John 5 · The Lantern

The Pool of Bethesda

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

But it is greatly to be wondered at, how it has come to pass that, while affirming that they have found out the mysteries of God, they have not examined the Gospels to ascertain how often after His baptism the Lord went up, at the time of the passover, to Jerusalem, in accordance with what was the practice of the Jews from every land, and every year, that they should assemble a…

(de Con. Evang. l. iv. c. 10) After the miracle in Galilee, He returns to Jerusalem: After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Above, our Lord dealt with spiritual rebirth; here he deals with the benefits God gives to those who are spiritually reborn. Now we see that parents give three things to those who are physically born from them: life, nourishment, and instruction or discipline.

Now there is in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, a pool which is being called in Hebrew Bethzatha, having five porches.

In these were lying a multitude of those ailing — blind, lame, paralyzed.

A great crowd of ill people, struck with different infirmities, had gathered here hoping to be healed as if these waters might effect something because the entrails of sheep offered as victims to God [for the temple] were washed in them. And God also supported this belief by causing the waters to move sometimes.

"In these lay a great multitude of the sick," and incurable by nature: whence he says: "Of the blind, the lame, the withered, waiting for the moving of the water," so that they might be healed through the benefit of divine grace, which was bestowed in the descent of the Angel.

The pool is also described from its occupants, for in these porticoes lay a great number of people: feeble, blind, lame and withered.

[For an angel was going down on occasion among the pool and was troubling the water; the one therefore who first was climbing in after the disturbance of the water was becoming healthy, of whatever disease he was possessed.]

What did the angel declare in this type but the descent of the Holy Spirit, which was to come to pass in our day and should consecrate the waters when invoked by the prayers of the priest? That angel, then, was a herald of the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as by means of the grace of the Spirit medicine was to be applied to our infirmities of soul and mind.

Many thought that the water received a certain divine power from the mere fact that the entrails of the sacrifices were washed in it, and that therefore the Angel also descended upon this water as upon a chosen one and worked miracles. It seems that Divine Providence pre-ordained the miracle in this pool in order to lead the Jews from afar to faith in Christ.

Finally, the power of the pool is described, for it healed all physical illnesses in virtue of an angel who came to it; so he says, From time to time an angel of the Lord used to come down into the pool. In certain ways, the power of this pool is like that of Baptism.

Now there was a certain man there, thirty and eight years being in his infirmity.

Moreover, there was also a certain other person healed by the Lord, after he had suffered for eight-and-thirty years: they ought therefore to affirm that the Aeon who occupies the thirty-eighth place suffered. For if they assert that the things which were done by the Lord were types of what took place in the Pleroma, the type ought to be preserved throughout.

The Jews having celebrated their feast of unleavened bread, in which it is their custom to kill the sheep, to wit, at the time of the Passover, Christ departeth from Jerusalem, and mingleth with the Samaritans and aliens, and teacheth among them, being grieved at the stubbornness of the Jews.

Then (v 5), the Evangelist mentions the disability of a man who lay by the pool. First, we are told how long he was disabled; and secondly, why it was so long (v 7). He was disabled for a long time, for There was one man lying there who had been sick for thirty-eight years with his infirmity.

Jesus, having seen him lying, and having known that he has been so a long time already, says to him, “Do you desire to become well?”

Jesus asked, "Do you want to be made whole?" See his modesty here. He does not say, "Do you desire that I heal you," for he did not want to make himself appear as someone great by making an announcement, as it were, of his miracles.

An evident proof of the extreme goodness of Christ, that He doth not wait for entreaties from the sick, but forecometh their request by His Loving Kindness. For He runneth, as you see, to him as he lieth, and compassionateth him that was sick without comfort.

Now the reason for the length of the man's illness is considered. First, we have the Lord's query; secondly, the sick man's answer (v 7). John says, Jesus, seeing him, the man, lying there. Jesus saw him not only with his physical eyes, but also with the eyes of his mercy; this is the way David begged to be seen, saying: "Look at me, O Lord, and have mercy on me" (Ps 85:16).

