Chapter Five

1-18. The healing of a paralytic at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. The Jews plot to kill Christ for breaking the Sabbath and for His teaching about Himself as the Son of God. – 19-47. Christ’s discourse about Himself as the true Son of God, to Whom the Father has given authority over the world.

John 5:1. After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. “After this,” that is, after the events (μετὰ ταῦτα—plural; cf. μετὰ τοῦτο—singular in John 2:12) described by John in the fourth chapter. “There was a Jewish feast.” What was this feast? It is most probable to suppose that with this expression John meant the Feast of Tabernacles, as the most joyful and beloved among the people. The Feast by itself (ἡ ἑορτή) is sometimes called the Feast of Tabernacles in the books of the Old Testament (1 Sam 8:2; Ezek 45:25; Nehem 8:14) and also in Josephus Flavius (Josephus Flavius. “Jewish Antiquities” XX, 9, 3; XIII, 13, 5). One cannot say the same of Passover or Pentecost, much less of the Feast of Purim. For instance, in the Old Testament in the translation of the Seventy, the Feast of Pentecost (in Aramaic—Aserta, in Hebrew—Atzeret) is nowhere referred to simply by the expression “the feast” (ἡ ἑορτή). But if John here means the Feast of Tabernacles, then between Christ’s passage through Samaria in January (John 4:35) and the present event, which occurred in Jerusalem in early October (from the 15th to the 22nd of Tishrei), about nine months passed, during which the Lord lived in seclusion in Galilee, not visiting Jerusalem for the preceding Passover (the 2nd Passover) that had occurred. “Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” The Lord comes to Jerusalem alone, without His disciples, who at this time, apparently, returned to their former occupations. It can, however, be supposed that the Apostle John, who had the opportunity to go with the Lord to Jerusalem, did not abandon his Teacher on this stay of Christ in Jerusalem. Otherwise, how could he have obtained the discourse of Christ, which was spoken on account of the healing of the paralytic? (Edersheim’s assumption that Christ Himself later conveyed its content to John is improbable: nowhere in the Gospels is there even the slightest indication of such a way for Matthew and John to become acquainted with the speeches of Christ.)

John 5:2. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porticos. Near the Sheep Gate (Nehem 3:32), which was located in the northern part of the wall, there existed a pool or bathing place with five covered porticos, in which sick people lay. This pool was called in Hebrew (more properly “in Aramaic”) Bethesda (in Aramaic Beth-Hesda), that is, “house of mercy,” “house of merciful love.” When John wrote his Gospel, this pool still existed (he says, “there is”). The devastation wrought in Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 was, evidently, not as terrible as described by Josephus Flavius (“The Jewish War,” VII, 1, 1), and known places and remains of buildings could still be found in the city. Eusebius of Caesarea says that in the year 70 only half of Jerusalem perished (Demonstratio evangelica, VI 18, 10; cf. “Ecclesiastical History,” IV 23, 18). In a discourse attributed to St. Athanasius, it is said that the said pool existed even in the fourth century (ed. Montfaucon, 2, 70; cf. the article “On Bethesda” by Polyansky in the reports of the Palestine Society for 1910).

John 5:3. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, withered, waiting for a moving of the water; John 5:4. for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever therefore first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made whole of whatever disease with which he was afflicted. Here is described a miracle performed in the pool over those sick who managed to plunge themselves into the water immediately after it was stirred by the Angel coming down at certain times. Modern editors of the evangelical text, however, make of both these verses one, leaving only the words “in them (that is, in the covered passages or galleries) lay a great multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered.” The rest, in the opinion of modern editors, represents a later insertion (interpolation), and in the earliest Greek manuscripts there are no further words about the miracle performed thanks to the descent of an Angel; nor are they present in the ancient Syrian translations of the Gospel of John. But such an exclusion of verse 4 cannot be accepted in view of the fact that such authorities as the Alexandrian Codex, Saints John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria, and almost all Latin Church writers, the Vulgate, and the Coptic translation have verse 4 in them. As for how the evangelist himself regarded the folk belief in the miraculous power of the water of this pool, nothing definite can be said. Apparently, he simply reports here the view which existed at his time among the Jews, who usually saw in extraordinary and incomprehensible phenomena of nature the actions of heavenly spirits who had in their care one or another realm or element of nature. In the Apocalypse there is also mention of an Angel of water (Rev 16:5), and this circumstance suggests the possibility that even John himself was not unacquainted with the general Jewish belief in the existence of special Angels acting on people through various elements of nature. And this thought is in general consistent with faith in the existence of divine providence; moreover, the evangelist says that this action of the Angel on the water was accomplished not regularly at set times, but through quite indefinite intervals of time (“at certain seasons”—an indefinite expression which denotes precisely unequal intervals between the descents of the Angel, as is indicated by the expression κατὰ καιρόν).

