grace accrding t human rules r expectatins The Lrd bring grace withut a catch, and when the Lrd decides t bring healing, the utcme desn t rest n human abilities Irnically, the Angel f Lrd did visit the pl n that day Jesus had the pwer t part the waters in the pl much less stir them, but Jesus didn t need parlr tricks t accmplish a healing Jews seeks fr such signs, but Gd s wrd is the real pwer f the Universe S by the wrd f Gd, a healing tk place And it came t the least pwerful member f the crwd, the ne with n ability t save himself And it asked nthing f the man In fact, Jesus didn t even wait fr the man t make a request f Him That s the difference between dead, pwerless religin and the grace f Gd Men lk t their wrks t please Gd, and yet Gd is pleased when we hear and believe in His wrd Nw this scene f the man s healing is just the warm up act fr the cnflict that fllws in chapter 5 Ntice at the end f v.9 Jhn mentins that this healing happened n the Sabbath day That s the key detail setting up the rest f the chapter It leads t the first f several disputes between the Lrd and Pharisees ver the rules surrunding the Sabbath Day bservance Under the scribes and Pharisees, the Sabbath day bservance in Israel had becme a religin all its wn 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 8 f 26 The rabbis even cme t calling the Sabbath day the Bride f Israel r Jehvah s Queen Under rabbinical tyranny, the Sabbath had becme a religin f its wn in Israel It was the mst imprtant day f the week fr religius bservance and cnsequently fr religius persecutin as well Almst anything actin a persn might take n that day culd be deemed an ffense against the Sabbath Law S that by the time f Jesus first cming, the rabbinical system in Israel had established smething like 1,500 additinal rules fr hw Jews must bserve the Sabbath And the penalties fr breaking these rules were severe, including death These rules had n relatinship t the Law Gd delivered t Israel As the Lrd delivered the Sabbath, He included all the rules necessary fr smene t bserver the Sabbath successfully But men with false mtives tk Gd s law and turned it int an pprtunity t gain plitical pwer ver the peple These rules granted pwer t thse wh made and enfrced them while enslaving thse wh fell under them And s naturally, it was a surce f great cncern t the Pharisee s when they witnessed Jesus instructing a man t act cntrary t their 1,500 rules Jhn 5:10 S the Jews were saying t the man wh was cured, It is the Sabbath, and it is nt permissible fr yu t carry yur pallet. Jhn 5:11 But he answered them, He wh made me well was the ne wh said t me, Pick up yur pallet and walk. Jhn 5:12 They asked him, Wh is the man wh said t yu, Pick up yur pallet and walk? Jhn 5:13 But the man wh was healed did nt knw wh it was, fr Jesus had slipped away while there was a crwd in that place. Jhn 5:14 Afterward Jesus fund him in the temple and said t him, Behld, yu have becme well; d nt sin anymre, s that nthing wrse happens t yu. 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 9 f 26 Jhn 5:15 The man went away, and tld the Jews that it was Jesus wh had made him well. Jhn 5:16 Fr this reasn the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was ding these things n the Sabbath. The Pharisees (wh Jhn simply calls the Jews ) tk immediate exceptin t finding a man walking ut f the building carrying a mat They tell him it is nt permissible t carry the mat Of curse, Gd hadn t declared it was impermissible It was nt permitted accrding t their manmade rules cncerning the Sabbath Yet they prtrayed their rules as equal t Gd s Law In fact, they taught their beying Gd s Law was achieved by fllwing their rules S they led peple t believe that when they vilated any ne f these 1,500 rules, they were ffending Gd The peple believed what they were tld And the Pharisees retained cntrl ver peple as a result The man respnded by explaining he was tld t carry his mat by the man wh healed him The man was saying a lt mre than merely explaining his ratinale fr walking He was implying that the man wh tld him t walk had greater authrity than these men wh tell him nt t walk The One wh can heal a bdy merely by His wrd is demnstrating His authrity as the Creatr And if the Creatr tells yu t get up and walk with yur pallet, yu d it n matter hw many men