John 4:43-5:18: Two Healings

4:43

Now after these two days, he went out [3S 2 Aor Act Indic erchomai] from there into Galilee, 44for Jesus himself testified [3S 1 Aor Act Indic martureo] that a prophet in his own country does not have [3S Pres Act Indic echo] honor. 45Therefore, when he came [3S 2 Aor Act Indic erchomai] into Galilee, the all the Galileans received [3P 1 Aor Mid Indic dechomai] him, having seen [Nom MP Perf Act Part horao] that which he did [3S 1 Aor Act Indic poieo] in Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went [3P 2 Aor Act Indic erchomai] to the feast.
46

Therefore he came [3S 2 Aor Act Indic erchomai] again to Cana in Galilee, where he made [3S 1 Aor Act Indic poieo] the water wine. And there was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] a certain nobleman whose son was sick [3S Impf Act Indic astheneo] in Capernaum. 47When this one heard [Nom MS Aor Act Part akouo] that Jesus had come [3S Pres Act Indic heko] from Judea into Galilee, he went [3S 2 Aor Act Indic aperchomai] to him and requested [3S Impf Act Indic erotao] that he come down [3S 2 Aor Act Subj katabaino] and heal [3S 2 Aor Mid Subj iaomai] his son, for he was about [3S Impf Act Indic mello] to die [Pres Act Inf apothnesko]. 48Therefore Jesus said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to him, Unless signs and wonders you see [2P 2 Aor Act Subj eido], you will by no means [ou me] believe [2P 1 Aor Act Subj pisteuo]. 49The nobleman says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to him, Lord, come down [2S 2 Aor Act Impv katabaino] before my child dies [2 Aor Act Inf apothnesko]. 50Jesus says [3S Pres Act Indic lego], Go your way [2S Pres Mid Impv poreuo]; your son lives [3S Pres Act Ind zao]. The man believed [3S 1 Aor Act Indic pisteuo] the word that Jesus said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to him, and he went his way [3S Impf Mid Indic poreuo]. 51Now he, already going [Gen. Abs.: Gen MS Pres Act Part katabaino], his servants met [3P 1 Aor Act Indic apantao] him, saying [Nom MP Pres Act Part lego] that his child lives [3S Pres Act Indic zao]. 52Then he inquired [3S 2 Aor Mid Indic punthanomai] of them the hour in which he had [3S 2 Aor Act Indic echo] better health. Then they said [3P 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to him that, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left [3S 1 Aor Act Indic apiemi]. 53Therefore the father knew [3S 2 Aor Act Indic ginosko] that it was in that hour in which Jesus said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to him, Your son lives [3S Pres Act Indic zao], and he believed [3S 1 Aor Act Indic pisteuo], himself and his whole house. 54Now this again the second sign Jesus did [3S 1 Aor Act Indic poieo], having come [Nom MS 2 Aor Act Part erchomai] from Judea to Galilee.
5:1

After these things, there was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up [3S 2 Aor Act Indic anabaino] into Jerusalem. 2Now there is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] in Jerusalem by the Sheep Marketa pool, which is called [Nom FS Pres Pass Part epilego] in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having [Nom FS Pres Act Part echo] five porches. 3In these were laying [3S Impf Mid Indic katakeimai] a multitude of sick [Gen MP Pres Act Part astheneo], blind, lame, and paralyzed people.1 5Now a certain man was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] there, thirty-eight years having [Nom MS Pres Act Part echo] his infirmity [te astheneia]. 6When him Jesus saw [Nom MS 2 Aor Act Part eido] lying [Acc MS Pres Mid Part katakeimai], and knew [Nom MS 2 Aor Act Part ginosko] that much time already he has [3S Pres Act Indic echo], he says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to him, Do you want [2S Pres Act Indic thelo] to become [2 Aor Mid Inf ginomai] whole? 7The infirm man [Nom MS Pres Act Part astheneo] answered [2S 1 Aor Mid Indic apokrinomai] to him, Lord, a man I do not have [1S Pres Act Indic echo] in order that when the water is troubled [3S 1 Aor Pass Subj tarasso] he might put [3S Pres Act Subj ballo] me into the pool; but while I come [1S Pres Mid Indic erchomai], another before me goes down [3S Pres Act Indic katabaino]. 8Jesus says [3S Pres Act Indic lego] to him, Rise [2S 1 Aor Mid Impv egeiro], take up [2S 1 Aor Act Impv airo] your bed, and walk [2S Pres Act Impv peripateo]. 9And immediately the man
1 At this point, Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water, 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water; whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. [ESV Footnote]

