Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 5:10
The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry [thy] bed.
10 16. The Sequel of the Sign
10. The Jews ] The hostile party, as usual: probably members of the Sanhedrin (see on Joh 1:19). They ignore the cure and notice only what can be attacked. They had the letter of the law very strongly on their side. Comp. Exo 23:12; Exo 31:14; Exo 35:2-3; Num 15:32; Neh 13:15; and especially Jer 17:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Not lawful – It was forbidden, they supposed, in the Old Testament. The Jews were very strenuous in the observation of the external duties of religion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
That is, according to the letter of the law: they understood not that Christ was the Lord of the sabbath; their cavil argued their want both of faith in Christ, and charity also toward their neighbour.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10-16. The Jewsthat is, thosein authority. (See on Joh1:19.)
it is not lawful to carry thybeda glorious testimony to the cure, as instantaneousand complete, from the lips of the most prejudiced! (And whata contrast does it, as all our Lord’s miracles, present to thebungling miracles of the Church of Rome!) In ordinarycircumstances, the rulers had the law on their side (Neh 13:15;Jer 17:21). But when the manreferred them to “Him that had made him whole” (Joh5:11) as his authority, the argument was resistless. Yet theyingeniously parried the thrust, asking him, not who had “madehim whole”that would have condemned themselves and defeatedtheir purposebut who had bidden him “take up his bed andwalk,” in other words, who had dared to order a breach of thesabbath? It is time we were looking after Himthus hoping to shakethe man’s faith in his Healer.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured,…. When they saw him, either at the place, or as he walked through the streets, with his bed on his back:
it is the sabbath day: do not you know it? surely you forget yourself, or you would never be guilty of such an action as this;
it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. It was forbid by the law, to carry any burden on the sabbath day; see Ne 13:15; for
“carrying out and bringing in anything, from one place to another, is said x to be work, and one of the principal works;”
and therefore forbid by the law, which says, “thou shall not do any work”; and one of the traditions of the elders is this y,
“whoever carries anything out (i.e. on the sabbath day), whether in his right hand, or in his left, in his bosom, or , “on his shoulder”, is guilty; for so carried the Kohathites.”
And particularly it is said z, that
“he that rolls up a bed of the brasiers or tinkers (i.e. on the sabbath day) is bound to a sin offering.”
Which was a fold up bed, such as tinkers, and those that went from city to city to work, had; and who carried their beds with them, as the gloss observes; and were so far from being lawful to be carried by them, on the sabbath, that they might not fold them up.
x Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat, c. 12. sect. 6. y Misn. Sabbat, c. 10. sect. 3. z T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 47. 1. & 138. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Unto him that was cured ( ). Perfect passive articular participle of (only example in John), “to the healed man.” See Mt 8:7.
To take up thy bed ( ). The very words of Jesus (verse 8), only infinitive (first aorist active). Carrying burdens was considered unlawful on the Sabbath (Exod 23:12; Neh 13:19; Jer 17:21). Stoning was the rabbinical punishment. The healing of the man was a minor detail.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Cured [] . See on Mt 8:7; Luk 5:15; Act 17:25.
To carry [] . Rev., more correctly, to take up. It is Jesus ‘ own word in ver. 8.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured,”, (elegon oun hoi loudaioi to tetherapeumento) “Therefore the Jews said to the one who had been healed,” and who was obediently carrying his mattress, as the Lord had bidden him do.
2) “It is the sabbath day:”- (sabbaton estin) “It is a sabbath day,” a holy, sanctified day. Just why did they not criticize him before, for coming or letting someone bring and leave him there on his bed beside the pool to be healed? See the hypocrisy of the sniping, v. 35; Exo 23:12; Neh 13:15-22.
3) “It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.” (kai ouk ekestin soi arai ton krabaton) “And it is not legal for you to take up or carry the mattress.” Jesus told you to do something that is illegal, they chided him. What was he to do, leave it there as a litter, an obstruction for someone to stumble over? These same critical, self-righteous Jews did not hesitate to pull a servile ox out of a ditch on the sabbath day, or go and circumcise a male on the sabbath day, if it was eight days old on the sabbath, Luk 14:3-6, Joh 7:22; Gen 17:12; Lev 12:1-3; Luk 1:59; Luk 2:21.
