To kick off the first passage of chapter 5, we learn that Jesus has gone to Jerusalem.
Right here I’ve noticed something this week that I haven’t noticed before. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t writing a blog about the passage, or maybe it’s because I’ve gone through it too fast (which I’ll get to in a little bit). But pay attention carefully to the verses in this passage, 1-15. Notice anything odd? What about verse 4? If you’re reading NIV, it’s not there. If you using NLT, it’s not there. As a matter of fact, it’s missing in a LOT of versions. Some versions have it available but place it in brackets. And then there’s versions such as KJV and NKJV that just throw it out there without any special connotations.
I had to do a little bit of digging here, but according to researchers, scholars have found that this verse was not included in the original manuscripts of the Greek New Testament.
Here’s what verses 3-4 say, when not excluded:
3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the 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 they had.
There are different speculations as to why this verse was excluded. Most of it being that they believe someone (AKA not John) added it on later to clear up confusion. In verse 7, the man Jesus is speaking to mentions that someone always beats him into the pool when the water is stirred. Without verse 4, you read that and you’re like “Okay? And? Just wait for homeboy to get done and then get down there.” Not that big of a deal, right? But if an angel of the Lord came down and healed the first one in the pool, then it makes sense that somebody would sit there for THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS (that’s a long time) waiting for something.
The fact that he sits there for 38 years is a testament to this man’s faith. Not quite so much as when Jesus tells him to get up and walk, he just does it. I don’t know about you, but I feel like if I was invalid for 38 years and a man I’ve never spoken to before just walked up and said “Get up,” I’d probably laugh at him. The man had no clue who it was that came up to him, he just did it. Stood up and walked out, indicated in verse 13.
I think key to all of this, though, is that Jesus did this on the Sabbath. No work was to be done on the Sabbath. No healing was to be done on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders were appalled that this had been done, and Jesus knew that was going to happen. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Jesus was a rule-breaker. And it’s awesome.
The second passage is where things start getting a little heavier.
Starting in this passage, we hear from Jesus more than we’ve heard from him before in the book of John. I kind of get the impression that His tone is simple and explanatory throughout this passage. Starting right there in 17 though, He makes a statement that gets everybody all riled up. They’re already upset with Him for healing on the Sabbath, but after he says “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working”, they lose their minds. In this time, it was common for a man to continue along the same manner of work as his father. With this statement, I believe that that knowledge played a part in their reaction. Their immediate response was probably along the lines of “Oh, so He thinks He’s God??” (Spoiler alert: He is). This comparison led to them wanting to kill Him. They despised Him for such a simple comparison as that. For Him to even claim to have such an intimacy with God that a father and son have would be unheard of from a common man. In their eyes, it’s near blasphemy (if not actual blasphemy).
When reading 19-30, you can only assume how that conversation probably went downhill for all of the religious leaders. And we haven’t even gotten to the last passage yet. That first paragraph there, 19-23, hammers home Jesus’ claim that He IS the Son of God. He details what He does in the name of God and He goes on to proclaim that they should be honoring Him just as they honor God. As I said earlier, that’s a bold claim from a “common man”.
The next two paragraphs have a theme surrounding death and life. (Not life and death). Death and life in the sense that those who are dead will hear God’s call and live a rich and fulfilling eternity. These men are probably standing around Jesus at this point absolutely dumbfounded. Jaws dropped, tempers flared, arms crossed, ready to duke it out with this blasphemer. (Spoiler alert: Not a blasphemer).
The last section of this chapter is my favorite.
Jesus’ tone in this changes from explanatory to more, “what gives?” and “you might want to take notes”. Right at the beginning, He announces that if He tells them who He is, they’re not going to listen. And He’s right. But how can they validate what He claims when it’s such a bold claim? So, as is His usual custom, Jesus provides a solution to that issue. John the Baptist.
Here’s the thing about John the Baptist: All of these religious leaders listened to him for a time being. My guess is, when he started spouting out about Jesus being the Son of God, they didn’t like what they heard and dipped out.
So Jesus throws that in there in verse 35: “John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.” The kicker is in 34, where He says “Not that I accept human testimony…..”
Jesus threw down the gauntlet in 34, and followed it up in 36 and onward. In 34, Jesus tells them that He’s too high up on the totem pole to be verified by man, but He’ll allow it just to prove a point. Why listen to a man for so long, only to denounce what he says when it’s something they don’t want to believe?
And in 36, He rolls in with His own verification: His miracles and workings. Who else would God allow to do such things and healing the crippled, and raising Lazarus from the dead? Who else can feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish?
The last thing to focus on is that He challenges their faith. These leaders of a religion are brought to shame when Jesus says “…These are the very scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” He challenges all of their studies and life accomplishments studying these religious scripts by telling them they’ve been missing what’s standing right in front of them. He tells them that they don’t love God, because they don’t love Jesus. He warns them against accepting any other man who comes as himself, but not the one that comes from God.
It’s a powerful dialogue. It’s one that needs more attention than I think it gets, especially in today’s day and age.
Who or what are we accepting in our lives in all their glory, if not God?
Today's Contribution from Josh Litscher
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