John 5

John 5:1-9a

• This narrative (5:1-18) was often associated with the sacrament of baptism in the early Church (Cullmann, 1978, p. 84-85).
• 5:3b-4—Talbert informs us that this section of the text is missing from several early manuscripts, such as p66 (ca. AD 200) and Vaticanus (ca. AD 350), thus it does “not belong in the text of the story” (p. 128).
• 5:7—This man had been an invalid for 38 years and had become consumed by self-pity, what is often referred to as “victim mentality.”

John 5:9b-18

• How would we read this story after a terrorist attack?
• 5:10-13—This man was caught between good and evil! Every good story has a well-crafted villain.
• 5:14-16—The connection between healing and the forgiveness of sins is typically a Synoptic concept (cf., Mark 2:1-12). However, John appears to be pointing to the sacrament of baptism by saying that we find healing and forgiveness in water (Cullmann, 1978, p. 87).
• 5:17—Jesus continues to work without rest “God’s saving work has not yet reached the Sabbath rest” (Cullmann, 1963, p. 300).

John 5:19-29

• 5:19-20—Jesus denies the charge that He has blasphemed (lit., “denied the existence of God”) by making Himself equal to God.
  a. Jesus’ argument, then, is based on His identity.
  b. Jesus does not claim to be independent from God, however He is equal to God.
• 5:22-23—To dishonor Jesus (i.e., not accept His message) is to dishonor the One who sent Him (Morris, p. 279).

John 5:30-38

• Who/What witness about Jesus:
  1. 5:35—John the Baptizer.
  2. 5:36—Jesus’ own works (not just the signs, but His whole ministry and personhood).
  3. 5:37-38—God Himself in the presence of the Holy Spirit working in their conscience and faith.
  4. 5:39-40—The Scriptures, properly understood.
• Once all of this evidence is put forth, “the jury is out—on the hearers, not on Jesus himself” (Wright, p.67).

John 5:39-47

• Jesus draws a huge contrast between the way His opponents read the Scriptures and the way the Scriptures were intended to be read.
• Carson says that “there is nothing intrinsically life-giving about studying the Scriptures, if one fails to discern their true content and purpose” (p. 263).
• Is it possible to know the Bible without knowing God?

References

D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Leicester, England/Grand Rapids, MI: Apollos/Eerdmans, 1991).

Oscar Cullmann, The Christology of the New Testament, rev. ed., New Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963).

Oscar Cullmann, Early Christian Worship, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978).

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev. ed., New International Commentary on the New Testament 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).

Charles H. Talbert, Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles, rev. ed., Reading the New Testament (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2004).

N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part One (Chapters 1-10), For Everyone Series (London/Louisville: SPCK/ Westminster/John Knox Press, 2004).