The one ailing answered Him, “Sir, I have no man that, when the water may be stirred, he may put me into the pool; but in which time I myself am going, another descends before me.”

About the day of the holy Pentecost, Angels coming down from heaven used to trouble the water of the pool, then they would make the plash therefrom the herald of their presence.

What then does he do? He answers very meekly. "Yes," he says, "Lord, I desire to, but I have no man to put me into the water." He utters no blasphemy, he does not reject Christ as having asked an inappropriate question, he does not curse the day of his birth, as we, the fainthearted, do, and that in far lighter illnesses, but he answers meekly and timidly.

Then (v 7), the answer of the sick man is given. Two reasons are given for the length of his illness: his poverty and his weakness. As he was poor, he could not afford a man to plunge him into the pool; so he says, Sir, I have no one to plunge me into the pool. Perhaps he thought, as Chrysostom says, that Christ might even help to put him into the water.

Jesus says to him, “Arise, take up your mat and walk.”

Was it not enough to say, "Rise up and go"? For was it not a miracle that the one who could not turn about on his bed could rise up easily and go? Yet to show that he had given him a full healing, he also made him carry his bed—and not like the sick who return [to health] little by little.

What does this mean, "take up your pallet" except carry and govern your body? Conduct that which carried you. For when you were under the dominion of sin your flesh first carried you to evil, but now since grace is in control you conduct and direct your body to what is good. In the wrong and wicked order your flesh was first in control and the soul served.

Now we see the man restored to health, i.e., the working of the miracle. First, the Lord's command is given; secondly, the man's obedience (v 9). The Lord commanded both the nature of the man and his will, for both are under the Lord's power. He commanded his nature when he said, Stand up.

And immediately the man became well, and he took up his mat and was walking. Now it was Sabbath on that very day.

On the Sabbath day doth Christ heal the man, when healed He immediately enjoins him to break through the custom of the law, inducing him to walk on the Sabbath and this laden with his bed, although God clearly cries aloud by one of the holy Prophets, Neither carry forth a burthen out of your house on the Sabbath day.

"And immediately the man was made well;" behold, restored health: "and he took up his bed:" behold, strength: "and he walked:" behold, the certainty of health. And all this was done by the word of Christ: the Psalm: "He spoke, and they were made"; whence in Esther 13, Mordecai said: "Lord, almighty King, all things are placed in your dominion." "Now it was the Sabbath" etc.

Next we see the man's obedience. First, the obedience of his nature, because, The man was immediately cured. And no wonder, because Christ is the Word through whom heaven and earth were made: "He commanded and they were created" (Ps 148:5); "By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made" (Ps 32:6).

The Jews were saying therefore to the one healed, “It is Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your mat.”

What followed was even far more admirable. That he believed at first, when no one troubled him, was not so marvelous, but that afterwards, when the Jews were full of madness and pressed upon him on all sides, accusing and besieging him and saying, "It is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed," that then he gave no heed to their madness, but most boldly in the midst of the asse…

He heals "on the Sabbath," teaching people to understand the rites of the law differently and to place the honoring of the Sabbath not in bodily understood inactivity, but in abstaining from evil. For the law, being the law of the ever-beneficent God, cannot forbid doing good on the Sabbath.

Then (v 10), the Evangelist gives the accusation brought against the man who was healed. First, we have the accusation; and secondly, the explanation given by the man who was healed (v 11). The man was accused for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, and not for being healed; so they say: It is the Sabbath; it is not permitted for you to carry your mat.

But the man answered them, “The One having made me well, that One said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”

(Tr. xvii. c. 10) He shields himself under the authority of his Healer: He that made me whole, the Same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk: meaning, Why should not I receive a command, if I received a cure from Him?

One must marvel at the boldness of this man before the Jews. They insistently say to him: "You must not carry your bed on the Sabbath"; but he boldly proclaims his benefactor to them: "He who healed me, He told me." He speaks as if to say: "You are mad to command me not to listen to the One who healed me from an illness so prolonged and difficult."

