New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
John 5
2
In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate is a pool. In the Aramaic language it is called Bethesda. It is surrounded by five rows of columns with a roof over them.
Reference
📍 Bethesda
3
Here a great number of disabled people used to lie down. Among them were those who were blind, those who could not walk, and those who could hardly move.
Reference
6
Jesus saw him lying there. He knew that the man had been in that condition for a long time. So he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 4:15
Luke 18:41
Hebrews 4:13
Isaiah 65:1
Psalm 142:3
References Jesus
John 21:17
7
"Sir," the disabled man replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when an angel stirs the water up. I try to get in, but someone else always goes down ahead of me."
Reference
9
At once the man was healed. He picked up his mat and walked. The day this happened was a Sabbath.
Reference
10
So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath. The law does not allow you to carry your mat."
Reference
11
But he replied, "The one who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12
They asked him, "Who is this fellow? Who told you to pick it up and walk?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 21:23
13
The one who was healed had no idea who it was. Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
Reference
14
Later Jesus found him at the temple. Jesus said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you."
Reference
17
Jesus said to them, "My Father is always doing his work. He is working right up to this very day. I am working too."
Reference
18
For this reason the Jews tried even harder to kill him. Jesus was not only breaking the Sabbath. He was even calling God his own Father. He was making himself equal with God.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 10:30
John 5:23
John 8:58
John 14:23
Zechariah 13:7
References God
John 10:33
John 19:7
Philippians 2:6
Revelation 22:1
John 8:54
19
Jesus answered, "What I'm about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 12:49
John 14:10
John 10:18
John 9:4
Luke 21:15
John 5:21
Psalm 138:3
Psalm 50:6
References Jesus
John 8:28
Romans 8:11
20
This is because the Father loves the Son. He shows him everything he does. Yes, you will be amazed! The Father will show him even greater things than these.
Reference
21
"The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 32:39
John 17:2
1 Kings 17:21
2 Kings 5:7
Resurrection
Romans 8:11
Acts 26:8
John 11:25
22
"Also, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given the Son the task of judging.
Reference
Judgment
John 5:27
Acts 17:31
Acts 10:42
John 9:39
2 Corinthians 5:10
2 Timothy 4:1
Romans 2:16
Psalm 96:13
Parallel theme
Matthew 28:18
John 17:2
23
Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father, who sent him.
Reference
24
"What I'm about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He will not be found guilty. He has crossed over from death to life.
Reference
Faith
John 3:36
John 3:18
John 6:40
John 6:47
John 3:16
John 11:26
John 20:31
Parallel theme
Romans 8:1
John 8:51
1 Thessalonians 5:9
25
"What I'm about to tell you is true. A time is coming for me to give life. In fact, it has already begun. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear it will live.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 5:28
Ephesians 2:5
Ephesians 5:14
John 4:23
Colossians 2:13
Ephesians 2:1
Romans 6:4
John 5:21
References God
Revelation 3:1
John 8:47
27
And the Father has given him the authority to judge. This is because he is the Son of Man.
Reference
28
"Do not be amazed at this. A time is coming when all who are in the grave will hear his voice.
Reference
29
They will all come out of their graves. Those who have done good will rise and live again. Those who have done evil will rise and be found guilty.
Reference
30
"I can do nothing by myself. I judge only as I hear. And my judging is fair. I do not try to please myself. I try only to please the One who sent me.
Reference
Judgment
John 8:50
Parallel theme
John 6:38
John 5:19
John 4:34
John 14:10
Matthew 26:39
John 8:28
Romans 15:3
John 8:42
Righteousness
Psalm 96:13
32
There is someone else who gives witness in my favor. And I know that his witness about me counts.
33
"You have sent people to John. He has given witness to the truth.
35
John was like a lamp that burned and gave light. For a while you chose to enjoy his light.
Reference
36
"The witness I have is more important than John's. I am doing the very work the Father gave me to finish. It gives witness that the Father has sent me.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 15:24
John 2:23
John 3:2
John 3:17
Acts 2:22
John 4:34
References John
Matthew 11:4
Witness
John 10:25
1 John 5:9
John 5:32
37
"The Father who sent me has himself given witness about me. You have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he really looks like.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 1:18
1 Timothy 1:17
Matthew 3:17
1 Timothy 6:16
1 John 4:12
1 John 4:20
Exodus 20:19
Matthew 17:5
John 6:27
Witness
John 8:18
39
"You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. The Scriptures you study give witness about me.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 34:16
Acts 13:27
John 5:46
Romans 3:2
Word
Luke 24:27
Luke 24:44
Acts 17:11
Matthew 22:29
Jeremiah 8:9
Mark 12:10
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.
Reference
44
"You accept praise from one another. But you make no effort to receive the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?
