When some of the men of Jerusalem saw the man whom Jesus had made well carrying his bed, they told him it was not lawful, or right, for him to do that because it was the Sabbath day.
The man answered, “He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk.” But he could not tell them the name of the One who had made him well. Afterwards Jesus met him in the temple and told him to sin no more.
The man then went to the men who had asked him who had said for him to carry his bed, and told them it was Jesus who had made him well. Those men already hated Jesus because He had spoken against their wrong acts in the temple. Their anger grew more because He had cured the man on the Sabbath day and told him to carry his bed.
They claimed to keep God’s law to their nation, which was to do no work on the seventh day, the Sabbath, but keep it holy in honor to Him, and He would bless them (Deut. 5:15; Ex. 20:10).
My Father and I
But those men did not honor God or believe His words. They should have been expecting such a one, and known that one who could by His word cure a helpless man and do many other miracles, had the right from God to tell the man what to do on that day.
When those men spoke in anger to Jesus, He said, “My Father worketh ... and I work,” and He told them His work was all for people.
To cure the sick and helpless seems a great work to us, but that work was only for people’s life on earth. Jesus told them of the far greater work He would do. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” Verily meant, “It is true, it is true.”
“He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come in to condemnation [punishment]; but is passed from death unto life.”
Life Forever
That is a very wonderful work of the Lord Jesus to give life forever to each one who hears (accepts) His word and believes God who sent Him. No one could have that life by any work he could do. All would be away from the presence of God, called “death,” because all are sinners. When Jesus gave up His life on the cross it was His work to suffer the punishment for sin.
Jesus told those men about another “work” He will do, also greater than we can think. He said, “The hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth: they that have done good [believed His words] unto the resurrection of life; they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [punishment forever].” (See also 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4; Rev. 20.) These words of Jesus are very plain and solemn. What tremendous power there is in His voice — all who have ever died will hear and obey His command to rise!
Further Meditation:
1. Why were some men angry that the Lord had healed a lame man?
2. What was it like for a Jew to hear that He couldn’t work to gain life?
3. For more on the wonderful subject of the Lord Jesus as the Son of the Father you might enjoy reading The Son of His Love: Papers on the Eternal Sonship of Christ by W. J. Hocking.