John 5:5. And there was a certain man there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. John 5:6. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in that condition for a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well? John 5:7. The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me. In the pool lay a sufferer who had been in a paralyzed state for thirty-eight years. He was probably brought here from somewhere or taken from some distance, and there was no constant attendant near him who would plunge him into the water immediately after it was stirred. From the patient himself or from one of his neighbors Christ learned of his unhappy fate. When John depicts cases of “direct comprehension” of something by Christ, he expresses himself differently than here (cf. John 1:48; John 2:24 and following; John 4:17-19). “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man, evidently, had already lost the capacity to understand the full force of his misery, and Christ, by His question, awakens in him the fallen hope for the possibility of healing, awakens the desire to be well. At the same time, Christ was directing the attention of the patient to Himself, wanted to give him to understand that healing can be given to him by Christ. The sick man, however, sees no other way of deliverance except immersion in the miraculous water of the pool, and this way is unavailable to him.

John 5:8. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk. John 5:9. And immediately the man became well, and picked up his bed and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. Although the Lord had reason at this time to be afraid of manifestations of enmity toward Him from the Jews, nevertheless He performs the healing of the sick man. In spite of the fact that this fell on the Sabbath, when it was forbidden to carry any weights, He commands the healed man to take his bed and walk. The extraordinary energy, which was undoubtedly shown by Christ in this command, produced a powerful lift in the spirit both of the sick man and of him, and he, immediately becoming well, quickly gathered his bed and went out of the pool. However, according to the best codices, the word “immediately” is not read in verse 9, and this seems to be the more correct reading. Christ probably left the pool before the patient felt completely well; otherwise it would be incomprehensible why the healed man did not think to ask his Benefactor who He was (cf. verse 13). Christ at this time, in contrast to how He acted before (cf. John 2:13-3:21), did not want to turn to the people with teaching on the occasion of the miracle performed. He performed this miracle not as a sign to attract people to faith in Him (cf. John 2:18), but as an act of mercy.

John 5:10. So the Jews said to the man who was healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your bed. The healing was performed by Christ on the Sabbath, and this gave the Jews an occasion to accuse the healed sick man of violating the Sabbath rest, because this man, in fulfilling Christ’s command, carried his bed home, which was forbidden to do on the Sabbath (cf. Matt 12:1-8). By “Jews” here John evidently means, as in verse 18 of the second chapter, the official representatives of Judaism, perhaps even members of the Sanhedrin from among the Pharisees.

John 5:11. He answered them, “The One Who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ John 5:12. They asked him, “Who is the Man Who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’? John 5:13. And the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, there being a crowd in that place. The Jews pay no attention whatever to the miracle of healing itself—they are only concerned with knowing the name of the One Who commanded the healed man to violate the law concerning the keeping of the Sabbath rest.

John 5:14. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you. John 5:15. The man went and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had made him well. John 5:16. And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, and seeking to kill Him, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. Christ does not satisfy Himself with healing the body of the sick person; He wishes to heal his soul as well, threatening him with great suffering in the event that the sick person begins a sinful life again, such as brought about his sickness. The eyes of the one healed in this way are thus opened, and he is called to a change of life, to repentance, which will lead to salvation. The healed man, after meeting Christ, hurries to announce to the Jews about Christ as his healer. Hackett supposes that his low nature showed itself here (part 3, p. 114). But it is more probable to assume that he announced about Christ in the joy and simplicity of heart, thinking that the Jews would hasten to recognize in Christ a true prophet. He, of course, could not have known of the hostile relations in which the Jews stood toward Christ. The result of this revelation of the Healer’s name was an intensifying of the Jews’ enmity toward the Lord. As a violator of the Sabbath, they sought to kill Him. But obviously there was no opportunity for this, or perhaps not sufficient grounds.

