John 5:1-9: Comparing Two Biblical Commentaries

Overview of John 5:1-9

There are several incidents contained within the various Gospels in which Jesus performs a miracle and cures someone, and John 5:1-9 recounts one of these stories. The incident happens on an unnamed holy day in the city of Jerusalem, which also corresponds to the Sabbath. The place is a pool with five pillars, or colonnades, near a spot commonly known as the "sheep market," sometimes the "sheep gate," or "Bethesda" in Hebrew. It is here that Jesus cures a man who had been infirmed for thirty-eight years. The pool was famous for curing the first person to enter after it had been disturbed by an angel who occasionally entered the water. Because the man had no one to help him into the pool, he had never been the first to enter and had thus never been cured.

After asking the man "wouldst thou be whole?," Jesus instructs him to "Rise, take up thy bed and walk" (John 5:6-8). However, because Jesus cured the man on the Sabbath, this would cause a problem with the Jews in the area.

The New Bible Commentary's Approach

In The New Bible Commentary, this passage is briefly examined in terms of the archaeological evidence indicating that the place mentioned was indeed a real location that has since been identified. The commentary then delves into the text and the meaning of the phrases used by Jesus, particularly "wouldst thou be whole," and its impact on the infirmed man. Clearly, this man had believed in the magical effects of the pool, but Jesus simply commanded him to get up, carry his bedding, and walk away — indicating that his belief in magic was replaced by a belief in Jesus (Carson 1036). The commentary then turns to what may be the passage's central issue: whether it was acceptable to violate the Sabbath in order to help another person. It also discusses whether the man's infirmity was caused by a moral affliction, and examines the nature of Jesus' relationship with God the Father.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary's Approach

While The New Bible Commentary examines the particular incident in detail, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary situates the episode at the pool within the larger context of "Disputes over Jesus' Deeds and Words…" (Brown 958). The commentary states: "The miracle serves as an occasion for a discourse on Jesus' relationship to the Father and his power to give life" (Brown 958). Rather than closely analyzing the passage's specific terms and phrases, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary discusses the implications of the miracle within the context of other miracles and the reactions they provoked. It also devotes considerably more attention to the archaeological evidence of the site and to the meaning of the phrase "troubled the water." The commentary explores what exactly was happening when the water became "troubled" and whether the pool was connected to a system of natural springs.

Works Cited

Brown, R.E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. Print.

Carson, D.A. et al. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity, 1994. Print.

The Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version. Weston, FL: Paradise Press, 2005. Print.