John 5

Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

1 After thiss there was a Jewish feast,ss and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.s2 Now there ist in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gatet a pool called Bethzathass in Aramaic,t which has five covered walkways.ts3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.sss5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.t6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realizedt that the mant had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?”7 The sick man answered him, “Sir,t I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water,t someone elset goes down theret before me.”8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your matt and walk.”

9 Immediately the man was healed,t and he picked up his matt and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)ts
10 So the Jewish leaderst said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.”t11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your matt and walk.’”12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mats and walk’?”t

13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place.
14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more,t lest anything worse happen to you.”

15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaderst that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

Responding to Jewish Leaders

16 Now because Jesus was doing these thingss on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaderst began persecutingt him.17 So hes toldt them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.”s

18 For this reason the Jewish leaderst were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus answered them,t “I tell you the solemn truth,t the Son can do nothing on his own initiative,t but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Fathert does, the Son does likewise.s20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed.21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,t so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.t22 Furthermore, the Father does not judget anyone, but has assignedt all judgment to the Son,

23 so that all peoplet will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the solemn truth,t the one who hearst my messaget and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned,t but has crossed over from death to life.25 I tell you the solemn truth,t a timet is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself,

27 and he has granted the Sont authority to execute judgment,t because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a timet is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation.t

30 I can do nothing on my own initiative.t Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just,t because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.t

More Testimony About Jesus

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.32 There is anothers who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true.33 You have sent to John,s and he has testified to the truth.34 (I do not acceptt human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.)

35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining,s and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short timet in his light.
36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deedst that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deedst I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me.37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You peoplet have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time,s38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent.39 You study the scriptures thoroughlyt because you think in them you possess eternal life,s and it is these same scripturest that testify about me,

40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.
41 “I do not acceptt praiset from people,t42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of Godt within you.43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not acceptt me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will acceptt him.

44 How can you believe, if you accept praiset from one another and don’t seek the praiset that comes from the only God?s
45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.s46 Ift you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.

47 But if you do not believe what Mosest wrote, how will you believe my words?”

JOHN 5

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

1 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival.t

2 In the city near the sheep gate was a pool with five porches, and its name in Hebrew was Bethzatha.t

3-4 Many sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying close to the pool.t
5 Beside the pool was a man who had been sick for 38 years.

6 When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be healed?”

7 The man answered, “Sir, I don't have anyone to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up. I try to get in, but someone else always gets there first.”
8 Jesus told him, “Pick up your mat and walk!”

9 Right then the man was healed. He picked up his mat and started walking around. The day on which this happened was a Sabbath.

10  t When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat, they said to him, “This is the Sabbath! No one is allowed to carry a mat on the Sabbath.”

11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me to pick up my mat and walk.”
12 They asked him, “Who is this man that told you to pick up your mat and walk?”

13 But he did not know who Jesus was, and Jesus had left because of the crowd.
14 Later, Jesus met the man in the temple and told him, “You are now well. But don't sin anymore or something worse might happen to you.” 15 The man left and told the leaders that Jesus was the one who had healed him.

16 They started making a lot of trouble for Jesus because he did things like this on the Sabbath.
17 But Jesus said, “My Father has never stopped working, and this is why I keep on working.”

18 t Now the leaders wanted to kill Jesus for two reasons. First, he had broken the law of the Sabbath. But even worse, he had said God was his Father, which made him equal with God.

The Son's Authority

19 Jesus told the people:
I tell you for certain the Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing, and he does exactly what he sees the Father do. 20 The Father loves the Son and has shown him everything he does. The Father will show him even greater things, and you will be amazed.

21 Just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants to.
22 The Father doesn't judge anyone, but he has made his Son the judge of everyone. 23 The Father wants all people to honor the Son as much as they honor him. When anyone refuses to honor the Son, this is the same as refusing to honor the Father who sent him.

24 I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life and will never be condemned. They have already gone from death to life.
25 I tell you for certain the time will come, and it is already here, when all of the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen to it will live! 26 The Father has the power to give life, and he has given that same power to the Son.

27 And he has given his Son the right to judge everyone, because he is the Son of Man.
28 Don't be surprised! The time will come when all of the dead will hear the voice of the Son of Man,

29 t and they will come out of their graves. Everyone who has done good things will rise to life, but everyone who has done evil things will rise and be condemned.

30 I cannot do anything on my own. The Father sent me, and he is the one who told me how to judge. I judge with fairness, because I obey him, and I don't just try to please myself.

Witnesses to Jesus

35 t John was a lamp that gave a lot of light, and you were glad to enjoy his light for a while.

36 But something more important than John speaks for me. I mean the things that the Father has given me to do! All of these speak for me and prove that the Father sent me.
37  t The Father who sent me also speaks for me, but you have never heard his voice or seen him face to face.

38 You have not believed his message, because you refused to have faith in the one he sent.
39  t You search the Scriptures, because you think you will find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me,

40 but you refuse to come to me for eternal life.
41 I don't care about human praise, 42 but I do know that none of you love God. 43 I have come with my Father's authority, and you have not welcomed me. But you will welcome people who come on their own.

44 How could you possibly believe? You like to have your friends praise you, and you don't care about praise that the only God can give!
45 Don't think that I will be the one to accuse you to the Father. You have put your hope in Moses, yet he is the very one who will accuse you. 46 Moses wrote about me, and if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me. 47 But if you don't believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?