yu might ffend It s interesting that Jesus tld the man specifically t walk and carry his pallet Cnceivably, Jesus culd have just tld the man t walk and leave his pallet behind 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 10 f 26 Instead, Jesus made a pint t tell the man t carry it with him It seems as thugh Jesus was inviting a cnfrntatin with teh Pharisees In fact, Jesus slips away befre they find Him because He has mre imprtant things t attend t It s als revealing that when the Pharisees hear the man s explanatin, they shw n interest in his stry f healing They re nly interested in the vilatin f their laws They are mre fcused n their wn interests and pwer than n any true wrking f Gd arund them Once again, ntice the man still desn t knw wh Jesus is He can t identify Jesus t the Pharisees And he certainly desn t seem t appreciate that Jesus is the Messiah Which tells us that Jesus didn t require this man t pssess faith as a prerequisite fr the healing At this pint in Jesus ministry, He was perfrming miracles t establish His authrity and prve His claims S it didn t depend n a persn accepting His testimny necessarily Nevertheless, Jesus still wants t bring His identity t the man s attentin after the healing S, Jesus avids the Pharisees fr nw s He can seek the man ut and clarify His identity When Jesus finds the man in the temple (perhaps thanking Gd fr the healing), He tells the man nw that he has becme well, d nt sin anymre, s that nthing wrse happens Thugh the language is a bit dd t ur ears, we shuld recgnize this is the mment f this man s salvatin Jesus says t him that he has becme well Clearly, this wuld suggest his physical healing 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 11 f 26 But in this case, Jesus wrds g deeper In particular, ntice that Jesus fllws his first statement by saying d nt sin anymre That phrase appears in ther places in the Gspels as well A few chapters frm nw, Jesus encunters a wman caught in adultery, and after saving her, He says Jhn 8:10 Straightening up, Jesus said t her, Wman, where are they? Did n ne cndemn yu? Jhn 8:11 She said, N ne, Lrd. And Jesus said, I d nt cndemn yu, either. G. Frm nw n sin n mre. Frm the Gspels, we learn that the phrase g and sin n mre is an instructin Jesus ffers thse wh have experienced spiritual healing Therefre, Jesus is saying t this man that since he has been made well spiritually (as well as physically), he must live accrding t his salvatin As a result f receiving Gd s mercy, the man is expected t live a new life withut sinning Fr if he cntinues in sin after becming a child f Gd, He is at risk f the Lrd bringing discipline upn Him Which culd result in an even wrse calamity than being a cripple Then as a result f Jesus wrds t the man, we re tld in v.15 the man ges ut prclaiming Jesus Just as the Samaritan wman did He has becme a disciple f Jesus Nw, Jhn has set the scene fr what fllws between Jesus and the Pharisees Disputes ver the Sabbath are a central theme in all fur Gspels Acrss all Gspels, we find a ttal f seven disputes between Jesus and the Pharisees ver the Sabbath Jhn s Gspel recrds three f the seven mments 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 12 f 26 In this case, when the Pharisees learned that Jesus was the One wh tld the man t pick up his mat, they cme after Him This then leads us int the first f Jesus extended discurses in Jhn s Gspel Jesus pens this discurse explaining hw the Pharisees cmpletely misunderstd the Sabbath and it s purpse Jhn 5:17 But He answered them, My Father is wrking until nw, and I Myself am wrking. Jhn 5:18 Fr this reasn therefre the Jews were seeking all the mre t kill Him, because He nt nly was breaking the Sabbath, but als was calling Gd His wn Father, making Himself equal with Gd. First, Jesus says that His Father is wrking all the time, even until nw The Father rested frm His wrk f Creatin, but that desn t mean the Father ceased all wrk The Father has remained at wrk in the lives f His peple frm the beginning Simply maintaining the peratin f the Universe is a cnstant wrk f Gd The natural laws f the Universe that we bserve are the result f Gd at wrk - The Bible says Gd is hlding all things tgether and wrking accrding t His design Jesus pint is that Gd can t be accused f failing t rest n the Sabbath because He Gd