became [3S 2 Aor Mid Indic ginomai] and took up [3S 1 Aor Act Indic airo] his bed and was walking [3S Impf Act Indic peripateo]. Now it was [3S Impf Act Indic eimi] Sabbath on that day. 10Therefore the Jews were saying [3P Impf Act Indic lego] to the having-been-healed-one [Dat MS Perf Pass Part therapeuo], It is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry [1 Aor Act Inf airo] your bed. 11But he answered [3S 1 Aor Mid Indic apokrinomai] them, The having-made-me-whole-one [Nom MS 1 Aor Act Part poieo], he to me said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego], Take up [2S 1 Aor Act Impv airo] your bed and walk [2S Pres Act Impv peripateo]. 12They asked [3P 1 Aor Act Indic erotao], Who is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] the man who said [Nom MS 2 Aor Act Part lego] to you, Take up [2S 1 Aor Act Impv airo] and walk [2S Pres Act Impv peripateo]? 13But the healed-one [Nom MS 1 Aor Pass Part iaomai] did not know [3S Perf Act Indic eido] who it was [3S Pres Act Indic eimi], for Jesus slipped away [3S 1 Aor Act Indic ekeneuo], a multitude being [Gen Abs: Gen MS Pres Act Part eimi] in the place. 14After these things Jesus finds [3S Pres Act Indic heurisko] him in the temple and said [3S 2 Aor Act Indic lego] to him, Behold, whole you have become [2S Perf Act Indic ginomai]! No longer sin [2S Pres Act Impv hamartano], lest something worse happen [3S 2 Aor Mid Subj ginomai] to you. 15The man left [3S 2 Aor Act Indic aperchomai] and told [3S 1 Aor Act Indic anaggello] the Jews that Jesus is [3S Pres Act Indic eimi] the having-made-himwhole-one [Nom MS 1 Aor Act Part poieo]. 16And because of this the Jews were persecuting [3P Impf Act Indic dioko] Jesus, for these things he was doing [3S Impf Act Indic poieo] on Sabbath. 17But Jesus answered [3S 1 Aor Mid Indic apokrinomai] them, My Father, up to now, is working [3S Pres Mid Indic ergazomai], and I am working [3S Pres Mid Indic ergazomai]. 18Therefore because of this the Jews all the more were seeking [3P Impf Act Indic zetao] to kill [1 Aor Act Inf apokteino] him, for not only was he breaking [3S Impf Act Indic luo] the Sabbath, but also he was saying [3S Impf Act Indic lego] that God was his own Father, equal himself making [Nom MS Pres Act Part poieo] to God.

