The New Joshua and the Sabbath - Week 6

John 5:1-47

Note: The study related to these questions may be found at Catholic Exchange. Please go to their site for the complete material concerning this study. Unless otherwise noted, on scriptural references are from the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Below are my thoughts on the questions presented for the given study (Please see disclaimer at bottom).

Read John 5:1-47

1. In verse 1, why did Jesus return to Jerusalem? See Lev. 23:1-2 and Deut. 16:1.
(a) From the Book of Leviticus:

1: The LORD said to Moses, 2: "Say to the people of Israel, The appointed feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed feasts, are these." (Lev 23:1-2)

From the Book of Deuteronomy:

"Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to the LORD your God; for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night." (Deut 16:1)

Jesus returned to Jerusalem for a "feast of the Jews". This was most likely the Feast of the Passover.

2. The lame man had been ill for 38 years. Why did Jesus ask him if he wanted to be healed? What is the significance of the number 38? (See Points to Ponder)
(a) So that the man could confirm that he indeed desired healing. In other words, to see if the man still had hope. (b) The significance of the number 38 is that this is the same amount of period that the nation of Israel was left to wander in the desert as a punishment for not trusting God. From the Book of Deuteronomy:

14: And the time from our leaving Ka'desh-bar'nea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. 15: For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished. (Deut 2:14-15)

Just as Joshua ("Y'shua")wished to lead Israel to the promised land, so Jesus ("Y'shua") now stands ready to lead the New Israel, the Church, to the Promised Land of Heaven. As such, the question of "Do you want to be healed?" still applies to us today.

3. Read Neh. 13:15-20 and Jer. 17:21. Why did the Pharisees rebuke the man for carrying his pallet? Were they correct in their assessment of the situation? What important fact were they overlooking?
(a) From the Book of the Prophet Nehemiah:

15: In those days I saw in Judah men treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on asses; and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16: Men of Tyre also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of wares and sold them on the sabbath to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17: Then I remonstrated with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing which you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? 18: Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath." 19: When it began to be dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the sabbath. And I set some of my servants over the gates, that no burden might be brought in on the sabbath day. 20: Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. (Neh 13:15-20)

From the Book of Jeremiah

Thus says the LORD: Take heed for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. (Jer 17:21)

Because they said he was doing something that was "not lawful". (b) No they were not. (c) They were overlooking the mercy of God as shown in the miraculous healing. The pharisees were so caught up in the literal statement of the law, they didn't balance it with the good done by God's Son.

4. Why did Jesus seek out the healed man and warn him not to continue to sin? Read 2 Peter 2:20-22.
(a) From the Second Letter of St. Peter:

20: For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21: For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22: It has happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire. (2 Pet 2:20-22)

To warn the man that his healing (i.e. salvation) could be lost if he continues to sin.

5. What does Jesus mean in verse 17, that His father never stops working?
(a) From the Gospel of Matthew:

1: At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2: But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath." 3: He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5: Or have you not read in the law how on the sabbath the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless? 6: I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. (Matt 12:1-6)

St John Chrysostom took this to mean that God was working to preserve creation:

He careth for, He holdeth together all that hath been made. Therefore when thou beholdest the sun rising and the moon running in her path, the lakes, and fountains, and rivers, and rains, the course of nature in the seeds and in our own bodies and those of irrational beings, and all the rest by means of which this universe is made up, then learn the ceaseless working of the Father. (Homilies on the Gospel of John, St. John Chrysostom)

St. Augustine took this to mean the work Jesus was doing for our Redemption:

He was perhaps signified as about to rest on the seventh day from all His works. For, read the Gospel, and see what great works Jesus wrought. He wrought our salvation on the cross, that all things foretold by the prophets might be fulfilled in Him. He was crowned with thorns; He hung on the tree; said, "I thirst," received vinegar on a sponge, that it might be fulfilled which was said, "And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." And when all His works were completed, on the sixth day of the week, He bowed His head and gave up the ghost, and on the Sabbath-day He rested in the tomb from all His works. Therefore it is as if He said to the Jews, "Why do ye expect that I should not work on the Sabbath? The Sabbath-day was ordained for you for a sign of me. You observe the works of God: I was there when they were made, by me were they all made; I know them. (Trictates on the Gospel of John, St. Augustine of Hippo)

Since Jesus and God the Father are inseparable, any "work" done by One is done by the Both. In fact Jesus makes the very point in verse 19.

