The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 363

~uitable to the day. 4. The mfrade wa.s one not to be gainsaid, as this mnn hnd !Jeon long known to resort to the Bethesda springs iu search of cure, Vcrs. 10-16.-Outbreak of Jewi,sh hostility. It is not against the miracle, but agRinst an imagined infringement of Mosaic law. I. THE CHARGE AGAINST THE IMPOTENT MAN. "It is the ~abbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed." 1. It seemed ;'11,stified in the letter by the Divine commandment. "Take heed to yourselves, and boar no burden on tho sabbath day" (Jcr. x,ii. 21). 2. But the command ,·elated to matters of trade, not of mercy or comfort. (Neh. xiii.15.) 3. The Jews, liowever, must have theil- cavil where they cannot deny the working of miracle. 4. Formalists affect an extreme reverence for the letter of a la.w whfrh they neglect and <kspise in its inmost spirit. II. THE ANSWER TO THE CHARGE. " Ho 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 d~ath 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 gi,e him such a command. 3. He was still ignorant of tlie name of the Divine Pe1·son who had cured him. "And he that was healed wist not who it was." He bad hardly time to make inquiry before Jesus "had conveyed himself away," making an easy escape through the thronging multitude. III. THE mscoVEnY OF ms BENEFACTOR. 1. The cured man is found by Jesus in tlte temple. Bis first act is to thank God for his cure. It marks the reality of his faith. 2. Our Lord's admonition to liim. "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 b:3tween sin and suffering established by the moral government ot God. (b) Yet it is not possible for man to trace this connection at all times in tht midst of the complicated and mysterious dispensations of his providence. (2) It is implied that the Lord proportions his chastisements or bis 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 (Heb. :x.ii. 10). IV. THE Mln.AcLE-WORKEB M:.ADE KNOWN TO ms 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 1,/Jas not prompted by the mere instinct of obedience to the authorities. 3. It was not designed to shift the responsibility of sabbath-breal.ing 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 (1) by gratitude to our Lord, (2) by the desire to make him known to others in a similar distress, (3) and to bring the Jews to recognize him in his true character. His faith seems to imply a motive of this kind. . V. 'l'HE EFFECT OF T.BE 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. Tl,ey had no true sympathy with suffering, 11or had they any t1·ue conception of the nature of their own 611,b'bath. 8. Tlie spirit of persecution often aprings from ignorana. Vers. 17-23.-0ur Lorrls vindication of his conduct. It is summarized in e. single si!ffiificant sentence : "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." ''L THE TRUE IIIE.AlHNG OF oun LORD'S DECLARATION. 1. His Fathers life ii. cJiara,ci,eri,ud by unceasing activity. He may have ceased to put forth power in the way of creative energy, but he is still active in the spheres of providence and redemption. 2. Christ's work is co-ordinat-e with that of the Father, and not merel1, <kpendent tipon it. The assertion implies equality of operation. 3. The sabbath '11,irade just performed was part of hu Divine activity, but not on that account inconsistent with the sabbatb law. (1) As One "born under the Lnw" (Gal. iv. 4); (2) as a "Minister of the circumcisiOli" (Rom. xv. 8), he could not repudiate the Law, which was only to cease with his dead., but (3) the work of mercy done on the sabbath was really included in the spirit of the Law, cm. v. 1-47.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 221