Then (v 11), we see the man who was healed defending himself. His defense is wisely taken: for a doctrine is never so well proved to be divinely inspired as by miracles which can be accomplished only by divine power: "Going out, they preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed" (Mk 16:20).

They asked him, “Who is the man, the one having said to you, ‘Take up and walk’?”

"What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place." And why did Jesus conceal Himself? First, that while He was absent, the testimony of the man might be unsuspected, for he who now felt himself whole was a credible witness of the benefit.

The Jews do not ask him, "Who healed you?" but rather, "Who told you to take up your bed?" Thus they willingly shut their eyes to the good, while constantly bringing the supposed violation of the Sabbath to the forefront.

Then, since they could not very well charge the man who was cured, they try to belittle Christ's cure, for this man defended himself through Christ. But since he did not indicate precisely who he was, they maliciously ask him who it was. With respect to this, first, the search for Christ is set down. Secondly, his discovery. And thirdly, his persecution (v 16).

Now the one having been healed did not know who it is; for Jesus moved away, a crowd being in the place.

"But he that was made whole knew not who it was" that had said this to him. "For Jesus," when He had done this, and given him this order, "turned away from him in the crowd." See how this also is fulfilled. We bear our neighbor, and walk towards God; but Him, to whom we are walking, we do not yet see: for that reason also, that man did not yet know Jesus.

Jesus hid Himself partly so that in His absence the testimony about the healing would be free from all suspicion, and they would not think that this man was favoring Him, but was witnessing to the truth; and partly so as not to inflame the fury of the Jews even more. For even the mere sight of the one who is hated kindles no small spark of hatred in those who hate.

As to the second, the Evangelist says, But he who was cured had no idea who it was. This cured man signifies those who believe and have been healed by the grace of Christ: "You are saved by grace" (Eph 2:8).

After these things Jesus finds him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; sin no more, that something worse may not happen to you.”

This is in accordance with what the Lord said to the man who had been healed: "Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." For he who is good, and righteous, and pure, and spotless, will endure nothing evil, nor unjust, nor detestable in His wedding chamber.

(Tr. xvii. c. 11) The Lord Jesus saw him both in the crowd, and in the temple. The impotent man does not recognise Jesus in the crowd; but in the temple, being a sacred place, he does.

Then (v 14), the Evangelist tells us how Jesus was found. First, he says that he was found. Secondly, that after having been found, he taught. Thirdly, that after having taught, his identity was reported to the Jews. The Evangelist tells us both where and the way in which Christ was found.

The man went away and told the Jews that it is Jesus, the One having made him well.

Besides, had he wished to slander Him, he would have said nothing about his own cure, but would have mentioned and urged against Him the breach of the Sabbath. But this is not the case, surely it is not; the words are words of great boldness and candor; he proclaims his Benefactor no less than the blind man did. For what said he? "He made clay, and anointed mine eyes" (c. ix.

Having recognized Jesus, see how wisely he announces Him to the Jews. He does not say, as they wished to hear, that Jesus said "take up your bed," but rather "He healed me," which they did not wish to hear, accusing Him of violating the Sabbath.

Then when he says, The man went off and related to the Jews, we see Jesus identified. Some think, as Chrysostom reports, that this man identified Jesus out of malice. But this does not seem probable: that he would be so ungrateful after receiving such a favor.

The Father and the Son

And because of this the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.

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

For what is the use of wisdom, if it makes not him who can hear it wise? For still the Saviour saves, "and always works, as He sees the Father." For by teaching, one learns more; and in speaking, one is often a hearer along with his audience. For the teacher of him who speaks and of him who hears is one-who waters both the mind and the word.

Here he brings up his Father, who always acts according to his will and authority. He too does not abstain from those works on the sabbath that are beneficial to us. Christ, too, knew that any time is suitable for our salvation. He brings up the Father, he says, in order to show us that this same authority is also in him.

Then (v 17), the second reason for his persecution is given: what he taught. First, we are given the truth he taught; and secondly, the perversity of his persecutors (v 18). Our Lord taught the truth while justifying his breaking of the Sabbath. Here we should note that our Lord justified both himself and his disciples from breaking the Sabbath.

