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1–18. Healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda on Saturday. The Jews are plotting to kill Christ for breaking the Sabbath and for His teaching about Himself as the Son of God. – 19–47. Christ's speech about Himself as the true Son of God, to whom the Father gave power over the world. John 5:1. After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus came to Jerusalem. “After this”, i.e. after the events (μετὰ ταῦτα – plural; cf. μετὰ τοῦτο – singular in John 2:12) described by John in chapter 4. “It was a Jewish holiday.” What kind of holiday is this? It is most likely to assume that with this expression John wanted to designate the Feast of Tabernacles as the most cheerful and beloved among the people. Simply a holiday (ἡ ἑορτή) is sometimes called the Feast of Tabernacles both in the books of the Old Testament (1 Kings 8:2, 12:32; Ezek.45:25; Neh.8:14) and in Josephus (Josephus. “Antiquities of the Jews” XX, 9, 3; XIII, 13, 5). Nothing like this can be said about Easter or Pentecost, much less about the holiday of Purim. For example, in the Old Testament, in the translation of the Seventy, the feast of Pentecost (in Aramaic - Asarta, in Hebrew - Atzeret) is nowhere designated simply by the expression “feast” (ἡ ἑορτή). But if John here means the Feast of Tabernacles, it means that between the passage of Christ through Samaria in January (John 4:35) and the present event that happened in Jerusalem at the beginning of October (from the 15th to the 22nd month of Tisri), about nine months passed, during which the Lord lived in solitude in Galilee, not visiting Jerusalem on the previous Passover (2nd Passover). "Jesus Came to Jerusalem". The Lord comes to Jerusalem alone, without his disciples, who at this time apparently returned to their previous occupations. It can be assumed, however, that the Apostle John, who had the opportunity to come with the Lord to Jerusalem, did not leave his Teacher during this stay of Christ in Jerusalem. Otherwise, where could he have borrowed the speech of Christ spoken regarding the healing of the paralytic? (Edersheim’s assumption that Christ Himself subsequently conveyed its contents to John is implausible: nowhere in the Gospels is there the slightest indication of such a way of introducing Matthew and John to the speeches of Christ.) John 5:2. There is also a pool in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate, called Bethesda in Hebrew, 22 which had five covered passages. Near the Sheep Gate 23 (Neh. 3:32, 12:39), which was located in the northern part of the wall, there was a pool or pond with five covered passages in which the sick lay. This pool was called in Hebrew (more correctly “in Aramaic”) Bethesda (in Aramaic Beth-Hesda), i.e. “house of mercy”, “merciful love”. When John wrote his Gospel, this pool still existed (he says: “is”). The devastation carried out in Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 was obviously not at all as terrible as Josephus depicts it (War of the Jews, VII, 1, 1), and previously known places and remains of buildings could still be found in the city. Eusebius of Caesarea says that in the year 70 only half of Jerusalem perished (Demonstratio evangelica, VI 18, 10; cf. Ecclesiastical History, IV 23, 18). In a conversation attributed to St. Athanasius, it is said that the said bath existed in the 4th century (ed. Montfaucon, 2, 70; cf. Polyansky’s article “on Bethesda” in the communications of the Palestine Society for 1910). John 5:3. In them lay a great multitude of the sick, the blind, the lame, the withered, waiting for the movement of the waters, John 5:4. for the Angel of the Lord from time to time went into the pool and disturbed the water, and whoever first entered it after the water was disturbed was healed, no matter what disease he was suffering from. Here is described a miracle that took place in the bath over those sick who managed to plunge into the water immediately after it was disturbed by the Angel who descended from time to time. The newest publishers of the Gospel text, however, make only one of both of these verses, leaving the words “in them (i.e., in the covered passages or galleries) lay a great multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered.” The rest, according to the new publishers, is an insertion (interpolation) of a later time; in the most ancient Greek manuscripts there are no further words about the miracle performed due to the descent of the Angel, just as there are none in the ancient Syriac translations of the Gospel of John. But we cannot agree with such an exception to the 4th verse in view of the fact that such authorities as the Alexandrian Codex, Saints John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria and almost all Latin church writers, the Vulgate, the Coptic translation have the words of the 4th verse 24. As for how the evangelist himself felt about the popular belief in the miraculous power of the water of this bath, nothing definite can be said about this. Apparently, he is simply communicating here the view that existed in his time among the Jews, who usually saw in unusual and incomprehensible natural phenomena the actions of heavenly spirits who had jurisdiction over one or another area or element of nature. The Apocalypse also mentions the Angel of the Waters (Rev. 16:5), and this circumstance gives reason to assume that John himself was not alien to the common Jewish idea of ​​​​the existence of special