My Father has been working until now, and I have been working

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

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed." He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' " Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?" But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

- John 5:1-18

In yesterday's reading, Jesus had gone up to Galilee, and was in Cana. John's Gospel tells us that Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. There were some Galileans who had seen Jesus' signs at the Passover feast in Jerusalem, and believed in Him because of the signs. But earlier we were told that Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men. Then a ruler or nobleman came from Capernaum, and implored Jesus to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Jesus said to him, "Go your way, your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. My study bible tells us that St. John Chrysostom and other Fathers believe that this feast is the Jewish feast of Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks), "due to the references to the Law of Moses later on in the chapter. The Feast of Pentecost centers around the theme of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai."

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In Hebrew, Bethesda can mean house of mercy or house of grace. For many centuries, scholars could find evidence of no such pool which would have existed where John's Gospel puts it. But in the 19th century, archaeological excavations found evidence of this double-basin pool about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.

In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. My study bible says that the water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs, and it was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain. Therefore to some Christians the pool forms an image of a prefiguring of baptism.

For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. A note reads, "This passage, explaining the presence of the sick around the pool, is often omitted from modern English translations because it appears in none of the oldest extant Greek manuscripts. Tertullian (c. A.D. 200) is the first Latin writer, and St. John Chrysostom (c. A.D. 400) the first Greek writer, to refer to it. The disturbance may actually have been caused by bubbling up of the intermittent underground springs, which was understood as an angelic action. On the other hand, it is possible that angelic activity was indeed the cause for the stirring of the water. The role of spiritual powers in the world must never be discounted."

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. The stirring of the waters in this pool reminds us of what we've just read earlier this week, the story of the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well, and Jesus' telling her about the living water which He offers. If we see this pool as a "type" of prefiguration of baptism, then we can view the event as a sort of inaugural event of Christ's time, the new age He is here to begin, in which a pool whereby people were healed one by one, in one place, via angelic action, becomes baptism in Christ, which is for anyone at any time, needs no angelic intervention, and is in effect an encounter with His divine Person, who is ever-present. In Christ there is also a spiritual healing, not simply a temporal physical well-being. This would be an example of "life in abundance." We note, as is so often the case, that Christ first asks the man a question, prompting him to declare what he wants.

And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed." We must first note that in John's Gospel, most times where the term "the Jews" is used, it is only to denote the authorities, not the people. (The paralytic is also a Jew as is Jesus, and the author of the Gospel as well.) These authorities thought of themselves as guardians of the Law. But we have to see here something important about how the Law is used. There are no questions asked here. There is no "why" and no question of what is at work or truly happening. There is only the Law and the appearance of compliance. There is no concern for the intent of the Law and especially the intent of its Giver, no why or how. There is seemingly no room for God. And this is what Jesus will take issue with.

He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' " Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?" But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. There's a kind of obvious point of view here that the healed man expresses: someone who can heal Him is a person to listen to. It would seem obvious, but in a slavish devotion to appearance and the letter of the Law, this fact seems to have escaped the leadership and their zeal for their own authority. My study bible tells us that "although the law of the Sabbath does not specifically prohibit the carrying of burdens, this activity is mentioned in Jer. 17:21 and Neh. 13:19 and was explicitly forbidden by rabbinical regulations."

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." Although it was a common belief that misfortune was the result of sin, here Christ's words give us a perspective on healing, on every level. This third sign in John's Gospel is intended as a conversion experience. Spiritual healing, and a lasting relationship with God, is the point. Therefore, an intent to lead a righteous life becomes a part of this cure.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. My study bible notes: "Confronted by His Jewish critics, Jesus argues that God's sustaining and redeeming work in the world does not cease on the Sabbath. Hearing these words, the Jews are doubly offended: Jesus not only violates scribal law, but also present Himself as equal with God."

Jesus declares Himself God, Son of God, equal with God. It's the final straw for the authorities whose word keeps the Law and its applications in this institution. But Jesus takes us one step deeper into the Law, into its purpose and meaning and fulfillment. What is God doing? Where is God? What is the meaning of the Law and why is it given? Who are the sheep and who is the true Shepherd? All of these questions are stirred up, like the water in the pool is stirred up, said to be by an angel. So the Holy Spirit stirs up the waters of our religious life. Where is God? Is He in one place? What is God's work? How can it be done and who is doing it? These questions are already making their appearances to us in John's Gospel. They are the central core of Jesus' ministry. Let us recall that Jesus' mother was a young woman only promised or engaged to Joseph when she was found to be with child. For this alone she could have been stoned to death. Jesus will take us deeper into the whys and wherefores of God's work. We are all included in this ministry when we choose to become His friends, His servants. Let us remember that this place of grace is everywhere, for all of us. This is His work.