Because of this therefore the Jews were seeking the more to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but also He was naming God His own Father, making Himself equal to God.

Jesus answered therefore and was saying to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son is not able to do anything of Himself unless He shall see the Father doing it. For whatever He shall do, these things also the Son likewise does.

It was the Son, therefore, who was always seen, and the Son who always conversed with men, and the Son who has always worked by the authority and will of the Father; because "the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do" -"do" that is, in His mind and thought.

We have got clear of this question. Mark ye that rightly we say the works of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit are inseparable.

Here we have Christ's teaching on his life-giving power. First, his teaching is presented. Secondly, it is confirmed (v 31). Two things are done with the first. First, Christ's teaching on his life-giving power in general is given. Secondly, it is presented in particular (v 20b). As to the first, three things are done. First, the origin of this power is mentioned.

For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does, and greater works than these He will show Him, so that you yourselves may marvel.

"The Son can do nothing of himself." And the self-complete Wisdom? I received "a commandment what I should say and what I should speak." Through all these words He is guiding us to the knowledge of the Father, and referring our wonder at all that is brought into existence to Him, to the end that "through Him" we may know the Father.

And greater works than these will He show Him, that YE may marvel. Above the blessed Evangelist says, The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus, because He was not only breaking the sabbath, but saying also that God was His Father, making Himself Equal with God.

755 Having pointed out the power of the Son in general, he now shows it in more detail. First, the Lord discloses his life-giving power. Secondly, he clarifies what seemed obscure in what was said before (v 26). As to the first he does two things. First, he shows that the Son has life-giving power. Secondly, he teaches how life is received from the Son (v 24).

For even as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, thus also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.

Wherefore? Because "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world" and, "I am the way: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me; " and, "No man can come to me, except the Father draw him; " and, "All things are delivered unto me by the Father; " and, "As the Father quickeneth (the dead), so also doth the Son; " and again, "If ye had known me, ye would have known the…

For as the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them, so the Son too quickeneth whom He will. See again in these words clear proof of His Equality. For He That worketh equally in respect of the reviving of the dead, how can He have inferiority in ought? or how shall He be of another nature and alien to the Father Who is radiant with the Same Properties?

761 Now he explains in more detail the life-giving power of the Son by indicating those greater works which the Father will show the Son (v 21).

For neither does the Father judge anyone, but has given all the judgment to the Son,

The Father has given judgment to the Son even from the very beginning. For when he speaks of all power and all judgment and says that all things were made by him and all things have been delivered into his hand, he allows no exception [in respect] of time, because they would not be all things unless they were the things of all time.

"Shall we then," saith some one, "also call Him Father?" Away with the thought. He useth the word "Son" that we may honor Him still remaining a Son, as we honor the Father; but he who calleth Him "Father" doth not honor the Son as the Father, but has confounded the whole.

762 Then when he says, The Father himself judges no one, he gives the reason for what was said above, and indicates his own power. It should be remarked that there are two expositions for the present passages: one is given by Augustine, and the other by Hilary and Chrysostom. Augustine's explanation is this.

so that all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who is not honoring the Son is not honoring the Father, the One having sent Him.

Amen, amen, I say to you that the one hearing My word and believing in the One having sent Me, he has life eternal and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Salvation, accordingly, is the following of Christ: "For that which is in Him is life." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My words, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into condemnation, but hath passed from death to life." Thus believing alone, and regeneration, is perfection in life; for God is never weak.

"Whoso heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death unto life." You remember what we laid down above, that "as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, so also the Son quickeneth whom He will." He is beginning already to reveal Himself; and behold, even now, the dead are rising.

770 Above, our Lord showed that he had life-giving power; here he shows how someone can share in this life coming from him. First, he tells how one can share in this life through him. Secondly, he predicts its fulfillment (v 25). 771 With respect to the first, we should point out that there are four grades of life.

Amen, amen, I say to you that an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those having heard will live.