There were exceptions to the general rule of “no work” on the sabbath day, and these critics knew it, and themselves took advantage of it, when it pleased them, Jer 17:21-22; Mat 12:1-14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. It is the Sabbath. It was the duty of all to maintain the sanctity of the Sabbath, and, therefore, they justly and properly accuse the man. But, when the excuse offered by the man does not satisfy them, they already begin to be in fault; for, when the reason was known, he ought to have been acquitted. It was a violation of the Sabbath, as we have said, to carry a burden; but Christ, who laid the burden on his shoulders, discharges him by his own authority. We are therefore taught by this example to avoid every rash judgment, until the reason of each action be fully known. Whatever contradicts the word of God deserves to be condemned without hesitation; but, as it frequently happens that there are mistakes in this matter, we ought first to inquire modestly and calmly, that our decision may be sound and sober. For since the Jews, prejudiced by wicked dispositions, have not patience to inquire, they shut the door against judgment and moderation; but, if they had allowed themselves to be taught, not only would the offense have been removed, but they would have been conducted still farther, with great advantage, to the knowledge of the Gospel.
We now see how far the Jews were in the wrong. It is, because they do not admit a reasonable defense. The defense is, that he who had been cured replies that he does nothing but by the command of him who had power and authority to command; for, though he did not yet know who Christ was, yet he was convinced that he had been sent by God, because he had received a proof of his divine power, and learns from it that Christ is endued with authority, so that it must be his duty to obey him. But this appears to be worthy of reproof, that a miracle turns him aside from obedience to the Law. I confess, indeed, that the argument which the man employs in contending with them is not sufficiently strong, but the others are faulty on two accounts, that they neither consider that this is an extraordinary work of God, nor suspend their judgment until they have heard a Prophet of God who is furnished with the word.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
SABBATH CONTROVERSY
Text 5:10-18
10
So the Jews said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed.
11
But he answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12
They asked him, Who is the man that said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13
But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in the place.
14
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee.
15
The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him whole.
16
And for this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath.
17
But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work.
18
For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Queries
a.
Why did the Jews ask the man about his Healer?
b.
What prompted the man to tell the Jews that Jesus healed him?
c.
What does Jesus mean by the word working in Joh. 5:17?
Paraphrase
But the Jews told the man that had been healed over and over again, Today is the Sabbath day and it is not permissible according to law for you to take up your stretcher. The man answered, The Man Who made me well, that Man spoke authoritatively and told me, Lift up your stretcher and walk. The Jews asked him, Just Who is this fellow Who told you to take up your stretcher and walk? But the man did not know Who his benefactor was, for Jesus had quietly slipped away unnoticed because there was a great crowd there. Afterwards Jesus finds the man in the temple and says to him, Look! You are well, stop sinning lest a worse thing come upon you. The man went away and said to the Jews, It is Jesus of Nazareth who made me well! Now because of this the Jews stalked Jesus to persecute Him because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus replied, My Father is working even now on the Sabbath and therefore I also am working. On account of this the Jews were more determined to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath traditions but He also said God was His own unique Father, making Himself equal with God.
Summary
The Jews discover that Jesus healed the man and also commanded the man to break their Sabbath traditions. They increase their hate and determination to kill Jesus, for He has made Himself equal with Jehovah God.
Comment
Sabbath laws are legislated in Exo. 20:10; Exo. 23:12; Exo. 31:12-17; Jer. 17:21 (cf. also Neh. 13:15). An example of punishment for Sabbath breaking is found in Num. 15:32-36. Rabbinical tradition said one who inadvertently carried a burden on the Sabbath could sacrifice for his sin. But wilful disobedience brought interdict and death by stoning. These Jews cared not a bit that the man had been relieved of his long and helpless condition. As we have commented before (Joh. 3:1), the Pharisees had added manifold and ridiculously impractical regulations to Sabbath-keeping laws, Their purpose, of course, was to make a system of meritorious law-keeping, hoping thereby to attain righteousness. Mercy and love upon a hopelessly ill man was beside the point with themsomeone had broken the Sabbath traditions and he must be punished, Jesus told the Pharisees later that they neglected the essential matters of the Law such as justice, and mercy, and faith (cf. Mat. 23:23-24).
