So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”
Parallel Translations
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So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”
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The Iewes therfore sayde vnto him that was made whole. It is the Saboth daye it is not laufull for the to cary thy beed.
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The Iewes therefore said to him that was made whole, It is the Sabbath day: it is not lawfull for thee to cary thy bed.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to John 5:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 17:21 Yahweh says, “Be careful, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.
- Luke 6:2 But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”
- John 9:16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among them.
- Mark 3:4 He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” But they were silent.
- Luke 13:14 The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!”
- Nehemiah 13:15-21 In those days I saw some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath in Judah, bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys; also with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I testified against them in the day in which they sold food. Some men of Tyre also lived there, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares, and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? Didn’t your fathers do this, and didn’t our God bring all this evil on us, and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” It came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. I set some of my servants over the gates, so that no burden should be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside of Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said to them, “Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they didn’t come on the Sabbath.
- Mark 2:24 The Pharisees said to him, “Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”
- Matthew 12:2-8 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
- John 5:16 For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
- Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
- Exodus 31:12-17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Most certainly you shall keep my Sabbaths; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’ ”
- Isaiah 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
- Jeremiah 17:27 But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem. It will not be quenched.” ’ ”
- Luke 23:56 They returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
- John 7:23 If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. It is the Sabbath. It was the duty…
10. It is the Sabbath. It was the duty of all to maintain the sanctity of the Sabbath, and, therefore, they justly and properly accuse the man. But, when the excuse offered by the man does not satisfy them, they already begin to be in fault; for, when the reason was known, he ought to have been acquitted. It was a violation of the Sabbath, as we have said, to carry a burden; but Christ, who laid the burden on his shoulders, discharges him by his own authority. We are therefore taught by this example to avoid every rash judgment, until the reason of each action be fully known. Whatever contradicts the word of God deserves to be condemned without hesitation; but, as it frequently happens that there are mistakes in this matter, we ought first to inquire modestly and calmly, that our decision may be sound and sober. For since the Jews, prejudiced by wicked dispositions, have not patience to inquire, they shut the door against judgment and moderation; but, if they had allowed themselves to be taught, not only would the offense have been removed, but they would have been conducted still farther, with great advantage, to the knowledge of the Gospel.
We now see how far the Jews were in the wrong. It is, because they do not admit a reasonable defense. The defense is, that he who had been cured replies that he does nothing but by the command of him who had power and authority to command; for, though he did not yet know who Christ was, yet he was convinced that he had been sent by God, because he had received a proof of his divine power, and learns from it that Christ is endued with authority, so that it must be his duty to obey him. But this appears to be worthy of reproof, that a miracle turns him aside from obedience to the Law. I confess, indeed, that the argument which the man employs in contending with them is not sufficiently strong, but the others are faulty on two accounts, that they neither consider that this is an extraordinary work of God, nor suspend their judgment until they have heard a Prophet of God who is furnished with the word.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain True religion is no more cruelly assaulted by any…
True religion is no more cruelly assaulted by any means, than by the pretence of religion itself.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was…
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
Ver. 10. It is the sabbath, it is not lawful, &c.] Vere, sed non sincere. Truly but not sincerely. It more troubled them that Christ had healed him than that the sabbath had been broken by him. The poorer Swedes always break the sabbath, saying that it is only for gentlemen to keep that day.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That is, according to the letter of the law:…
That is, according to the letter of the law: they understood not that Christ was the Lord of the sabbath; their cavil argued their want both of faith in Christ, and charity also toward their neighbour.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured,....…
The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured,.... When they saw him, either at the place, or as he walked through the streets, with his bed on his back:
it is the sabbath day: do not you know it? surely you forget yourself, or you would never be guilty of such an action as this;
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it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. It was forbid by the law, to carry any burden on the sabbath day; see Neh 13:15; for
"carrying out and bringing in anything, from one place to another, is said (x) to be work, and one of the principal works;''
and therefore forbid by the law, which says, "thou shall not do any work"; and one of the traditions of the elders is this (y),
"whoever carries anything out (i.e. on the sabbath day), whether in his right hand, or in his left, in his bosom, or , "on his shoulder", is guilty; for so carried the Kohathites.''
And particularly it is said (z), that
"he that rolls up a bed of the brasiers or tinkers (i.e. on the sabbath day) is bound to a sin offering.''
Which was a fold up bed, such as tinkers, and those that went from city to city to work, had; and who carried their beds with them, as the gloss observes; and were so far from being lawful to be carried by them, on the sabbath, that they might not fold them up.
(x) Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat, c. 12. sect. 6. (y) Misn. Sabbat, c. 10. sect. 3. (z) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 47. 1. & 138. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Not lawful - It was forbidden, they supposed, in…
Not lawful - It was forbidden, they supposed, in the Old Testament. The Jews were very strenuous in the observation of the external duties of religion.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The Jews--that is, those in authority. (See on Joh…
The Jews--that is, those in authority. (See on Joh 1:19.)
it is not lawful to carry thy bed--a glorious testimony to the cure, as instantaneous and complete, from the lips of the most prejudiced! (And what a contrast does it, as all our Lord's miracles, present to the bungling miracles of the Church of Rome!) In ordinary circumstances, the rulers had the law on their side (Neh 13:15; Jer 17:21). But when the man referred them to "Him that had made him whole" (Joh 5:11) as his authority, the argument was resistless. Yet they ingeniously parried the thrust, asking him, not who had "made him whole"--that would have condemned themselves and defeated their purpose--but who had bidden him "take up his bed and walk," in other words, who had dared to order a breach of the sabbath? It is time we were looking after Him--thus hoping to shake the man's faith in his Healer.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. The Jews—Who beheld him bearing his burden home,…
10. The Jews—Who beheld him bearing his burden home, but knew not the cause of his cure.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10–16. The Sequel of the Sign
10–16. The Sequel of the Sign
10. The Jews] The hostile party, as usual: probably members of the Sanhedrin (see on Joh_1:19). They ignore the cure and notice only what can be attacked. They had the letter of the law very strongly on their side. Comp. Exo_23:12; Exo_31:14; Exo_35:2-3; Num_15:32; Neh_13:15; and especially Jer_17:21.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) The Jews therefore said unto him.—But what they…
(10) The Jews therefore said unto him.—But what they cannot deny they can cavil at. One might have expected from human hearts wonder and thankfulness that the man could walk at all. We find from the formalism which had bound the letter round men until it had well nigh crushed all heart out of them, the murmur that the carrying of his bed was not lawful on the Sabbath. This is not the only place in this Gospel where the words and works of Christ clashed with the current views of the sanctity of the Sabbath day. (Comp. Joh_7:23; Joh_9:14.) The general question has been treated in Notes on Mat_12:10-12. Here it will be sufficient to note that the bearing of burdens was specially forbidden in the Prophecy of Jeremiah: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day” (Jer_17:21; comp. Neh_13:15 et seq.), and that the Rabbis pressed this to include a burden of any kind. They said, for example, “If any man on the Sabbath bring in or take out anything on the Sabbath from a public to a private place, if thoughtlessly he hath done this he shall sacrifice for his sin; but if wilfully, he shall be cut off and shall be stoned.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 10-16. Outbreak of Jewish hostility.
Vers. 10-16. Outbreak of Jewish hostility.
It is not against the miracle, but against an imagined infringement of Mosaic law.
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I THE CHARGE AGAINST THE IMPOTENT MAN. "It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
1. It seemed justified in the letter by the Divine commandment. "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day" (Jer_17:21).
2. But the command related to matters of trade, not of mercy or comfort. (Neh_13:15)
3. The Jews, however, must have their cavil where they cannot deny the working of miracle.
4. Formalists affect an extreme reverence for the letter of a law which they neglect and despise in its inmost spirit.
II THE ANSWER TO THE CHARGE. "He that made me whole said to me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
1. It was a serious charge, for it involved the punishment of death by stoning.
2. The cured man shelters himself under the authority of the Miracle worker, implying that he who was able to do such a work must have authority to give him such a command.
3. He was still ignorant of the name of the Divine Person who had cured him. "And he that was healed wist not who it was." He had hardly time to make inquiry before Jesus "had conveyed himself away," making an easy escape through the thronging multitude.
III THE DISCOVERY OF HIS BENEFACTOR.
1. The cured man is found by Jesus in the temple. His first act is to thank God for his cure. It marks the reality of his faith.
2. Our Lords admonition to him. "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee.
(1) It is implied that his lifelong affliction had its origin in his sins.
(a) There is an invariable connection between sin and suffering established by the moral government of God.
(b) Yet it is not possible for man to trace this connection at all times in the midst of the complicated and mysterious dispensations of his providence.
(2) It is implied that the Lord proportions his chastisements or his punishments to the degree of sinful provocation attained by transgressors. "Lest a worse thing come upon thee.
(a) The lighter chastisement is often sent in mercy to warn against sin and folly.
(b) The Lord does not afflict willingly, but for our profit. (Hos_12:10)
IV THE MIRACLE WORKER MADE KNOWN TO HIS ENEMIES. "The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus that made him whole." What was his motive in giving this information to the Jews?
1. It was not a malicious denunciation, which would only argue the deepest ingratitude on his part.
2. It was not prompted by the mere instinct of obedience to the authorities.
3. It was not designed to shift the responsibility of sabbath breaking from himself to Jesus. He here emphasizes the miracle rather than the sabbath breaking. "It was Jesus that made him whole.
4. It was prompted rather
a. by gratitude to our Lord,
b. by the desire to make him known to others in a similar distress,
c. and to bring the Jews to recognize him in his true character. His faith seems to imply a motive of this kind.
V THE EFFECT OF THE DISCLOSURE UPON THE JEWS. "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus... because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
1. Their action had a double root. "These things the healing and the burden bearing on the sabbath.
2. They had no true sympathy with suffering, nor had they any true conception of the nature of their own sabbath.
3. The spirit of persecution often springs from ignorance.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 10. The Jews therefore said unto him. “Therefore” points…
10. The Jews therefore said unto him. “Therefore” points to the fact that he was carrying his bed on the Sabbath day. The term “the Jews” does not refer to the people, but to the authorities. John always uses it to signify, not the multitude, but the rulers. The man was officially stopped and questioned. The bearing of burdens on the Sabbath was forbidden, not only by Jewish tradition, but by the law. See Exod. 31:13; Jer. 17:21 and Neh. 13:15–19.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The objections of the Jews:
The objections of the Jews:
v. 10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath-day; it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
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v. 11. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk.
v. 12. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk?
v. 13. And he that was healed wist not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place.
v. 14. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the Temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
v. 15. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole.
v. 16. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath-day.
The religion of the Jews at the time of Jesus had largely become a matter of dead form, without the true understanding of love and mercy. It was true, indeed, that the law prohibited the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, Exo 20:8; Jer 17:21; Neh 13:15; Exo 23:12. But necessary works were not forbidden, such works as served the immediate needs of the person; for the Sabbath had been established for the sake of man. And in this case the Lord of the Sabbath had spoken. But the Jews took no possible extenuating circumstance into account; they reminded the man of the day and of its demands. The former sick man refused to assume the responsibility and blame for his action. He told the Jews that the man who had made him well had ordered him to take up his bed and walk. His implied argument was: He that could perform such a great miracle, that could heal me with a mere word, must have an authority for His command which transcends that of the ceremonial law. He that gives life is the proper authority for its use. But the Jews were not satisfied with that answer; they wanted to know the name of Him that had given this order. This the former invalid was unable to supply, and a searching look around the vicinity failed to discover Jesus, who had withdrawn or turned aside, an easy matter in such a large crowd. Jesus was not seeking external evidences of mouth adulation; a mere admiration on account of His miracles was an abomination to Him. Note: The purpose of the Jews in asking the invalid the question was not to seek the Lord in faith, but to accuse and condemn Him. Even so many people in our days that must acknowledge the miracles of Christianity study the Bible, not for the sake of knowing the great works of God, but for the sake of finding fault and discovering so-called contradictions. But Jesus did not lose sight of the former sick man. He deliberately arranged it so that He came upon the man in the Temple; for his body had been healed, but the soul still needed attention. Therefore the Lord told him: Behold, well thou hast become; sin no more, lest worse things come upon thee. The sin of man is the reason and cause for all manner of physical evils and ills, though individual sicknesses may not be due to specific sins, as in, this case. The man’s long illness had not been brought about by some special sin. But this the Lord means to emphasize: Sickness and all physical evils would never have come into the world if sin had not come first. To realize the horror and heinousness of sin in general is a very important step in the work of justification and sanctification. He that has realized the abomination of sin in itself, and has then accepted Jesus as his Savior, will shun sin with all the might of his regenerated heart. Such a person will not make his members servants of sin, also for that reason that the greater punishment awaits such as do not heed the warning of the Savior, namely, the punishment of hell-fire. Note: Jesus has a personal interest in every sinner and will continue to work for the salvation and sanctification of everyone with unabated, loving energy. The man now went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had performed the miracle of healing him. He did this, probably not with any evil intent, but in the joy of his knowledge as to the identity of his Benefactor. But the result was that the hypocritical Jews persecuted Jesus; they followed Him about at all times with hostile intention; they considered ways and means to put Him out of the way entirely. The fact that He had performed this healing on the Sabbath was in their eyes a deed that merited death. Note: That is characteristic of the Sabbath-fanatics, to make mountains out of mole-hills, as far as the outward observance of the day is concerned, while, at the same time, they have not the faintest idea of the true meaning of worship in spirit and in truth.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 So the Jews said to him
So the Jews said to him
The Jews (especially the leaders of the Jews) became angry when they saw the man carrying his mat on the Sabbath.
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It is the Sabbath
"It is God's Day of Rest"
He who made me healthy
"The man who made me well"
translationWords
Jewish authorities
cure
Sabbath
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.