is free t wrk cntinually The Sabbath rest requirement was given by Gd t man s that man might benefit frm it And the Pharisees als understd that Gd was nt subject t the Sabbath day cmmandment And s that s where Jesus began in His defense But by calling Gd His Father and by saying He is likewise wrking as well, Jesus went a step further than the Pharisees culd accept In v.18 Jhn says the Pharisees sught t kill Jesus all the mre 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 13 f 26 Jhn lists tw reasns why Jesus upset them First, they said Jesus was breaking the Sabbath Since Jesus existed in the frm f man, He was subject t the Sabbath Law, just as Jesus kept all the Law But Jesus wasn t breaking the Sabbath, nt as Gd cmmanded it Instead Jesus was breaking ne f the Pharisees stupid extra rules In this case, the Pharisaical rule Jesus vilated was a prhibitin f carrying anything frm a public space t a private space r frm a private space t a public space This was ne f the many arbitrary rules that the Pharisees added t the cmmandment When the cripple picked up his mat and mved it ut f the prtic, he was defying this rule But these manmade rules were nt in keeping with the spirit r purpse f the Law The Sabbath was given t Israel t ensure a day each week withut a need t wrk fr their existence Remember, in the desert the peple f Israel were prvided extra manna n the sixth day And in the sixth year, the harvest was great enugh t last tw years S the pint was idleness; it was relaxing frm the labrs f subsisting Mre imprtantly, the Sabbath was given t created a picture f Christ, Wh fulfills the Sabbath in the New Cvenant Christ wrk n the crss brings us salvatin, s we have n need t wrk fr ur wn salvatin When we believe in Christ, we rest in His wrk and enter int His rest S Jesus is ur Sabbath fulfillment 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 14 f 26 Which is why the Christian is nt required t keep a Sabbath day, since we have fulfilled the Sabbath requirement in cming t faith in Christ Secndly, they wanted t kill Jesus because He made Himself equal with Gd Of curse, all Jesus culd say t this accusatin was guilty as charged Jesus was saying He was equal t Gd because He is The Trinity is a basic dctrine f Christianity This verse by itself is further prf that Jesus called Himself Gd and it refutes thse wh say therwise False teachers like the Jehvah s Witnesses will claim that Jesus never declared He was Gd And they will deny the Trinity But here is ne f many places yu can g in the New Testament t knw the truth In respnse t the Pharisees anger, Jesus shares sme details n the intimate relatinship that Father and the Sn share Jhn 5:19 Therefre Jesus answered and was saying t them, Truly, truly, I say t yu, the Sn can d nthing f Himself, unless it is smething He sees the Father ding; fr whatever the Father des, these things the Sn als des in like manner. Jhn 5:20 Fr the Father lves the Sn, and shws Him all things that He Himself is ding; and the Father will shw Him greater wrks than these, s that yu will marvel. Jhn 5:21 Fr just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even s the Sn als gives life t whm He wishes. Jhn 5:22 Fr nt even the Father judges anyne, but He has given all judgment t the Sn, Jhn 5:23 s that all will hnr the Sn even as they hnr the Father. He wh des nt hnr the Sn des nt hnr the Father wh sent Him. First, Jesus says the Sn never acts apart frm the Father, fr they always act in unisn Jesus wuld never seek t d anything except what is the Father s will This is the definitin f hliness and sinlessness 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 15 f 26 Ding everything and nly what is the Father s will Everything single thing that Jesus did was perfectly in unisn with the Father S when Jesus tld the man t pick up the may, His instructins were perfectly cnsistent with the Father s desires In ther wrds, what Jesus tld the man t d was what the Father wanted dne And if the Father wanted it dne, then by definitin it culdn t have been a vilatin f the Sabbath And equally true, the Pharisees were sinning by demanding the man d therwise In effect Jesus explained that His instructins were in keeping with the Sabbath while the Pharisees were nt The idea that Jesus submitted t the will f the Father leads sme t questin whether