John 5:17. Jesus said to them: My Father works until now, and I also work. Apparently the Jews approached Christ Himself in the temple with their accusations, pointing out to Him the words of Moses concerning the honoring of the Sabbath (Gen 2:2; Exod 20:10). Against such proofs the Lord says to the Jews that they incorrectly imagine the rest that came to God with the completion of the work of creation of the world, the rest of which Moses spoke (Gen 2:2). God’s Sabbath became a rest for God only from the works of creation, but God never ceased to be occupied with the work of providence concerning the created world. And from this it followed that the rest which, by the requirement of the law of Moses, the Hebrews were obliged to preserve on the Sabbath, consisted not at all in a complete cessation of all activity, but only in a certain change of man’s usual occupations to others, which for man represent nothing difficult, but rather promote the renewal of his strength. To such works, not included in the sphere of usual works, Christ refers the healing that He accomplished on the Sabbath. Consequently, they unjustly accuse Him of violating God’s commandment. But in this Christ bases His right to do works on the Sabbath on yet another special relationship in which He stands to God. He calls God His Father—in the direct sense of this word (He says “My Father,” not “our Father”). As having one nature with God, Christ acts with the same freedom as God.

John 5:18. And they sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God. The Jews understood Christ’s words well and accused Him not only of breaking the Sabbath, but of blasphemy, and the Lord did not say that they misunderstood His words about His divine dignity. On the contrary, He then confirms the correctness of their understanding (St. John Chrysostom).

John 5:19. Jesus answered them: Truly, truly I say to you: The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it; for what He does, the Son also does in like manner. From the 19th through the 47th verse, the Lord’s discourse follows, in which He speaks of His relationship to the Father. First, the Lord establishes the fact that the Son does only what the Father, who loves Him, reveals to Him, and even, like the Father, raises and gives life to the dead and executes judgment on the world (verses 19–30). Then, since the Jews might accuse Christ of self-exaltation, Christ points to testimony about Him from His Father—testimony consisting in the works which Christ accomplished by virtue of the power given Him by the Father, as well as to the predictions which are given about Christ in Scripture (verses 31–47). In defending Himself against the accusation of the Jews, Christ with special force (for this He repeats the word “truly” twice) confirms the thought that He as the Son of God can act only as His Father acts. Just as the son of an ordinary man sees all that his father does and watches his father’s activity, so Christ penetrates into all the mysteries of divine action and, as a Son, “can do nothing contrary to the Father, nothing strange to Him, nothing incongruous, and this still more shows equality between them and perfect agreement” (St. John Chrysostom). At the same time the Lord points also to His dependence as the Messiah on the Father (He cannot do anything “of Himself”) throughout all the days of His stay on earth (cf. John 3:13). This same thought is expressed also in the final words of the verse: “the Son also does in like manner.”

John 5:20. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. The fact that the initiative in all the Son’s works belongs to the Father in no way diminishes the Son. On the contrary, the greatest love of the Father for the Son is evident in this. The Father loves His Son so much that He shows Him all that He Himself does. Christ, thus, constantly, not only temporarily (as was the case with the prophets), dwells in the closest communion with God. Before Christ’s gaze the book of God’s decrees is constantly open. And the authority of Christ as the Messiah will further increase with time: the Father will “show,” that is, grant authority to Christ to do such works as will bring the Jews into extraordinary amazement (“so that” ... more precisely, so that (ἵνα) you will marvel; this indicates the purpose which God has in granting Christ authority to do new, higher works).

John 5:21. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will. The works which are to bring the Jews into extraordinary amazement—these are the raising and quickening of the dead, which will be accomplished by the Son in the same way as the Father accomplishes it. “The Father raises” without reference to time: He raised before, raises now, and will raise afterward (cf. Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6; Hos 6:2; Ezek 37:1-10; Dan 12:2). So also “the Son gives life to whom He will,”—again, as in the first statement, without reference to time—gives life now and will give life 25. “To whom He will.” This expression is added because here the discourse is about the raising of the dead, who have no will of their own but submit to the will of the Son. Some interpreters (for example, Bishop Michael) see in this addition an indication that the Lord is speaking here not of raising in the proper sense, but of spiritual-moral resurrection of living people through rebirth by Christ’s grace. But such an interpretation can hardly be agreed with. One must not lose sight of the fact that the raising here is made dependent solely on the will of Christ, whereas spiritual rebirth cannot occur without the consent of the one being reborn or without faith. Christ, of course, wished to raise everyone in a spiritual sense, but people themselves often resisted this desire of Christ (John 5:40; Matt 23:37). Moreover, Christ says that the quickening of the dead pertains to such works as the Father has not yet shown Him, but will show in time (verse 20). Meanwhile, works of spiritual quickening Christ accomplished before (John 1:37-51). Finally, the enemies of Christ did not merely marvel at such works of His, but on the contrary saw in them the deeds of a deceiver or a man standing in dependence on forces hostile to God (John 9:16). In view of all this, by “raising” and “quickening” here we should understand only the bodily raising of the dead, which, as an extraordinary miracle, was indeed to bring the enemies of Christ into extraordinary amazement.

John 5:22. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son, Since the resurrection from the dead and judgment on humanity were, in the understanding of the Jews, closely connected with each other, the authority of the Son to raise the dead is confirmed here by reference to the fact that to the Son belongs “all judgment” as the sole Judge of the world. This, however, does not deny that God is the Judge of the world. The phrase corresponding to the expression “all judgment” in Greek (τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν) means not in general the judging activity which belongs to God (Gen 18:25), but judgment in a special sense, namely the last universal judgment and moreover the whole of it, in all its extent, as the Messiah is appointed to accomplish it (cf. Heb 9:27; Matt 7:22 and following; Matt 24:37 and following; Matt 25:31 and following; Luke 19:12-27). Thus, the Savior, the raiser of the dead, will also appear as their Judge.

John 5:23. so 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. But judgment was not Christ’s chief work (cf. John 3:17), but only an accompaniment to His saving activity. Therefore, if here the discourse is about the honor which people should have for the Son, this honor should be based, of course, first of all, on the recognition of the significance of the Son as the Savior of all people. People should honor the Son as they honor the Father. Not only devout people who, however, did not hitherto know the Son, should, upon learning of Him, transfer to Him the honor which they hitherto gave only to God, but also the unbelieving Jews, who thought that by denying the Son they thereby honored God (John 8:49), might, under the influence of the miracles accomplished by Christ, believe in Him, especially when they see how the Son raises the dead (cf. John 12:42). Whoever stubbornly refuses to give the Son the honor due to Him should know that thereby he will offend the Father, who sent the Son: one cannot at one and the same time be both a worshipper of God and an enemy of Christ.

John 5:24. Truly, truly I say to you: Whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. The raising of the dead Christ accomplishes in part even now. There are many people spiritually dead (Matt 8:22; Rev 3:1). Of them Christ had spoken before, saying that He was sent to quicken them (John 3:14-18). Now Christ says that they are not only dead in a figurative sense, but truly exist in a state of death, and only then can they rise from this deadly sleep when they believe in Christ, when they follow Him. Clearly, Christ does not make a distinction between bodily and spiritual death: an abnormal spiritual and physical condition is the same as that into which bodily death plunges man. On the other hand, even here on earth, one who accepts the teaching of Christ with faith possesses eternal life, and such a person preserves this life forever (cf. John 4:14). From the realm of death man thus passes into the realm of life, and as a result is freed from all judgment (“into judgment”—εἰς κρίσιν, without the article), both from that judgment which the unbeliever brings upon himself by his unbelief (John 3:18), and from the final judgment, to which all humanity will be subjected upon the resurrection of the dead (verse 29). However, liberation from the final judgment should not be understood as a complete freedom from the obligation to appear at the last dreadful judgment. No, all people, including believers, will be judged (Matt 25:33-34), but for the righteous, who believe in Christ, this judgment will not have such a terrifying significance as it will for the unbelievers (2 Tim 4:8).

