Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 5:9-18

"And straightway the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. Now it was the sabbath on that day. So the Jews said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed. But he answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. They asked him, Who is the man that said unto thee, Take up [thy bed], and walk? But he that was healed knew not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in the place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee. The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole. And for this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work. For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God." — John 5:9-18 (ASV)

1. Having seen a visible miracle that shows the power of Christ to restore spiritual life, we now see an opportunity given to him to teach. This opportunity was the persecution launched against him by the Jews. These Jews, who were envious of Christ, persecuted him for two reasons:

   • First, the act of mercy described above.
   • Second, his teaching of the truth, when Jesus answered them, “My Father works until now, and I also work.”

   Regarding the first reason, the Evangelist does three things:

   • First, he gives the occasion for their persecution.
   • Second, he describes the false accusation against the man who was just cured, where it says, the Jews therefore said to him who was healed.
   • And third, he shows their attempt to belittle Christ, where it says, they asked him therefore: Who is that man?

2. Their opportunity to persecute Christ was the fact that he cured the man on the Sabbath; accordingly, the Evangelist says, and it was the Sabbath that day, when Christ performed the miracle of commanding the man to pick up his mat.

   Three reasons are given why our Lord began to work on the Sabbath. The first is given by Ambrose in his commentary on Luke. He says that Christ came to renovate the work of creation—that is, man, who had become deformed. Therefore, he should have begun where the Creator had left off the work of creation, namely, on a Sabbath (Genesis 1). Thus, Christ began to work on the Sabbath to show that he was the one who renews all of creation.

   Another reason was that the Sabbath day was celebrated by the Jews in memory of the first creation. But Christ came to make, in a way, a new creation: “In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of circumcision is a benefit; what counts is a new creation” (Galatians 6:15). This new creation comes through grace, which is from the Holy Spirit: “You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created; and you will renew the face of the earth” (Psalms 104:30). And so Christ worked on the Sabbath to show that a new creation, a re-creation, was taking place through him, so “that we might be the first fruits of his creatures” (James 1:18).

   The third reason was to show that he was about to do what the law could not do: “God did what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, he condemned sin in his flesh, in order that the requirements of the law might be accomplished in us” (Romans 8:3).

   The Jews, however, did not do any work on the Sabbath, as a symbol that there were certain things pertaining to the Sabbath that were to be accomplished, but which the law could not do. This is clear in the four things which God ordained for the Sabbath: for he sanctified the Sabbath day, blessed it, completed his work on it, and then rested. These things the law was not able to do. It could not sanctify, so we read: “Save me, O Lord, for there are no holy people left” (Psalms 12:1). Nor could it bless; rather, “those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse” (Galatians 3:10). Neither could it complete and perfect, because “the law brought nothing to perfection” (Hebrews 7:19). Nor could it bring perfect rest: “If Joshua had given them rest, God would not be speaking after of another day” (Hebrews 4:8).

   Therefore, these things, which the law could not do, Christ did. For he sanctified the people by his passion: “Jesus, in order to sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). He blessed them by an inpouring of grace: “Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing of heaven, in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). He brought the people to perfection by instructing them in the ways of perfect justice: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). He also led them to true rest: “We who have believed shall enter into rest; as he said: ‘I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest’” (Hebrews 4:3). Therefore, it is proper for him to work on the Sabbath, for he is able to perfect those things that pertain to the Sabbath, from which a powerless law rested.

3. Then, where it says, the Jews therefore said to him who was healed, the Evangelist gives the accusation brought against the man who was healed.

   • First, we have the accusation.
   • Second, the explanation given by the man who was healed, where it says, he answered them: He who made me well.

4. The man was accused of carrying his mat on the Sabbath, not for being healed, so they say: It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to take up your bed. There are several reasons for this.

   One is that the Jews, although frequently charging Christ with healing on the Sabbath, had been embarrassed by him on the grounds that they themselves used to pull their cattle from ditches on the Sabbath to save them (Luke 14:5). For this reason, the Jews did not mention his healing, as it was useful and necessary. Instead, they charged him with carrying his mat, which did not seem to be necessary, as if to say: “Although your cure need not have been postponed, there was no need for you to carry your mat, or for the order to carry it.”

   Another reason was that the Lord had shown, contrary to their opinion, that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. And so, because being healed is not the same as doing good, but receiving a good, they attack the one healed rather than the one who healed.

