Witness #5 – Moses If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” The Jews took pride in their following of Moses, but Jesus points out that Moses wrote about Him and they even …
Category Archives: Chapter 5
John 5:45
“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. “Your accuser is” = present tense. Moses is standing as an accuser against them even at that moment. They had rejected the testimony of Moses for the Messiah and they therefore stood accused by …
John 5:44
How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? “you” is emphatic as was “I” in the preceding verse. Jesus said that the Jews were desiring honor for themselves (#Jo 12:43, Mt 6:1) and that anyone who put their …
John 5:43
I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. “I” is emphatic, distinguishing Jesus from all others. “you do not accept me” = Robertson, among others, calls John “the Gospel of the Rejection” (RWP) #John 1:11; 3:11,32; 12:37 …
John 5:42
but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. Jesus knows them as He knows all men. Joh 2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. “the love of God” = can either denote love from God or love for …
John 5:41
“I do not accept praise from men, The motive of Jesus is never to please men, but to please the Father. He has no desire to receive any praise or esteem from them. What about you? Do you let thoughts of how others might view you or your actions to determine how you do act? …
John 5:39-40
Witness #4 – The scriptures You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. If the Jews had rightly read the scriptures, they would have come to recognize who He was and …
John 5:37-38
Witness #3 – The Father And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. How has the Father borne witness to Jesus? The entire revelation of God from …
John 5:36
Witness #2 – The works of Jesus “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. “But I” sets Jesus off from all of mankind. He is supremely different. As great as John …
John 5:33-35
Witness #1 – The Baptist “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.” “has testified” is in …
John 5:31-32
The Witnesses (John 5:31-39, 46-47) On the Sabbath Jesus healed a man who was lame for 38 years and then commanded him to take up his mat and walk, which was considered to be work, knowing full well that this would instigate a confrontation with the Jewish authorities. When this did occur, His defense was …
John 5:29-30
and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 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. There will come a …
John 5:28
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice Jesus has spoken of a present judgment and now of a future one. He has claimed the power to give spiritual life and to judge and, now in this verse, He claims the power …
John 5:27
And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “authority” = exousia = the power of choice; the liberty of doing as one pleases. “because he is the Son of man” this is the second reason given by Jesus for the Father to have given judgment to the Son. The first …
John 5:26
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. The “life” referred to here has 2 attributes: independenceThe life of the Father is dependent upon no other. He is self-existent. That is why He called Himself “I am.” #Ex 3:14Ex 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I …
John 5:25
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. “has now come” = Jesus is talking about a present spiritual resurrection, not the future, physical one of John 5:28. “Son of God” = …
John 5:24
“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. “hears” = not just a discerning of noise with the ear; this speaks of a hearing with understanding and, thus, of action. “my word” …
John 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. McGarvey says that “’Even as’ means in the same manner and in equal degree. The prerogative of judgment was committed unto Jesus that men might behold his true …
John 5:22
Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, “the Father judges no-one”, etc. That is to say, the Father does not act in judgment without the Son, nor the Son without the Father, for in no work is either isolated from the other. (McGarvey TFG 202) The Father, the Judge, has …
John 5:21
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. The idea of God raising the dead was generally accepted throughout Judaism as belonging only to Him. One Rabbinic saying was, “Three keys are in the hand of God and …
John 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. “loves” = phileo. The tense is of a continuing love. The motivation for the Father to show the Son everything is love. “greater works” What greater works is Jesus talking about here? Whatever …
John 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. This starts a discourse by Jesus as to His unity with the Father, His authority, and the proof of …
John 5:18
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. In the previous verse Jesus had said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, …
John 5:17
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” In the synoptic gospels, Jesus defends His actions by pointing out that He was Lord of the Sabbath and could thus do what He willed on the Sabbath #Mark 2:28, but John records another defense …
John 5:16
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. “persecute” = dioko = to follow after, to pursue. This is used in the sense of a hunter following after his quarry until he catches and kills it. “had done” (KJV) = is actually in the continuous sense and should read “was …
John 5:15
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. The man went to a place where the authorities were and reported the name of the one who had healed him. He was still under investigation for breaking the Sabbath, a capital offense, and undoubtedly wanted to clear his …
John 5:14
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.” The man went to the Temple, probably on the same day as his healing. He may have gone there to offer sacrifices for his recovery or just to see and …
John 5:13
The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. “slipped” = ekneyo = the turn the head to the side; to get away by swimming; to slip away secretly. Not only did the man not know who his healer was, but he could …
John 5:12
So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” “What man is that…” is a contemptuous expression, “Who is the fellow?” (RWP) The authorities’ use of the term “man” is in contrast to the law of God. “How can a mere man order the violation of God’s law?” Note that …
John 5:11
But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” Morris says, “The man was not of the stuff of which heroes were made.” He puts the blame for his violation of the Sabbath fully on Jesus. We must remember that the punishment for working on the …
John 5:10
and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” Sabbath = God’s law required that the Sabbath be kept free from worldly pursuits and centered on God. Ex 20:10, 23:12, Jer 17:21-22, Neh 13:15 The penalty for disobedience of this …
John 5:9b
At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, Morris points out that, “This healing differs from many others in that, not only is there no mention of faith on the part of the man, but there seems no room for …
John 5:8-9a
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. A mat or pallet (KJV) was a light mattress that could be rolled up and carried under the arm. The verb “walk” literally means “keep on walking.” What Jesus told …
John 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.” Because of the man’s inability to move quickly and the lack of a servant to “help” (literally “throw in quickly”) him into the …
John 5:6
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?” “How Jesus ‘knew’ we are not told, whether supernatural knowledge (#2:24) or observation or overhearing people’s comments.” (RWP) John 2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to …
John 5:5
One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. “an invalid” probably indicates he had paralysis since he had a bed and was incapable of being first into the water unless someone would help him. John probably chose this particular sign among many to affirm the messiahship of Jesus in accordance with messianic prophecy …
John 5:4
waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. (NAS95) See the note on the …
John 5:3
Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralysed. The people believed that when the water was disturbed, it indicated the presence of an angel who would heal the first to enter the pool after the disturbance (“which may have been caused by the intermittent bubbling up of a …
John 5:2
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. In its translation the NIV adds the word “gate” to the word “sheep” and KJV adds “market” at the same place. The reason for the additions is that “sheep” is an adjective with no apparent noun …
John 5:1
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. “a feast” is “the feast” in some manuscripts. Probably, though not certainly, it was a Passover.