Jesus was truly Gd in the flesh Hw culd Gd submit t Gd, and s they cnclude Jesus was just a man, a prphet, sent frm Gd In cming t this cnclusin, they verlk the detail that Jesus fllwed perfectly As Jesus said t the rich yung ruler, n ne is gd but Gd alne The nly way any man culd fllw in the Father s will perfectly is if He were sinless, as nly Gd is S Jesus must be Gd t live a perfectly submitted life Nevertheless, because f His incarnate frm, Jesus had t watch and learn frm the Father in rder t knw what t d This is prbably the greatest mystery and mst awe-inspiring aspect f the incarnatin Thugh He was Gd, Jesus experienced the prcess f learning, grwing and maturing as a human being As Jesus grew, He was always aware f His relatinship t the Father 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 16 f 26 And He was cnstantly seeking t fllw the Father and d nly what pleased Him What a mystery that Gd culd be cnfined t flesh and therefre required t learn and grw and yet still remained frever bedient and submitted Next, Jesus says the Sn is always in the lp, because the Father reveals all things t the Sn ut f lve The Sn is n earth fr a purpse and the Father never fails t instruct the Sn n hw t fulfill His missin t the Father s satisfactin S the Sn never acts ut f disbedience Nr des He ever act ut f ignrance He is perfectly in tune with the will f Gd in all things And the things that the Father is willing t d ut f lve fr the Sn desn t stp with human wrks Jesus says the Father is prepared t shw the Sn even greater wrks than healing the physical bdy f a cripple Beginning with future wrks f brining men back t life and ther great miracles And culminating with His wn resurrectin and glrificatin And cntinuing until tday as Jesus brings new birth t all His children by faith Jesus greatest miracle is His missin t save the lst, which He calls ut in v.21 This claim wasn t nvel, since the Jewish understanding acknwledged that Gd culd and smetimes did raise dead bdies back t life Resurrectins had happened at pint in the Old Testament The widw s sn was raised by the prphet Elijah, fr example But nw Jesus says He shared that same pwer, and He was prepared t grant it t whever He wishes When Jesus says that the Sn gives life t whmever He wishes, the He is a reference back t the Father We can see that frm the cntext 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 17 f 26 The Father is the One raising peple frm the dead And Jesus said He can d nthing n His wn, but He nly des what the Father is ding S when Jesus raises smene frm the dead, He is raising thse the Father wishes t raise Still, the pint is that Jesus claims the same pwer as the Father in raising dead bdies back t life And this statement means Jesus is claiming t be Gd But there is ne area in which the Father had delegated all authrity t the Sn The Father has given the Sn t right t judge all Creatin Peter declares the same thing in Acts Acts 10:42 And He rdered us t preach t the peple, and slemnly t testify that this is the One wh has been appinted by Gd as Judge f the living and the dead. Acts 10:43 Of Him all the prphets bear witness that thrugh His name everyne wh believes in Him receives frgiveness f sins. Jesus was appinted t judge all things The Pharisees wh were seeking t kill Jesus were ging t stand befre Him in a future day and receive His righteus judgment What a warning! Jesus is telling them ne day I will judge yu Yet in the meantime He willingly suffers under their cndemnatin I can t imagine the judgment these men faced Then Jesus says in v.23 that the Father will ensure that all will hnr the Sn in the same way they have said t hnr the Father And if a persn rejects the Sn, that persn is simultaneusly rejecting the Father t This is the natural cnclusin frm all that Jesus has stated These men say they hnr the Father, but their hearts are far frm Him 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 18 f 26 And the prf f that is the way they reject the Sn But in the end, all men will hnr the Sn, as Paul says Phil. 2:9 Fr this reasn als, Gd highly exalted Him, and bestwed n Him the name which is abve every name, Phil. 2:10 s that at the name f Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, f thse wh are in heaven and n earth and under the earth, Phil. 2:11 and that every tngue will cnfess that Jesus Christ is Lrd, t the glry f Gd the Father. Here we find the exclusivity f Jesus psitin and Christianity s claims The phrase there are many rads t Heaven is a ppular way f saying that we dn t all have t believe the same things abut Gd in rder t be accepted by Him Sme can find gd in fllwing Muhammed Sme find Him in fllwing Buddha Sme find Him in fllwing Jesus And sme find Gd in cmpletely unique ways But Jesus wrds cmpletely refute that ntin Jesus says that Gd is nly fund thrugh the Sn He sent Jesus is the One and nly Name with the pwer t save men frm their sin Any ther belief is flly and will lead t disappintment We can t say that Jesus is bth a gd persn r cnsider Him t be ne way t Heaven, because His wn wrds preclude thse cnclusins Either Jesus was lying r crazy Because He said He was equal t Gd He said t reject Him was t reject the Father If Jesus was wrng, then there is n reasn t cnsider anything else He said 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 19 f 26 Or He is right, in which case we can t add any ther name t ur list f ways t Heaven Thse are the nly tw ratinal psitins we can take n the questin f hw t cnsider Jesus At this pint, yu can imagine that Jesus wrds had His audience with muths wide pen gaping in either disbelief, astnishment r disgust S Jesus begins t speak mre frcefully abut His authrity Jhn 5:25 Truly, truly, I say t yu, an hur is cming and nw is, when the dead will hear the vice f the Sn f Gd, and thse wh hear will live. Jhn 5:26 Fr just as the Father has life in Himself, even s He gave t the Sn als t have life in Himself; Jhn 5:27 and He gave Him authrity t execute judgment, because He is the Sn f Man. Jhn 5:28 D nt marvel at this; fr an hur is cming, in which all wh are in the tmbs will hear His vice, Jhn 5:29 and will cme frth; thse wh did the gd deeds t a resurrectin f life, thse wh cmmitted the evil deeds t a resurrectin f judgment. Jhn 5:30 I can d nthing n My wn initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I d nt seek My wn will, but the will f Him wh sent Me. The vice f the Sn f Gd is a life-giving pwer t the dead Jesus is speaking f tw things at nce in this statement First, He s speaking t the miracles that He was preparing t wrk in raising peple frm the grave - Peple like Lazarus But in spiritual terms, Jesus vice wuld call many men and wmen t belief in Him as Messiah And that belief raises these dead peple t new life Just as Jesus explained t the Pharisees Nicdemus The Sn s ability t give life is equal t the Father s ability t give life The Gdhead is equal and the pwer f Creatr is shared and equal Just as we see in Genesis, when we read 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 20 f 26 Gen. 1:26 Then Gd said, Let Us make man in Our image, accrding t Our likeness;... Once again, Jesus is calling Himself Gd, in that He can grant life t dead bdies and spirits But He has als been granted the pwer t execute judgment S, we will either hear His vice fr the utcme f btaining eternal life Or else we will hear His vice n a judgment day t cme And n that judgment day, we will nt ignre Him, fr we will receive the penalty fr ur sins One way r anther, we will hear His vice and bey Frm here, the cnversatin mve t a cmparisn f life and judgment In vs.28-29 Jesus explains that there bth utcmes include a resurrectin In the first case, thse wh have heard His vice and did gd are resurrected t life In v.29 yur Bible may cntain the wrd deeds twice in this statement, but that wrd never appears in the riginal Greek language That s imprtant, because Jesus isn t saying that gd deeds r evil deeds are the determiner fr eternal life r judgment Read the sentence withut the wrd deeds and Jesus was saying that ding the gd thing r the evil thing makes the difference The gd thing in this cntext is t hear the vice f the Sn f Man and respnd in a psitive way As did the cripple man, when He was tld t get up and he beyed And later when He heard Jesus tell Him t g and sin n mre, and the man believed in Jesus and was jyful These are the nes wh will be resurrected t eternal life We wh have believed in the name f the Sn f Man will receive new bdies in a future day 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 21 f 26 And with thse new bdies, we will never die again We will live frever in His