   The third reason was that the Jews thought they were forbidden by the law to do any work on the Sabbath, and carrying burdens was especially forbidden: “Do not carry a burden on the Sabbath” (Jeremiah 17:21). Accordingly, they made a special point of being against the carrying of anything on the Sabbath, as being opposed to the teaching of the prophet.

   But this command of the prophet was symbolic, for when he forbade them to carry burdens, he wanted to encourage them to rest from the burdens of their sins on the Sabbath. Of these sins it is said: “My iniquities are a heavy burden and have weighed me down” (Psalms 38:4). Therefore, since the time had come to explain the meaning of obscure symbols, Christ commanded him to take up his mat, that is, to help his neighbors in their weaknesses: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

5. Then, where it says, he answered them: He who made me well said to me, we see the man who was healed defending himself. His defense is wisely taken, for a doctrine is never so well proved to be divinely inspired as by miracles that can be accomplished only by divine power: “Going out, they preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed” (Mark 16:20). Thus he argued with those who were slandering the one who healed him, saying, He who made me well said to me. It is as if he said: “You say that I am forbidden to carry a burden on the Sabbath, and this on divine authority; but I was commanded by the same authority to pick up my mat. For, he who made me well, and by restoring my health showed that he had divine power, said to me, take up your bed and walk. Therefore, I was duty-bound to obey the commands of one who has such power and who had done me such a favor.” “I will never forget your precepts because you have brought me to life by them” (Psalms 119:93).

6. Then he says, they asked him therefore. Since they could not very well charge the man who was cured, they try to belittle Christ’s cure, for this man defended himself through Christ. But since he did not indicate precisely who Christ was, they maliciously ask him who it was. With respect to this:

   • First, the search for Christ is set down.
   • Second, his discovery, where it says, afterwards, Jesus found him.
   • And third, his persecution, where it says, therefore the Jews persecuted Jesus.

7. Three things are mentioned about the first point: the Jews’ interrogation, the ignorance of the man who was cured, and the cause of that ignorance.

   As to the first, we read: they asked him therefore, not with the good intention of making progress, but for the evil purpose of persecuting and destroying Christ: “You will seek me, and you will die in your sin” (John 8:21). Their very words show their malice. For while our Lord had commanded the man who was sick to become healed and to pick up his mat, they ignored the first, which is an undeniable sign of divine power, and focused on the second, which seemed to be against the law, saying, Who is that man who said to you, “Take up your bed and walk”? “He lies in wait, and turns good into evil, and he will put blame,” that is, attempt to put blame, “on the elect” .

8. As to the second, the Evangelist says, but he who was healed did not know who it was. This cured man signifies those who believe and have been healed by the grace of Christ: “You are saved by grace” (Ephesians 2:8). Indeed, they do not know who Christ is, but they know only his effects: “While we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith, and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:6–7). We will know who Christ is when “we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

9. Next, the Evangelist gives the reason for the man’s ignorance, saying, for Jesus went aside from the multitude that was in the place. There are both literal and symbolic reasons why Christ left.

   Of the two literal reasons, the first is to give us the example of concealing our good deeds and not using them to seek the applause of others: “Take care not to perform your good actions in the sight of men, in order to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1). The second literal reason is to show us that, in all our actions, we should leave and avoid those who are envious, so as not to feed and increase their envy: “Do not be provoked by one who speaks evil of you, so he will not trap you by your own words” .

   There are also two symbolic reasons why Christ withdrew. First, it teaches us that Christ is not easy to find in the midst of a crowd, or in the whirlwind of temporal cares; rather, he is found in spiritual seclusion: “I will lead her into the wilderness, and there I will speak to her heart” (Hosea 2:14); and, “The words of the wise are heard in silence” (Ecclesiastes 9:17). Second, this suggests to us that Christ was to leave the Jews for the Gentiles: “He hid his face for a while from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17), that is, he withdrew the knowledge of his truth from the Jewish people.

10. Then, where it says, afterwards, Jesus found him in the temple, the Evangelist tells us how Jesus was found.

    • First, he says that he was found.
    • Second, that after having been found, he taught.
    • Third, that after having taught, his identity was reported to the Jews.

11. The Evangelist tells us both where and how Christ was found.

    The way he was found was remarkable, for Christ is not found unless he first finds us; hence he says, afterwards, after the above events, Jesus found him. For we cannot find Jesus by our own power unless Christ first presents himself to us; so we read: “Seek your servant” (Psalms 119:176); and, “She goes to meet those who desire her” .