Comment: John does not give us the two stories of healing (4:46-54 and 5:1-18) merely in order to prove that Jesus is capable of healing the sick and the lame, respectively. The two stories reveal contrasting purposes for Jesus to heal. In the first story, Jesus heals in order to lead the official, and all his household, to faith (4:53). In the second story, Jesus heals in order to restore a worshiper to temple worship (5:14), since no one lame was allowed to enter the temple. The transition passage in 4:43-45, then, accomplishes more than narrating how Jesus got from Samaria to Cana in Galilee4:43-45 provides the context for these two healings. Jesus did not go where he had no honor (Nazareth, his hometown; 4:44) because he was revealing two significant things about himself. Namely, Jesus was revealing his trustworthiness and his sanctifying purposes. First, Jesus was demonstrating (by a sign) that he can be trusted to heal, and second, why he heals. 4:43-45: After spending two days with the Samaritans, Jesus left for Galilee. John's sentence in 4:44 is a bit curious, as he states For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown. Yet, Nazareth (Jesus' hometown) is in Galilee. Why would he go to his hometown, where he had no honor? Here is Calvin's explanation: The apparent contradiction which strikes us here at first sight, has given rise to various interpretations. There is an excess of subtlety in the explanation given by Augustine, that Christ was without honor among his own countrymen, because he had done more good among the Samaritans in two days only than he had done, in a long time, among the Galileans; and because, without miracles, he gained more disciples in Samaria than a great number of miracles had gained him in Galilee. Nor am I satisfied with the view of Chrysostom, who understands Christs country to be Capernaum, because he dwelt there more frequently than in any other place. I rather agree with Cyril, who says that he left the city of Nazareth, and departed into a different part of Galilee; for the other three Evangelists mention Nazareth, when they relate this testimony of Christ. The meaning might indeed be that, while the time of full manifestation was not yet come, he chose to remain concealed in his native country, as in a more obscure retreat. Some, too, explain it to mean, that he remained two days in Samaria, because there was no reason why he should hasten to go to a place where contempt awaited him. Others think that he went straight to Nazareth, and immediately left it; but, as John relates nothing of this sort, I do not venture to yield to that conjecture. A more correct view of it is, that when he saw himself despised in his native city Nazareth, he rather withdrew to another place. And, therefore, it immediately follows (verse 46) that he came into the town of Cana. What is next added that the Galileans received him was a token of reverence, not of contempt.2 I agree and disagree with CalvinI do not think that Jesus had been in Nazareth, as the reference to the two days seems to point back to 4:40: So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. So, I interpret John as saying that Jesus was in Sychar in Samaria for two days. But yet, I like Calvin's approving citation of Cyril, suggesting that Jesus went into another part of Galilee. In other words, John's point is that after Jesus spent two days in Samaria, he departed for a part of Galilee
2 John Calvin, Commentary on John, <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.x.vii.html>.

other than Nazareth. This understanding leads us naturally into the next section: So he came again to Cana in Galilee... (4:46). 4:46-54 Jesus is Trustworthy, but Unpredictable: Right out of the gate, John reminds us of the sign that Jesus had done in Cana in Galilee by transforming the water into wine (4:46). Jesus performs signs at Canaoriginally at the wedding feast, and now in his interaction with an official whose son is ill. When the official asks Jesus to heal his son, Jesus is surprisingly blunt: Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe (4:48). The official had come with a simple request, but Jesus looks beyond his prayer to the bigger heart issues in the official's life. The man came to Jesus only because he had no other recourse to heal his son. His request does not spring from genuine, deep, long-standing faith, but rather from sheer desperation. Jesus demonstrates with this gentle rebuke that the man is less interested in Jesus than he is in what he can get from Jesus. Unless he gets what he wants from Jesus (a sign and a wonder), he will not actually believe in Jesus. Essentially, Jesus is saying, You do not realize that your lack of faith is a bigger problem than your son's illness. You see a short-term problem, and you see me as a potential short-term solution. Unless I perform for you exactly how you want me to perform for you, you will never believe in meand yet you have no idea how vital I am to you. The man sees Jesus as a vendor, and he is asking Jesus for a simple business transaction of providing a healing service. Jesus, however, insists that he is not a simple vendor who will solve a simple need; rather, Jesus is Lord. Lenski explains it this way: The complaint of Jesus is that so many would cease to believe in any manner, or would never believe even as they did unless he furnished them miracles on which to rest this faith of theirs. They would not advance from the miracles to faith in Jesus' person and his Word. Thus Jesus here does, indeed, refuse to hurry to Capernaum and to work the miracle under this condition. By this refusal, however, Jesus calls for and seeks to waken a better faith in the heart [page] of this royal official. In the refusal lies a covert promise to help if only the man will rise to a truer and a better faith.3 The man does not seem to understand the gist of Jesus' statement, and so he repeats his question with more urgency: Sir, come down before my child dies (4:49). Jesus, in response, assures the man, Go; your son will live, and remarkably, The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way (4:50). The man here turns a corner and takes a small step of faith. He takes Jesus at his word, and obeys the instructions that Jesus gives him. If he had not trusted, he would have continued to insist that Jesus come down personally with him to heal his son. In fact, this faith is the point in a similar story recorded in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10, both of which stress a centurion's great faith by the way he refuses to have Jesus come down with him to heal his servant, since I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed (Matt. 8:8). The centurion trusts the authority of Jesus to utter a word capable of healing from a distance, and Jesus exclaims, Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith (Matt. 8:10).