John 5:25. Truly, truly I say to you: The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. Of what dead does Christ speak here? One cannot have in mind here the spiritually dead, and the particularly solemn tone heard here (Christ repeats the word “truly” twice) leads us to expect here an indication of something new, extraordinary, not a repetition of the thought of spiritual resurrection. Moreover, the raising of the dead at Christ’s call, which is depicted here, has in the context of the discourse the significance of proof of the extraordinary authority given to Christ by the Father. But can spiritual resurrection, as an event of man’s inner life, have such significance as proof? Thus, it is most probable to suppose that Christ, saying that the quickening of the dead is coming and has even already come, had in mind those miraculous raisings of the dead which He soon wished to accomplish. Such was the raising of Lazarus (John 11) and other similar miracles (Matt 9:18-26; Luke 7:11-17). As for the expression “who hear” (οἱ ἀκούσαντες), which some interpreters cite as proof of their thought that Christ had in mind the spiritually dead, who could “hear,” this expression only shows that those dead whom Christ wishes to call to life will obey His call. And St. John Chrysostom sees in the raising of the dead mentioned here a beginning of that resurrection which will take place before the dreadful judgment.

John 5:26. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. John 5:27. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. To show that in this promise to raise the dead in the proper sense there is not a trace of any self-exaltation and erroneous presumption, Christ says that the Father has granted Him to have life in Himself and to execute judgment. What does it mean “to have life in Himself”? Creatures cannot exist without the help of God. Without His breath, which gives them life and sustains them, they perish. Without food which God sends them, they cannot live (Ps 103:27-30; Acts 17:25-28). Only God in His being is not limited by anything, depends on nothing, and, on the contrary, from the boundless fullness of His own life can communicate life in boundless measure. This is what “to have life in Himself” means. As for the Son, He can do toward creatures the same thing as the Father, without thereby causing Himself any harm (cf. John 1:16), but the Son possesses such fullness of life as a gift received from the Father (cf. verses 19, 30). The same must be said about His activity as the Judge of humanity: it too is a consequence of the authority received from the Father. “Because He is the Son of Man.” Since here (verses 26–27) the discourse is not only about judgment but also about the quickening which the Son is given to accomplish, the words in question should contain in themselves the basis both of Christ’s judicial activity and of His right to raise and give life. Such a basis is the indication that Christ is “the Son of Man.” This expression had already appeared several times in the Synoptic Gospels, and it appeared also in John (John 1:51). From the context it is clear that in the present case the evangelist by this expression wishes to denote a special right, a special basis, by virtue of which the Son will appear as the Judge of men. It would be strange to suppose that Christ based such His right only on the fact that He is “true man” and that therefore it would be easy for Him to judge human affairs. With equal right many others could come forward as judges of humanity! Moreover, the New Testament in general is foreign to the use of the term “son of man” in the sense of “man.” If anywhere one encounters a replacement of the concept “man” by this term, it is only in places borrowed from the Old Testament (Heb 2:6; Rev 1:13). Therefore, it is more correct to suppose that Christ used the term “Son of Man” here as a designation of the Messiah, the King of the Kingdom of God founded by Him Himself. Only in such a sense could the Jews, Christ’s listeners, understand this expression.

John 5:28. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; John 5:29. and come forth; those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. “Do not marvel at this,” that is, at what is said above (verses 19–27). Obviously, Christ’s listeners did not trust His words about His Messianic dignity. “All who are in the tombs...” In comparison with what was said above about the authority Christ has over the dead, here there is something new. Namely, Christ says that at His call or command all the dead will rise, including those Jews who now listen to Christ’s discourse and in time will die. Then Christ points out that the lot of the risen will not be the same: only those who did good deeds during their life will obtain at the resurrection actual, eternal life, while wicked people will be subjected to condemnation, which represents the opposite of life (cf. verse 24). Who, however, is meant here by “those who have done good” or by virtuous people? Some (for example, Bishop Michael) see here a designation of the aggregate of people who believed in Christ. But since the Lord appears here as the Judge of all people who lived at all times, the judgment concerning them cannot be based on whether they had faith in Christ: the majority of them, of course, never heard of Christ. It is more correct to suppose that they will be judged on the basis of the natural moral law, which is innate in every human being, which, however, in its essence coincides with what the revealed law teaches (cf. Rom 2:12-16). From His words Christ’s listeners should have concluded that their own salvation depends on their attitude toward Christ, the Judge of all people.

John 5:30. I can do nothing of Myself. As I hear, so I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. Since Christ acknowledges Himself dependent in His earthly activity on the Father, it means that the judgment which He will exercise will be entirely correct. He judges in accordance with what He hears from the Father, with whom He dwells in constant, closest communion. In this judgment He only fulfills the will of the Father. “I judge.” Although Christ will appear as the Judge of the world only at the end of time (verses 22, 27, 29), nevertheless He speaks of His judgment as of an event of the present time, for in a certain respect (cf. verse 25) His judicial activity is already manifesting itself now in His attitude toward the Jews (cf. John 3:19).

John 5:31. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. John 5:32. There is another who bears witness of Me; and I know that the witness which He bears of Me is true. Christ’s listeners might again doubt the soundness of His threats, which He indirectly addressed to them—threats of His righteous judgment. Therefore, the Lord assures them to remember that not He alone bears witness about Himself. If only He Himself spoke of Himself as the Life-giver and Judge of the world, then His listeners, certainly from their point of view, would have the right to doubt His words. But there is another witness, the truth of which Christ’s listeners, the Jews, cannot doubt. This witness, the truth of which no one can doubt, is of course God Himself, as is evident from verse 36 and following.

John 5:33. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. John 5:34. But I do not receive testimony from man, but I say this so that you may be saved. John 5:35. He was a burning and shining lamp; and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. Although Christ could refer to the testimony that about Him the Baptist spoke as “about the truth” (that is, said that Christ is the true Messiah) before those sent from the Sanhedrin (John 1:19-23), nevertheless He does not do this, because John the Baptist as a man could not give decisive testimony about Christ. If Christ mentions the testimony of the Baptist, it is only in the interest of His listeners, to give them the opportunity to use every means to achieve salvation, which Christ obviously does not consider impossible for them. “He was a lamp.” This figurative description of the person and activity of John the Baptist reminds one of what is said in the Book of Wisdom about Elijah the prophet (Sir 48:1). Perhaps Christ also reminded His listeners of the prophecy of Malachi that before the coming of the Messiah there should appear as His forerunner the prophet Elijah (Mal 4:5-6). Christ wishes to say that John the Baptist had the same zeal for the glory of God as Elijah. The expression “was” (ἦν) indicates that the public ministry of the Baptist had already ended at the time when Christ spoke this discourse. “You were willing to rejoice for a while...” Instead of taking advantage of the preaching of John for their own conversion to the true path, the Jews only delighted in the consciousness that among them, after a long interval of time, there had appeared again a great prophet, before whom even kings trembled. Yes, for the Jews this lamp, now extinguished, shone in vain!

John 5:36. But I have a greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. John 5:37. And the Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness concerning Me. But you have never heard His voice nor seen His form; John 5:38. and you do not have His word abiding in you, because you do not believe Him whom He has sent. The Jews not only did not give credence to the testimony about Christ from John, this prophet of God; they do not now believe Christ Himself either, who has for Himself a testimony incomparably more powerful than John. The latter, as is known, performed no miracle (John 10:41), whereas Christ through the power of His Father works various miracles (“works”) and thereby bears witness that He is indeed sent by the Father. “And the Father who sent Me...” But these miracles or works constitute only indirect testimony of God about Christ. There is also another, direct testimony of God about Christ. God Himself, of course, in the Old Testament Scripture bears witness about Christ: Christ is always the chief subject of the prophecies of the Old Testament. But the Jews seem not to have heard God’s voice, nor seen God’s form, nor received God’s word into themselves—this is clearly evident from the fact that they do not believe Him whom God Himself has sent to them. Christ, however, does not reproach the Jews for not seeing and not hearing God, as, for example, the prophets or John did; they are not guilty in this. The reproach lies in the first part of verse 38: “you do not have His word abiding in you.” Christ wishes to say by this: “Suppose you have not been personally granted a direct revelation from God; nevertheless, you have Scripture, in which is contained such a revelation. Your fault consists in the fact that you do not esteem this Scripture as you should and soon forget what you have read in it.” If their attitude toward God’s word contained in Scripture were different, if this word were a power determining all their activity (cf. Matt 22:29), then they would have accepted Christ with faith, to whom Scripture pointed. But now they do not have this faith.