Thus, in the present instance, we have the Spirit giving life to the flesh, which has been subdued by death. For "the hour," he says, "is coming, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." Now, what is "the dead" but the flesh? And what is "the voice of God" but the Word?

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that have heard shall live." Having said the words, He speaketh also of the proof by deeds.

778 Amen, amen, I say to you... Since some might doubt if any would pass from death to life, our Lord predicts that this will happen, saying: I say that he [who believes] "will pass from death to life"; and I say it before it actually occurs.

For as the Father has life in Himself, so also to the Son He gave life to have in Himself,

He bore witness that life, to the fullest extent, is his gift from the living God. Now if the living Son was born from the living Father, that birth took place without a new nature coming into existence. Nothing new comes into existence when the living is begotten by the living, for life was not sought out from the nonexistent in order to receive birth.

Concerning this very resurrection He immediately subjoined, "For as the Father hath life in Himself, even so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." What means that, "The Father hath life in Himself"? Not elsewhere hath He life but in Himself. His living, in fact, is in Him, not from elsewhere, nor derived from another.

Above, our Lord showed that he had the power to give life and to judge; and he explained each by its effect. Here he shows how each of these powers belongs to him. First, he shows this with respect to his life-giving power. Secondly, with respect to his power to judge (v 27).

and He gave Him authority to carry out judgment, because He is Son of Man.

Some think that it should read, "He gave him authority also to execute judgment because he is the Son of man." But this connection makes no sense, for he is not our judge "because he is the Son of man," but rather because he is the Son of God. That is why he is our judge.

Now hear concerning the resurrection of bodies, not me, but the Lord about to speak, on account of those who have risen again by a resurrection from death, by cleaving to life. To what life? To a life which knows not death. Why knows not death? Because it knows not mutability. Why knows not mutability? Because it is life in itself.

Then, he makes it clear that he has the power to judge. First, he reveals his judiciary power. Secondly, he gives a reason for what he has said (v 30). As to the first he does two things. First, he indicates the origin of his judiciary power. Secondly, he shows that his judgment is just (v 29).

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all those in the tombs will hear His voice

Let our opponents-that is, they who speak against their own salvation-inform us [as to this point]: The deceased daughter of the high priest; the widow's dead son, who was being carried out [to burial] near the gate [of the city]; and Lazarus, who had lain four days in the tomb, -in what bodies did they rise again? In those same, no doubt, in which they had also died.

Now, therefore, as to a resurrection, perhaps some one of us was saying: Behold, we have risen; he who hears Christ, and believes, and is passed from death to life, also will not come into judgment. The hour cometh, and now is, that whoso heareth the voice of the Son of God shall live: he was dead, he has heard; behold, he doth rise.

He settles a difficulty when he says, Do not be surprised at this. First, he mentions the difficulty. Secondly, he clears it up. The difficulty arose in the minds of the Jews and they were surprised because while they thought that Christ was no more than a man, he was saying things about himself that surpassed man and even the angels.

and will come forth — those having done the good, to the resurrection of life, and those having done the evil, to the resurrection of judgment.

For it is not the resurrection that is directly denied to flesh and blood, but the kingdom of God, which is incidental to the resurrection (for there is a resurrection of judgment also); and there is even a confirmation of the general resurrection of the flesh, whenever a special one is excepted.

When therefore He mentioned the resurrection of Lazarus, He spake not of the Judgment (for it was not for this that Lazarus arose); but when He spake generally He also added, that "they that have done good shall go forth unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment." Thus also John led on his hearers by speaking of the Judgment,…

Then, he shows the justness of his judgment: because the good will be rewarded, and so he says, And those who have done well will come forth to a resurrection of life, i.e., to living in eternal glory; but the wicked will be damned, and so he says, those who have done evil will come forth to a resurrection of judgment [i.e., condemnation], i.e., they will rise for condemnation:…

I myself am not able to do anything of Myself; even as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the One having sent Me.