The man did not even so much as know Jesus name. But Joh. 5:11 gives us insight into the mans attitude. The Jews have attacked him for violating the Sabbath, but the man points out to the Jews that the Man who healed him had told him to take up his bed. It is not that the man is seeking to lay the blame on Jesus, but he thinks the Jews ought to see that if a Man was able to miraculously heal him, that same Man ought to be able to give commands concerning the Sabbath!
Contemptuously, in Joh. 5:12, the Jews asked the man, Just Who is this fellow that told you to pick up your bed? The Jews undoubtedly knew who the Healer was. They probably asked His name to get legal testimony to use against Him later. Who else was traversing Palestine healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind? The rulers of the Jews were not above reverting to deceit!
But the man could not answer (Joh. 5:13), for Jesus had silently glided from the midst of the great multitude gathered there. The word exeneusen comes from a Greek word which means to swim, glide, float, The crowd was the reason for Jesus departure. The Lords action here certainly shows that His primary mission was higher than the mere healing of every infirm body. Notice also from this instance that Jesus is able to heal even when the person does not know Him as Christ.
The present tense of the verb finds in Joh. 5:14 seems to indicate that Jesus was looking for the man. Now we see His higher purpose for this manthe healing of the mans soul. Most commentators think this verse indicates the mans illness was due to his previous sinful life. All sickness, however, is not the result of personal sin; but much sickness can be logically and scientifically traced to indulgence and immorality. Jesus uses the present tense again (continued action tense) when He says Do not continue sinning. If this man now wilfully continues in sin something worse than thirty-eight years of infirmity will befall himhe will be lost forever in the abyss of Hell to suffer eternal and excruciating punishment.
There are two views as to the mans running to the Jews upon discovering Jesus name: (a) The man sought to clear himself with the authorities. He felt if Jesus had the power to heal, He also had authority to issue commands to break the Sabbath traditions. The man may have been referring the Jews to Jesus in all innocence. He could not defend his actions, but Jesus could! (b) He was ignorant of their intense hatred and determination to kill Jesus and unwittingly betrayed Jesus. Whatever the situation, the mans actions must have conformed to the purposes of Jesus for He did not chastize the man.
The antagonism of the Jews toward Jesus really began in Joh. 2:13, and was fanned by His increasing popularity in Joh. 4:1. But now it turns into a white-hot hate. They stalk Him like wild beasts of prey (indicated by the verb ediokon). Henceforth they will pursue His every move, seeking occasion to trap Him and do away with Him (cf. Mar. 2:23 to Mar. 3:2).
Jesus answer (Joh. 5:17) definitely shows His recognition of Sonship early. In performing this work of mercy on the Sabbath, He is merely doing what His very own Father-God is continuing to do each day of the week (Sabbath included). The Father causes the rain to fall, the sun to shine and the grain to grow on the Sabbath as well as on Monday or Friday. Jesus, being equally a part of the Godhead, works also on the Sabbath. What a strange paradoxical contrast! The Jews, by placing legalistic prohibitions against work on the Sabbath, put a heavy yoke of meritorious work upon the necks of the people which they were not able to bear. Jesus, on the other hand, by doing works of mercy and love, found the genuine rest and peace in doing the will of the Father! As the Pharisees understood it, man was created to be a keeper of Sabbath lawsJesus knew the truth that the Sabbath was made for man (cf. Mar. 2:27).