Kingdm f righteusness and glry On the ther hand, the evil thing in this cntext wuld be t ignre the Lrd s vice, t reject Him But thse wh rejected Jesus as Lrd will still be resurrected They t will receive a new bdies But in that new bdy, they will experience a judgment, which the Bible calls the secnd death This is the eternal death that the Lrd prmised as wages fr all thse wh sin We see these tw mment juxtapsed in Revelatin Rev. 20:4 Then I saw thrnes, and they sat n them, and judgment was given t them. And I saw the suls f thse wh had been beheaded because f their testimny f Jesus and because f the wrd f Gd, and thse wh had nt wrshiped the beast r his image, and had nt received the mark n their frehead and n their hand; and they came t life and reigned with Christ fr a thusand years. Rev. 20:5 The rest f the dead did nt cme t life until the thusand years were cmpleted. This is the first resurrectin. Rev. 20:6 Blessed and hly is the ne wh has a part in the first resurrectin; ver these the secnd death has n pwer, but they will be priests f Gd and f Christ and will reign with Him fr a thusand years. Rev. 20:11 Then I saw a great white thrne and Him wh sat upn it, frm whse presence earth and heaven fled away, and n place was fund fr them. Rev. 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing befre the thrne, and bks were pened; and anther bk was pened, which is the bk f life; and the dead were judged frm the things which were written in the bks, accrding t their deeds. Rev. 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every ne f them accrding t their deeds. Rev. 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrwn int the lake f fire. This is the secnd death, the lake f fire. 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 22 f 26 All believers are a part f the first resurrectin, which ccurs ver a series f mments And all unbelievers are a part f the secnd resurrectin The first leads int the Kingdm While the secnd leads t the Lake f Fire Jesus then repeats in v.30 that He des nthing except what the Father wills, including the judgment that Jesus renders in this future mment The Sn s judgment will be the result f the Father s will Accrding t all that the Father has rdained, the Sn must judge Once again, the Sn and Father are acting in unisn in all matters T end the chapter, Jesus explains that the truth f His claims are crrbrated in fur ways Jesus says that if He were making these statements with n ther supprt, then we can be sure He was lying Peple cme with utlandish claims all the time But they always lack the testimny f Gd t supprt their claims But Jesus had supprting testimny frm Gd First, Jesus mentins that His testimny was backed by Jhn the Baptist Jhn tld the peple f Jesus cming, and s when Jesus arrived, Jhn s testimny cnfirmed Jesus t be the One fretld Jesus reminds the Pharisees that they sent t Jhn as we saw in chapter 1 And when they inspected Jhn, they culd find nthing in His ministry t discredit him But Jesus adds that he desn t need the testimny f an earthly man t validate His ministry Rather, Jesus says He mentined Jhn s testimny s that thse wh heard these wrds might be saved 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 23 f 26 Jesus wants the disciples, the readers and perhaps the Pharisees themselves t remember the wrds Jhn spke abut Jesus, that He was the Lamb f Gd - And by that testimny t believe in Jesus Jhn was a light that was burning fr a while, but as yu we can tell frm Jesus wrds in v.35, Jhn has died by this pint Secndly, Jesus claims are supprter by His miraculus wrks, which are a greater testimny than Jhn s wrds in that they demnstrate the truth f His claims There is n way t escape the truth f a miraculus healing Or a persn raised frm the dead As we said, it s telling that the Pharisees never cared t inspect the healing and rule n it They skipped past that testimny because it was an incnvenient fact If yu accept that Jesus did the miracles the Gspel writers claim He did, then there is simply n getting arund the fact that Jesus is Gd - Fr nly the Creatr can accmplish such things This will be a recurring theme in Jhn s Gspel, that the religius leaders in Israel were lst in their sin and far frm the Father Jhn 5:37 And the Father wh sent Me, He has testified f Me. Yu have neither heard His vice at any time nr seen His frm. Jhn 5:38 Yu d nt have His wrd abiding in yu, fr yu d nt believe Him whm He sent. Jhn 5:39 Yu search the Scriptures because yu think that in them yu have eternal life; it is these that testify abut Me; Jhn 5:40 and yu are unwilling t cme t Me s that yu may have life. Jhn 5:41 I d nt receive glry frm men; Jhn 5:42 but I knw yu, that yu d nt have the lve f Gd in yurselves. Jhn 5:43 I have cme in My Father s name, and yu d nt receive Me; if anther cmes in his wn name, yu will receive him. Jhn 5:44 Hw can yu believe, when yu receive glry frm ne anther and yu d nt seek the glry that is frm the ne and nly Gd? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 24 f 26 Jhn 5:45 D nt think that I will accuse yu befre the Father; the ne wh accuses yu is Mses, in whm yu have set yur hpe. Jhn 5:46 Fr if yu believed Mses, yu wuld believe Me, fr he wrte abut Me. Jhn 5:47 But if yu d nt believe his writings, hw will yu believe My wrds? Finally, Jesus ffers the furth and mst pwerful testimny that supprts Jesus claims, and it s the ne these men rejected first and fremst It s the testimny f the wrd f Gd, the scriptures Jesus says that the Father Himself has testified t Jesus But the Father s vice has never been heard And the Father s frm has never been seen at any time The Father is all Spirit and cannt be seen nr heard accrding Jesus The Creatin has nly seen the Gdhead in the frm f the Secnd Persn f the Gdhead S if n man has heard r seen the Father, hw has the Father testified t the Sn? In v.38 Jesus says they dn t have the wrd f Gd abiding in them The wrd f Gd is the testimny f the Father cncerning the Sn, Wh is the Wrd All the scriptures testify t Christ in ne way r anther But these men d nt have the wrd f Gd abiding in them This statement must have been a true shck and cmpletely ffensive These men prided themselves n being experts in the wrd f Gd And yet they understd nne f it Which was prven in the fact that they were rejecting the very One that the scriptures testified abut 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 25 f 26 These men searched the scriptures in a pius and scrupulus fashin, but as if their eyes were clsed the whle time Fr spiritually, they did pssess clsed eyes They read the wrds seeking an answer t hw they can btain eternal life, but didn t cmprehend what they fund Eternal life isn t fund in what we learn r what we d It s fund in the wrd f Christ And s if yu miss Christ in the wrd, yu miss eternal life These men culdn t see the true message f salvatin in Christ which is cntained thrughut the Bible S they were unwilling t cme t Jesus fr the eternal life He ffers Withut hesitatin, Jesus labels them ut as unbelieving men He says He knws them, and therefre He knws that the lve f Gd is nt in them That phrase is ne that must have made an impressin n Jhn, because Jhn uses this phrase in carius ways in his letters These men were seeking nly fr the glry that cmes frm ther men They were interested in receiving the praise f ther men fr their piety and zealusness S they did all that they did fr the praise f thers They wuld receive a man as an authrity in the faith based n the name f a man Meaning they wuld give hnr t pedigree and assciatin The right teacher wuld grant a man an audience But when Jesus cmes in the authrity and name f the Father, they reject Him - Which prves their hearts t be abut pride and nt lve 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Jhn 5 26 f 26 And Jesus says that the ne wh accuses them befre the Father is nt Jesus persnally, but rather it s the wrd f Gd Mses accuses them in the sense that the Law cnvicts them fr their sin And mre generally, the wrd f Gd, which is a testimny f the Father, testifies against these hypcrites Remember hw the chapter began with a man healed merely by the wrd f Christ The cripple started as like the Pharisees, believing in myths and manmade rules Lking fr supernatural displays and signs Trying t save himself by his wn pwer But unable t d s But then Jesus entered and by His wrd granted the man a healing that nly Gd can wrk The healing came by the pwer f Christ s wrd And that healing testified t Christ s identity as Messiah The crippled man gt it The Pharisees did nt And the difference was that the Wrd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.