John 5:16-18 (WEL) Therefore, the Jews started to persecute Jesus and were seeking to kill him because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working even now, and I am also working.” 18 Then because of this, the Jews were seeking to kill him even more because not only had he broken the Sabbath but also said that God was his own father, making himself equal with God.
V16 Therefore, the Jews started to persecute Jesus and were seeking to kill him because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
The Jews, via their false method of Bible interpretation, judged an innocent man—Jesus Christ, God the Son.
Principle: Only interpret the Bible in its plain, normal sense.
According to these Jews’ reckoning, Jesus committed the sin of working on the Sabbath. Jesus shows that it is not a work to heal and have compassion. Compare Luke 13:11-17, Luke 14:3-6, and Matthew 12:11-12.
AskAndyAI:
“No — Jesus did not break the Sabbath law when He healed people. What He did was expose and overturn the extra-biblical rules the religious leaders had piled on top of the Sabbath. The Sabbath as given in the Law was intended to be a blessing for people, and Jesus pointed out that good (like feeding or healing) is lawful on the Sabbath because the Sabbath was made for man. The conflicts in the Gospels arise not from Jesus opposing Moses or the original law, but from Jesus confronting the Pharisees’ traditions and “fence” regulations that had obscured the Sabbath’s original purpose.
“As for the Old Testament: the teaching and intent of the Sabbath come from Moses and the Law, but the specific stories of healing on the Sabbath that Jesus performed are narrated in the Gospels (for example, His defense in Matthew 12 and the healing in John 5). The sermons I teach emphasize that the restrictions which made healing on the Sabbath seem improper were later, man-made traditions rather than commands found in the original giving of the Sabbath.”
V17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working even now, and I am also working.”
Jesus states in effect that my Father is working today, so I am too. Compare Psalm 121:4.
(Zondervan King James Version Commentary, New Testament) “Without a shift in setting, John conveyed a verbal exchange between the authorities and Jesus over the Sabbath violation in which Jesus defended Himself. Not evident in the English translation, the word answered (Greek, apokrinomai; middle voice; only here and 5:19), indicates a formal reply with legal overtones. Such a reply matches the implication of “prosecution” in 5:16. With this reply, Jesus offered a formal defense against the charge of questionable Sabbath activity by identifying His actions with the actions of His Father: My Father worketh hitherto. The Jews did not refer to God as “My Father,” regarding the term as too intimate, though they might have used “Our Father” or, in prayer, “My Father in heaven.” Jesus also exemplified the way the Sabbath should be observed. God does not stop His deeds of compassion on that day, and neither did Jesus.”
V18 Then because of this, the Jews were seeking to kill him even more because not only had he broken the Sabbath but also said that God was his own father, making himself equal with God.
Now the religious leaders accuse Jesus of blasphemy. The Old Testament expressly teaches that God has a son—Psalm 2:12, Proverbs 30:4, Isaiah 7:14, and Isaiah 9:6.
We learn:
- God approves of good works, helping others, etc., is not against His laws.
- God the Father has a Son.
Questions:
- Do you think the Jewish leaders are right or wrong?
- What is your opinion concerning the Sabbath?