Give the Jews credit for more intellectual honesty than some of our modern scholars. The Jews at least understood Jesus claim of equality with God, and they saw the alternatives. Either Jesus was telling truth and must be worshipped as God, or He was a blasphemer worthy of death. Some of our modern Doctors of Divinity would have us believe Jesus claims for equality with God to be a philosophy evolving from the second century church.
The word equal in this verse comes from the Greek word isos. The Anglicized form of this word is used in the English language as a prefix meaning equal, Thus, an isosceles triangle is a triangle with two equal sides. Paul used the same word (isos) in Php. 2:6 where Jesus, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped . . .
Quiz
1.
What does the Law of Moses legislate concerning the Sabbath?
2.
Why would the man think Jesus had authority to command him to take up his bed on the Sabbath?
3.
What was Jesus higher purpose in seeking the man in the temple?
4.
How does the Father work until now?
5.
What is the difference between Jesus view of the Sabbath and the view of the Jews?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(10) The Jews therefore said unto him.But what they cannot deny they can cavil at. One might have expected from human hearts wonder and thankfulness that the man could walk at all. We find from the formalism which had bound the letter round men until it had well nigh crushed all heart out of them, the murmur that the carrying of his bed was not lawful on the Sabbath. This is not the only place in this Gospel where the words and works of Christ clashed with the current views of the sanctity of the Sabbath day. (Comp. Joh. 7:23; Joh. 9:14.) The general question has been treated in Notes on Mat. 12:10-12. Here it will be sufficient to note that the bearing of burdens was specially forbidden in the Prophecy of Jeremiah: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day (Jer. 17:21; comp. Neh. 13:15 et seq.), and that the Rabbis pressed this to include a burden of any kind. They said, for example, If any man on the Sabbath bring in or take out anything on the Sabbath from a public to a private place, if thoughtlessly he hath done this he shall sacrifice for his sin; but if wilfully, he shall be cut off and shall be stoned.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. The Jews Who beheld him bearing his burden home, but knew not the cause of his cure.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘So the Judaisers said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath and it is not lawful for you to take up your mattress.”
He (the man who had been healed) was spotted by some of ‘the Judaisers’ (the representatives of the religious authorities) who stopped him and said to him, ‘Today is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry your mattress’. This was reasonable. They did not at first know the circumstances of the case.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The objections of the Jews:
v. 10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath-day; it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
v. 11. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk.
v. 12. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk?
v. 13. And he that was healed wist not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place.
v. 14. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the Temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
v. 15. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole.
v. 16. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath-day. The religion of the Jews at the time of Jesus had largely become a matter of dead form, without the true understanding of love and mercy. It was true, indeed, that the law prohibited the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, Exo 20:8; Jer 17:21; Neh 13:15; Exo 23:12. But necessary works were not forbidden, such works as served the immediate needs of the person; for the Sabbath had been established for the sake of man. And in this case the Lord of the Sabbath had spoken. But the Jews took no possible extenuating circumstance into account; they reminded the man of the day and of its demands. The former sick man refused to assume the responsibility and blame for his action. He told the Jews that the man who had made him well had ordered him to take up his bed and walk. His implied argument was: He that could perform such a great miracle, that could heal me with a mere word, must have an authority for His command which transcends that of the ceremonial law. He that gives life is the proper authority for its use. But the Jews were not satisfied with that answer; they wanted to know the name of Him that had given this order. This the former invalid was unable to supply, and a searching look around the vicinity failed to discover Jesus, who had withdrawn or turned aside, an easy matter in such a large crowd. Jesus was not seeking external evidences of mouth adulation; a mere admiration on account of His miracles was an abomination to Him. Note: The purpose of the Jews in asking the invalid the question was not to seek the Lord in faith, but to accuse and condemn Him. Even so many people in our days that must acknowledge the miracles of Christianity study the Bible, not for the sake of knowing the great works of God, but for the sake of finding fault and discovering so-called contradictions. But Jesus did not lose sight of the former sick man. He deliberately arranged it so that He