    The place Christ was found was holy, in the temple, according to: “The Lord is in his holy temple” (Psalms 11:4). For his mother had also found him in the temple (Luke 2:46), and he was there because he had to be concerned with his Father’s affairs. We see from this that this man was not cured in vain, but having been converted to a religious way of life, he visited the temple and found Christ. For if we desire to come to a knowledge of the Creator, we must flee from the turmoil of sinful affections, leave the company of evil men, and flee to the temple of our heart, where God graciously visits and lives.

12. After Christ was found, he began to teach, where it says, and said to him: Behold, you are made well: sin no more.

    • First, Christ reminded the man of the gift he was given.
    • Second, he offered him sound advice.
    • And third, he pointed out an approaching danger.

13. The gift was remarkable, for it was a sudden restoration to health; so he says, Behold, you are made well. Therefore, you should always keep this in mind, according to: “I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord” (Isaiah 63:7).

14. His advice, too, was useful: sin no more. “My son, you have sinned. Do not sin again” .

    Why did our Lord mention sin to this paralytic and to certain others that he cured, and not to the rest? He did this to show that illness comes to certain people as a result of their previous sins, according to: “For this reason many of you are weak and sick, and many have died” (1 Corinthians 11:30). In this way he even showed himself to be God, pointing out sins and the hidden secrets of the heart: “Hell and destruction are open to the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of men” (Proverbs 15:11). And so Christ mentioned sin only to some he cured and not to all, for not all infirmities are due to previous sins: some come from one’s natural disposition, and some are permitted as a trial, as with Job. Or, Christ might have brought up sin to some because they were better prepared for his correction: “Do not rebuke one who mocks, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (Proverbs 9:8). Or, we could say, in telling some not to sin, he intended his words for all the others.

15. The approaching danger was great, so he says, lest some worse thing happen to you. This can be understood in two ways, according to the two events that preceded. For this man was first punished with a burdensome illness, and then received a wonderful favor. Accordingly, Christ’s statement can refer to each.

    It can refer to the first, for when anyone is punished for his sin, and the punishment does not stop him from sinning, it is just for him to be punished more severely. So Christ says, sin no more, because if you do sin, lest some worse thing happen to you. “I have struck your children in vain” (Jeremiah 2:30).

    It can also refer to the second, for one who falls into sin after receiving favors deserves a more severe punishment because of his ingratitude, as we see: “It would be better for them not to know the way of truth, than to turn back after knowing it” (2 Peter 2:21). Also, after a man has once returned to sin, he sins more easily: “The last state of that man becomes worse than the first” (Matthew 12:45); and: “You broke your yoke a long time ago, and snapped off your chains, and said: ‘I will not serve’” (Jeremiah 2:20).

16. Then when he says, the man went his way and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Some think, as Chrysostom reports, that this man identified Jesus out of malice. But this does not seem probable: that he would be so ungrateful after receiving such a favor. He told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well in order to make it clear that Christ had the power to heal: “Come... and I will tell you what great things the Lord has done for me” (Psalms 66:16). This is obvious, for they had asked him who commanded him to pick up his mat, but he told them that it was Jesus who had made him well.

17. Next, where it says, therefore the Jews persecuted Jesus, we have the persecution of Christ, begun because he performed a work of mercy on the Sabbath. Thus the Evangelist says, therefore the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he performed such works on the Sabbath. “Princes have persecuted me without cause” (Psalms 119:161).

18. Then, in the words, but Jesus answered them: “My Father works until now, and I also work,” the second reason for his persecution is given: what he taught.

    • First, we are given the truth he taught.
    • Second, the perversity of his persecutors, where it says, therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him.

19. Our Lord taught the truth while justifying his breaking of the Sabbath.

    Here we should note that our Lord justified both himself and his disciples for breaking the Sabbath. He justified his disciples, since they were men, by comparing them to other men: like the priests who, although they worked in the temple on the Sabbath, did not break the Sabbath; and like David, who, while Ahimelech was priest, took the consecrated bread from the temple on the Sabbath when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel 21:1–6). Our Lord, who was both God and man, sometimes justified himself in breaking the Sabbath by comparing himself to men: “Which of you, if his donkey or ox falls into a pit, will not take him out on the Sabbath?” (Luke 14:5).