As therefore the Lord does nothing without the Father, for says He, "I can of mine own self do nothing," so do ye, neither presbyter, nor deacon, nor layman, do anything without the bishop. Nor let anything appear commendable to you which is destitute of his approval. For every such thing is sinful, and opposed [to the will of] God.

CHAPTER IX. That the Son is in nothing inferior to God the Father, but is of Equal Might in Operation unto all things as God of God. Give more exact heed again to the things said, and receive the force of its thought with intelligence.

Then when he says, I cannot do anything of myself, he gives the reason for what he has just said. Now he had spoken of two things: the origin of his power, and the justness of his judgment. Consequently, he mentions the reason for each. The first point, when he says, I cannot do anything of myself, can be understood in two ways, even according to Augustine.

Testimonies about Jesus

If I myself shall bear witness concerning Myself, My testimony is not true;

It is true that he tells us himself that he was a persecutor before he became an apostle, still this is not enough for any man who examines before he believes, since even the Lord Himself did not bear witness of Himself. But let them believe without the Scriptures, if their object is to believe contrary to the Scriptures.

The most wise Solomon, gathering together the things in which a man may very reasonably glory, and show his manner of life to be enviable, and placing them before those who are apt to learn, says, The righteous man is his own accuser in the opening of the trial, and again, Let thy neighbour praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips.

Having given us the teaching on the life-giving power of the Son, he now confirms it. First, he confirms, with several testimonies, what he had said about the excellence of his power. In the second place, he reproves them because of their slowness to believe (v 41). He does two things about the first. First, he states why there was a need to resort to such testimonies.

Another it is who is bearing witness concerning Me, and I know that the testimony is true which he bears witness concerning Me.

First then checking their disputatious spirit by setting forth what they would say, and showing that He knew the secrets of their hearts, and giving this first proof of His power, after stating the objection He supplieth other proofs clear and indisputable, producing three witnesses to what He said, namely, the works wrought by Him, the witness of the Father, and the preaching…

"I," He says, "have three witnesses: John, My works, and My Father." He puts forward John first.

Next, he presents these testimonies: first, a human testimony; secondly, a divine testimony. He does two things about the first. First, he mentions the testimony of John; secondly, he tells why this testimony was given (v 34). With respect to the first he does two things. First, he brings in the testimony; secondly, he commends it (v 32).

You yourselves have sent unto John, and he has borne witness to the truth;

If he [our Lord] was not receiving testimony from human beings, why did he go to John to receive testimony from him? John, however, was sent from God: "He who sent us spoke to me." Through John, the Father was testifying about him, just as he [our Lord] said, "Moses also wrote about me," along with other statements.

But he bore witness not to himself, but to the truth: as the friend of the truth, he bore witness to the truth, i. e. Christ. Our Lord, on His part, does not reject the witness of John, as not being necessary, but shows only that men ought not to give such attention to John as to forget that Christ's witness was all that was necessary to Himself.

He also commends the testimony of John by reason of its authority, because it was sought after by the Jews, saying: You sent [messengers] to John.

now I myself do not receive the testimony from man, but I say these things that you yourselves may be saved.

Perhaps some (woman) will say: "To me it is not necessary to be approved by men; for I do not require the testimony of men: God is the inspector of the heart.

Although I, as God, have no need of human testimony — the Lord has no need of the testimony of a servant — yet since you consider him more truthful and heed him more than Me, and you resorted to him, while you do not believe in Me even in the face of miracles, therefore I remind you also of John's testimony, and I do everything, accepting even what is unworthy of My divinity, i…

Then (v 34), he gives the reason why an appeal was made to the testimony of John. First, he excludes a supposed reason. Next, he presents the true reason (v 34b). Someone might think that John's testimony was brought in to assure them about Christ, on the ground that Christ's own testimony was not sufficient.

He was the lamp which is burning and shining, and you yourselves were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.

The birth of John [the Baptist] brought the dumbness of Zacharias to an end. For he did not burden his father, when the voice issued forth from silence; but as when not believed it rendered him tongue-tied, so did the voice sounding out clearly set his father free, to whom he had both been announced and born.