3 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 349-50.

In our story, we do not necessarily see the bold, confident faith of the described in centurion in Matthew and Luke; however, we absolutely see a man willing to trust Jesus and take him at his word. Remember that he can't pick up his cell phone and get immediate confirmation of his child's healthin fact, from the fact that his servants met him halfway (4:51) to tell him that his son began to get better yesterday at the seventh hour [1 p.m.] (4:52), he probably had a 2-3 day journey to get home to his son. Also remember, that if Jesus had lied to him, it might have been very difficult to ever find Jesus again. The best bet would have been to have Jesus accompany him to see his son. The man, however, does not insist on any of this, but trusts that what Jesus has said will come to pass. And then John tells us that, And he himself believed, and all his household (4:53). We see here genuine, saving faith; this goes beyond a satisfied customer offering a testimonial all the way to recognizing his deep need for Jesus as Savior. He is more than a short-term solution to a short-term problemhe is Lord! In this story, Jesus demonstrates his trustworthiness, but in two unexpected ways: 1. Jesus demands faith before he answers the official's prayer. 2. But at the same time, Jesus answers the prayer before the man comes to faith. Note v. 50: Jesus said to him, 'Go; your son will live.' The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. The man does not believe the word of Jesus until after Jesus promises to heal his son. The two principles noted above seemingly contradict one another. If Jesus demands faith before he answers the man's prayer, then why does Jesus answer the prayer before the man comes to faith? What we must understand, though, is that these principles are not rigid, mechanical, unbreakable laws. We are, in fact, dealing with a Person. And we are dealing with a person who loves me more than I love myself. We are dealing with a person who loves everyone on the planet more than they love themselves. And even more, we are dealing with a person who has a definite agenda. He has a particular desired outcome in mindhis Kingdom extending and flourishing on earth, just as it does already in heaven and he is working to accomplish that agenda throughout all of his infinite interactions with each person on this planet. So Jesus demands that we trust him. He doesn't promise that he will always heal, and he doesn't threaten that he will withhold healing until our faith is perfect; he simply asks us to trust him as he orders and upholds the universe by the word of his power. Jesus is always trustworthy, but he is never predictable. 5:1-18 Jesus Works so that We Can Rest: After the healing in CanaJesus' second sign thereJesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast. In Jerusalem, he encounters a man who had been an invalid for 38 years, lying beside the pool of Bethesda and waiting to be healed. An immediate contrast between this story and the former story is that Jesus approaches the invalid here; in the former story, the man approached Jesus. But we see in Jesus' question to the invalid a similarly blunt style as Jesus took with the man. Jesus asks, Do you want to be healed? (5:6).

