John 5:1

THE MESSAGE

Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

King James Version (1611)
After this there was a feast of the Iewes, and Iesus went vp to Hierusalem.

King James Version
After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

English Standard Version
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New American Standard Bible
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New Century Version
Later Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special feast.

Amplified Bible
Later on there was a Jewish feast (festival), and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Legacy Standard Bible
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Berean Standard Bible
Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Contemporary English Version
Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival.

Complete Jewish Bible
After this, there was a Judean festival; and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim.

Darby Translation
After these things was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Easy-to-Read Version
Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish festival.

Geneva Bible (1587)
After that, there was a feast of the Iewes, and Iesus went vp to Hierusalem.

George Lamsa Translation
AFTER these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Good News Translation
After this, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a religious festival.

Lexham English Bible
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Literal Translation
After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

American Standard Version
After these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Bible in Basic English
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Hebrew Names Version
After these things, there was a feast of the Yehudim, and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim.

International Standard Version
Later on, there was athe">[fn] festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.Leviticus 23:2; Deuteronomy 16:1; John 2:13;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
AFTER these there was a feast of the Jihudoyee, and Jeshu went up to Urishlem.

Murdock Translation
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
After this, was there a feast day of the Iewes, and Iesus went vp to Hierusalem.

English Revised Version
After these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

World English Bible
After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Weymouth's New Testament
After this there was a Festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Aftir these thingis ther was a feeste dai of Jewis, and Jhesus wente vp to Jerusalem.

Update Bible Version
After these things there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Webster's Bible Translation
After this there was a feast of the Jews: and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New English Translation
After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New King James Version
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New Living Translation
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days.

New Life Bible
Some time later, there was a religious gathering of the Jews. Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

New Revised Standard
After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
After these things, was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up unto Jerusalem.

Douay-Rheims Bible
After these things was a festival day of the Jews: and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Revised Standard Version
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
After that ther was a feast of the Iewes and Iesus went vp to Ierusalem.

Young's Literal Translation
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Afterwarde, there was a feast of the Iewes, and Iesus wente vpto Ierusalem.

Mace New Testament (1729)
Some time after this the feast of the Jews being come, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Later on, Jesus went back to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival.

Contextual Overview

¹Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" ⁷ The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in." ⁸Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules." But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.'" They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd. A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen." The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I." That really set them off. The Jews were now not only out to expose him; they were out to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, putting himself on a level with God. So Jesus explained himself at length. "I'm telling you this straight. The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing. "But you haven't seen the half of it yet, for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son. The Son gives life to anyone he chooses. Neither he nor the Father shuts anyone out. The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonors the Son, dishonors the Father, for it was the Father's decision to put the Son in the place of honor. "It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. "It's urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment. "Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment. "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he? "But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved. John was a torch, blazing and bright, and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously. "You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want. "I'm not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God's love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God? "But don't think I'm going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. If you won't take seriously what he wrote, how can I expect you to take seriously what I speak?" ¹⁰Even on the Sabbath Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in." Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules." ¹¹ But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, ‘Take your bedroll and start walking.'" ¹²They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd. ¹⁴ A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen." ¹⁵The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

John 2:13, Exodus 23:14-17, Exodus 34:23, Leviticus 23:2-4, Deuteronomy 16:16, Matthew 3:15, Galatians 4:4

Reciprocal: Judges 21:19 - a feast Luke 19:26 - That unto John 6:4 - General John 11:55 - passover

Cross-References

Genesis 6:9
This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 10:1
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood, they themselves had sons.

1 Chronicles 1:1
Adam Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalalel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Ecclesiastes 12:1
Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes, Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire.

Matthew 1:1
The family tree of Jesus Christ, David's son, Abraham's son:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

After this there was a feast of the Jews,.... After Christ had been in Samaria, which was four months ago, John 4:35, and had been in Galilee for that time, and had cured the nobleman's son, and had done other mighty works, the time came on for one of the three festivals of the Jews; either the feast of Pentecost, as some think; or as others, the feast of tabernacles; or rather, the feast of the passover, so called, in John 4:45 since John is very particular, in giving an account of the several passovers, in Christ's ministry:

and Jesus went up to Jerusalem; according to the law of God, which obliged all the males to appear there at that time; and to show his compliance with it, and obedience to it, whom it became to fulfil all righteousness; and this he did also, that he might have an opportunity of discoursing, and doing his miracles before all the people, which came at this time, from the several parts of the land.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A feast - Probably the Passover, though it is not certain. There were two other feasts - the Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles - at which all the males were required to be present, and it might have been one of them. It is of no consequence, however, which of them is intended.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER V.

The man who had been diseased thirty-eight years healed on

the Sabbath day, 1-9.

The Jews cavil, persecute Christ, and seek to kill him, because

he had done this cure on the Sabbath, 10-16.

Our Lord vindicates his conduct, and shows, from the testimony

of the Father, the Scriptures, John the Baptist, and his own

works, that he came from God, to be the light and salvation of

the world, 17-39.

He reproves the Jews for their obstinacy, 40;

hatred to God, 41, 42;

pride, 43, 44;

and disbelief of their own law, 45-47.

NOTES ON CHAP. V.

Verse John 5:1. A feast — This is generally supposed, by the best critics, to have been the feast of the passover, which was the most eminent feast among the Jews. In several excellent MSS. the article is added, η εορτη, THE feast, the grand, the principal festival. Petavius supposes that the feast of Purim, or lots, is here meant; and one MS. reads η σκηνοπηγια, the feast of Tabernacles. Several of the primitive fathers believe Pentecost to be intended; and they are followed by many of the moderns, because, in John 7:2, mention is made of the feast of Tabernacles, which followed Pentecost, and was about the latter end of our September; and, in John 10:22, mention is made of the feast of Dedication, which was held about the latter end of November. See Bp. Pearce. See John 10:22.

Calmet, however, argues that there is no other feast with which all the circumstances marked here so well agree as with the passover; and Bp. Newcome, who is of Calmet's opinion, thinks Bp. Pearce's argument concerning the succession of the feasts to be inconclusive; because it is assumed, not proved, that the three feasts which he mentions above must have happened in the same year. See much on the same subject in Bp. Newcome's notes to his Harmony, p. 15, c.

Lightfoot has observed, that the other evangelists speak very sparingly of our Lord's acts in Judea. They mention nothing of the passovers, from our Lord's baptism till his death, excepting the very last: but John points at them all. The first he speaks of, John 2:13 the third, John 6:4; the fourth, John 13:1; and the second in this place: for although he does not call it the passover, but a feast in general, yet the circumstances agree best with this feast; and our Lord's words, John 4:35, seem to cast light on this subject. See the note there.