came upon the man in the Temple; for his body had been healed, but the soul still needed attention. Therefore the Lord told him: Behold, well thou hast become; sin no more, lest worse things come upon thee. The sin of man is the reason and cause for all manner of physical evils and ills, though individual sicknesses may not be due to specific sins, as in, this case. The man’s long illness had not been brought about by some special sin. But this the Lord means to emphasize: Sickness and all physical evils would never have come into the world if sin had not come first. To realize the horror and heinousness of sin in general is a very important step in the work of justification and sanctification. He that has realized the abomination of sin in itself, and has then accepted Jesus as his Savior, will shun sin with all the might of his regenerated heart. Such a person will not make his members servants of sin, also for that reason that the greater punishment awaits such as do not heed the warning of the Savior, namely, the punishment of hell-fire. Note: Jesus has a personal interest in every sinner and will continue to work for the salvation and sanctification of everyone with unabated, loving energy. The man now went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had performed the miracle of healing him. He did this, probably not with any evil intent, but in the joy of his knowledge as to the identity of his Benefactor. But the result was that the hypocritical Jews persecuted Jesus; they followed Him about at all times with hostile intention; they considered ways and means to put Him out of the way entirely. The fact that He had performed this healing on the Sabbath was in their eyes a deed that merited death. Note: That is characteristic of the Sabbath-fanatics, to make mountains out of mole-hills, as far as the outward observance of the day is concerned, while, at the same time, they have not the faintest idea of the true meaning of worship in spirit and in truth.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Joh 5:10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, &c. It is remarkable, that the Jews who met the man, did not converse with him upon his cure,though in all probability many of them knew he had been long infirm; but upon the unlawfulness of carrying his bed. Such is the force of bigotry and superstition! See Jer 17:21-22.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 5:10-13 . ] The Sanhedrim are here meant; see Joh 5:15 ; Joh 5:33 . They never once mention the healing; with hostile coldness they only watch for their point of attack; “Quaerunt non quod mirentur, sed quod calumnientur,” Grotius.
, etc., and are in the mouth of the man who was healed an appeal to the authority which, as a matter of fact, his Saviour must possess; there is something defiant in the words, so natural in the first realization of his wonderful cure.
] contemptuous. Ast, Lex. Plat . I. p. 178.
] He withdrew (see Dorvill. ad Char . p. 273; Schleusner, Thes . II. 293), i.e. when this encounter with the Jews began. As He wished to avoid the scene which would occur with the crowd who were in the place, He conveyed Himself away (not pluperfect ).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
Ver. 10. It is the sabbath, it is not lawful, &c. ] Vere, sed non sincere. Truly but not sincerely. It more troubled them that Christ had healed him than that the sabbath had been broken by him. The poorer Swedes always break the sabbath, saying that it is only for gentlemen to keep that day.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10. ] , never the multitude , but always those in authority of some kind, whom John ever puts forward as the representatives of the whole people in their rejection of the Lord.
] The bearing of burdens on the Sabbath was forbidden not only by the glosses of the Pharisees, but by the law itself . See Neh 13:15-19 ; Exo 31:13-17 ; Jer 17:21-22 . And our Lord does not, as in another case ( Luk 13:15-16 ), appeal here to the reasonableness of the deed being done on the Sabbath, salvo sabbato , but takes altogether loftier ground, as being One greater than the Sabbath. The whole kernel of this incident and discourse is not, that it is lawful to do works of mercy on the Sabbath: but that the Son of God (here) is Lord of the Sabbath .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 5:10 . “It was a Sabbath on that day,” the Jews therefore said to him that had been healed, , “It is Sabbath”. . The law is laid down in Exo 23:12 ; Jer 17:21 . “Take heed to yourselves and bear no burden on the Sabbath day;” cf. Neh 13:15 . The rabbinical law ran: “Whosoever on the Sabbath bringeth anything in, or taketh anything out from a public place to a private one, if he hath done this inadvertently, he shall sacrifice for his sin; but if wilfully, he shall be cut off and shall be stoned” (Lightfoot in loc. ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
was cured = had been healed.
the sabbath day = a sabbath.
it is not lawful. A forced interpretation of Jer 17:21, &c., by the Rabbis, made the carrying of anything from a public place into a private place, or vice versa, unlawful (Talmud, Sabb. 6. a).
not. Greek ou. App-105. Not the same word as in verses: Joh 5:23, Joh 5:28, Joh 5:45.
carry = take up, as in Joh 5:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] , never the multitude, but always those in authority of some kind, whom John ever puts forward as the representatives of the whole people in their rejection of the Lord.
