Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

January 5

Jesus encounters a disabled man near the Temple in Northeastern Jerusalem. It seems there was a belief that the Pool of Bethesda would occasionally stir, and the first disabled person who was able to get into the pool would be healed of their illness. John gives us this information as a description, not a prescription. He simply acknowledges what happened, but no one prescribes that the disabled were supposed to do that. (Note: Recognizing when Scripture passages are descriptive vs. prescriptive is very important as you read the Bible.) (Side note: Some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, add verse 4 from relatively newer Biblical manuscripts, which states that an angel stirred the pool’s waters. None of the older manuscripts includes this verse).

This man was disabled for thirty-eight years. John doesn’t tell us if this man has been disabled all of his life or if his disability is due to an injury. Because we aren’t told anything else about his infirmity, I don’t want to speculate. It’s important to note that, being disabled, the man could not enter the Temple. He would have been prohibited from worship in the Temple for thirty-eight years. Because the Jewish people linked worship with a location (i.e., the Temple), this man was so close, yet so far from worshiping God.

After healing him, Jesus found the man in the Temple and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” John 5:14 (CSB) Perhaps Jesus is thinking along the lines of what He later said in Matthew 12:43–45. Regardless, Jesus is warning the man to humbly accept his healing and not presume he can continue to live a life of sin.

Application

Too often, people hear the good news of the Gospel, yet they presume that they can continue living the way they have been living … in their sin. God loves you too much to save you where you are so that you can stay where you are! God wants to free you from a life of sin!

Jesus heals this man on the Sabbath, then tells the man to pick up his mat and walk. And yet, the Jewish leaders condemn the man for carrying a mat on the Sabbath, and they condemn Jesus for healing the man on the Sabbath.

This is a classic case of religious traditions preventing people from experiencing a touch from God. It’s very sad that religious traditions can be — and often are — weaponized against hurting people by religious bullies. It’s not only sad, but it’s sinful. Make sure that you don’t let religion get in the way of relationship.

Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1:27 (CSB)

© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman