John 5:10-15 (WEL) Then the Jews said to the healed man, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.” 11 He answered them, “He who made me well, the same, said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” 12 So they asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk?’” 13 But the healed man did not know who it was because Jesus had left unnoticed (a crowd being in that place). 14 Later on, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Look, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest something worse happen to you.” 15 The man left and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
V10 Then the Jews said to the healed man, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”
Jesus told him to carry the mat, thus, God, Himself, does not consider carrying his mat to be work. I’m sure the distance from this pool is less than a Sabbath’s Day journey. Mosaic Law, as I understand it, forbids buying and selling, thus carrying any merchandise or preparing merchandise for selling. This man is doing neither.
Comments:
Warren W. Wiersbe: “The miracle would have caused no problem except that it occurred on the Sabbath Day. Our Lord certainly could have come a day earlier, or even waited a day; but He wanted to get the attention of the religious leaders. Later, He would deliberately heal a blind man on the Sabbath (John 9:1-14). The scribes had listed thirty-nine tasks that were prohibited on the Sabbath, and carrying a burden was one of them. Instead of rejoicing at the wonderful deliverance of the man, the religious leaders condemned him for carrying his bed and thereby breaking the law.”
David Guzik: “Carrying a bed (actually a sleeping-mat or a bedroll) was in fact a violation of the rabbis’ interpretation of the commandment against doing work or business on the Sabbath. It was not a breaking of God’s law of the Sabbath, but the human interpretation of God’s law.
i. “The Rabbis of Jesus’ day solemnly argued that a man was sinning if he carried a needle in his robe on the Sabbath. They even argued as to whether he could wear his artificial teeth or his wooden leg.” (Barclay)
ii. “Jesus persistently maintained that it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good. He ignored the mass of scribal regulations, and thus inevitably came into conflict with the authorities.” (Morris)
iii. This devotion to the rabbis’ interpretation of the Sabbath law continues in modern times. An example is found in an April 1992 news item: Tenants let three apartments in an Orthodox neighborhood in Israel burn to the ground while they asked a rabbi whether a telephone call to the fire department on the Sabbath would violate Jewish law. Observant Jews are forbidden to use the phone on the Sabbath, because doing so would break an electrical current, which is considered a form of work. In the half-hour it took the rabbi to decide “yes,” the fire spread to two neighboring apartments.”
V11 He answered them, “He who made me well, the same, said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
“I’m not disobeying the Law, the one who made me well, commanded me to do this.”
Principle: Pass on to others things we have learned from God (His word).
V12 So they asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk?’”
A simple question but full of deadly poison because they hated Jesus. Jesus followed God’s law, not necessarily the Pharisees’ laws (interpretations). They wanted honor, power, and the leadership for themselves. See Mark 15:10, John 5:44, and Luke 14:7-11.
V13 But the healed man did not know who it was because Jesus had left unnoticed (a crowd being in that place).
Jesus had left quickly. Jesus wanted to demonstrate that healing was not a work, nor returning home with your sleeping mat, but He did not want a confrontation at this time.
V14 Later on, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Look, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest something worse happen to you.”
Jesus later seeks out the man. Jesus tells the healed man the truth. It is not recorded that this healed man ever thanked Jesus for curing him.
Jesus warned him that sin has consequences.
The man apparently didn’t care much.
The wrath of man is difficult, but the wrath of God is eternal. The healed man was warned.
Many commentators have mentioned that since the man obeyed Jesus’s first command (get up, pick up your mat, and go home) that he probably obeyed this command as well.
V15 The man left and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
A simple statement of fact. He did not have to do this. It might have been to inform the Pharisees so they could accuse Jesus, but it is more likely that he testified to the glory of God.
We learn:
- Some things we think are wrong are based on our interpretation but not the rule itself.
- Jesus is the Lord and sets what is allowable or forbidden.
Questions:
- How do you judge others?
- How do they judge you?