Angels acting on people through various elements of nature. And this thought generally agrees with the belief in the existence of divine providence, especially since the evangelist says that this action of the Angel on the water was not performed regularly at certain times, but at rather indefinite intervals of time (“at times” is an indefinite expression that designates precisely the unequal intervals between the descents of the Angel, which is indicated by the expression κατὰ καιρόν). John 5:5. Here was a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. John 5:6. Jesus, seeing him lying down and learning that he had been lying there for a long time, said to him: Do you want to be healthy? John 5:7. The sick man answered Him: Yes, Lord; but I do not have a person who would lower me into the pool when the water is troubled; when I arrive, another has already descended before me. In the bathhouse there was a sufferer who lay paralyzed for 38 years. He was probably brought here or brought from somewhere far away, and there was no permanent caregiver around him who would have dipped him into the water immediately when it was disturbed. Either from the sick man himself, or from one of his neighbors, Christ learned about his unfortunate fate. When John depicts instances of Christ “immediately understanding” something, he expresses it differently than here (cf. John 1:48, 50; John 2:24 et seq.; John 4:17–19). “Do you want to be healthy?” The patient, obviously, has already lost the ability to recognize the full force of his misfortune, and Christ, by His question, awakens in him the fallen hope for the possibility of healing, arouses the desire to get well. At the same time, Christ directed the sick person’s attention to Himself, wanting to let him understand that He could bring healing to the sick person. The patient, however, does not see any other way of deliverance than immersion in the miraculous water of the bath, and this method turns out to be inaccessible to him. John 5:8. Jesus says to him: get up, take up your mat and walk. John 5:9. And he immediately became well, and took up his bed and went. It was on the Sabbath day. Although the Lord currently had reason to fear manifestations of hostility towards Himself on the part of the Jews, nevertheless He healed the sick man. Despite the fact that it was on Saturday, when it was forbidden to carry any weights, He commands the healed man to take up his bed and walk. The extraordinary energy, which was undoubtedly detected by Christ in this command, produced a strong upsurge of spirit in the sick man, and he, instantly healed, quickly packed up his bed and left the bathhouse. However, according to the best codes, the word “immediately” is not read in verse 9, and this seems to be a more correct reading. Christ probably left the pool before the sick man felt completely healthy, otherwise it would be incomprehensible how the healed man was not curious to find out from his Benefactor who He was (cf. verse 13). Christ this time, in contrast to how He acted before (cf. John 2:13–3:21), did not want to address the people with a teaching about the miracle He performed. He did not perform this miracle as a sign to attract people to believe in Him (cf. John 2:18, 23), but as a work of mercy. John 5:10. Therefore the Jews said to the healed man: Today is the Sabbath; You shouldn't take the bed. The healing was performed by Christ on Saturday, and this gave the Jews a reason to expose the healed patient for violating the Sabbath rest, since this man, fulfilling the command of Christ, carried his bed home, which was forbidden to do on Saturday (cf. Matt. 12: 1-8). By “Jews” here John obviously means, as in the 18th verse of the 2nd chapter, official representatives of Judaism, perhaps even members of the Sanhedrin from among the Pharisees. John 5:11. He answered them: He who healed me said to me: take up your bed and walk. John 5:12. They asked him: Who is the man who said to you, “Take up your bed and walk?” John 5:13. The healed one did not know who He was, for Jesus hid himself among the people who were in that place. The Jews do not pay any attention to the miracle of healing itself - it is only important for them to know the name of the One who commanded the healed person to break the law of observing the Sabbath rest. John 5:14. Then Jesus met him in the church and said to him, “Behold, you are made well; Don’t sin anymore, lest something worse happen to you. John 5:15. This man went and announced to the Jews that the one who healed him was Jesus. John 5:16. And the Jews began to persecute Jesus and sought to kill Him because He did such things on the Sabbath. Christ is not content with healing the patient’s body; He wants to heal his soul, threatening him with great suffering if the patient again begins a sinful life, which was the cause of his illness. The eyes of the healed person are thus opened, and he is called to a change of life, to repentance, which will lead to salvation. The healed one, after meeting Christ, hastens to announce to the Jews about Christ as his healer. Geikie believes that his low nature was reflected here (Part 3, p. 114). But it is most likely to assume that he announced Christ in joy and simplicity of heart, thinking that the Jews would hasten to recognize Christ as a true prophet. He, of course, could not have known the hostile relationship in which the Jews stood towards Christ. The result of this discovery of the name of the Healer was to increase the enmity of the