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The Gospel of John
Northwest London Christian Church
Series

Background to John’s Gospel – Chapter 5

John Chapter 5
Jesus is Attracted to the Unattractive
Some people came to Jesus, but some he sought out. This chapter shows us the latter. What
kind of man was this? He was an invalid getting about by dragged himself around on his
hands, rough and bleeding. Likely he had little control over bowel and bladder. The stench
was unbearable, and he was unattractive. Not the sort of person I would willingly, purposefully
seek out. But Jesus is different. He went to the pool - a place where the incapacitated were to
be found. He sees the man, makes enquiries, and addresses him.
An Unconventional Question
Are you as surprised as I am at the question Jesus asks of the man? “Do you want to get
well?” v6. What a strange question. Of course he must want to get well. Why else would he
be there? But Jesus never said anything without a reason. What might that reason be in this
case? A clue lies in the way the conversation goes. I doubt we can be sure of the man’s
heart or motives from this brief exchange. But the point seems to be that he is in the right
place for healing, but he does not have the right person in place to help him. He needs more
than what he has got himself - and he needs more than the current religious leaders were
providing.
Right Place, Right Man
It is noticeable that the response of the authorities to this miracle stops short of admiration and
congratulation! They tried to kill him (v18). The irony is that any of these so-called spiritual
people could have helped the invalid. They claimed to know God, and His miraculous power.
But their trumpeting of truth had become divorced from their practice of compassion. Jesus
demonstrates power and compassion, truth and grace here - and they are furious because he
has shown them up. He has convicted them. He has made them feel guilty - the Sabbath
issue is only a smokescreen.
Agent of God
Jesus now takes this opportunity to lay out the significance of his mission and teaching. He
holds nothing back. Noticeable in this body of explanation is his claim to act as God’s ‘agent’.
He is able to claim this because of his unique relation to God as Father/Son. His humble
obedience to God’s plan means he is the faithful shaliach (agent). Just as Moses and the
prophets were sometimes referred to as God’s ‘agents’, now Jesus takes on this role in a way
that is more full than any previous agent. He is not just a human ‘agent’, but a divine one (see
Hebrews chapter 1 to 4 for a fuller development of this idea). Why is this so significant? “The
Father’s agent comes in the Father’s name, not in his own; to reject a person’s agent was to
reject the authority of that person himself.”1 If Jesus is rejected God is rejected. The signs
spoke for themselves, but the religious authorities were not listening - either to the signs, or to
the teaching.
Our call is to listen to Jesus if we are to have any hope of knowing God as Father, and to not
neglect loving the ‘unlovely’ - since that is how God loves us.

Malcolm Cox

1Keener,Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.1.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.