] The bearing of burdens on the Sabbath was forbidden not only by the glosses of the Pharisees, but by the law itself. See Neh 13:15-19; Exo 31:13-17; Jer 17:21-22. And our Lord does not, as in another case (Luk 13:15-16), appeal here to the reasonableness of the deed being done on the Sabbath, salvo sabbato, but takes altogether loftier ground, as being One greater than the Sabbath. The whole kernel of this incident and discourse is not, that it is lawful to do works of mercy on the Sabbath: but that the Son of God (here) is Lord of the Sabbath.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 5:10. , began saying) An unseasonable interruption.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 5:10
Joh 5:10
So the Jews said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed.-It was contrary to the law of Moses to carry any burden on the Sabbath. The Jews raised the question of observing the Sabbath-first as to the healed man carrying his bed, and afterwards as to the sinfulness of healing on the Sabbath (verse 16). (See Neh 13:19; Jer 17:21).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Sabbath Work That Pleases the Father
Joh 5:10-18
In the foregoing incident our Lord not only healed the sufferer after thirty-eight years of deferred hope, but did so on the Sabbath, and bade him carry his bed home. This clashed with Pharisaic prescriptions; but the man was of course right to infer that He who would work so great a miracle was greater than either the Pharisee or mere ritual. The religious leaders of that time, like those of all time, could not tolerate the setting up of an authority superior to their own, by one who was outside their ranks; and they accused Jesus of Sabbath-breaking. His judges, however, were little prepared for His line of defense, which revealed the depths of our Lords inner consciousness. First, He spoke of God as His own Father, making Himself Gods equal. See Php 2:6. Second, He said that God was working through His life and had energized Him to perform that miracle of healing. It was not His own deed but the Fathers in Him and through Him. If, then, they condemned it, they were in direct collision with the Infinite One, from whom the Sabbath law had originally come.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
it is not: Exo 20:8-11, Exo 31:12-17, Neh 13:15-21, Isa 58:13, Jer 17:21, Jer 17:27, Mat 12:2-8, Mar 2:24, Mar 3:4, Luk 6:2, Luk 13:14, Luk 23:56
Reciprocal: Mat 12:10 – Is it Luk 6:7 – watched Joh 5:9 – and on
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
0
The Jews were not candid enough to object to the curing of the impotent man, but pretended to be opposed to breaking the sabbath.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 5:10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day, and it is not lawful for thee to take up the bed. The Jewssome of the rulers of the people (see note on Joh 1:19)who had not been present at the miracle met the man as he departed carrying his bed. As guardians of the law they challenge him, and condemn the bearing of burdens on the sabbath. It is very important for us to determine whether in so doing they were right or wrong. Were they faithfully carrying out the letter of the law of Moses, or were they enforcing one of those traditions by which they destroyed its spirit? We have no hesitation in adopting the former view. The question must be decided apart from the miracle, of which at this moment the Jews seem to have had no knowledge. It is true that, even had it been known by them, their judgment would not have been altered; they would have equally condemned the healing on the sabbath (see Luk 13:14), since there had been no question of life and death. When, too, they afterwards hear what has been done (Joh 5:11) there is no change in their tone and spirit; and our Lords own reference to this miracle (chap. Joh 7:23) seems to show that, so far from convincing them, it had roused their special indignation. But at the point of time now before us the lawfulness of healing on the sabbath was not in question. They met a man carrying his bed in the streets of Jerusalem on the sacred day. The law of Moses forbade any work on that day; and the special enactments in the Pentateuch (the command to kindle no fire, Exo 35:3, and the judgment on the man who gathered sticks, Num 15:35) show how this law was to be interpreted. In Jer 17:21-23, moreover (comp. Neh 13:19), this very act, the bearing of burdens, is explicitly condemned. What could they do but condemn it? Would the same act be regarded otherwise in England at the present hour? One other consideration remains, and it is decisive. Our Lords answer to the Jews (Joh 5:17) makes no reference to their casuistical distinctions or to traditions by which the law was overlaid. It differs altogether in tone and spirit from the reproofs which we read in Luk 13:15; Luk 14:5. Had their objection lain against the healing, we cannot doubt that they would have brought on themselves the like rebuke: here however they were right in holding the mans action, so far as they understood it at the moment, to be an infraction of their law.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 10-13. The Jews therefore said unto him who had been healed: It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11. He answered them: He that healed me said unto me: Take up thy bed, and walk. 12. They asked him therefore: who is the man who said unto thee: Take up thy bed and walk? 13. But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had disappeared as there was a multitude in the place.