Jews towards the Lord. As the desecrator of the Sabbath, they tried to kill Him. But, obviously, there was no case for this, and perhaps no sufficient reason. John 5:17. Jesus said to them: My Father is working until now, and I am working. Apparently, the Jews in the church approached Christ Himself with their accusations, pointing Him to the words of Moses about honoring the Sabbath (Gen. 2:2; Exod. 20:10). Against such evidence, the Lord tells the Jews that they incorrectly imagine the peace that came for God with the end of the creation of the world, the peace that Moses reported (Gen. 2:2). The Sabbath of God became for God a rest only from the works of creation, and God never ceased to be engaged in the work of providing for the created world. And from this it followed that the peace that, according to the requirement of the Law of Moses, the Jews had to maintain on the Sabbath, did not consist at all in a complete cessation of all activity, but only in some change from a person’s usual activities to others, which do not at all pose anything difficult for a person, but rather contribute to the renewal of his strength. Among such deeds, which are not included in the circle of ordinary deeds, is Christ and the healing He performed on Saturday. This means that He is unfairly accused of violating God’s commandments. But at the same time, Christ also bases His right to do things on the Sabbath on the special relationship in which He stands to God. He calls God His Father - in the literal sense of the word (He says “My Father”, not “Our Father”). As having one nature with God, Christ acts as freely as God. John 5:18. And the Jews sought even more to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath, but also called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. The Jews understood Christ's words well and accused Him not only of breaking the Sabbath, but also of blasphemy, and the Lord did not say that they misunderstood His words about His divine dignity. On the contrary, He further confirms the correctness of their understanding (St. John Chrysostom). John 5:19. To this Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing: for whatever He does, the Son also does likewise. From verses 19 to 47 the Lord speaks, in which He speaks about His relationship to the Father. First of all, the Lord establishes the fact that the Son does only what his loving Father reveals to Him, and even, like the Father, resurrects and gives life to the dead and executes judgment on the world (verses 19-30). Then, since the Jews could accuse Christ of self-exaltation, Christ points to the testimony about Him from His Father - a testimony consisting of the deeds that Christ performed by virtue of the authority given to Him by the Father, as well as to the foretellings that are given about Christ in the Holy Scriptures (verses 31-47). Defending Himself from the accusations of the Jews, Christ with special force (for this He repeats the word “truly” twice) confirms the idea that He, as the Son of God, can only act as His Father does. Just as the son of a simple man sees everything that his father does and looks closely at his father’s activities, so Christ penetrates into all the secrets of Divine work and, like the Son, “can do nothing contrary to the Father, nothing alien to Him, nothing incongruous, and this even more shows equality and perfect harmony between Them” (St. John Chrysostom). At the same time, the Lord also points out His dependence as the Messiah on the Father (He cannot create “of Himself”) during all the days of His sojourn on earth (cf. John 3:13). The same thought is expressed in the last words of the verse: “The Son does likewise.” John 5:20. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. The fact that the initiative in all the affairs of the Son belongs to the Father does not in the least humiliate the Son. On the contrary, this reflects the greatest love of the Father for the Son. The Father loves His Son so much that He shows Him everything that He Himself does. Christ, therefore, is constantly, and not just temporarily (as happened with the prophets), in the closest communion with God. The book of God's destinies is constantly open before the gaze of Christ. And the powers of Christ as the Messiah will further increase over time: the Father will “show”, i.e. will give power to Christ to do such things that will lead the Jews to extreme surprise (“So that” ... more precisely, so that ... (ἵνα) you will be surprised; this indicates the purpose that God has in giving Christ the power to do new, higher things). John 5:21. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whomever He will. The things that should greatly surprise the Jews are the resurrection and revival of the dead, which will be performed by the Son in the same way as the Father does it. “The Father raises up” regardless of time: He raised up before, He raises up now and will raise up later (cf. Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6; Hos. 6:2; Ezek. 37:1-10; Dan. 12:2). Likewise, “The Son gives life to whomever he wants” - again, as in the first sentence, regardless of time - he quickens and will quicken 25. "Whomever he wants". This expression was added in view of the fact that it speaks of the resurrection of the dead, who do not have their own will, but submit to the will of the Son. Some interpreters (for example, Bishop Michael) see in this addition an indication that the Lord is not yet speaking about resurrection in the proper sense, but about the spiritual and moral resurrection of living people through the rebirth of Christ’s grace. But one can hardly agree with such an interpretation. We must not lose sight of the fact that resurrection here is made dependent only on the will of Christ, and yet spiritual rebirth cannot take place without the consent of the person being revived or without faith. Christ, of course, wanted to resurrect everyone in a spiritual sense, but people themselves often resisted this desire of Christ (John 5:40; Matt. 23:37). Moreover, Christ says that the revival of the dead is one of those works that the Father has not yet shown Him, but will show in time (verse 20). Meanwhile, Christ performed works of spiritual revival before (John 1:37–51, 2:23–24, 4:10–42). Finally, Christ’s opponents not only did not marvel at such His works, but, on the contrary, saw in them the works of a deceiver or a person dependent on forces hostile to God (John 9:16). In view of all this, “resurrection” and “revival” here should be understood only as the resurrection of the bodily dead, which, as an extraordinary miracle, should have led to extreme amazement of the enemies of Christ. John 5:22. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, Since the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of mankind were, according to the concepts of the Jews, closely related to each other, the power of the Son to raise the dead is confirmed here by the reference to the fact that “all judgment” belongs to the Son as the only Judge of the world. This, however, does not deny that God is the Judge of the world. The Greek phrase corresponding to the expression “all judgment” (τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν) does not mean in general the judging activity that belongs to God (Gen. 18:25), but judgment in a special sense of the word, namely the final universal judgment and, moreover, in its entirety, to the full extent in which the Messiah is destined to carry it out (cf. Heb.9:27, 10:27; Matthew 7:22 et seq.; Matthew 24:37 et seq.; Matthew 25:31 et seq.; Thus, the Savior, the resurrector of the dead, will also appear as their Judge. John 5:23. that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. But judgment for Christ was not His main work (cf. John 3:17), but only accompanying His saving activity. Therefore, if we are talking here about the reverence that people should have for the Son, then this reverence must be based, of course, first of all, on the recognition of the significance of the Son as the Savior of all people. People should honor the Son as they honor the Father. Not only pious people, who, however, did not know the Son until now, should, having recognized Him, transfer to Him the reverence that they had hitherto shown only to God, but also the Jews who did not believe in Christ, who believed that by denying the Son, they would honor God (John 8:49), can, under the influence of the miracles performed by Christ, believe in Him, especially when they see how the Son raises the dead (cf. John 12:42). Whoever stubbornly refuses the Son the respect due to Him must know that by doing so he will also insult the Father, Who sent the Son: it is impossible to be both an admirer of God and an enemy of Christ at the same time. John 5:24. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Christ partially performs the resurrection of the dead even now. There are many people who are spiritually dead (Matt.8:22; Rev.3:1). Christ said about them earlier that He was sent to revive them (John 3:14–18, 4:10–42). Now Christ says that they are not only figuratively dead, but are actually in a state of death and only then can they rise from this mortal sleep when they believe in Christ and follow Him. It is obvious that Christ does not distinguish between physical and spiritual death: an abnormal mental and physical state is the same as what physical death plunges a person into. On the other hand, the one who accepted the teachings of Christ with faith already has eternal life here on earth, and this person retains such a life forever (cf. John 4:14, 36). From the realm of death, a person thus passes into the realm of life, and by virtue of this he is freed from all judgment (“to judgment” - εἰς κρίσιν, without an article) and from that judgment that the unbeliever himself brings upon himself by his unbelief (John 3:18), and from the final judgment to which all humanity will be subjected after the resurrection of the dead (verse 29). However, release from the last judgment cannot be understood as a complete release from the obligation to appear at the last terrible judgment. No, all people, including believers, will be judged (Matt. 25:33–34), but for the righteous who believe in Christ, this judgment will not have such a terrifying meaning as it will have for unbelievers (2 Tim. 4:8). John 5:25. Truly, truly, I say to you, the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live. What dead people is Christ talking about here? We cannot mean here the spiritually dead; the particularly solemn tone heard here (Christ repeats the word “truly” twice) makes us expect here an indication of something new, unusual, and not a repetition of the thought of spiritual resurrection. Then, the resurrection of the dead at the call of Christ, which is depicted here, has in the context of speech the meaning of proof of the extraordinary power given to Christ by the Father. But can spiritual resurrection, as an event in a person’s inner life, have the significance of such proof? Thus, it is most likely to assume that Christ, when he said that the resurrection of the dead is coming and has even already come, meant those miraculous resurrections of the dead that He soon wanted to accomplish. Such was the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11) and other similar miracles (Matt. 9:18–26, 11:5; Luke 7:11–17). As for the expression “having heard” (οἱ ἀκούσαντες), to which some interpreters refer to prove their thought that Christ here meant the spiritually dead who can “hear,” this expression only shows that those dead whom Christ wants to call to life will obediently follow His call. And Saint John Chrysostom sees in the resurrection of the dead mentioned here the beginning of that resurrection that will take place before the Last Judgment. John 5:26. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son to have life in Himself. John 5:27. And He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. To show that in this promise to raise the dead in the proper sense of the word there is not a trace of any self-exaltation and erroneous calculation, Christ says that the Father gave Him to have life in Himself and to carry out judgment. What does it mean to “have life in yourself”? Creatures cannot exist without the help of God. Without His breath, which revives and supports them, they perish. They cannot live without the food that God sends them (Ps. 103:27–30; Acts 17:25–28). Only God in His being is not limited by anything, does not depend on anything, and, on the contrary, from the limitless fullness of His life He Himself can communicate life in limitless dimensions. This is what it means to “have life in yourself.” As for the Son, He can do the same things in relation to creatures as the Father, without thereby causing any harm to Himself (cf. John 1:16), but the Son has such fullness of life as a gift received from the Father (cf. verses 19, 30). The same must be said about His activity as the Judge of humanity: and it is a consequence of the power received from the Father. "Because He is the Son of Man". Since here (verses 26-27) we are talking not only about judgment, but also about the revival that the Son is given to perform, then the words in question must contain the rationale for both the judging activity of Christ and His right to resurrect and revive. This justification is an indication that Christ is the “Son of Man.” This expression has already appeared several times in the Synoptic Gospels, and it was also found in John (John 1:51, 3:14). From the context of the speech it is clear that in the present case the evangelist wants to designate with this expression a special right, a special basis by virtue of which the Son will appear as the Judge of people. It would be strange to assume that Christ based this right of His only on the fact that He is a “true man” and that therefore it would be easy for Him to sort out human affairs. With the same right, many others could act as judges over humanity! Moreover, the use of the term “son of man” in the sense of “man” is generally alien to the New Testament. If anywhere the replacement of the concept “man” with the designated term is found, it is only in places borrowed from the Old Testament (Heb. 2:6; Rev. 1:13, 14:14). Therefore, it is more correct to believe that Christ used the term “Son of Man” here as a designation of the Messiah, the King of the Kingdom of God established by Himself. Only in this sense could the Jews, the listeners of Christ, understand this expression. John 5:28. Do not marvel at this; for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; John 5:29. and those who did good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who did evil into the resurrection of condemnation. “Marvel not at this,” i.e. what is said above (verses 19–27). It is obvious that Christ's hearers did not trust His words about His Messianic dignity. “All who are in the graves...” Compared to what is said above about the power that Christ has over the dead, there is something new here. Namely, Christ says that at His call or command all the dead will be resurrected, including those Jews who are now listening to the speech of Christ and will eventually die. Then Christ points out that the fate of those resurrected will not be the same: only those who did good during life will receive real, eternal life after the resurrection, while evil people will be subject to condemnation, which is the opposite of life (cf. verse 24). Who, however, is meant here by “those who did good” or by virtuous people? Some (for example, Bishop Michael) see here as a designation of the totality of people who believed in Christ. But since the Lord is here the Judge of all people who have lived at all times, then the verdict regarding them cannot be based on whether they had faith in Christ: most of them, of course, have not heard of Christ. It is more correct to assume that they will be judged on the basis of the moral law innate to every person, which, however, essentially coincides with what the revealed law taught (cf. Rom. 2:12-16). Christ’s listeners should have concluded from His words that their own salvation depended on one or another of their relationship to Christ, the Judge of all people. John 5:30. I cannot create anything on my own. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous; For I do not seek My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. Since Christ recognizes Himself as dependent in His earthly activity on the Father, it means that the judgment that He will carry out will appear completely correct. He judges according to what he hears from the Father, with whom he is in constant close communication. In this judgment He only fulfills the will of the Father. "I'm judging." Although Christ will appear as the Judge of the world only at the end of time (verses 22, 27, 29), He speaks of His judgment as an event of the present time, since in a certain respect (cf. verse 25) His judging activity is already manifested now in His relation to the Jews (cf. John 3:19, 7:18, 26). John 5:31. If I testify about Myself, then My testimony is not true. John 5:32. There is another who testifies of Me; and I know that the testimony with which he testifies about Me is true. Christ's listeners could again doubt the validity of His threats, with which He indirectly addressed them - threats of His righteous judgment. Therefore, the Lord convinces them to remember that He is not the only one testifying about Himself. If only He Himself spoke of Himself as the Giver of Life and the Judge of the world, then His listeners, of course, from their point of view, would have the right to doubt His words. But there is another witness, the truth of which even Christ’s listeners, the Jews, cannot doubt. This witness, whose truth no one can doubt, is, of course, God himself, as can be seen from verse 36 et seq. John 5:33. You sent to John, and he testified to the truth. John 5:34. However, I do not accept testimony from man, but I say this so that you may be saved. John 5:35. He was a lamp, burning and shining; and you wanted to rejoice in its light for a little while. Although Christ could have referred to the testimony, to the fact that John the Baptist spoke about Him as “the truth” (i.e., said that Christ is the true Messiah) before those sent from the Sanhedrin (John 1:19–23), nevertheless He does not do this, because John as a man could not give decisive testimony about Christ. If Christ mentions the testimony of the Baptist, it is only in the interests of His listeners, in order to give them the opportunity to take advantage of all means to achieve salvation, which Christ obviously does not consider impossible for them. "He was a lamp." This figurative description of the person and activity of John the Baptist is reminiscent of what is said in the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach about Elijah the prophet (Sir.48:1). Perhaps Christ also reminded his listeners of the prophecy of Malachi that before the coming of the Messiah the prophet Elijah should appear as His forerunner (Mal.4:5-6). Christ wants to say that John the Baptist had the same zeal for the glory of God as Elijah. The expression “was” (ἦν) indicates that the public activity of the Baptist had already ended at the time Christ spoke this speech. “You wanted to rejoice for a little time...”. Instead of taking advantage of John's preaching to convert themselves to the true path, the Jews only enjoyed the knowledge that after a long period of time a great prophet had again appeared among them, before whom even kings trembled. Yes, for the Jews this lamp, now extinguished, shone in vain! John 5:36. But I have a testimony greater than John’s: for the works that the Father gave Me to do, these very works that I have done, testify of Me that the Father has sent Me. John 5:37. And the Father who sent Me testified about Me. But you have never heard His voice, nor seen His face; John 5:38. and you do not have His word abiding in you, because you do not believe Him whom He sent. The Jews not only did not give faith to the testimony of John about Christ, they now do not believe this prophet of God and Christ Himself, Who has a testimony for Himself incomparably stronger than John. The latter, as is known, did not perform a single miracle (John 10:41), but Christ, by the power of His Father, performs various miracles (“works”) and this testifies that He is truly sent by the Father. “And he who sent Me...” But these miracles or deeds constitute only God’s indirect testimony of Christ. There is another, direct testimony of God about Christ. God Himself, of course, testifies of Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures: Christ is always the main subject of the prophecies of the Old Testament. But the Jews did not seem to hear the voice of God, and did not see the sight of God, and did not accept the words of God into themselves - this is clearly evident from the fact that they do not believe the One Whom God Himself sent to them. Christ, however, does not reproach the Jews for the fact that they did not see and hear God, like, for example, the prophets or John; for this they are not to blame. The rebuke is in the first half of verse 38: “and you do not have His word abiding in you.” Christ wants to say by this: “Suppose you personally have not been worthy of direct revelation from God, but you have the Scriptures, which contain the same revelation. Your fault is that you do not value this Scripture as you should and soon forget what you read in it.” If on their part there had been a different attitude towards the word of God contained in Scripture, if this word had become the force that determined all their activities (cf. Matt. 22:29), then they would have accepted with faith Christ, to whom Scripture pointed. Now they don’t have this faith. John 5:39. Search the Scriptures, for through them you think you have eternal life; and they testify of Me. John 5:40. But you do not want to come to Me to have life. The Jews