Episode 37 - Doing good on the Sabbath
John 5:10-18
10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
In our episode we read how Jesus approached a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years. Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be healed. I pointed out that, on the surface, this question would appear to be a silly rhetorical question; that we would all expect the man’s answer to be “of course” or “absolutely.” But, the man didn’t respond like that. His response was an explanation about why he couldn’t be healed based upon his very limited hope in the properties of a nearby pool. Jesus changed his understanding by commanding him to stand up, to pick up his bed, and walk. The man was instantly healed. The point I made in that section was to remind us that we are all broken or sick in some capacity; that because of sin, we have no hope of achieving whole living by our own means. We need the kind of instant healing that God can effect by His Word.
The section closed with John’s comment that it was the Sabbath. The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week in which God ceased from His creative work at the beginning of time. We learn how important it was for God’s people to observe the Sabbath by ceasing their work as well. The fourth of the Ten Commandments given by God to the Israelites was to “Honor the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” That this was an important command by God is not questioned by anyone who values the Scriptures. Exactly what one could do or could not do on the Sabbath becomes a “sticky point” for people even to this day. This was an opportunity for the Jewish leaders to make themselves the “Sabbath police” and to determine what was and what wasn’t a violation of the Sabbath law.
In this miracle, they charge the man with violating the Sabbath by carrying his bed. In their understanding, that was work and it violated the Sabbath law. He responded, “The man who healed me told me to pick up my bed and walk.” (My paraphrase) They inquired who it was who healed him. But, the man didn’t know who Jesus was. John records that Jesus found him the second time in the temple. This is where the man learns Jesus' identity. Notice the irony in the contrast of the man whose son was dying and this man who has been lame for decades and has no quality of life . When the father of the dying child heard Jesus was in the region, he sought him out to come heal his son. This lame man is sought by Jesus; not once but twice. The man had come to the physical temple building. But, it was the true temple of God that came to him.
When Jesus finds him, he says, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” That first word “See” is from the Greek word transliterated “Eidos.” It means to “Pay attention!” or “Look!” It’s the same word that John the Baptist used to get his own disciples attention when Jesus was approaching them. It’s consistent with the theme of “looking and seeing” with the intended result of understanding the significance of what you were looking at. What Jesus tells him reveals to the man that Jesus knows what led to his infirmity in the first place. It should get the man’s attention so that he begins to follow God so that nothing worse would happen to him.
So what is the very next thing that happens? The man goes to the Jewish leaders to tell them it was Jesus who healed him. Originally, I understood this as a good thing; that he was testifying and bearing witness about what Jesus had done for him. But, I’m increasingly convinced this man was “narcing” on Jesus. I think this is John’s way of showing us the contrast between those who are thankful for what God does in their life and trust in Jesus and there are those who are shown much grace and mercy, but who really don’t appreciate it.
When the Jews began persecuting Jesus for violating the Sabbath (as they saw it), Jesus’ reply was, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” Jesus’ point is that God did not and does not stop being God on the Sabbath. He is still upholding the universe by His will and power every moment of every day. God does not avoid doing good on the Sabbath. Therefore, Jesus does what is good even on the Sabbath.
If I haven’t convinced you yet that the author of this book wants us to understand that Jesus is God, notice that John writes in verse eighteen that the Jews wanted even more to kill Jesus not just because he was breaking the Sabbath, but also that he was calling God his Father, making himself equal with God. (My paraphrase) Jesus’ antagonists understood exactly that Jesus was claiming to be God.
What we learn in this text should strengthen our understanding of Jesus’ authority and power. In knowing and believing this, we should worship God by giving thanks to Him for His desire to offer us healing for our broken sinful condition.