The act of carrying his bed seemed to the Jews a violation of the Sabbath rest. The Rabbis distinguished three sorts of works interdicted on the Sabbath, among them that of carrying a piece of furniture. The Rabbinical statute also prohibited treating a sick person medically, and perhaps the term (cared for, treated), contains an allusion to this other no less heavy grievance. But the fault of the Jews was in identifying the rabbinical explanation of the fourth commandment with its real meaning.
The sick man very logically places his action under the protection of Him who miraculously has given him the power to perform it. The question of the Jews (Joh 5:12) is very characteristic. It is reproduced with much accuracy and nicety. They do not ask: Who healed thee? The fact of the miracle, though surprising enough, affects them very slightly. But the contravention of their Sabbatic statute, this is what is worthy of attention. Here is, indeed, the spirit of the (Joh 5:10). The aorist (healed), differing from (cared for), sets forth prominently the moment when the sick man, having gained the consciousness of his cure, looked about for His benefactor without being able to find Him. The reading adopted byTischendorf ( ) has no intrinsic value, and is not sufficiently sustained. The design of Jesus in withdrawing so speedily was to avoid the noise and the flocking together of a multitude; He feared the carnal enthusiasm which His miracles were exciting. But it does not follow from this, that the last words: as there was a crowd in the place, are intended to express this motive. They rather set forth, as Hengstenberg thinks, the possibility of escape. Jesus had easily disappeared in the midst of the crowd which was thronging the place. This is, undoubtedly, the meaning which the reading of the Sinaitic MS. is designed to express: (in the midst of); it is inadmissible, as well as the other variant of the same MS. in this verse (). , strictly: to make a motion of the head in order to avoid a blow, hence: to escape. The aorist has certainly here the sense of the pluperfect (against Meyer and Weiss). From this slight detail, Gess concludes that Jesus was not accompanied by His disciples in this visit to Jerusalem, and that they were at this time accomplishing their mission in Galilee.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
5:10 {2} The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry [thy] bed.
(2) True religion is assaulted most cruelly by the pretence of religion itself.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The antagonism of the Jewish authorities 5:10-18
More than once Jesus used His Sabbath activities to make the Jews consider who He was (cf. Mat 12:1-14; Mar 2:23 to Mar 3:6; Luk 13:10-17; Luk 14:1-6). Here He wanted them to realize that He had the right to work on the Sabbath as His Father did. This is the first open hostility to Jesus that John recorded.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
According to the prevailing Jewish interpretation of the law, it was not legitimate to carry anything from one place to another on the Sabbath (cf. Neh 13:15; Jer 17:21-27). Doing so constituted a capital offense that could result in stoning. The rabbis allowed for exceptional cases such as moving a lame person for compassionate reasons. [Note: Mishnah Sabbath 7:2; 10:5.] God’s intent in the fourth commandment was to free people from having to work to earn a living for one day out of seven (Exo 20:9-11; Deu 5:12-15). Therefore this healed paralytic was not breaking the intent of the law, but he was violating the rabbinic interpretation of it.