He likens the holy Baptist to a lamp, in that as far as appertains to the measure of man, he shone forth before His Coming, yet not with his own light: for not its own is the light in the lamp, but from without and bestowed and added: thus will you see in the saints also the illumination that is from Christ in the Spirit.

He explains his statement, in order that you may be saved: that is, because I am appealing to testimony you have accepted. And so he mentions that John was accepted by them: He was a lamp, blazing and burning brightly. First, he states that John was a witness accepted on his own merits. Secondly, he mentions to what degree he was accepted by them (v 35b).

But I myself have the testimony greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me, that I may complete them — the same works which I do — bear witness concerning Me that the Father has sent Me.

Afterwards He goes on to say: "But I have greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to finish-those very works bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me.

That He enlightens the blind, that He opens the deaf ear, looses the mouth of the dumb, casts out devils, raises the dead; these works bear witness of Christ.

Then (v 36), he presents the divine testimony. First, he mentions its greatness; and then he continues on to describe it. He says: I do not need proof from men for my sake, but for your sake, for I have testimony that is greater than that of John, that is, the testimony of God, which is greater than the testimony of John: "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of Go…

And the One having sent Me, the Father Himself, has borne witness concerning Me. Neither have you heard His voice at any time nor have you seen His form,

This, he says, the Thracians who dwell around Haemus, and the Phrygians similarly with the Thracians, denominate Corybas, because, (though) deriving the beginning of his descent from the head above and from the unportrayed brain, and (though) permeating all the principles of the existing state of things, (yet) we do not perceive how and in what manner he comes down.

By His mission we must understand His incarnation. Lastly, He shows that God is incorporeal, and cannot be seen by the bodily eye: Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.

Then (v 37), he presents the second way God bore witness to Christ, namely, by himself. First, he mentions the way; secondly, he shows that they were not able to receive this testimony.

and you do not have His word abiding in you, for whom He sent, in Him you yourselves do not believe.

It is most appropriate that he joins the "Word" to the "form" here to show that the Word of God is himself the image and expression and form of his Father. The Jews who did not receive the one who spoke to them thus did not receive the Word, which is the form of God.

For it is not by the carnal ear, but by the spiritual understanding, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that God is heard. And they did not hear the spiritual voice, because they did not love or obey Him, nor saw they His shape; inasmuch as that is not to be seen by the outward eye, but by faith and love.

Hence he adds: and you do not have his word abiding in your hearts, i.e., you do not have his word that is inwardly inspired. And the reason is, for you do not believe in him whom he, the Father, has sent. For the word of God leads to Christ, since Christ himself is the natural Word of God. But every word inspired by God is a certain participated likeness of that Word.

The Witness of Scripture

You diligently search the Scriptures, for you yourselves think in them to have life eternal; and these are they, those bearing witness concerning Me,

Wherefore also John does appropriately relate that the Lord said to the Jews: "Ye search the Scriptures, in which ye think ye have eternal life; these are they which testify of me.

"Search the Scripture," saith He, "in which ye think ye have eternal life: the same bears witness of me; and ye will not come to me that ye may have life." Why do ye think that in the Scripture ye have eternal life? Ask itself to whom does it bear witness, and understand what is eternal life.

Then when he says, Search the Scriptures, he gives the third way in which God bore witness to Christ, through the Scriptures. First, he mentions the testimony of the Scriptures. Secondly, he shows that they were not able to gather the fruit of this testimony (v 40). He says: Search the Scriptures.

and you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

That coming is put for believing we know, Come unto Him, and be lightened. He adds, That ye might have life; (Ps. 33) For, if the soul which sinneth dies, they were dead in soul and mind. And therefore He promises the life of the soul, i. e. eternal happiness.

The certainty of the testimonies having been set forth, here is set forth the rebuke of the unbelieving Jews. Now the Lord rebukes the Jews on four counts: first, namely for the lack of divine love; second, for the blindness of false love; third, for the appetite for vain honor; fourth, for the lack of faith.

