Jesus Tels a Man To Stop Sinning

A study of John 5:10–14

“So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 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.””
‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭14 ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Jews: “Ἰουδαῖοι”, “Ioudaioi”; adjective, nominative, plural, masculine — Jewish as respects birth, race, religion; a Jew; in John 5:10: Those who (not only at Jerusalem, but also in Galilee, cf. John 6:41, 52) opposed his (John’s) divine Master (Jesus) and his Master’s cause — especially the rulers, priests, members of the Sanhedrin, Pharisees — he does not hesitate to style οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, since the hatred of these leaders exhibits the hatred of the whole nation toward Jesus.

-The Sabbath: “Σάββατόν”, “Sabbaton”; noun, nominative, singular, neuter — the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work.

-Who Had Been Healed (v.10): “τεθεραπευμένῳ”, “tetherapeumenō”; verb, perfect, passive, participle, singular, dative, masculine — to heal, cure, restore to health.

-Lawful: “ἔξεστίν”, “exestin”; verb, present, active, indicative, third person, singular — lawful, allowed, permitted.

-Take Up (v.10): “ἆραι”, “arai”; verb, aorist, active, infinitive — to take upon oneself and carry what has been raised; to carry.

-Bed: “κράβαττον”, “krabatton”, noun, accusative, singular, masculine — a pallet, camp bed (a rather simple bed holding only one person).

-Who Healed (v.11): “ὑγιῆ”, “hygiē”; adjective, accusative, singular, masculine — to make one whole, to restore him to health; of a man who is sound in body.

-Who Had Been Healed (v.13): “ἰαθεὶς”, “iatheis”; verb, aorist, passive, participle, singular, nominative, masculine — to cure, heal.

-Jesus: “Ἰησοῦς”, “Iēsous”; noun, nominative, singular, masculine — Jesus = “Yahweh is salvation”; the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, God incarnate.

-Sin: “ἁμάρτανε”, “hamartane”; verb, present, active, imperative, second person, singular — to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After Jesus healed a man who had been disabled for 38 years, the Jewish leaders confronted the healed man and said it was unlawful for him to carry his sleeping mat around on the Sabbath. The man told them that “the man” who healed him had said to pick up his mat and walk, but he did not know his name because Jesus had slipped away quietly as a crowd began to form in response to the miraculous healing. Later, Jesus saw the man in the temple and told him not to sin anymore so that nothing worse would happen to him.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In the preceding verses we are given an eyewitness account of one of the many miraculous healings performed by Jesus. After coming to Jerusalem with His disciples, Jesus healed a man who had been disabled for 38 years by simply saying, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” John the gospel writer then chose to end the account of this healing in verse 9 by telling us, “Now that day was the Sabbath.” This piece of information is important for us to understand the ensuing controversy.

In verse 10 we read that the “Jews” confronted the man and told him it was unlawful for him to carry His bedroll on the Sabbath. When John uses the word “Jews” in this way, he is referring to the Jewish leaders, not the Jewish people as a whole. But still, as the leaders of the people, they were somewhat representative of the response of the majority of the Jewish people to Jesus. This account is one of many instances recorded in the gospels of a dispute between Jesus and the Jewish leaders over what they believed was a violation of the Sabbath. In the Old Testament, Yahweh (Yahweh = Jesus) commanded the people not to do any work on the Sabbath. They were to work 6 days a week and then rest on the seventh day, just as Yahweh modeled in the creation account in Genesis. This was a command but it was also a blessing. There was no concept of a 5 day work week and a 2 day weekend in the ancient world. People were expected to work everyday with maybe the exception of certain annual festivals. But this law of Sabbath was a gift from God to His people. It was a radical concept even still by the time of Jesus.

But the problem is the Jewish leaders had added many rules and restrictions to the Sabbath that turned what God intended to be a restful blessing, into a laborious weekly practice. For example, there are records of Rabbis debating whether or not it was lawful for a person to wear or “carry” their prosthetic leg or teeth on the Sabbath. In their debates over the minutiae of how to define “work,” they had classified work into 39 different classes that included a category for carrying anything from one place to another with very few exceptions, such as carrying a disabled person somewhere. According to the true Old Testament law, this man was not violating the Sabbath, but he was violating their man made traditions. This is why they confront him and tell him it is not lawful to carry his bedroll around.

