ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for John 5

John 5:1–10:42 Chapters 5–10 tell of escalating conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities. As Jesus defends his ministry, he cites several major witnesses on his behalf.

John 5:1 It is not known what feast of the Jews refers to.

John 5:2 Bethesda means “house of mercy.”

John 5:3 See esv footnote. The material about an angel of the Lord stirring the water and bringing healing appears in some early manuscripts, but not the earliest. Thus v. 4 should not be considered part of Scripture. Still, v. 7 (which is in all manuscripts) shows that people believed something like what v. 4 reports.

John 5:5 He had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, longer than many people lived at that time.

John 5:6 Knew probably indicates Jesus’ divine knowledge of the man’s situation (compare 1:48; 4:18).

John 5:7 When the water is stirred up indicates that people thought that at least the first person entering the water would be healed.

John 5:10 It is the Sabbath. Nothing in the OT specifically prohibited carrying one’s bedroll on the Sabbath day (see Ex. 20:8–11). The man violated later Jewish traditions.

John 5:14 temple. That is, the larger temple complex rather than the actual building (see note on 2:14). Sin no more may imply that the man’s suffering was due to sin, though not all suffering is due to personal sin (see note on 9:2).

John 5:16 Jesus’ Jewish opponents put their merely human religious tradition above genuine love and compassion for others (contrast Lev. 19:18 and Jesus’ example).

John 5:17 My Father suggests a closer relationship with God than other people had (see 20:17). “My Father is working until now, and I am working” is clearly a claim to deity, as Jesus’ hearers understood (5:18). Genesis 2:2–3 teaches that God rested on the seventh day of creation. Jewish rabbis agreed that God continually upholds the universe, yet without breaking the Sabbath. (See also John 7:22–23.)

John 5:19 the Son can do nothing of his own accord. God the Father and God the Son have different roles. The Son is subject to the Father in everything he does, yet this does not deny their equality. See notes on vv. 21, 22, 23. Only what he sees the Father doing may mean that Jesus had a unique ability to see the Father’s work in everyday events.

John 5:20 The Father shows Jesus all that he himself is doing. Jesus sees God’s hand and purpose in every event in this world. The greater works include the raising of the dead (11:1–45), Jesus’ own death and resurrection (chs. 18–20), and the final resurrection and judgment (5:27–30).

John 5:21 Jesus’ statement that the Son also gives life to whom he will is another claim to deity. It shows that Jesus does what only God can do: raise the dead and give life. This “life” is both the new “life” now given to believers (v. 24; 11:25–26; 2 Cor. 5:17) and the resurrection of the body at Christ’s second coming (1 Cor. 15:42–57; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; see Dan. 12:2).

John 5:22 The Father . . . has given all judgment to the Son. Another claim to deity, since only God has the right to render final judgment (e.g., Gen. 18:25; Judg. 11:27).

John 5:23 The statement that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father establishes Jesus’ right to be worshiped. It is a claim to deity. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Religions that consider Jesus merely a great prophet do not represent the truth about God.

John 5:24 has eternal life. See note on 3:36.

John 5:25 now here. Jesus emphasizes the present reality of eternal life. the dead. The spiritually dead who hear and believe.

John 5:26 God the Father was never created and was never given his life by anyone else. He has life in himself, so he can give that life to others. The Son also has life in himself and can call the dead to life. See 1:4; see also 3:15–16; 11:25; and note on 14:6.

John 5:27 Son of Man echoes Dan. 7:13; see note on John 1:51.

John 5:28–29 Jesus reaffirms the resurrection on the last day. Compare Dan. 12:2. Those who have done good . . . those who have done evil does not imply that people’s deeds in this life are the basis on which judgment is decided (see John 3:16; 5:24–25). Instead, good works flow from true faith (see Eph. 2:9–10).

John 5:30 nothing on my own. See notes on vv. 21, 22, 23.

John 5:31–47 Jesus speaks of several witnesses who bear testimony concerning him (see chart).

John 5:31 Compare Deut. 19:15.

John 5:32 The Jews may think another refers to the Baptist (see vv. 33–35), but Jesus means God the Father (v. 37).

John 5:33 Salvation can be found only in Christ (see note on 3:18). Jesus as the truth fulfills the teaching of the OT (1:17) and reveals the true God (see 1:14; 17; 5:33; 18:37; also 8:40; 45–46; 14:9).

John 5:35 Jesus’ description of John the Baptist as a burning and shining lamp echoes Ps. 132:17. The past tense may mean that John is now dead or at least in prison.

John 5:37 The Father . . . has himself borne witness refers to the whole of God the Father’s witness. This includes all of Jesus’ miracles and teaching as directed by the Father (3:2; 5:19–20) and all of God’s witness to the Messiah in Scripture (see vv. 45–47; Luke 24:27, 44; Acts 13:27; 1 John 5:9).

John 5:39 Studying the Bible ought to result in genuine faith in Jesus. it is they that bear witness about me. See Overview of the Bible.

John 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name. Jesus came with God the Father’s authority and represented the Father’s entire character. If another comes. Jesus predicted the appearing of false messiahs (Matt. 24:24 and parallels) as a sign of the end times (Matt. 24:5 and parallels).

John 5:46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me assumes that true believers are eager to accept all the words of God, including those written by Moses (that is, Genesis–Deuteronomy). For he wrote of me applies to specific predictions like Deut. 18:15 and to all the ways these writings pointed to Christ (e.g., Luke 24:27, 44; John 1:45; 3:14; 8:56; Acts 26:22–23; 28:23; 1 Pet. 1:10–12; see Overview of the Bible).