therefore = on account of (Greek. dia. App-104 .John 5:2; John 5:2 ) this. did . . . persecute = began to persecute. Beginning of open hostility. sought = were seeking. Most texts, not Syriac, omit this clause. read more
And for this cause the Jew's persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath.Those zealots who had made the word of God of none effect by their tradition were adamant in their refusal to allow the slightest possibility of any error on their own part. Their foolish and unscriptural sabbath regulations were so dear to them that they would crucify the Christ of glory rather than yield on the tiniest iota of their conceited interpretations. Note: John did not say here that Jesus broke... read more
John 5:15-16. The man departed, &c.— Overjoyed to have discovered the author of his cure, the man went away, and innocently informed the Jews of it; perhaps because he thought it his duty to give his benefactor the honour of the miracle, and believed that the Jews would have been glad to see so great a prophet: but instead of that, they attacked Jesus tumultuously in the temple, and, it may be, tried him before the sanhedrim, with a view to kill him, because, as they imagined, he had... read more
16. because he had done these things on the sabbath day—What to these hypocritical religionists was the doing of the most glorious and beneficent miracles, compared with the atrocity of doing them on the sabbath day! Having given them this handle, on purpose to raise the first public controversy with them, and thus open a fitting opportunity of laying His claims before them, He rises at once to the whole height of them, in a statement which for grandeur and terseness exceeds almost anything... read more
2. The antagonism of the Jewish authorities 5:10-18More than once Jesus used His Sabbath activities to make the Jews consider who He was (cf. Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:23 to Mark 3:6; Luke 13:10-17; Luke 14:1-6). Here He wanted them to realize that He had the right to work on the Sabbath as His Father did. This is the first open hostility to Jesus that John recorded. read more
"These things" seem to refer to Jesus’ acts of healing the man and commanding him to take up his mat and walk. Rather than worshipping Him, or at least considering His claims, the Jewish authorities persecuted Jesus for doing what they considered to be work on the Sabbath. Their persecution initially took the form of verbal opposition, as the following verses clarify. read more
Bethesda. Christ and the Sabbath1-47. A miracle at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath Day, and a controversy arising therefrom. This miracle may be regarded as a parable illustrating the deadly effects of sin, and the power of the Saviour to deal with the most hopeless cases. This poor man in his youth had shattered his nervous system by a life of sensual indulgence (John 5:14), and had lain for thirty-eight years a hopeless paralytic (John 5:5). This being an extreme case, the usual order of... read more
(16) The words, “and sought to slay Him,” should be omitted. They have been inserted in some MSS. to explain the first clause of John 5:18. For “He had done,” read He was doing. The word is in the imperfect tense, expressing continuance or custom. It is either that from this one instance they generalise a law of practice to justify their persecution, or that some of the earlier unrecorded miracles were also performed on the Sabbath. (Comp. Luke 6:1-11.) read more
Bethesda , the House of Mercy John 5:2-3 I. I ask you to look, first, at that sad, sick crowd. There was gathered a 'great multitude of impotent folk, blind, halt, withered'. That is a parable of humanity, looked at from the highest point of view, and considered in the deepest reality of their condition. The world is a sad world; but that is not the deepest thought about it. (1) Men are sinners, and therefore they are sorrowful. (2) The disease is universal. (3) This disease is unconscious.... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - John 5:1-29
IN JERUSALEM AGAIN46. Healing at Bethesda and its outcome (John 5:1-29)Jesus came from Galilee to Jerusalem for a Jewish religious festival. While there he visited a pool where many blind and crippled people hoped to find healing (John 5:1-5). One of the men asked Jesus for help, not to heal him (for he did not know who Jesus was) but to assist him into the pool. Jesus responded by healing him instantly (John 5:6-9). As the healing took place on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders were anxious to... read more