The fruit which you think you have in the Scriptures, that is, eternal life, you will not be able to obtain, because in not believing the testimonies of the Scriptures about me, you are unwilling to come to me, i.e., you do not wish to believe in me, in whom the fruit of these Scriptures exists, in order to possess that life in me, the life which I give to those who believe in…

Glory from men I do not take;

"I receive not honor from men." That is, "I need it not": "My nature," He saith, "is not of such a kind as to need the honor which is from men, for if the sun can receive no addition from the light of a candle, much farther am I from needing the honor which is from men." "Why then," asks some one, "sayest thou these things, if thou needest it not?" "That ye may be saved." This…

Or, I receive not honour from men: i. e. I seek not human praise; for I came not to receive carnal honour from men, but to give spiritual honour to men. I do not bring forward this testimony then, because I seek my own glory; but because I compassionate your wanderings, and wish to bring you back to the way of truth.

After God confirmed the greatness of his power by the testimonies of men, of God, and of the Scriptures, he here rebukes the Jews for being slow to believe. Now the Jews persecuted Christ on two grounds: for breaking the Sabbath, by which he seemed to go against the law, and for saying that he is the Son of God, by which he seemed to go against God.

but I have known you, that the love of God you do not have in yourselves.

You persecute Me under the pretext that you love God. But this is not so, no. For I know about you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves, even though you put forward everywhere that you persecute Me out of love for God. The Jews, indeed, did not have the love of God, because they persecuted self-existent Love — the Son of God.

"But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you," but rather hatred: below in chapter fifteen: "Now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." And such people are worthy of rebuke, because they lack the wedding garment: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you come in here, not having a wedding garment?"

Thus Christ presented the various testimonies to himself not for the reason they thought, but for another one: because I know you, i.e., I have made known about you, that you do not have the love of God in your hearts, although you pretend to have it. And so you are not persecuting me because of your love for God.

I myself have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.

The Lord also spoke as follows to those who did not believe in Him: "I have come in my Father's name, and ye have not received Me: when another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive," calling Antichrist "the other," because he is alienated from the Lord.

I [Jesus says] refer what I say and do to the Father, because my glory is the glory of my Father. Therefore I lead you to the Father and do not offer a pretext for your unbelief. But he [i.e., antichrist] will come and will not mention the Father. Instead he will do all his works for his own glory.

Then (v 43), he gives a sign that they do not love God. First, a present sign; secondly, a future sign (v 43b). The present sign concerns his own coming; so he says, I have come in my Father's name. As if to say: What I say is obvious, for if one loves his Lord, it is clear that he will honor and receive one who comes from him, and seek to honor him.

How are you yourselves able to believe, receiving glory from one another, and the glory that is from the only God you do not seek?

Do not think that I myself will accuse you to the Father. There is one accusing you, Moses, in whom you yourselves have hoped.

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.

Since they constantly appealed to Moses, the Lord says that he will accuse you, because he wrote about Me. Where did he write about Him? In many places. Thus the saying "The Lord will raise up a Prophet for you" referred to Christ, and many other things, partly in words, partly in signs and symbols. For example, the miracle of the bush (Exod. 3:2).

Then (v 45), he shows that they do not have zeal for Moses. First, how Moses was against them. Secondly, he gives the reason for this opposition (v 46). As to the first he does two things. First, he rejects their false zeal; secondly, he shows them true zeal, The one who accuses you is Moses. As to the first he says: Do not think that I will accuse you before my Father.

For if you were believing in Moses, you were then believing in Me myself; for concerning Me he wrote.

If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; " and again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am; " how shall we be able to live…

But just as in barley the kernel is hidden in the husk, so Christ is hidden under the wraps of the mysteries of the law. Like bread, those mysteries are expounded and expanded.

He presents the reason for this opposition when he says: If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me as well, as is clear from "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you, from your nation and your brothers; he will be like me: you will listen to him" (Dt 18:15), and from all the sacrifices, which were a symbol of Christ.

Now if in his writings you do not believe, how will you believe in My declarations?”

John5

The Pool of Bethesda

The Father and the Son

Testimonies about Jesus

The Witness of Scripture