What happens next is the man shifts the blame onto the One who told him to do so by saying, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk’.” At which point they asked who had told him to do that. This is a good point to pause for a moment. These Jewish leaders understood the man was up and walking around because he had been healed miraculously. But they were not concerned with who healed this man and how, they wanted to know who told him to violate their man made tradition. They perceived and presented this tradition as God’s law, but the reality is it was their law. And they were most concerned with their authority and their opinions being transgressed. They were not concerned with God’s law.

This is the heart of Pharisaism, and Pharisaism always stems from pride. This is a danger that exists for Christians today and we need to be made aware of it. We need to check our own hearts for Pharisaism. In our pursuit of righteous living for the glory of God, we must not add to His good and loving commands. They thought they were upholding the law, but their pride blinded them to the fact that with their additional man made traditions they were trampling all over the heart of God’s law, which is love (Matt. 22:36–40). In their pride they were no longer teachable and correctable, which is why we will see them respond the way they do to Jesus going forward in this narrative. We are never more blind than when we pridefully insist that we and only we see perfectly clearly.

Now, the man did not know Jesus’ name, because Jesus slipped away as a crowd began to form after the miraculous healing, so he could not give it to the Jewish leaders when they asked him. But, in verse 14, we find out that later on Jesus found him in the temple. When Jesus found the man He told him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” There is no direct connection made to a specific sin in this man’s life. Jesus’ words merely communicate that he was not chosen for moral perfection. There is much debate over whether Jesus did mean that the man had been disabled because of a specific sin, but there does not seem to be a clear answer yes or no. What we do know from other passages in the Bible is that sometimes specific sin is the cause of a specific ailment (Acts 5:1–11, 1 Cor. 11:30, 1 John 5:16–17). However, we also know that a person’s sin is not necessarily the cause for their ailment and we should not presume to know which it is (Luke 13:1–5, John 9:1–7).

What we do know is that we live in a world under the curse of sin, and there will be hardship, calamity and illness as a result of that. But his 38 years of infirmity do not necessarily correlate to his sin, and our infirmities are not necessarily a result of specific sin in our life. But they might be, and whether we are sick or well, the most important lesson for us to learn is that there is something far worse than disability or any other hardship that can only last as long as we live in this world. For those who rebelliously persist in their sin, and reject the Lord Jesus, there awaits an eternal punishment that is infinitely worse than any horror of this world. We know for sure that this is at least one of the major reasons Jesus tells the man to “sin no more.” It is a wonderful thing that he was made well. But the fact remains that if he slips into moral depravity, ultimately something far worse will happen to him. So it is with us as well.

But we must end this discussion of the bad news, or in other words, the concept of our sin and the punishment we deserve, with the gloriously good news. While all of us have sinned, and while all of us still struggle with sin even after becoming redeemed followers of Jesus, “…if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2).‬ And, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9).‬

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

First, we should think of Jesus as the all-creating God of the universe who can command a man’s disabled body to be made well instantaneously with the words of His mouth. We should also consider where our heart is in our desires to obey the Lord and see others obey Him. His commands are good and our obedience to them must be built on His love for us and our love for Him. The Pharisees became legalistic in their teaching and enforcement of God’s law. They added many extra rules and lost the love of God that was and is always at the heart of His commands. While God’s law is good and we must prioritize living according to it, we must also remember that Jesus said love is the foundation for all the law and the prophets. If we obey the rules, but lose love, we have nothing.

We must also examine our hearts; whether we are sick or well. Sickness is not necessarily the result of sin in our life, but it might be. The main thing though, is that whether we are healthy or well, the true danger we face is sin. Sin is what separates us from God, and sin is why the world exists in this fallen state where illness and suffering abound. The most important decision a person can make is to accept the free gift of the forgiveness of sin that is available to everyone who confesses, repents and places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we follow Him in this world, we will still stumble and sin, but the grace of Jesus covers our sin past, present and future. Now, as His redeemed children, it must be love that motivates us to live according to His loving, good and righteous commands. And it is this love of His that we are to show to the world with how we live and how we speak.

Self Reflection:

Do I understand the connection between love and obedience? (Matt. 22:36–40) It is unloving not to obey God’s law, but it is also a violation of God’s law to obey without being loving.

Do I understand how seriously Jesus takes sin? It took the blood of God Himself to overpower the sin I was born enslaved to. He left heaven to come to earth and die to save me from it because He loves me.

Where am I struggling with sin right now? And how does the boundless grace and love of Jesus give me confidence to come to Him in prayer each day to confess and repent, knowing that He will forgive and cleanse me?