6. Read verse 18. Why were the Pharisees upset?
(a) Because, in their eyes, Jesus not only broke the Sabbath, but proclaimed Himself to be the Son of God, thus making Himself equal to God.

7. Read verse 24. Is rejecting Jesus the same as rejecting God the Father?
(a) Yes.

8. What does it mean in verse 25 that the "dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live"?
(a) This could have several meanings. It could refer to those who are "dead" to God because they do not believe in Christ. It could also refer to those who are in the realm of the dead and awaited the Death of Christ to allow them to enter Heaven. It could also refer to those individuals who Jesus raised from the dead.

9. Read the following paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): # 2185 & 2186. What does the Catholic Church teach about working on Sunday?
(a) From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body.123 Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

The charity of truth seeks holy leisure- the necessity of charity accepts just work. (St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 19,19:PL 41,647.)

2186 Those Christians who have leisure should be mindful of their brethren who have the same needs and the same rights, yet cannot rest from work because of poverty and misery. Sunday is traditionally consecrated by Christian piety to good works and humble service of the sick, the infirm, and the elderly. Christians will also sanctify Sunday by devoting time and care to their families and relatives, often difficult to do on other days of the week. Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life. (CCC, 2185-2186)

That it should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary due to family needs or social service.

10. What statement is Jesus making in verse 26?
(a) That He is eternal just as the Father is eternal.

11. In verse 27 Jesus states that He has the authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. Explain what Jesus means. Who is the Son of Man?
(a) This title is indicative of Christ's authority to judge man. In the words of St John of Chrysostom:

For when what He said seemed to the hearers inconsistent, and they deemed Him nothing more than mere man while His words were greater than suited man yea, or even angel, and were proper to God only, to solve this objection He addeth, Ver. 28, 29. (Homilies on the Gospel of John, St. John Chrysostom)

(b) Jesus is the "Son of Man"

12. What does Jesus mean when He says He can do nothing on His own (vs. 30-31)?
(a) This is an allusion to the Trinity. The first allusion in this chapter is in verse 19.

13. In verse 31 Jesus states, "If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true." What does he mean by this statement?
(a) That if His testimony was only based on Jesus the man, then it would not carry authority. However, it carries the authority of God because, as Christ has already stated, He and the Father are One.

14. Read verses 36 & 37. In what ways did God the Father testify on Jesus' behalf?
(a) In the works of Christ and by the Prophets.

15. Read verses 39-44. The religious leaders researched the Scriptures continuously and knew them very well. They also prided themselves on keeping the laws of Moses perfectly. Since they were so familiar with Scripture, why didn't they recognize the One of Whom Moses and the prophets wrote?
(a) Because they did not have the "love of God" within them.

16. In verses 45-47 Jesus tells the Pharisees that Moses is their accuser. He also accuses them of being hypocrites who don't really accept the writings of Moses. Why does Jesus say this? (Read Genesis 3:15; Numbers 21:9; 24:17; Deut. 18:15-18.)
(a) From the Book of Genesis:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Gen 3:15)

From the Book of Numbers:

So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Num 21:9)

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth. (Num 24:17)

From the Book of Deuteronomy:

15: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren -- him you shall heed -- 16: just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, `Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' 17: And the LORD said to me, `They have rightly said all that they have spoken. 18: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. (Deut 18:15-18)

Because all throughout the Old Testament, their are verses pointing to Him. However, the Pharisees have ignored these.

Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.

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Alfredo Nevarez
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