John 5:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

NIV: In his defense Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.'

NASB: But He answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.'

CSB: Jesus responded to them, "My Father is still working, and I am working also."

NLT: But Jesus replied, 'My Father is always working, and so am I.'

KJV: But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

NKJV: But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

Jesus has already angered local religious leaders by healing a man on the Sabbath. According to traditional views, this violated the command not to work on the Sabbath day (Leviticus 23:3; John 5:10). Rather than investigating the power which allowed Jesus to perform a miracle, the Pharisees are criticizing Jesus for breaking their customs. Jesus seems to provoke these hypocrites over that very issue, very deliberately (Matthew 12:1–14). Scripture indicates that these men were persecuting Jesus because of His choice to ignore their added rules and regulations (John 5:16; Matthew 15:3–9).

Here, Jesus begins a defense of His ministry with an appeal to His Father. This is part of the New Testament's clear presentation of Jesus as divine. Those who knew the Old Testament and heard His words understood this claim all too well. Here, Jesus claims not only that God is His Father, but that He is working just as God is working. The people of Jerusalem understood exactly what He was implying (John 5:18).

John 5:16–29 begins Jesus' response to local religious leaders. After healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus is attacked for violating traditions related to the Mosaic law and for claiming to be equal to God. In this passage, Jesus claims many of the attributes of God the Father. Among these are the power, judgment, love, and honor of God. Jesus also states that those who reject His message dishonor God and only those who believe Him will have eternal life. In the next passage, Jesus will support these claims by referring to various forms of evidence, all of which prove His ministry to be true.

Jesus again returns to Jerusalem, as required for the various feast days. While there, He heals a man who had been crippled for nearly forty years. Since this occurred on the Sabbath, local religious leaders are angry. In fact, they are more upset with Jesus for working on the Sabbath than amazed at His miracle. In response, Jesus offers an important perspective on evidence. Jesus refers to human testimony, scriptural testimony, and miracles as reasons to believe His declarations. Christ also lays claim to many of the attributes of God, making a clear claim to divinity.

Chapters 1 through 4 showed Jesus avoiding major publicity. Here, in chapter 5, He will begin to openly challenge the local religious leaders. This chapter is Jesus' first major answer to His critics in this gospel. The fact that Jesus is willing to heal on the Sabbath sets up a theme of His upcoming disagreements with the Pharisees. Jesus also provides an important perspective on the relationship between evidence and faith, which He will expand on in later chapters. This chapter also establishes a key point made by Jesus' critics: His claims to be God.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/18/2024 10:34:25 PM