    And sometimes he justified himself by comparing himself to God, particularly in this place by saying: My Father works until now, and I also work. It is as if to say: “Do not think that my Father rested on the Sabbath in such a way that from that time on he does not work; rather, just as he is working even now without laboring, so I also am working.” By saying this, Christ eliminated the misunderstanding of the Jews, for in their desire to imitate God, they did not do any work on the Sabbath, as if God entirely ceased from work on that day. In fact, although God rested on the Sabbath from producing new creatures, he is always and continuously working even until now, conserving creatures in existence. Hence it is significant that Moses used the word “rest” after recounting the works of God from which he rested. For this signifies, in its hidden meaning, the spiritual rest which God, by the example of his own rest, promised to the faithful after they have done their own good works. So we may say that this command was a foreshadowing of something that lay in the future.

20. He expressly says, works until now, and not “has worked,” to indicate that God’s work is continuous. For they might have thought that God is the cause of the world as a craftsman is the cause of a house; that is, the craftsman is responsible only for the making or coming into existence of the house. In other words, just as the house continues in existence even when the craftsman has ceased working, so the world would exist if God’s influence ceased. But according to Augustine, God is the cause of all creatures in such a way as to be the cause of their existing. For if his power were to cease even for a moment, all things in nature would at once cease to be, just as we may say that the air is illuminated only as long as the light of the sun remains in it. The reason for this is that things which depend on a cause only for their coming into existence are able to exist when that cause ceases; but things that depend on a cause not only for their coming into existence but also to exist, need that cause for their continuous conservation in existence.

21. Further, in saying, My Father works until now, he rejects the opinion of those who say that God creates through the instrumentality of secondary causes. This opinion conflicts with what is said: “O Lord, you have accomplished all our works for us” (Isaiah 26:12). Therefore, just as my Father, who in the beginning created nature, works until now by preserving and conserving his creation by the same activity, I also work, because I am the Word of the Father, through whom he accomplishes all things: “God said, ‘Let there be light’” (Genesis 1:3). Thus, just as he accomplished the first production of things through the Word, so also their conservation. Consequently, if he works until now, then I also work, because I am the Word of the Father, through whom all things are made and conserved.

22. Then, where it says, therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, the Evangelist mentions the persecution of Christ, which resulted from his teaching. For it was because of his teaching that the Jews sought the more—that is, with greater eagerness and a higher pitch of zeal—to kill him.

    In the law, two crimes were punished by death: the crime of breaking the Sabbath—thus anyone who gathered wood on the Sabbath was stoned (Numbers 15:32–36)—and the crime of blasphemy. So we read: “Bring the blasphemer outside the camp... and let all the children of Israel stone him” (Leviticus 24:14). Now they thought it was blasphemy for a man to claim that he was God: “We do not stone you for a good work but for blasphemy; and because you, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33). It was these two crimes they imputed to Christ: the first because he broke the Sabbath, and the second because he said he was equal to God.

    So the Evangelist says, therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father. Because other just men had also called God their Father, as in “You will call me ‘Father’” (Jeremiah 3:19), they do not just say that he said that God was his Father, but added what made it blasphemy: making himself equal to God. They understood this from his statement: My Father works even until now, and I also work.

    He said that God was his Father so that we might understand that God is his Father by nature, and the Father of others by adoption. He referred to both of these when he said: “I ascend to my Father,” by nature, “and to your Father,” by grace (John 20:17). Again, he said that as the Father works, so he works.

    This answers the accusation of the Jews about his breaking the Sabbath, for this would not be a valid excuse unless he had equal authority with God in working. It was for this reason they said he made himself equal to God.

23. How great then is the blindness of the Arians when they say that Christ is less than God the Father, for they cannot understand in our Lord’s words what the Jews were able to understand. For the Arians say that Christ did not make himself equal to God, while the Jews saw this.

    There is another way to resolve this from the very things mentioned in the text. For the Evangelist says that the Jews persecuted Christ because he broke the Sabbath, because he said God is his Father, and because he made himself equal to God. But Christ is either a liar or equal to God. And if he is equal to God, Christ is God by nature.

24. Finally, the Evangelist says, making himself equal to God, not as though he was making himself become equal to God, because he was equal to God through an eternal generation. Rather, the Evangelist is speaking according to the understanding of the Jews who, not believing that Christ was the Son of God by nature, understood him to say that he was the Son of God in the sense of wishing to make himself equal to God. But they could not believe he was such: “And because you, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33), that is, “You say that you are God,” understanding this as “You wish to make yourself God.”