Reference
Faith
1 Peter 1:7
Luke 19:17
Parallel theme
Philippians 2:3
Matthew 23:5
Romans 2:7
Romans 2:10
References God
John 12:43
Romans 2:29
1 Samuel 2:30
1 Corinthians 4:5
45
"Do not think I will bring charges against you in front of the Father. Moses is the one who does that. And he is the one you build your hopes on.
Reference
46
"Do you believe Moses? Then you should believe me. He wrote about me.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 18:15
Genesis 49:10
Genesis 22:18
Genesis 12:3
Genesis 3:15
Genesis 18:18
Genesis 28:14
References Moses
John 1:45
Luke 24:27
Acts 26:22
Summary of John 5
John 5 begins with Jesus healing a man who has been unable to walk for thirty-eight years, but the miracle quickly becomes the starting point for a much deeper confrontation concerning the Sabbath, Jesus' relationship with God, His authority to give life, His authority to judge, and the testimony that establishes His identity.
Jesus encounters the disabled man near the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, where many sick people have gathered.
The man explains that he has no one to help him reach the water, but Jesus simply commands him to get up, pick up his mat, and walk.
The man is immediately healed, demonstrating Jesus' authority over a condition that had lasted for decades.
However, because the healing occurs on the Sabbath, Jewish leaders object when they see the man carrying his mat.
The man explains that the person who healed him instructed him to carry it, and later Jesus finds him in the Temple and warns him to live differently following his healing.
When the man identifies Jesus as the one who healed him, opposition against Jesus intensifies because He has performed the miracle on the Sabbath.
Jesus responds by saying that His Father is continually working and that He is working as well.
This statement causes the conflict to become much more serious because Jesus is not merely defending a particular interpretation of the Sabbath; He is identifying Himself as uniquely related to God.
Jesus explains that the Son does what He sees the Father doing, that the Father loves the Son and has entrusted Him with divine works, and that the Son has authority to give life and execute judgment.
He further explains that everyone will eventually hear His voice and that there will be a resurrection resulting either in life or judgment.
The chapter then shifts toward the question of evidence for Jesus' identity.
Jesus explains that His claim does not depend on His own testimony alone.
John the Baptist has testified about Him, Jesus' works testify about Him, the Father testifies about Him, and the Scriptures testify about Him.
Jesus tells the religious leaders to search the Scriptures because they believe those writings contain eternal life, yet those same Scriptures point toward Him.
The tragedy is that they possess the Scriptures but refuse to come to Jesus for the life those Scriptures ultimately point toward.
Jesus concludes by explaining that even Moses, whom His opponents trust and depend upon, ultimately provides testimony concerning Him.
John 5 therefore moves from a physical healing to a profound revelation of Jesus' identity, showing Him as the Son who works in perfect unity with the Father, the giver of life, the future judge of humanity, the one honored alongside the Father, and the person toward whom the Scriptures and the testimony of God's messengers ultimately point.
Jesus encounters the disabled man near the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, where many sick people have gathered.
The man explains that he has no one to help him reach the water, but Jesus simply commands him to get up, pick up his mat, and walk.
The man is immediately healed, demonstrating Jesus' authority over a condition that had lasted for decades.
However, because the healing occurs on the Sabbath, Jewish leaders object when they see the man carrying his mat.
The man explains that the person who healed him instructed him to carry it, and later Jesus finds him in the Temple and warns him to live differently following his healing.
When the man identifies Jesus as the one who healed him, opposition against Jesus intensifies because He has performed the miracle on the Sabbath.
Jesus responds by saying that His Father is continually working and that He is working as well.
This statement causes the conflict to become much more serious because Jesus is not merely defending a particular interpretation of the Sabbath; He is identifying Himself as uniquely related to God.
Jesus explains that the Son does what He sees the Father doing, that the Father loves the Son and has entrusted Him with divine works, and that the Son has authority to give life and execute judgment.
He further explains that everyone will eventually hear His voice and that there will be a resurrection resulting either in life or judgment.
The chapter then shifts toward the question of evidence for Jesus' identity.
Jesus explains that His claim does not depend on His own testimony alone.
John the Baptist has testified about Him, Jesus' works testify about Him, the Father testifies about Him, and the Scriptures testify about Him.
Jesus tells the religious leaders to search the Scriptures because they believe those writings contain eternal life, yet those same Scriptures point toward Him.
The tragedy is that they possess the Scriptures but refuse to come to Jesus for the life those Scriptures ultimately point toward.
Jesus concludes by explaining that even Moses, whom His opponents trust and depend upon, ultimately provides testimony concerning Him.
John 5 therefore moves from a physical healing to a profound revelation of Jesus' identity, showing Him as the Son who works in perfect unity with the Father, the giver of life, the future judge of humanity, the one honored alongside the Father, and the person toward whom the Scriptures and the testimony of God's messengers ultimately point.