John 5 NIV

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The Healing at the Pool

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 

2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 

3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] 

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 

10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

The Authority of the Son

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 

17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”

18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.

21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice

29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Testimonies About Jesus

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.

32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.

34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.

35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.

37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,

38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.

39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,

40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

41 “I do not accept glory from human beings,

42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.

43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.

44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.

46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

In John 5, Jesus goes to Jerusalem and visits the Pool of Bethesda, where many sick and disabled people were gathered. There He meets a man who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years. Jesus tells him, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk,” and the man is immediately healed. Because this miracle took place on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders become upset that the man is carrying his mat and begin questioning Jesus about His actions.

Jesus explains that His Father is always working, and He also is working. By speaking this way, Jesus reveals His unique relationship with God, and the religious leaders understand that He is making Himself equal with God. Jesus teaches that the Father has given the Son authority to give life, raise the dead, and judge humanity. He says that whoever hears His word and believes in Him has eternal life and passes from death into life.

In the final part of the chapter, Jesus speaks about the witnesses that testify about Him, including John the Baptist, His miracles, the Father, and the Scriptures. He explains that the religious leaders study the Scriptures carefully, yet they fail to recognize that those writings point to Him. Jesus confronts their unbelief and teaches that true faith is found in accepting Him as the One sent by God.

🌿 “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’”

In this passage, Jesus speaks to a man who had suffered for many years beside the pool of Bethesda. Before healing him, Jesus asked a personal and meaningful question:
“Do you want to get well?”

Jesus already knew the man’s suffering,
yet He invited him to respond with faith and willingness.

This question reaches beyond physical healing alone. It also speaks to the human heart. Sometimes people become discouraged, hopeless, or trapped in pain for so long that change feels impossible. Jesus calls people to trust Him and to desire restoration.

The verse shows the compassion of Jesus. He saw the man’s condition, understood his long struggle, and approached him with grace.

John 5:6 reminds us that Jesus sees human suffering and invites people toward healing, renewal, and faith in Him.

Then Jesus said to him,
🌿 “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

With these words, Jesus commanded the man who had been unable to walk for many years to rise. The healing came through the authority and power of Jesus.

Jesus did not only see the man’s weakness—
He also brought restoration and new life.

The command to “get up” required faith and action. The man responded to the words of Jesus, and his life was changed. What seemed impossible through human strength became possible through God’s power.

This verse also symbolizes spiritual renewal. Jesus calls people to rise from hopelessness, fear, sin, and discouragement into a new life guided by faith.

John 5:8 reminds us that the words of Jesus bring healing, hope, and the power to begin again.

Jesus said,
🌿 “The Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

In these verses, Jesus explains the deep unity between Himself and the Father. His works, teachings, and actions are perfectly connected to the will of God.

Jesus reveals that He is not acting independently,
but in complete harmony with the Father.

Jesus speaks about the Father giving life, raising the dead, and entrusting judgment to the Son. This shows the divine authority given to Jesus and reveals His role in God’s plan of salvation.

He also says,
🌿 “That all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.”

This is a powerful statement about the identity of Jesus. Honoring the Son is connected to honoring God because Jesus reveals the Father to the world.

These verses teach that Jesus came not only as a teacher or prophet, but as the One sent by God with authority to give life, judge righteously, and bring salvation.

John 5:19–23 reminds us that Jesus perfectly reveals the Father and calls people to honor and trust Him with faith.