This is, it seems, an absurd question. Of course the man wants to be healed! For 38 years he had been an invalid, and we have no idea how long he had sought healing by the pool of Bethesda. Could Jesus have asked a question with a more obvious answer? The invalid's response is honest enough as he complains about his situation, but he obviously doesn't light up in hope that Jesus might actually do something for him: Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me (5:7). The man in chapter 4 at least hoped enough in Jesus to make his way down from Capernaum, even if he did not approach Jesus with any kind of saving faith. This invalid man sounds as though he is speaking to Jesus while still looking at the pool, waiting to make his move. Jesus asks his question, then, almost to introduce himself to the man. Jesus was completely off of this man's radar, and so he has to begin further back than Jesus began with the official from Capernaum. Rather than critiquing the level of his faith, Jesus indirectly interjects himself into the conversation about how this man will be healed. And so, after listening to the invalid's response, Jesus cuts through the man's superstitious longing to be healed by the pool and commands him to get up, take up his bed, and walk (5:8). Lenski points out how much apart from faith this was accomplished: Some interpreters think that faith was necessary for the miraculous healing. Some claim that Jesus saw this faith before he spoke the words; others, that faith instantly followed the words. If not faith in the ordinary sense, then at least the faith of the man in his own ability to do as Jesus said. Thus, we are told: The man believed that word to be accompanied with power; made proof, and found that it was so. Or, the command of Jesus brings the courage of faith to his soul, and power into his limbs, to obey the command. On the [page] contrary, the man suddenly was sound and well, and this apart from faith in any sense of the word. He no more needed to believe either in Jesus' word to arise, etc., or in his own health and strength, than any hale and hearty man does.4 Before this man had much of a chance even to become curious as to the identity of this stranger who was speaking to him, he found himself strong enough to walk and to take up his bed, according to the stranger's command. More than that, Jesus leaves quickly enough that the man cannot even identify him to the Jews who demanded to know (5:13). You see, it was the Sabbath, and according to the traditions of the Jews, no one was allowed to carry a bed on the Sabbath. It made no difference that this was a miraculous healing performed by the power of God in the midst of the peoplethe Law was the Law, and that was final! And, as Lenski points out, we can draw no conclusion but that Jesus deliberately performed this miracle on the Sabbath: Why such a crowd visited the place on this Sabbath is not explained. But those are evidently wrong who suppose that Jesus did not consider that the day was the Sabbath, and who say that Jesus meant to do a kindly deed in a sort of private way. An ordinary man might not think about the Sabbath in such a way, though a sincere Jew would scarcely do so. Moreover, the crowd was [page] evidently present because it was the Sabbath, when many visitors were free from occupation and could go to visit sick friends. But the idea that Jesus forgot about the Sabbath would make this decisive miracle of his with its consequences so vital for him a kind of accident
4 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 365-66.

which we cannot believe. Then with this crowd present, how could Jesus tell the man to carry his bed without at once attracting public attention? The man did not go far through that crowd before the Jews, those with some authority, stopped him. No; it was Jesus who deliberately set this sign of his before these people. Not a few must have stood around when this man was catechized.5 Jesus deliberately performed this miracle on the Sabbath in order to teach us somethingnot only about the Sabbath, but about himself. It is important to notice 5:14: Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.' The lame were not allowed into the temple, as the temple was intended to be a recreation of the Garden of Eden, where no death or deformity entered. So, when Jesus healed the lame man, the man's first desire was to enter the temple, where Jesus found him. Jesus had not only made a lame man to walk, but he had reconciled a worshiper to his Father. In this light, we get a better understanding of what John is saying in 5:16-18:
16

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working.
18

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Note that Jesus does not denigrate the Sabbath. He does not suggest that the 4th Commandment was a bad idea or a mistake, or that we should disregard it. Rather, Jesus here affirms the Sabbath by explaining the purpose of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was never meant to be so encumbered by rules and regulations. The Sabbath was to be a day or rest to teach us that we cannot save ourselves, but that God is the one who sanctifies us. In Exodus 31, we read a great definition of the purpose of the Sabbath:
31:12

And YHWH said to Moses, 13You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, YHWH, sanctify you....' We rest on the Sabbath to be reminded that YHWH is working to sanctify us. We can contribute nothing to our salvation, and this lame man is an incredible picture of that. He never sought out Jesus; he never asked Jesus to do anything for him; he never even consciously chose to put his faith in Jesus. But nevertheless, Jesus worked to save him while the man did nothing. Jesus worked on the Sabbath (just as his Father works on the Sabbath), and the man who did nothing was saved. Even this healing, though, is a sign that points to the greater salvation that Jesus would win on the cross. As Christians, we behold Jesus on the cross, working out our salvation through shedding his blood and giving up his life for us, and we are able to contribute nothing. We are powerless, even though we try again and again to find the means by which we think we can heal ourselves. But praise God that Jesus came to do everything for us! We now enter into our Sabbath rest, laying aside the works by which we attempt to earn our own salvation, and simply trust Jesus' work on the cross to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Even when we aren't looking for him, thinking that we have the
5 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of John's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 369-70.

solution figured out, he just comes along and saves us. And through this, he wants us simply to know that it is he, YHWH incarnate, who sanctifies us.