John 5:39. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify about Me. John 5:40. But you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. The Jews read Scripture, and very carefully (to see in the expression ἑρευνᾶτε an indicative mood rather than an imperative, as in the Russian text, the context of the discourse, which in general has an accusatory character, compels). They believe they find in it, in its letter, all salvation. “Scripture, however,” Christ says in passing, “exactly leads to Christ.” Yes, the Jews read Scripture, and very carefully, wish to fulfill it to the last letter, so as to find for themselves life or justification before God through the exact fulfillment of all details of the law, but they are unwilling to see behind the letter of Scripture the true Life-giver—Christ (cf. 2 Cor 3:14-16).

John 5:41. I do not receive glory from men, John 5:42. but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. The Lord speaks of Himself as the sole Source of life not at all from narrow ambition: for Him the honor which people usually surround their chosen favorites with has no attraction. He did not speak so sternly about the Jews because He was dissatisfied with their disrespectful attitude toward Him as a teacher. His harsh judgments about the Jews are explained by the fact that He knows them well as people who do not have love toward God, or more precisely, love from God, such as is characteristic of God (cf. John 17:26; Rom 5:5). In truth, if they had such love, which manifests itself in compassion and mercy toward the unfortunate, they would not have risen up against Christ because He accomplished the healing of a paralyzed man on the Sabbath.

John 5:43. I have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. The rejection of Christ by representatives of Jewry seems all the more strange because, as Christ predicts, in time they will receive another who makes the same claim about himself as Christ makes now. This prediction was first fulfilled when Simon Bar Cochba, one of the Jewish patriots, who raised the banner of revolt against Roman rule, was recognized as “the star from Jacob” (cf. Num 24:17), that is, the true Messiah, and when thousands of Jews followed this man to their deaths (132–135 A.D.). According to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, here Christ alludes to the antichrist. “In his own name.” This other will not truly be authorized by God to claim the title of Messiah, as Christ was authorized by His Father. According to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, who sees here only the antichrist, this latter will himself call himself god and will act in every way contrary to the will of the true God.

John 5:44. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that is from the only God? In explaining further reasons for the unbelief of the Jews, Christ points out that they are not at all concerned with receiving that grace which the Messiah-Redeemer should bring to people. They are narrow-minded in their ambitions, wholly occupied with how not to lose their dignity in the eyes of men. They seek only the glory and respect of men (Matt 23:6-8). “The glory that is from the only God, you do not seek.” Only one who humbly recognizes his spiritual poverty and seeks the help of God’s grace can believe in Christ. Such a person God will glorify, will recognize as His faithful servant. But the Jews are not concerned with this glory or honor which only God can give.

John 5:45. Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you have set your hope. John 5:46. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. John 5:47. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? The Lord spoke harsh accusations against the Jews, but He does not wish to come forward with accusations against the Jews before His Father. Against them there is already an accuser—Moses, in whom they place their hopes as a defender, for they so strictly fulfilled his commandments; how then could he not come to their aid before God, the Jews thought. No, Moses will not come to defend them when they stand before God’s judgment, because he himself predicted the coming of Christ and in prophecies and in the types contained in his Pentateuch. Not believing Christ, whom Moses had predicted to his people, the Jews thereby reveal distrust even of Moses himself. How then can they expect aid from Moses when they must stand before the terrible judgment seat of God? Christ’s discourse was intended to make a strong impression on His listeners, and this, probably, explains the fact that this time even His enemies did not dare to carry out their wicked intention against Christ (cf. verse 16). But in any case, from that time on there was a sharp and decisive change in the attitude of the representatives of Jewry toward Christ. It was no longer safe for Him to remain in Jerusalem, and even in Galilee enemies began to pursue Him closely. The shadow of the cross has now hung over all His future activity (Hackett). * * * House of mercy. It was here, probably, that sheep, intended for sacrifice, were driven. Besides, with the omission of the 4th verse, it becomes unclear what “disturbance of the water” the paralyzed man speaks to Christ about (verse 7). Between raising (ἐγείρειν) and quickening (ζῳοποιεῖν) there is some distinction. The first means only awakening from a death-like sleep, while the second—providing vital forces as a result of awakening.