read the Scriptures, and very carefully (to see in the expression ἑρευνᾶτε the indicative mood, and not the imperative, as in the Russian text, is prompted by the context of the speech, which generally has an accusatory character). They believe that they will find all salvation in him, in his letter. “The Scriptures,” Christ notes in passing, “precisely lead to Christ.” Yes, the Jews read Scripture, and very carefully, they want to fulfill it to the last letter in order to find life or justification before God by the exact fulfillment of all the details of the law, but they do not want to see behind the letter of Scripture the true Giver of Life - Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 3:14-16). John 5:41. I don't accept glory from people John 5:42. but I know you: you do not have love for God in yourself. The Lord speaks of Himself as the only Source of life not at all out of narrow ambition: for Him the honor with which people usually surround their chosen ones is not attractive. He did not speak so harshly about the Jews because he was dissatisfied with their disrespectful attitude towards Him as a teacher. His harsh comments about the Jews are explained by the fact that He knows them well as people who do not have the love of God or, more correctly, the love of God, which is characteristic of God (cf. John 17:26; Rom.5:5). In fact, if they had the kind of love that is revealed in compassion and mercy for the unfortunate, then they would not have rebelled against Christ for healing the paralytic on the Sabbath. John 5:43. I have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; but if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. The rejection of Christ by representatives of Judaism is all the more strange because over time, as Christ predicts, they will accept another who will make the same statement about himself as Christ is now making. This prediction was fulfilled for the first time when Simon Bar Kochba, one of the Jewish patriots who raised the banner of rebellion against Roman rule, was recognized as a “star from Jacob” (cf. Numbers 24:17), i.e. the true Messiah, and when thousands of Jews went to their death for this man (132-135 A.D.). According to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, here Christ is hinting at the Antichrist. "In your name". This other will not actually be authorized by God to accept the title of Messiah, as Christ was authorized to do so by His Father. According to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, who sees here only the Antichrist, this latter will call himself God and will act in everything completely contrary to the will of the true God. John 5:44. How can you believe when you receive glory from each other, but do not seek the glory that is from the One God? Explaining further reasons for the unbelief of the Jews, Christ points out that they do not at all care about being worthy of the grace that the Messiah-Redeemer should bring to people. They are narrowly ambitious, entirely occupied with how not to humiliate their dignity in the eyes of people. They seek only glory, respect from people (Matthew 23:6-8). “You do not seek the glory that is from the One God.” Only those who humbly acknowledge their spiritual poverty and seek the help of God’s grace can believe in Christ. God will glorify such a person and recognize him as His faithful servant. But the Jews do not care about this glory or honor, which only God can give. John 5:45. Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: you have an accuser, Moses, in whom you trust. John 5:46. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, because he wrote about Me. John 5:47. If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? The Lord expressed grave accusations against the Jews, but He does not at all want to make accusations against the Jews before His Father. There is already an accuser against them - this is Moses, on whom they place their hopes as a defender, because they fulfilled his commandments so strictly, how could he not stand up for them before God, the Jews thought. No, Moses will not defend them when they find themselves before the judgment of God, because he himself predicted the coming of Christ both in the prophecies and in the types contained in his Pentateuch. Not believing Christ, Whom Moses predicted to his people, through this the Jews discover a lack of trust in Moses himself. How can they then expect help from Moses when they have to appear before the terrible judgment seat of God? Christ’s speech should have made a strong impression on the listeners, and this probably explains the fact that this time His enemies did not dare to carry out their villainous intentions regarding Christ (cf. verse 16). But in any case, from that time on, a sharp and decisive change took place in the attitude of the representatives of Judaism towards Christ. It was no longer safe for him to remain in Jerusalem, and even in Galilee his enemies began to pursue him on his heels. The shadow of the cross now hangs over all His future activities (Geiki). Sheep intended for sacrifice were probably driven away here. In addition, with the omission of verse 4, it becomes unclear what kind of “troubled waters” the paralytic is talking about to Christ (verse 7). There is some difference between resurrection (ἐγείρειν) and quickening (ζῳοποιεῖν). The first means only awakening from deathly sleep, and the second means the supply of vital forces as a result of awakening. You might be interested in: